Hit a wall - not improving any more

pinkisntwell

pinkisntwell

Ball Misser
Silver Member
I've been playing pool for a little less than two years. During the first year I improved. I don't know my class because we don't have any leagues and things like that here. I know that I'm not that great of a player, I would guess around a C from the descriptions of each class I've read on the net.

The thing is, after the first year I stopped improving. I don't run racks with higher frequency, I don't make more kinds of shots, I can't run more balls on straight pool, nothing.

About six months ago I thought I should start practicing and I did, I found a place that would let you practice for a very low table time (and had very nice tables) and I practiced every day during the summer and almost every day afterwards.

Still no improvement, in fact I think the past two weeks have been some of the worst of my pool-playing life. I have almost come to the decision that pool is too much dependent on talent and I obviously don't have it. Of course I don't give up, I'll still practice and play because I like doing so.

I want to hear from instructors and players who have faced similar situations, how did you handle this and if you managed to get out of it.

Taking lessons from an instructor is not an option here, there are no players giving lessons. There is a yearly tournament taking place and I've seen people playing there and they have trouble running more than 10 balls in straight pool.
 
pinkisntwell said:
(snip)
Taking lessons from an instructor is not an option here, there are no players giving lessons. (snip)l.
Click to expand...

Ah, but you just limited yourself with your statement. What if you went out and found an instructor, drove/flew to him/her and spent a weekend learning a bunch of new stuff that would help you improve for at least a year?

You could do that, IF you redirected/increased your resources, couldn't you? What if---I love "what ifs"---what if Kevin T. said you could play on the IPT if you got some lessons first? Would you still say there's no one to teach you?

To predict the future, create it, imho. I get this way at this time of year.:rolleyes: :D

Jeff Livingston
 
We all hit the wall at some point Pink!...don't give up, I've found my biggest jumps in speed came right after a particularly bad spell of not feeling like I'm improveing. Read books, watch taped matches, play anyone you can, it all helps. I've also found it was'nt taking in huge amounts of information that made me improve. I made great strides by learning 1 small thing completely, then going onto something else.....keep plugging away, you'll get there.....good luck....Gerry
 
If you've ever hit a purple patch of good form, when you can see the angles and all the pots look pretty easy, then that's something to give hope that a much better game is possible.

Perhaps your inconsistent practice and a lack of structure to your practice is developing bad habits.

I think most very good players have had to struggle through difficult confusing periods of poor play and lost confidence. It takes determination, dedication and single mindedness to overcome it. If you really want to play well, you should not have the idea in your mind that you may give up on expecting a much higher level of play. Fight for perfection on every shot. Learn from the misses. Learn how not to do that again. Try to develop a clear and positive mindset, and leave doubt at the doorstep.
 
Big problem you have.

How are you going to know that you are either practicing the wrong thing/form or doing it wrong if there is no one there to help you?

I'm sure there must be some pool players there who are better than you. Pay them for some help.

Read books and instructional videos.

I wonder how many plateus there are in Pool? Because I sure have gone through a lot of them. But when I am on one I can look down to where I came from and see how really bad I was before I got to this one.

Without a doubt talent is needed to play at the pro level. That is a God given gift. So that is not a realistic goal for me.

Jake
 
I know they are boring....but do drills. Find a drill you like and enjoy and try that for a couple of weeks, if not every day, then every other day. I bet your game would improve then.

I sometimes find I am too focused, and don't see the big picture enough to really see I am improving in my game.

Shorty
 
Part I

Hitting The Wall​


by

Blackjack David Sapolis

Copyright 1995 Blackjack David Sapolis​

Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal.-

Eli Joseph Cossman​


Many of us find that we can only progress so far until we reach a plateau. I call this Hitting The Wall. Many players find that they hare unable to find the drive, or the motivation that once propelled them to play their very best. They lose the positive emotions as they spiral deeper into a pit of negativity. This is what causes slumps.

Slumps are caused by one of two things

1) Overload
2) Laziness

More times than not, with pool players it is caused by overload. We tend to "overwork" ourselves and concentrate on quantity of practice, rather than quality. As a student of the game, your job is to improve, master, and remember what you've accomplished. And, as much as possible, to relax and enjoy the process. Slumps interfere with that.

Most players fail in one of two very basic ways:

1) They practice in a way that fails to produce improvement.

2) Although they practice carefully and produce improvements, but they fail to practice in a way that ensures a lasting memory what they've learned.

Even if you practice in a manner that fosters improvement, if your style of practice fails to create a strong, lasting memory, you'll gain very little progress. Also, each day it will feel like you're starting over. This will lead to frustration, which will combine itself with sensory overload during competition.

This causes some players to avoid practicing altogether. They get frustrated when their practice doesn't bring about instantaneous results, and they abandon practice altogether. They trade in practice for gambling, which can provide instant results with cash, or instant results by handing over your cash. Other players try to attain experience by playing players of greater skill, yet they completely avoid practice. Both of those avoidance techniques will only lead to further disappointments and ultimate frustration.


Laziness & Complacency
Laziness and complacency will kill your game quicker than anything else. Nobody has ever gotten good by accident. It takes hard work effort, and discipline. Some days will be harder than others, yet it is up to you to push yourself to new limits every day. So what if you play great one day, and then you play like crap the next? It's rare that you pick up right where you left off the day before. This is especially true for beginners. If we have not firmly established muscle memory recall with new skills, it may take a while to wake our brain up in order to work in unison with our body. It may take five to twenty minutes to get yourself warmed up and back in touch with yesterday's best. Don’t give up on yourself!!! Remain patient and positive knowing that you will loosen up and relax.

Most laziness is caused by losing faith in your ability to overcome your weaknesses. Somewhere along the line, you convinced yourself that you were a slave to this flaw(s), and you decided to avoid dealing with it at all. This leads to developing possible bad habits to overcompensate for the initial weakness. How does this happen? It happens when you are faced with a decision. When faced with the decision to work through the weakness and overcome it, or to brush it aside as if it isn’t there, you take the easier, softer way. Over time, this ends up being the tougher of the two roads. Your choppy stroke was one a small problem, now it’s the root cause to everything that is wrong with your playing.

With other types of tasks, like building a stone path, you continue building Wednesday right where you finished on Tuesday. But not with pool. Sometimes we have to build the same path two or three times before we can effectively walk on it safely. Once again, don’t give up on yourself. Hitting these walls is life’s way of challenging you to raise yourself up to that next level.

There will come days when you're most diligent efforts will fail to elevate you to the level of yesterday's accomplishments. Or perhaps you'll reach yesterday's level, but not until your practice is nearly over. And it's OK. Don't let it get to you. Your achievements won't always follow a straight line. And you're improvements won't always come at a steady rate.

So simply strive to improve from your starting point — from your baseline.

By this, I mean that you should compare yourself to YOU, not Efren Reyes or Earl Strickland, or Allison Fisher and Karen Corr. Your baseline is the least acceptable level of play. MAKE SURE THAT YOUR BASELINE EXPECTATIONS REMAIN REALISTIC.


Expecting to run 9 racks and out every time you come to the table is unrealistic, stupid, and a sure set up for failure and disappointment. Sometimes players disguise this as "setting high standards". This is one of the major stumbling blocks. Setting unrealistic expectations on yourself and your abilities will frustrate you quicker than anything else. This leads to avoidance, procrastination, laziness, and poor performance.

continued on Part II

Copyright 1995 Blackjack David Sapolis

Copyright 2004 Blackjack Billiards Inc

Reproduction and/or sale of this material forbidden without consent of the author​
 
Part II

Hitting The Wall Part II

Divide & Conquer

While practicing, remember to Divide & Conquer!!! This means that you should break tasks and obstacles into small manageable pieces. It's much like eating a meal. If you take it one bite at a time, you have no problems. If I told you to shove the entire plate of food into your mouth at one time, you'll have major problems. It's the same thing with pool. You can only chew so much at one time, you can only swallow so much at one time, and you can only digest so much at one time. Be careful not to trick yourself into over-practicing or turning your practice sessions into marathons. Small deliberate steps will get you to the same destination. Remember what happens when you’ve eaten and your full. You hit a point where if you take one more bite, you’ll puke. Don’t hit this point with your practice sessions.

Work on any part of your game that needs improvement (such as you break, bank shots, position patterns, drills), but make sure that you make some chart-able progress, and that you do so quickly. If you don't see yourself making progress, divide the task or skill in half, and work on the smaller parts of it. Continue dividing the task until you reach a size where you can progress quickly. By breaking the task down into sections, you can also more clearly see where you are making your mistakes. This can be the most intelligent and effective way to organize and chart your progress.

Don't obsess on trying to "force" improvement. If you practice your break for 2 hours straight and see nothing positive coming of it, STOP. If you continue, you will only overload your subconscious with seeing the negative results. Shift away from that part of your practice for about 20-30 minutes, and once you have calmed down, return. You can even stop until the next day. Move on to something that will generate more positive results. Return to practicing the break and once you see a positive result, STOP again. This is very important. You will leave practice on a positive note. This approach helps keep confusion and frustration at bay. And it allows your memory to absorb the positive experience subconsciously. This is how you can learn more without additional work — much like studying and "sleeping on it."

Also, alternate between learning and reviewing. Start your practice with something familiar, or something you can accomplish easily. Then try something new and more challenging. Continue alternating between learning new skills and reviewing. In other words, rest one part of your brain while a different part works.

Always end your practices with a quick review over everything you have worked on for that day. Remember that every player is different, so it is up to you to find practice secrets of your own, and find out what works best for you. By following the examples set down in this part of the book, you will avoid hitting the wall, getting into a lump, resting on a plateau, or falling into a rut.



Mental Discipline - The Formula to Overcome Your Limitations

Mental discipline is the ability to keep your thoughts focused on goal-directed activity to the exclusion of all else. With high levels of mental discipline, you will reach your goals faster, experience more joy, and become a lot more fun to be around. Virtually any meaningful goal is within reach when you become mentally disciplined. Without mental discipline, even relatively easy goals become a strain. With weak mental muscles, your emotional life is unpredictable. Mental laziness slowly dissolves your potential for greatness---first privately, and then publicly. By deliberately working to improve your mental game, you will upgrade every area of your life. You will hit your business goals faster. Your family life will be more peaceful. With strong, toned mental muscles, you'll be more fit spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

The Formula: NT + ASK X MD = PPP

Natural Talent + Acquired Skills & Knowledge X Mental Discipline = Peak Performance Potential


Here's the formula for unlocking your potential. Your natural talent plus your acquired skills and knowledge times mental discipline equals your personal performance potential. The great equalizer, as you can see from this formula, is your degree of mental discipline. We can't alter your genetics or natural talent so we will not squander effort in that area. We can improve your skills and knowledge through study, repetition, sheer will, and a strong work ethic. This can add tremendously to your potential. Mental discipline, though, can multiply your personal effectiveness in any area in which you wish to apply it.

Goodness or Greatness?
The first step in awakening your potential for high performance in pool is to strategically pick an area of the game in which you are naturally gifted. It's possible to achieve goals outside your innate talent bank, but it takes extra effort and is far less satisfying in the long run. You can become really good at lots of things, but greatness is only possible when you identify your unique strengths, fortify them with practice, infuse them with wise counsel and then multiply them with mental discipline.

Clarity
You are not born with mental discipline. Mental discipline is a skill that can and must be learned and then mastered. There are four components to mental discipline, all of which can be intentionally cultivated. The first is clarity about what is to be accomplished, both in the immediate moment as well as long term. Without a precise target to shoot for, your thought life will bounce back and forth between competing objectives or non-objectives. How could you experience mental discipline if your goals are fuzzy or ambiguous? It's critical to know both what needs to be accomplished right now such as with a business proposal or your stroke, as well as longer-term goals such as annual revenue or defeating a specific player or winning a particular tournament. When your "now goals" are in alignment with your "then goals" you are ready for mental discipline. You must see yourself making a ball on the break, making the shot, winning the game, and winning the match. Once you have "seen" this, then it is up to you to make it an accomplished fact.

Concentration
The next component is concentration, referring to how well you stay engaged in the current moment and fixed on What's Important Now (WIN) or the "how in the now". Anything less than 100% concentration reveals divided attention and double-mindedness. Remember, distractions are simply misplaced attractions that downgrade your potential. Multi-tasking is the nastiest villain when it comes to interrupting pure concentration while you are at the table. Other common traps include physically being at home, but mentally being at the pool hall, or vice versa. Or, it is double mindedness that may be caused by either away from the table distractions or from a dysfunctional preoccupation with your last mistake, last missed shot, or the last match you lost. Often distractions arise from "losing the moment" by dwelling on an unchangeable past moment or worrying about a future situation instead of transforming the present to your advantage. Missed shots, missed position, and errors need to stay in their time context. If your playing a race to 7, and you missed an easy shot in game 2, you should not be dwelling on it in game 5. It should not be affecting your performance in game 6 either.

Confidence
Confidence is your belief in your capability to reach a particular goal or bundle of goals. While genuine confidence is rooted in actual accomplishment, past performance alone does not ensure confidence will be developed or maintained. Sustainable self-confidence grows from exhaustive preparation, winning moments, positive memories and a focus on incremental progress instead of perfection.

Challenge
By challenge, I mean the degree of demand that you willingly place upon yourself. Your mental discipline will rise to meet the level of goal that you set for yourself. Small goals will extract only surface potential. Huge goals release untapped reserves and trigger surprising breakthroughs. The masses want things easy. They think in terms of minimums or "good enoughs." They use their energy to evade the pressure moments and escape the spotlight situations that introduce champions to the world. This is not for you! Ironically, your best playing is revealed when the stakes are high, when the deadline is looming, and when the game is on the line. Seek opportunities that require loads of mental discipline and you'll be surprised at the treasure you find.

A Higher Standard
Anyone can occasionally experience peak performance. We can all have a great day now and then. But that is not enough. Your standard is much higher. Like a world-class athlete, when you master mental discipline and apply it to your game, you will find yourself replicating your best performance at will. When you do, you will have what it takes to become a world-class player!


Copyright 1995 Blackjack David Sapolis

Copyright 2004 Blackjack Billiards Inc

Reproduction and/or sale of this material forbidden without consent of the author​
 
pinkisntwell said:
I've been playing pool for a little less than two years. During the first year I improved. I don't know my class because we don't have any leagues and things like that here. I know that I'm not that great of a player, I would guess around a C from the descriptions of each class I've read on the net.

The thing is, after the first year I stopped improving. I don't run racks with higher frequency, I don't make more kinds of shots, I can't run more balls on straight pool, nothing.

About six months ago I thought I should start practicing and I did, I found a place that would let you practice for a very low table time (and had very nice tables) and I practiced every day during the summer and almost every day afterwards.

Still no improvement, in fact I think the past two weeks have been some of the worst of my pool-playing life. I have almost come to the decision that pool is too much dependent on talent and I obviously don't have it. Of course I don't give up, I'll still practice and play because I like doing so.

I want to hear from instructors and players who have faced similar situations, how did you handle this and if you managed to get out of it.

Taking lessons from an instructor is not an option here, there are no players giving lessons. There is a yearly tournament taking place and I've seen people playing there and they have trouble running more than 10 balls in straight pool.
Click to expand...


Our Pool School Instructors are planning a Pool School in Greece in 2006.

Would you be interested??????SPF-randyg
 
Wow, thanks for all the replies on such short time people, really thanks.

The article by Blackjack Sapolis was good too, especially the second part.

I haven't really tried at doing drills during my practice sessions. Sometimes I would throw balls and run them. If I missed, I would take that shot and set it up again and shoot it 5-10 times to learn it a bit better. That got to be too much work (the setting up thing) and I thought that by simply continuing shooting I would make better use of the time. Maybe not as it turns out.

Any drills suggestions or help in general is still greatly appreciated.


@randyg:

I would be interested in attending a pool school, but I don't know if I could afford it. Feel free to message me when you're over here.
 
pink definitely goto randys school if you can work it out, i went and it made such a huge difference in my game. Its like they always say, you dont know what you dont know
 
hey randy do you know if yall are coming back to charlotte for the expert class in 06? If you can make it there anytime after may im definitely in.
 
First of all it is great to see blackjack posting again. He has a good website.

You need to buy Byrne's standard book and videos.

You need to concentrate on improving your technique. Usually a plateau in your game or a drop off in your game is related to fundamentals.

Get a stroke trainer, it will help you diagnose what is wrong with your stroke. If you can film yourself stroking this too will help.

You should also shoot progressive drills. Byrne will show you how to do this in his fifth video.

I consider myself a mid to upper level b player depending on how much time I have to play. I went from a c player to a b player from reading books, watching videos, reading this forum and structuring my practice time.

Hope this helps,
Marcus
 
scottycoyote said:
hey randy do you know if yall are coming back to charlotte for the expert class in 06? If you can make it there anytime after may im definitely in.
Click to expand...


SCOTTY: Oct. 2006. Got you in.....SPF-randyg
 
The thing which has helped me the most is learning that there are three types of practice.

Drills - shooting specific shots.

Runout practice.

Competitive practice.


For drills, get the book 99 critical shots and practice the various shots. Also keep track of shots you are having trouble with. Then practice those. This is frustrating because you are practicing what you are not good at, but after a few months of daily practice, you will improve and might actually enjoy making these shots.

Last night I was playing for fun and my turn to shoot. I walked up to the table and said "cross bank into the side" and shot my ball in. My opponent says: "I don't know how you can do that, just walk up to the table and bang in a shot like that without aiming?". Well at one time I had trouble with these shots, could never make them. So I practiced them hundreds, maybe thousands of times. Now they are easy - no big deal to me. I have missed so many of these shots practicing, I guess I have learned where not to aim! So I just walk up to the table and instantly "see" the spot on the OB I need to hit.
 
When I hit a wall about a year ago, I found that watching more pool (seeing how pros play) and playing different types of pool games helped me improve. Shots I used to dread no longer scare me and now I feel I can run a rack easier than before. I think I mentally changed my outlook on the game and tried to think more in advance and tried to understand why I'd miss certain shots. I have also practiced shooting at different speeds which has helped as well.

I'd just say change it up a little and give yourself different challenges. All in all, I think just playing in itself helps a little.
 
I liked what a lot of people have said already. Since you are not one who has access to an instructor, here is what I did to get through my last slump.

I made myself take 20 minutes a day to read something about the game. It helps you to keep your learning on. There are lots of books and magazines. Try and learn something new each day you intend to practice. If you are not a big reader then use the videos that are available. I prefer Bert Kinister video because most of them are teaching you specific things, but anything that will show you something you did not know already is GOLD! Then after your warm up routine take the time to learn what ever it was you read about.

Also I learned to take 2 days off every so often. This means no watching it, no reading it, no talking about it, and if you can try not to think about it much (that is always the tough part for me). It helps let you brain settle down and when you come back you will have sharp focus again. It will feel like it is stronger than you ever remember it being. I do this about every 3 weeks.

The last thing that really made me jump levels is watching better players, whether it is Accu-stats or at your local pool hall. If you can get them to teach you strategy and patterns, THAT will make you improve faster than anything. Learning what better players are thinking or the way the see the layouts, helps you to make better choices. Play with people better than you as often as you can.

I hope some of this helps. Now go get it done!
 
If drills bore you.

If drills really bore you buy phil capelle's book on straight pool and learn how to play straight pool. Straight pool is the best game to learn how to sequence balls. Straight is also a good way to measure your progress and is a good game to play alone.
 
The past few months i thought i hit a wall as well. I did all the mentioned (except get lessons since i cant afford them.) and nothing really helped. I played a little better, then hit a slump again. Then i realized that slowly, my stance and stroke had changed. Since i play with the basics in my unconsciousness, my body had slowly changed my fundamentals because of all the drills i did and the books i read and the pros i watch. My body was getting mixed signals for what to do from all the stuff i did. I went back to consciously thinking about my old stance/stroke and then saw a big jump in my game again.

So yea, maybe you can try to go through yur fundamentals again and maybe youll be able to climb over the wall.
 
A couple of months ago I wrote an e-mail to alex lely asking a similar question and he told me that the more methodical a player you are the more consistent you will become. By being completely aware of every aspect of your routine, ie how you line up and approach the shot, you can ensure that you can be relatively consistent.

The other thing is that being aware of these aspects of your game lets you know what you have to improve upon. I find with many players their alignement is a big issue. Maybe your stance is not entirely balanced. Look to your fundamentals to see if there is something that is not quite right.

The other thing is that you may be going into a practice session or a match wondering if you will still be in your slump. Don't do this it only compounds the problem. Think positively, dont worry about missing the ball everybody dogs it. I certainly do. Whenever you get to the table, plan for the runout. Survey the lay of the table find problem balls and decide how to deal with it. This is a very positive way of thinking, and by doing this you might find yourself forgeting to worry about missing the shot which is good.

Sorry if this post is sort of directionless. Hope this helps

Regards
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top