Force yourself into the zone?

S

skeptic

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So lately I've been in a slump - shooting horrible the last month or so, both in practice and in league. Paying attention to every little thing, don't drop my elbow, look carefully at exactly where to aim, short pause at the back stroke, follow through - miss. This weekend I had an epiphany. Stop trying to aim with contact points/ghost/etc. and just shoot by feel. I only had time for about an hour worth of playing, but my shooting was considerably better. This tells me 2 things:

1 - I'm a zone/feel player. My best games, pretty much all my table runs, come when I'm relaxed and I feel my way through.

2 - My subconscious/muscle memory/feel/whatever you want to call it knows where to hit a ball to pocket it, but my analytical conscious side is a pool idiot.

The real question is, what do I do when I'm having an off night - it's clear to me that careful analytical aiming is only going to make things worse.
 
I use tons of sugar, it worked when I was young and it still works today. I have to get loaded up with sweets and caffeine until I can feel good about my stroke. Otherwise I start to think and fuzzy think and then get confused about what I am doing, but with sugar I have the strength and energy to just try things regardless of what happens.

I tried the liquor and the tobacco but that would require time away from the table because in the rooms I play smoking is banned because of the oppressive government. So I resorted back to sugar for my quick fix and it works. Whenever I have to think or get confused I load up some gum, caramels, or coffee and then just do stuff and enjoy it.
 
Last edited:
Bet your rent money.:thumbup:
Really, do the thinking while upright.
Execute when down.
Visualize then execute.
Play faster, you can only concentrate for so long.
 
Last edited:
I'm the same way. If I look at the shot , and tell myself exactly what needs to be done to run the balls (thinking 3 shots ahead) then when I get down on the shot all the thinking must end. I have to get to the creative side of my brain and let the stroke happen. No let up on the stroke because of second guessing(that would be thinking) and in this "zone" or whatever one wants to call it, I shoot the best pool I'm capable of playing.
 
the zone

Trying to force yourself into the zone insures the opposite result. The way to the zone is to turn loose of conscious thought. The more you think about the zone or what you are doing the further away from the zone you become.

Mentally relaxing and turning loose of control is the way to disaster, it is also the way to the zone. I think the altered states of eastern lore, road hypnosis, the zone, all of these things are close cousins. If you have done the background work and then let go with the conscious mind not interfering between the unconscious and body magic can happen. When you try to micro manage with the conscious mind everything feels awkward and you have to battle to do things that you can do without thought.

To help yourself into the zone is a matter of relaxing and trusting your unconscious and physical skills. Sometimes that isn't possible and we have to carefully build each shot almost like we were first starting to play again. Perhaps we are fighting ourselves too much and the balls won't fall. However if the balls do fall we start to trust ourselves and relax a little mentally and we are taking the first small steps to finding the zone.

I prefer to be off by myself away from distractions before an all out effort. Even in a crowded pool room I can ease away from friends and become lost in the crowd. Then I remind myself that I have been here many times before and that I am prepared for today's event. I also only use my past level of play as a yardstick. I don't have to beat anyone. I have to play very close to my full potential and anyone else will surpass that or not on a given day.

I literally feel my senses expand entering the zone after being there many times before. I am getting a dozen times the normal input, maybe a hundred times the normal input from my senses. I may hear every word a familiar voice is saying across a crowded poolroom when they are speaking quietly. However there is also a calm peaceful sorting of what is needed and what isn't. Nothing distracts me from my goals. My conscious mind is sitting up in a corner watching silently and I know that if I stray from my path it will instantly step in for a moment but otherwise it is only a watcher.

The very best way I have found to enter the zone is in activities with many repetitions with slight variations. Bouncing a ball off of a wall and the floor over and over for one example. Driving around in circles with a car flowing through traffic I always found the zone. The longer an activity continues the easier it is to find the zone. Pool has the constant interruption of racking making the zone very difficult to find and stay in. However the zone is the same wherever we find it and the more often we find it anywhere the easier it is to slip into it in any activity. I have entered the zone shooting a pistol when the entire run was over in less than three seconds.

Hu
 
skeptic said:
So lately I've been in a slump - shooting horrible the last month or so, both in practice and in league. Paying attention to every little thing, don't drop my elbow, look carefully at exactly where to aim, short pause at the back stroke, follow through - miss. This weekend I had an epiphany. Stop trying to aim with contact points/ghost/etc. and just shoot by feel. I only had time for about an hour worth of playing, but my shooting was considerably better. This tells me 2 things:

1 - I'm a zone/feel player. My best games, pretty much all my table runs, come when I'm relaxed and I feel my way through.

2 - My subconscious/muscle memory/feel/whatever you want to call it knows where to hit a ball to pocket it, but my analytical conscious side is a pool idiot.

The real question is, what do I do when I'm having an off night - it's clear to me that careful analytical aiming is only going to make things worse.
Click to expand...

I have something that you might be interested in ...

Advanced Sports Imagery For Athletes

this program is downloadable from the link I have provided - it just might be the best $20 you will ever spend.
 
skeptic said:
So lately I've been in a slump - shooting horrible the last month or so, both in practice and in league. Paying attention to every little thing, don't drop my elbow, look carefully at exactly where to aim, short pause at the back stroke, follow through - miss. This weekend I had an epiphany. Stop trying to aim with contact points/ghost/etc. and just shoot by feel. I only had time for about an hour worth of playing, but my shooting was considerably better. This tells me 2 things:

1 - I'm a zone/feel player. My best games, pretty much all my table runs, come when I'm relaxed and I feel my way through.

2 - My subconscious/muscle memory/feel/whatever you want to call it knows where to hit a ball to pocket it, but my analytical conscious side is a pool idiot.

The real question is, what do I do when I'm having an off night - it's clear to me that careful analytical aiming is only going to make things worse.
Click to expand...

the analytical side has its merits and these are best utilized during practice sessions. you will gain feel confidence from these but when in a match you are not practicing any more it is time to perform. i saw this all the time on the golf course when a player is trying to fix his swing/stroke/aim while in the heat of competition. i feel you need to learn to trust and let go. sometimes even a false confidence in your abilities will glean better results than the second guessing game you may be inflcting upon yourself. remember to have fun because it is such a beautiful game. p.s. i am no expert. just my two cents
 
ShootingArts said:
Trying to force yourself into the zone insures the opposite result. The way to the zone is to turn loose of conscious thought. The more you think about the zone or what you are doing the further away from the zone you become.

Mentally relaxing and turning loose of control is the way to disaster, it is also the way to the zone. I think the altered states of eastern lore, road hypnosis, the zone, all of these things are close cousins. If you have done the background work and then let go with the conscious mind not interfering between the unconscious and body magic can happen. When you try to micro manage with the conscious mind everything feels awkward and you have to battle to do things that you can do without thought.

To help yourself into the zone is a matter of relaxing and trusting your unconscious and physical skills. Sometimes that isn't possible and we have to carefully build each shot almost like we were first starting to play again. Perhaps we are fighting ourselves too much and the balls won't fall. However if the balls do fall we start to trust ourselves and relax a little mentally and we are taking the first small steps to finding the zone.


Hu
Click to expand...


Outstanding post!
 
Lots of good info here - suprised there haven't been any "Luke, use the force" posts. :)

JoeyInCali said:
Bet your rent money.:thumbup:
Really, do the thinking while upright.
Execute when down.
Visualize then execute.
Play faster, you can only concentrate for so long.
Click to expand...

Other than betting my rent money - this seems to make the most sense for me. This and Phil's comments regarding not trying to fix things during a match - save that stuff for practice.


I'll try to take some of the advice to heart - tonight is league. Don't bend over to shoot until I know exactly what I want to do. Play quick and smooth without rushing. Shoot with confidence, and try not to let a couple bad shots throw me off my game. Huge problem for me lately and a month of poor playing has me seriously frustrated.
 
The zone

You can not 'force' yourself into a zone. You have emotional, intellectual, and physical cycles, and it only takes one of them being 'low' to keep you from being able to reach the zone. Sometimes little things can help though, like I used to down 2-3 Cokes when I was young to get a caffeine boost.

About a week and a half ago, I tried an energy drink, Red Bull, for the first time. I seemed to have a favorable reaction to it. I was watching my brother's league team that night, and planned on playing a few games on the 2nd table, but it was busy until about 9 pm before I could get on it.

A blond headed guy in his mid 50's had just beat a younger guy, and I asked him if I could challenge the table. As I was racking, he asked me if I wanted to play for $10 or 20 a game (8 ball), and I almost tripped over my tongue before getting a yes out. We started for $10, and then later on bumped to 20. I ended up winning $30 and had to go because my brother's team finished league and I was riding with my brother.

I would have liked to have stayed and played some more, because he showed about 4 hundred dollar bills and others when trying to find a 20 to pay me, but I had to go.

I did notice though as I was playing, that my mind seemed to be 'crystal clear' which makes it easy to get into a zone.
 
Slumps are quite often caused by the law of averages, just as hot streaks are. Once you let it shake your confidence, it will be worse and/or last longer.Just play through it and visualize your shots going in.

Just another opinion.
 
Quick update - using some ideas here, shoot faster, visualize and plan while standing then lean over and shoot, don't over analyze each shot, don't try to fix fundamentals during the match, and most important for me was to be positive and not let bad shots put me in a frustrated mindset. My score certainly didn't show it, we played one of the better teams, but my game was much improved over the last month or two. I still made a few errors, mainly do to mis-judging speed, and missed a couple shots I shouldn't have.

The last month or so, this thread, and last night really taught me how much of pool is a mental game.
 
Highmiles said:
Slumps are quite often caused by the law of averages, just as hot streaks are. Once you let it shake your confidence, it will be worse and/or last longer.Just play through it and visualize your shots going in.

Just another opinion.
Click to expand...

You are 100% correct. I'm a confidence player who sometimes lets a single bad shot or bad game throw me into a multi-week slump. I'm just now realizing this, thanks to helpful posts like this one.
 
Trusting yourself plays a big part in it.

I've said before that one must transcend from thinking about how to do a shot to what you want to do with a shot. The first way involves thinking about the techincal aspects of shot making, whereas the second way, involves thinking that does not involve the technical aspects of a shot.

Basiclly, after you have done a shot long enough, you no longer have to think about how to perform the shot, you just see what needs to be done and do that and no more. This requires trust and it takes time to learn to trust yourself.

Now, how bout explaining your zone as a way of aways being in your zone? Why does "being in the zone" have to stop at a pool game? Its a zen thing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top