Can you practice too much?

D

Digger0038

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have been practicing as much as I can with work and kids, I practice 2-3 hours every day on my 8ft table at home and usually 2x a week on a 9ft table at the pool hall. A few weeks ago I played an A ranked player for a few hours at the pool hall and it was the first time I felt like all my practice was starting to pay off. I would guess I won around 30-40% of the games against him. My position was better than usual, shot selection was better and shot making was excellent for me. Instead of getting lucky to win I was putting together nice runs.

I continued to practice at home since and for some reason the past 3 days it seems like all of my hard work is falling apart. All of a sudden I can't seem to make shots that I practice over and over, I can't see the angles on easy cut shots and now for some reason when I am playing 9 ball I can only have 3 balls on the table and I will leave myself hooked behind one of them.

I have been using numerous practice DVD's such as the Break and Run DVD's and also drill suggestions from people on AZ. Do you think I just need to keep playing every day and work through it or take a break a few day's a week? What might the problem be?
 
Digger0038 said:
I have been practicing as much as I can with work and kids, I practice 2-3 hours every day on my 8ft table at home and usually 2x a week on a 9ft table at the pool hall. A few weeks ago I played an A ranked player for a few hours at the pool hall and it was the first time I felt like all my practice was starting to pay off. I would guess I won around 30-40% of the games against him. My position was better than usual, shot selection was better and shot making was excellent for me. Instead of getting lucky to win I was putting together nice runs.

I continued to practice at home since and for some reason the past 3 days it seems like all of my hard work is falling apart. All of a sudden I can't seem to make shots that I practice over and over, I can't see the angles on easy cut shots and now for some reason when I am playing 9 ball I can only have 3 balls on the table and I will leave myself hooked behind one of them.

I have been using numerous practice DVD's such as the Break and Run DVD's and also drill suggestions from people on AZ. Do you think I just need to keep playing every day and work through it or take a break a few day's a week? What might the problem be?
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The two major pitfalls of solo practice are getting into a rut, practicing until you are tired of it and just not having the same level of commitment or interest. In other words just going through the motions. If that's the case take a few days off and wait till you are excited to play again. Practice needs to be active, in that you are actively looking to improve specific aspects of game through specific means (ie. not playing the 9 ball ghost and hoping that things get better by just doing it).

The other is to over practice to the point of sacrificing real match play. There really is no substitute for match experience.

As to the specifics of your situation, it's hard to say what is affecting your practice. The first thing that popped to mind was, you had a great session against a very good player, you're standards might have risen beyond you're current reach resulting in added frustration. This has a snowball effect as you start to believe you are playing poorly, you start to play much much worse.

I may be off here as you did say you played this gentleman a few weeks ago.

Regardless, three bad days isn't really anything to worry about. If you dwell on it too much you'll throw yourself into a slump. Make sure you are approaching the table with a positive attitude. If you are still playing poorly after another couple days or so, go back to basics and try to see if you've let any bad habits into your game.
 
The practice is what made you better. However, it sounds like your PSR (pre shot routine) might not be very solid. If it's not, you can play great one day, and can't hardly make a ball the next day. That happens because you line up a little bit differently, making you see the balls a little bit differently.

Get a real solid PSR and you will cut out a lot of slumps people without one have.
 
In my case yes, I can practice too much! How much is too much? When my head leaves the practice session!
If I keep going, I get pissed at myself because I'm missing shots and playing like crap. Not a good thing.
I give it a break and do something constructive around the house at that point until I feel like my head will cooperate again.
btw. All my clothes are clean now and hung up in the closet.
Ready to practice again! :grin:
 
I felt the same. I don't have a table at home so I hit the pool halls. I run drills and play the ghost. I find once I reach the point that drills don't feel like they're working, I will switch to bank shots, if I get flustered there I'll throw 3 balls on the table and roll the cue ball out to try to run out. Once that gets stale I'll go back to drills. I'll play the ghost (8, 9 & 10 ball). If after a few racks of each I'm improving, I'll put in a rack of 14.1 to work on my break outs and "cluster runs" and position.

I don't stop for at least 2 hours before a break, I just switch it up and go back and forth.

Hope it helps! :)
 
It was brought to my attention during my recent lesson that there are 4 phases to pool. We have training, which requires extreme focus and there is a finite amount of time that we can do that. Specific drills that emphasize fundamentals are used for training.

Then there is practice which is implementing that which we have trained ourselves. We should have a much longer capability in practice. Practice implies structure, with specific feedback. Drills that work with aiming, speed and english control, etc would be considered practice.

Then there is play. Most people consider "practice" play - throwing balls out and hitting them in. Playing the ghost would count as play, even though many players (including myself) considered that practice. This is where we get our "feel good" vibes and is as important as practice and training.

Finally there is competition, which is a different feel and is necessary to refine the skills in a pressure based environment.

All 4 are necessary and a reasonable balance is required. Too much of one and not enough of another will create the sensation that we are burning out. A good mixture however could consume a LOT of time daily.
 
Digger0038 said:
I have been practicing as much as I can with work and kids, I practice 2-3 hours every day on my 8ft table at home and usually 2x a week on a 9ft table at the pool hall. A few weeks ago I played an A ranked player for a few hours at the pool hall and it was the first time I felt like all my practice was starting to pay off. I would guess I won around 30-40% of the games against him. My position was better than usual, shot selection was better and shot making was excellent for me. Instead of getting lucky to win I was putting together nice runs.

I continued to practice at home since and for some reason the past 3 days it seems like all of my hard work is falling apart. All of a sudden I can't seem to make shots that I practice over and over, I can't see the angles on easy cut shots and now for some reason when I am playing 9 ball I can only have 3 balls on the table and I will leave myself hooked behind one of them.

I have been using numerous practice DVD's such as the Break and Run DVD's and also drill suggestions from people on AZ. Do you think I just need to keep playing every day and work through it or take a break a few day's a week? What might the problem be?
Click to expand...

Sounds like you could use a break. Sometimes a short break is all you need to get back on track. Take a few days or a week off, then see how things go.
 
Great advice!

Very well put sir!

boyersj said:
It was brought to my attention during my recent lesson that there are 4 phases to pool. We have training, which requires extreme focus and there is a finite amount of time that we can do that. Specific drills that emphasize fundamentals are used for training.

Then there is practice which is implementing that which we have trained ourselves. We should have a much longer capability in practice. Practice implies structure, with specific feedback. Drills that work with aiming, speed and english control, etc would be considered practice.

Then there is play. Most people consider "practice" play - throwing balls out and hitting them in. Playing the ghost would count as play, even though many players (including myself) considered that practice. This is where we get our "feel good" vibes and is as important as practice and training.

Finally there is competition, which is a different feel and is necessary to refine the skills in a pressure based environment.

All 4 are necessary and a reasonable balance is required. Too much of one and not enough of another will create the sensation that we are burning out. A good mixture however could consume a LOT of time daily.
Click to expand...
 
Practice and play

boyersj said:
It was brought to my attention during my recent lesson that there are 4 phases to pool. We have training, which requires extreme focus and there is a finite amount of time that we can do that. Specific drills that emphasize fundamentals are used for training.

Then there is practice which is implementing that which we have trained ourselves. We should have a much longer capability in practice. Practice implies structure, with specific feedback. Drills that work with aiming, speed and english control, etc would be considered practice.

Then there is play. Most people consider "practice" play - throwing balls out and hitting them in. Playing the ghost would count as play, even though many players (including myself) considered that practice. This is where we get our "feel good" vibes and is as important as practice and training.

Finally there is competition, which is a different feel and is necessary to refine the skills in a pressure based environment.

All 4 are necessary and a reasonable balance is required. Too much of one and not enough of another will create the sensation that we are burning out. A good mixture however could consume a LOT of time daily.
Click to expand...

Very well said, I couldn't agree more.
 
Thank you all for your replies. I shot a bit yesterday and found myself getting irritated and shooting quickly so I stopped playing after only about 15 minutes. I had a rough day at work so I think that had a bit to do with my attitued at the table. Today I had off so I turned on some music and came to the table nice and relaxed. I ran a few drills and played the ghost for a while. My shot making was much better than it had been the past few days but my position play was lacking.....I found I left myself long hard shots. I think your right I need to take a step back and approach it with a positive attitued or it will do me no good at all.
 
I purchased a relatively cheap video camera ($185, already had a tripod) and have used it quite a bit during my practice at home. I've found it is particularly useful when I'm playing poorly. It's a little humbling at times to see how bad the stroke was on some missed shots. More importantly though, watching the video can often help reveal the reason for the missed shots and allow for the appropriate corrective action. Otherwise, you can be struggling to decide if it is the stroke, the aim, the PSR or whatever. More often than not, the stroke is the culprit.
 
nobcitypool said:
I purchased a relatively cheap video camera ($185, already had a tripod) and have used it quite a bit during my practice at home. I've found it is particularly useful when I'm playing poorly. It's a little humbling at times to see how bad the stroke was on some missed shots. More importantly though, watching the video can often help reveal the reason for the missed shots and allow for the appropriate corrective action. Otherwise, you can be struggling to decide if it is the stroke, the aim, the PSR or whatever. More often than not, the stroke is the culprit.
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Next to getting a good instructor, I'd say self review is the best way to improve your game. Provided you are objective and know what to look for (basic and obvious flaws).
 
Can you practice too much?

The answer is yes. I hardly ever 'practice'. My 'practice' is playing myself. Throw the balls out or break them & play both sides as you would in a real match.

When 'practice' starts to do more harm than good, quit practicing & play.

Practice does NOT make perfect, but it CAN make you better OR it can make you worse if not done properly.

You asked a question & the answer is yes. TOO much 'practice' can be harmful. The key words are TOO MUCH.

How much is the right amount? It is different for each individual.

Good Luck & Best Wishes to You &
 
I like the video camera Idea. When you set it up is it directly behind you so you can see movement or just set up somewhere out of the way with an overall view of you and the table?


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You should focus on having QUALITY practice time instead of throwing as many hundreds of hours at the table as possible and waiting for it all to set in.

You're practicing 30+hours a week? Give or take?

I do genuinely admire the dedication but knock that off.

Try something like 2 hours a day 3 or 4 days a week.

Focus on what it is you want to practice. Work on your bank shots. Work on some drills. Then go do something else :).

Sometimes you can do more with less.
 
Digger0038 said:
I like the video camera Idea. When you set it up is it directly behind you so you can see movement or just set up somewhere out of the way with an overall view of you and the table?


Posted from Azbilliards.com App for Android
Click to expand...

Mostly two positions, directly behind or directly in front.
 
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