maximillion said:
Most of the players I know that are really really good, like the top 10 in a state by word of mouth got good in pairs. Because they competed with each other so long and advanced. Do you get what Im saying.
It takes pressure to step up your game. Is this the case with most top ranked pro's. Was the majority of there advancement in thier game spent playing someone one a regular bases(more than 20 hrs a week).
My basic question here is
What does more to improve your game?
pressure or practice
You need a combination of both, no doubt about it, and here's why: You practice to develop solid fundamentals, basically the physical aspect of the game. You gamble to develop nerves of steel, which is the mental part of the game. A strong player must have both the mechanics and the mentality to play well, there is no other way around it.
I know a girl, yes, that's right, a GIRL, who shoots damn good when she practices. Damn good as in, she can run racks, just like Allison. She's also really cocky to go along with it. She doesn't gamble, she gained this ability just from practicing 8 hours every day. When she plays tournaments, she's lucky to run 5 balls. When this girl practices, she can beat the 9-ball ghost. When the heat is on her, she plays less than half as good as she does when she practices. This is true.
My point is, a player's true speed is how well they perform when they are competing on an average basis. You must be strong in the physical and mental departments of the game to be a good player, no questions asked. Too many players think that their best game, which they shoot every once in a long while, is their true speed, but that is horse crap. Your true speed is how you play when you're under pressure.
