I had a conversation yesterday and there was some good back and forth discussion on this topic. We didn't really come up to an answer, but had a great discussion. It stemmed from the following situation...
I was playing a league night match and I was shooting well. I started out way ahead and had a commanding lead. As the match was nearing its end, my opponent decided to switch the game up and start playing very defensively. It became a battle of a safety game, where if my opponent didn’t have a perfect shot that was 100% in, they would safety. It slowed the pace of the game way down and every ball was very difficult to get. There was a real switch in momentum.
I ended up winning because I was so far ahead, but my opponent’s tactics did work somewhat. They made quite a bit of ground back up, and if they had started that tactic earlier, then I might not have won that game. I was just too far ahead when they changed tactics.
I want to mention that I didn't play any worse than earlier, and I don't feel that mentally this affected me at all. My opponent just made a change in their game and started catching up.
My question is, when in football, an opposing coach may make a "halftime adjustment" in strategy to change the momentum. I also understand the benefit of playing the best pool you can play in the situation, regardless of the opponent, but you can't ignore the fact that this is an opponent.
I didn't know what to do, so I didn't actually make an adjustment. I just kept playing the pool that gave me the lead in the first place. It was enough to win, but barely. I was told this also could have been because my opponent was getting frustrated, but then may have given up on the game, which allowed them to play better.
When is it appropriate to make strategy adjustments, and what strategy adjustments do you make? Should I have made an adjustment or just kept trying to play my best pool? Perhaps when you are playing poorly should you make adjustments, but also, in this situation where I was playing pretty good pool, but my opponent made a good adjustment and switched momentum. How do you get that back?
I was playing a league night match and I was shooting well. I started out way ahead and had a commanding lead. As the match was nearing its end, my opponent decided to switch the game up and start playing very defensively. It became a battle of a safety game, where if my opponent didn’t have a perfect shot that was 100% in, they would safety. It slowed the pace of the game way down and every ball was very difficult to get. There was a real switch in momentum.
I ended up winning because I was so far ahead, but my opponent’s tactics did work somewhat. They made quite a bit of ground back up, and if they had started that tactic earlier, then I might not have won that game. I was just too far ahead when they changed tactics.
I want to mention that I didn't play any worse than earlier, and I don't feel that mentally this affected me at all. My opponent just made a change in their game and started catching up.
My question is, when in football, an opposing coach may make a "halftime adjustment" in strategy to change the momentum. I also understand the benefit of playing the best pool you can play in the situation, regardless of the opponent, but you can't ignore the fact that this is an opponent.
I didn't know what to do, so I didn't actually make an adjustment. I just kept playing the pool that gave me the lead in the first place. It was enough to win, but barely. I was told this also could have been because my opponent was getting frustrated, but then may have given up on the game, which allowed them to play better.
When is it appropriate to make strategy adjustments, and what strategy adjustments do you make? Should I have made an adjustment or just kept trying to play my best pool? Perhaps when you are playing poorly should you make adjustments, but also, in this situation where I was playing pretty good pool, but my opponent made a good adjustment and switched momentum. How do you get that back?
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