I believe it was Titanic Thompson who said "Put a balance beam one foot off the ground and anyone in this room can run across it. Put that same balance beam fifty feet in the air and no one in this room can walk across it." He was referring, of course, to how competitive pressure can drastically change one's ability to perform.
There are many skills needed to play a competitive game of pool, but one of the most neglected is handling serious pressure. No one likes the feeling of falling apart in a meaningful match in front of a crowd.
Many players conclude the answer is practicing their physical game. And to a point they are right. Of course you have to put in hours working on your game, rehearsing the techniques and skills you will use under the lights.
The problem is that too often they stop there. That isn't enough. Because while you can practice all of your physical skills in your basement, you can't simulate the experience of being out of your comfort zone in the comfort of your own home. You know the feeling when you start feeling short of breath, your arm starts shaking, your stroke feels weak and wobbly, the pocket openings shrink up, and all you can see are ways for balls to jaw up or for the cue ball to be sucked into a pocket.
Many people hate this so much they try to avoid it. So they stay in their comfort zone with the plan to keep running drills with the belief that they will develop their physical game so strong that it will become impervious to this type of pressure. But there is no amount of comfortable practice that will develop your ability to manage through excruciating circumstances. The only way to improve this area of your game is to get out of your comfort zone again and again.
Going back to our analogy of the balance beam. Someone who intends to walk a fifty foot high balance beam is doing themselves a disservice if they are so afraid of falling that they work on their moves one foot off the ground exclusively. The best thing to do would be to keep moving it higher and higher and practice taking falls. Eventually those falls will start looking less and less daunting until, at times, the heights won't disrupt their performance.
I work with many players that are serious about improving their pool game. I often ask my students "When was the last devastating loss you experienced? When was the last time you were so nervous you totally broke down?" Those who have to reach back in their memory bank for matches long ago are on the wrong path. I tell them I can teach them, I can train them, but they have to set themselves up with a steady diet of adversity if they want to truly experience success in their pool career.
So if you want to be a competitor, it's time to stop looking at meltdowns as a negative thing to be dreaded and avoided. It's time to embrace those experiences as the practice you need most to reach your goals. True competitors collect losses. They understand the road to victory is paved with failure, and to become a player that achieve meaningful accomplishments there must be many attempts that end with heartbreaking setbacks.
There are many skills needed to play a competitive game of pool, but one of the most neglected is handling serious pressure. No one likes the feeling of falling apart in a meaningful match in front of a crowd.
Many players conclude the answer is practicing their physical game. And to a point they are right. Of course you have to put in hours working on your game, rehearsing the techniques and skills you will use under the lights.
The problem is that too often they stop there. That isn't enough. Because while you can practice all of your physical skills in your basement, you can't simulate the experience of being out of your comfort zone in the comfort of your own home. You know the feeling when you start feeling short of breath, your arm starts shaking, your stroke feels weak and wobbly, the pocket openings shrink up, and all you can see are ways for balls to jaw up or for the cue ball to be sucked into a pocket.
Many people hate this so much they try to avoid it. So they stay in their comfort zone with the plan to keep running drills with the belief that they will develop their physical game so strong that it will become impervious to this type of pressure. But there is no amount of comfortable practice that will develop your ability to manage through excruciating circumstances. The only way to improve this area of your game is to get out of your comfort zone again and again.
Going back to our analogy of the balance beam. Someone who intends to walk a fifty foot high balance beam is doing themselves a disservice if they are so afraid of falling that they work on their moves one foot off the ground exclusively. The best thing to do would be to keep moving it higher and higher and practice taking falls. Eventually those falls will start looking less and less daunting until, at times, the heights won't disrupt their performance.
I work with many players that are serious about improving their pool game. I often ask my students "When was the last devastating loss you experienced? When was the last time you were so nervous you totally broke down?" Those who have to reach back in their memory bank for matches long ago are on the wrong path. I tell them I can teach them, I can train them, but they have to set themselves up with a steady diet of adversity if they want to truly experience success in their pool career.
So if you want to be a competitor, it's time to stop looking at meltdowns as a negative thing to be dreaded and avoided. It's time to embrace those experiences as the practice you need most to reach your goals. True competitors collect losses. They understand the road to victory is paved with failure, and to become a player that achieve meaningful accomplishments there must be many attempts that end with heartbreaking setbacks.