Getting Rattled

L

LastTwo

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What do you people do if something rattles your nerves badly during a match? How do you get your focus back?

I wanted to forget about this match I had in the tournament earlier today but I might as well talk about it. I was playing a pretty good player and I had him down 6-3 in a race to 7. I missed a fairly simple combination on the 9 to win the match, which I hit very poorly and missed. The cueball was in a spot where I had an uncomfortable bridging position but instead of getting comfortable I just shot it anyways. My opponent ran out from there. Needless to say after I missed the combo I could feel blood rushing to my face and my heart was pounding because I was so angry. One of the things I really hate the most is when I am on the hill in a match and I have trouble closing it out when I have the chance. The next rack I had makeable shot on the one that was a little tough but position was natural, and the rack was wide open. I was still rattled from missing the combo so I washed my face and hands, but even after that short break I couldn't get it out of my mind. I hit the one poorly also and my opponent ran out again. In the next rack I settled down a bit. I tried to play a safe on the 2 but the cueball squeaked out and my opponent locked me up and then ran out. As he was running out I was thinking to myself "I can't believe I'm letting this happen", which is probably the WORST thing you can think of when it's about to be hill-hill. In the final rack I got nervous and missed the 5. My opponent ran down to the 7 and missed, but froze me up behind the 8, and where the balls were laid out I probably had a 10% chance of hitting the 7. Here is the WEI of how the balls laid out for me after he missed:

START(
%Gp9W6%HE0I2%Iq9U8%PC7I3

)END

I missed the kick and he ran out.

It took me an hour to get over this disaster of a match. I was thinking that if I was able to stay calm I could have and would have won the match. I just couldn't find a way to get over that horrible mistake I made and my emotions took control.
 
By the way this is how I missed the kick. The cueball was frozen to the rail and almost frozen to the 8. You have to shoot into the rail with alot of left english. This is probably the only way to hit the 7 from that position. I practiced the shot afterwards and if you hit an inch or two past the side pocket you have a pretty good chance of making contact. When I shot it, it went a little bit long as you can see:

START(
%Gp9W6%HE0I2%Iq9U8%PC7I3%WH0[0%XC1J7%Y`2D5%ZH4[2%[q1N0%\a0C9
%eA1a3
)END
 
This is just what I do...

If for some reason, during a match, I get rattled, I tend to STOP WORRYING about what my opponent is going to do, and focus on MY task at hand. Sometimes, I think of the words of wisdom given to me over the years. Often, I'll stop and remember my fundamentals. Sometimes, you'll even hear me mutter the phrase "It's just you and the table." You need to think of something that'll just keep it real for you and the table. In games when I'm running, that's what goes through my dome! In other games where I'm running fewer and playing more of a safer game, I'm mostly focused on my shot.
Hope this helps a little...
 
What I do is yell at myself for missing the shot or whatever I did wrong to piss me off then I let it go! I found that holding on to these moments only makes me play like crap so I just let it go then after the match I practice that shot over and over and over!!
 
LastTwo said:
What do you people do if something rattles your nerves badly during a match? How do you get your focus back?

It took me an hour to get over this disaster of a match. I was thinking that if I was able to stay calm I could have and would have won the match. I just couldn't find a way to get over that horrible mistake I made and my emotions took control.
Click to expand...


I think you need to get yourself in that position a few more times and be very aware of how your body and mind are reacting at the time. You may even lose more matches, but I think it'll be the best thing that could happen in the long run. It's all a mind game that you have to play with yourself and my way of combatting it might not be your way. Everyone has to cope with it at one time or another and many more times than you'd like, but it's an hurdle that you'll have to learn to get over. When you have a big lead like that you start running scared and panic if the match turns and momentum swings to your opponent.

My way is to disassociate myself from my body and observe my thought processes and physical changes as if I was watching TV or doing a case study. It's like..."OK...here we go again...you've been here before and it's starting to happen...your mind is racing, your ass is puckering, you're making bad strokes and decisions...what the hell are you going to do about it, roll over like a dog on your back or what?". If I can start finding humor in it and laughing to myself, it's a big help.

Another way that I do it is to start thinking about what must be going on in my OPPONENTS mind. If I can go through all kinds of scenarios regarding HIS though processes at the time, it takes my mind off my own anger, negativity, fear, panic, etc., and helps to get back on track. I then try to focus on playing just ONE shot, offensive or defensive, that's like a knife in his back to stop his momentum and confidence and put it back on my side.

So for me...it's self talk and catching it as soon as possible. If you don't, it'll take over quickly and turn into an avalanche, kinda like what happened to you in that match.
 
What can you do? Remember that you are in it for the fun and enjoy yourself. Focus, tell youself to f'in straighten up and MAKE it happen.
You will win some and lose some. It is the nature of the game. SOMETIMES YOU ARE THE HAMMER, SOMETIMES YOU ARE THE NAIL.
 
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