How to get extended periods of concentration?

[Snorks]

OK, so how do you practice extended periods of top level performance? I'm sure I'm not the only one, but I can start pretty strong, concentrate well, and play my best pool, either at practice or in competition for the first 30-90 minutes. Then, I seem to lose focus causing easy misses. This can be me at home practicing, or sometimes even during tournaments that often last 10+ hours.

Does anyone else suffer from this? What is the best way to overcome it? I am thinking several things may help:
a) long practice sessions
b) eat/drink correctly during long outings (tournament/practice)
c) performance enhancing legal drugs (Red Bull, ?)
d) more long practice sessions (did I mention that before?)

But, how do others do this? Guys like Blackjack can go 12-24+ hours sinking 10,000 balls. I play for 45 minutes sometimes and realize I'm just slashing away (which obviously hurts your game).

 

[Russ Chewning]

Reposted from one of my prior posts:

It's hard to "focus on the little things" for extended periods of time. What to do? Practice focusing.

"Oh my!" some of you might say.. "Why didn't I think of that??" with a roll of the eyes..

What I mean, is practice focusing on small things. When you are driving to the pool hall, practice intently focusing on a license plate a hundred, two hundred feet away. When you eyes start getting tired, rest them for a few minutes and start again on something different.. Maybe a far off car's right mirror.

It sounds silly, but it develops the ability to focus on the very small details "at will". I think it's part of the reason why Johnny Archer notices every little speck on the table, because he is able to focus for a continuous 90 minute match. He is intently focusing wherever his eyes are looking.

If you think back to your last session of dead stroke, you probably were doing this also. So keep practicing intent focus on small stuff, and it will build up your mind/eye endurance.

Trust me.. Intense focus wears you out very quickly if you are not used to it. Good luck.

(But what do I know? Ima C player... )

Russ

 

[IanCt]

There was a road player I used to know, "barefoot Scotty", and he used to meditate, and do lots of Yoga. Sometimes while playing, he would twist himself into a pretzel, take his shoes off, and at his next turn at the table, would proceed to run rack after rack. I think that was his way of getting into the zone, or a meditation like trance. He just wouldnt miss, it was great to watch him when he was on.

 

[sad_clown0306]

Here are some good advices to enhance your concentration

1. sleep is very important - at least 7 1/2 hours a day

2. drink a lot of water - for every 40 pounds from your weight you should drink 1 liters a day. That means, if you weight 160 pounds you have to drink 4 liters a day.

3. Dont drink liquids with coffein - for example coffee. They push you up but make you down when the influence of coffein gets off.
PLUS - coffein drinks dehydrate your body. That means for every cup of coffe you have to drink a cup of water to compensate it.

4. Pls never drink red bull. These are coffein bombs. They will push you so much up that your body is influenced. For Billard playing you need a relaxed mind in a muscle relaxed body. With red bull you just do the opposite.

5. i think you concentrate too much when you play. You only have to concentrate at the seconds right before you are shooting. At the other times of Play (and that is about 90 % of the time) you should be relaxed. Of coursed focused but not highly concentrated.

6. At the maximum of 1 hour you should make a little break of about 5 minutes. Thats why in school the lessons only take 45 minutes and then there is a 5 minute break (well, in Germany it is like that. I dont know how long the lessons are in the US)

7. You have to train your concentration when you dont play. For example with crosswords. I think the Nintendo DS with the Brain Jogging is fun. You could also take a written text and count how many times you see the ladder i.

8. Sports advantages the ability for long concentrations very much. The best is running for example 3x a week for about 15-20 minutes

9. Take time offs and do something for your soul and body. Get a massage, take a relaxation bath or do something you like very much.

To sum up. The most important things to enhance your concentration is
Running, much sleep, drinking water and breaks after 1 hour.

This should help you very much

 

[JoeyA]

Reposted from one of my prior posts:

It's hard to "focus on the little things" for extended periods of time. What to do? Practice focusing.

"Oh my!" some of you might say.. "Why didn't I think of that??" with a roll of the eyes..

What I mean, is practice focusing on small things. When you are driving to the pool hall, practice intently focusing on a license plate a hundred, two hundred feet away. When you eyes start getting tired, rest them for a few minutes and start again on something different.. Maybe a far off car's right mirror.

It sounds silly, but it develops the ability to focus on the very small details "at will". I think it's part of the reason why Johnny Archer notices every little speck on the table, because he is able to focus for a continuous 90 minute match. He is intently focusing wherever his eyes are looking.

If you think back to your last session of dead stroke, you probably were doing this also. So keep practicing intent focus on small stuff, and it will build up your mind/eye endurance.

Trust me.. Intense focus wears you out very quickly if you are not used to it. Good luck.

(But what do I know? Ima C player... )

Russ

Your signature slogan got you the REP. Very funny. Nice one.
JoeyA

 

[JoeyA]

Here are some good advices to enhance your concentration

1. sleep is very important - at least 7 1/2 hours a day

2. drink a lot of water - for every 40 pounds from your weight you should drink 1 liters a day. That means, if you weight 160 pounds you have to drink 4 liters a day.

3. Dont drink liquids with coffein - for example coffee. They push you up but make you down when the influence of coffein gets off.
PLUS - coffein drinks dehydrate your body. That means for every cup of coffe you have to drink a cup of water to compensate it.

4. Pls never drink red bull. These are coffein bombs. They will push you so much up that your body is influenced. For Billard playing you need a relaxed mind in a muscle relaxed body. With red bull you just do the opposite.

5. i think you concentrate too much when you play. You only have to concentrate at the seconds right before you are shooting. At the other times of Play (and that is about 90 % of the time) you should be relaxed. Of coursed focused but not highly concentrated.

6. At the maximum of 1 hour you should make a little break of about 5 minutes. Thats why in school the lessons only take 45 minutes and then there is a 5 minute break (well, in Germany it is like that. I dont know how long the lessons are in the US)

7. You have to train your concentration when you dont play. For example with crosswords. I think the Nintendo DS with the Brain Jogging is fun. You could also take a written text and count how many times you see the ladder i.

8. Sports advantages the ability for long concentrations very much. The best is running for example 3x a week for about 15-20 minutes

9. Take time offs and do something for your soul and body. Get a massage, take a relaxation bath or do something you like very much.

To sum up. The most important things to enhance your concentration is
Running, much sleep, drinking water and breaks after 1 hour.

This should help you very much

Where have you been? Mighty good stuff. except I don't don't what Nintendo DS with Brain Jogging is. Liked everything else.
JoeyA

 

[BWTadpole]

OK, so how do you practice extended periods of top level performance?

Speed.



But no, I agree with the points made about keeping your stomach full and the fluids moving. Too often have I engaged myself into longer sessions and broken down at the end because of this. As a matter of fact, I've lost about 8 pounds since I've been back frequenting local halls late at night, and believe me, I don't have the body to sacrifice that kind of weight.

 

[Russ Chewning]

Speed. Just talk to XXXXXXXXXX.

Can you edit this, please? We target the champions in our own game enough, we certainly don't need to start alienating those in other games. As long as he doesn't dump his backers in a pool game, then what he uses/does not use is his own business. He is not like the majority of drug users. He can afford his habit, without doing harm to others.

Thanks, man...

 

[canwin]

Get a hearing aid and turn it off

 

[Blackjack]

OK, so how do you practice extended periods of top level performance? I'm sure I'm not the only one, but I can start pretty strong, concentrate well, and play my best pool, either at practice or in competition for the first 30-90 minutes. Then, I seem to lose focus causing easy misses. This can be me at home practicing, or sometimes even during tournaments that often last 10+ hours.

Does anyone else suffer from this? What is the best way to overcome it? I am thinking several things may help:
a) long practice sessions
b) eat/drink correctly during long outings (tournament/practice)
c) performance enhancing legal drugs (Red Bull, ?)
d) more long practice sessions (did I mention that before?)

But, how do others do this? Guys like Blackjack can go 12-24+ hours sinking 10,000 balls. I play for 45 minutes sometimes and realize I'm just slashing away (which obviously hurts your game).

Snorks,

Plain and simple - the playing surface of the table is my world. While I am playing, nothing exists outside of that world, and I am completely focused on the balls, the cue ball, what I have to do physically and mentally. I'm not paying attention to what is going on at the table next to me or the girl bent over table #5, I don't care what song is playing, whats playing on the TV, etc. Its just me, my cue, the cloth, the rails, and the balls.

Visualization is one of the most underrated weapons in the battle.

Nobody can win a tournament, run 100 balls, or go 24 hours pocketing over 10,000 balls without visualizing their success in their mind prior to the actual activity. With proper mental rehearsal, you can then go to the table and make that vision an accomplsihed fact.

Many players get trapped into only practicing physically. The champions also practice and prepare themselves mentally. I believe that the mental paractice is MORE IMPORTANT than the physical practice. 99% of our errors during competition start with a chink in our mental armor.

 

[poolmouse]

OK, so how do you practice extended periods of top level performance? I'm sure I'm not the only one, but I can start pretty strong, concentrate well, and play my best pool, either at practice or in competition for the first 30-90 minutes. Then, I seem to lose focus causing easy misses. This can be me at home practicing, or sometimes even during tournaments that often last 10+ hours.

Does anyone else suffer from this? What is the best way to overcome it? I am thinking several things may help:
a) long practice sessions
b) eat/drink correctly during long outings (tournament/practice)
c) performance enhancing legal drugs (Red Bull, ?)
d) more long practice sessions (did I mention that before?)

But, how do others do this? Guys like Blackjack can go 12-24+ hours sinking 10,000 balls. I play for 45 minutes sometimes and realize I'm just slashing away (which obviously hurts your game).

Ritalin?

Poolmouse

 

[BWTadpole]

Can you edit this, please? We target the champions in our own game enough, we certainly don't need to start alienating those in other games. As long as he doesn't dump his backers in a pool game, then what he uses/does not use is his own business. He is not like the majority of drug users. He can afford his habit, without doing harm to others.

Thanks, man...

I'm not smearing anyone. He's spoken openly about his former drug addictions. It was off-color, and looking back it wasn't as good a joke as I thought.

Edited for content, although I don't think I was wrong in saying what I said.

 

[JoeW]

Learn how to turn your concentration on and how to turn it off. It is only needed when you are at the table. To play for extended periods learn to turn it off when you are not at the table.

Sounds easy but it takes practice, and more practice than many people think because they very seldon intensely concentrate as a willful activity.

There are also different types of concentration. One is logical analyis of the table and the current solution. The other form of concentration is body awareness that is used to make the shot.

It is not so much that one needs extended periods of concentration. One needs to know how to manage the various types that are required and how to conserve mental energy.

 

[Russ Chewning]

I'm not smearing anyone. He's spoken openly about his former drug addictions. It was off-color, and looking back it wasn't as good a joke as I thought.

Edited for content, although I don't think I was wrong in saying what I said.

No worries, BWT.. It's just that people might jump to conclusions if the only thing they hear is that he does/did speed. If he talks about it candidly with friends or to the media, then a listener/reader is going to get the full story of redemption.

I just know that dropping names in this kind of context often start flame wars and derails threads. I'm just being a kinder, gentler Russ, as I've participated (and instigated) my fair share of flame wars, dealing with that very subject.

It's why I virtually stopped posting in the NPR section. I was an angry fat man during my time there. Now, I just try to limit it to be a mildy annoyed fat man. Sorry, I have no "mildly annoyed" avatar, a la OMGWTF.

Russ

 

[berlowmj]

Redbull is a bad joke- Caffeine=poison

OK, so how do you practice extended periods of top level performance? I'm sure I'm not the only one, but I can start pretty strong, concentrate well, and play my best pool, either at practice or in competition for the first 30-90 minutes. Then, I seem to lose focus causing easy misses. This can be me at home practicing, or sometimes even during tournaments that often last 10+ hours.

Does anyone else suffer from this? What is the best way to overcome it? I am thinking several things may help:
a) long practice sessions
b) eat/drink correctly during long outings (tournament/practice)
c) performance enhancing legal drugs (Red Bull, ?)
d) more long practice sessions (did I mention that before?)

But, how do others do this? Guys like Blackjack can go 12-24+ hours sinking 10,000 balls. I play for 45 minutes sometimes and realize I'm just slashing away (which obviously hurts your game).

Caffeine drinks undermine concentration & motor skills. Martial artists speak of "going to the well" not poisoning it. A few sips of brewers yeast in milk provides a nice low glycemic shot of protein & energy & is readily portable. Warning- it is an acquired taste- not a gourmet delight.

 

[ShootingArts]

this might be the ultimate weapon!

Caffeine drinks undermine concentration & motor skills. Martial artists speak of "going to the well" not poisoning it. A few sips of brewers yeast in milk provides a nice low glycemic shot of protein & energy & is readily portable. Warning- it is an acquired taste- not a gourmet delight.

A friend gave two bull mastiffs that lived in the house four ounces of brewers yeast a day to prevent fleas. It wasn't until I was in the house a few minutes that I learned how it worked. The 175 pound male stretched a leg and proudly ripped a huge fart! Not only rids the place of fleas, ticks, bugs, and paint; rids it of guests too. I had to step outside and get some air! If it works the same way for pool players this might be the ultimate shark!

Hu

 

[Mark Avlon]

Visualization is one of the most underrated weapons in the battle.

Sports psychologists have found that visualization is much like actually taking a practice shot.

There are also different types of concentration. One is logical analyis of the table and the current solution. The other form of concentration is body awareness that is used to make the shot.

Focus can be wide or narrow, outer or inner. Wide focus is being aware of everything that is going on in the room, but not focused on any one thing. Narrow focus is focused on only one thing, the table. Outer focus is your external environment (what you see), and inner focus is on yourself (how you feel physically and mentally).

As Blackjack said, focus narrowly on the table and what you are doing, not on anything else in the room, nor on how your feeling. Visualize your shot as if you are actually shooting it. Imagine what it will look like (paths and speeds), what it will sound like (contact between tip and cue ball, between balls, and rails and pockets), and what it will feel like (the speed and smoothness of your stroke and the contact between the tip and the cue ball). The more detail you use, the more complete the movie will be, and the more successful you will be.

 

[Snorks]

As Blackjack said, focus narrowly on the table and what you are doing, not on anything else in the room, nor on how your feeling. Visualize your shot as if you are actually shooting it. Imagine what it will look like (paths and speeds), what it will sound like (contact between tip and cue ball, between balls, and rails and pockets), and what it will feel like (the speed and smoothness of your stroke and the contact between the tip and the cue ball). The more detail you use, the more complete the movie will be, and the more successful you will be.

The question is, how do you do that for 12 hours in a tournament? I can do it in short bursts.. maybe games here, there, etc... but for a whole tournament, or a whole evening out with the boys, that's when it gets hard.

However, there is no doubt that focus and visualization is key to the success of the shot. I am having much better results at the practice table lately and I just want to see it in the tournaments now.

 

[BRKNRUN]

OK, so how do you practice extended periods of top level performance? I'm sure I'm not the only one, but I can start pretty strong, concentrate well, and play my best pool, either at practice or in competition for the first 30-90 minutes. Then, I seem to lose focus causing easy misses. This can be me at home practicing, or sometimes even during tournaments that often last 10+ hours.

Does anyone else suffer from this? What is the best way to overcome it? I am thinking several things may help:
a) long practice sessions
b) eat/drink correctly during long outings (tournament/practice)
c) performance enhancing legal drugs (Red Bull, ?)
d) more long practice sessions (did I mention that before?)

But, how do others do this? Guys like Blackjack can go 12-24+ hours sinking 10,000 balls. I play for 45 minutes sometimes and realize I'm just slashing away (which obviously hurts your game).

I don't think it is any of the above...

I think it all boils down to you being as good as you "truely" want to be...People that focus for those extended lengths of time truely have the desire to focus for those lenghts of time

I personally have a hard time doing true practice for extended periods of time unless I can find a reason to practice...upcomming tournament is usually it or I find some "new" technique or shot or something that sparks my desire to practice.

There are days when I get that "charge" and I go back and practice for hours because I "want" to....Other days I am done after 20 minutes.

The other part is you performace is "based" on your practice...If you lose focus during practice it may carry over to your tournament play.

I think you just need to (before you start practicing) define exactly what you are going to practice and "what your practiciing for"

JMO

EDIT: There is a very stong player in my area (that posts on this board) that probably has some of the best focus for any length of time over any other player I know....We were kinda joking on the side one time about him practicing and how he never ever takes a "flyer" shot even while practicing...

I asked him directly....have you ever just let one go...taken some "flyer" shot (out of frustration or just whatever)....He said..."No I don't think so...not that I can remember"..."Thats Focus"

 

[Mark Avlon]

The question is, how do you do that for 12 hours in a tournament?

You don't maintain a narrow focus for 12 hours. Instead, you shift your focus. When you start a game, narrow your focus from the room to that table. When it's your shot, narrow your focus from the table to the shot. After the shot, your focus widens to the table.