How to keep concentration
- Thread starter Muffer
- Start date
pay attention.
Take no shot for granted...all shots require the same concentration from the easiest to the hardest.
It's all easier said than done.
Concentration is affected adversely by many things. For instance; motivation, distractions around the table, on the table (layout), competitive situation, or even kicked out of your apartment for not paying rent wondering where your going to sleep that night. Almost everything can distract you.
Motivation sometimes keeps the concentration at a higher level and longer period of time. For instance if you just bet the months rent, every shot will have your undivided attention no matter how simple it is.
Or win the game and impress the girl of your dreams. Motivation comes in all forms and it is up to you to come up with and recognize what motivates you. For many, practice becomes more like work and it makes it hard to concentrate.
Remember the journal I wrote of? Write down what you did on those good days and bad days.
Motivation:
Sleep:
Exercise:
Thoughts before playing:
Nourishment:
Preshot routine followed:
Better yesterdays score:
Overall play:
These are just examples I threw out off the top of my head...
It's all easier said than done.
Concentration is affected adversely by many things. For instance; motivation, distractions around the table, on the table (layout), competitive situation, or even kicked out of your apartment for not paying rent wondering where your going to sleep that night. Almost everything can distract you.
Motivation sometimes keeps the concentration at a higher level and longer period of time. For instance if you just bet the months rent, every shot will have your undivided attention no matter how simple it is.
Or win the game and impress the girl of your dreams. Motivation comes in all forms and it is up to you to come up with and recognize what motivates you. For many, practice becomes more like work and it makes it hard to concentrate.
Remember the journal I wrote of? Write down what you did on those good days and bad days.
Motivation:
Sleep:
Exercise:
Thoughts before playing:
Nourishment:
Preshot routine followed:
Better yesterdays score:
Overall play:
These are just examples I threw out off the top of my head...
Last edited:
shoot faster, think faster.
Muffer said:
That depends what caused you to lose concentration ? You started thinking "I'm gonna make it !" ? You felt good and started playing faster and taking easy shots for granted ? What was different when you were playing the shots with confidence and then when you started missing easy balls ? Lack of motivation ? Different rhythm ? Sloppy pre-shot routine ? You need to get down to the reason why you lost your concentration and start working on that. For different people there are many different reasons to lose concentration, renard already listed a few possibilities.
I think you need 2-3 basic elements in your play to concentrate on while playing and concentrate on those things only. For me they are a) concentrate on my cueing arm, relaxed followthrough on every shot. b) making sure I don't rush into shot, not even into those "easy" ones. <-- especially crucial in straight pool. c) concentrate on my breathing. Helps me to relax in tight situations.
Hope this helps.
mjantti said:
Mjantti is really on to something here. You should know the reason why you missed every shot. If you don't it could be a physical problem in your stroke fundamentals. Sometimes the players with the prettiest and most consistent strokes mess up. That requires a second set of eyes.
If its not a physical problem more times than not you have a pretty good guess why you missed. Keep a list of reasons why. Some of the reasons will sound silly, and some become repetitious. But putting these reasons on paper does not let you forget them as we are apt to do. Now that you know what they are you can constructively correct the issue at your leisure (practice.)
Mjantii keeps just a few things in his mind when he plays. He is not overloading or burdening his mind with too much information. Those elements he uses serve as subtle reminders of whats important for his game. We all should have such a list, and most of us already do but don't recognize it as such. Mjantii seems to be more in dead stroke when he is in rhythm I would guess. His breathing and taking the same time for every shot means an unbroken rhythm. Another key element he alludes to is feel. Straight pool requires exact position and the feel of the stroke is very important. By concentrating on his arm he is essentially concentrating on the feed back that occurs to the brain. My guess is that Mjantii is a higher skilled player...
-Form your own subtle reminders to suit your game.
-Find the reason for every missed shot.
-Be very methodical and analytical in dissecting those reasons. Don't beat yourself up for every miss. Pull yourself out of body as if you were analyzing someone else's game for them. Don't belittle yourself or your confidence.
find a set of pool balls with naked chicks on them, should work
Muffer said:
I try and put myself, and the Pool Table in a Glass Bubble mentally, and not let anything from outside in the Bubble interfere with my Pool game. When i am able to do this I play well. Good luck to you.
CocoboloCowboy said:I try and put myself, and the Pool Table in a Glass Bubble mentally, and not let anything from outside in the Bubble interfere with my Pool game. When i am able to do this I play well. Good luck to you.
I tried this and it DOES seem to work! Only for a rack though, cause I'm having some trouble breathing.
All kidding aside. This kind of mindset IMO is a GREAT tool to use for focusing. Using these kinds of techniques are really a sort of self hypnosis. Excellent example. Not only do these kinds of techniques offer a specific concept for focus, I think they help occupy our minds from wandering in general.
I use the word "finish" in my mind often to help concentration when I feel my thoughts wandering.
Concentration
Renard: Quit your job and become a pool instructor. I've read several of your posts and they are always right on the money. Well, atleast they are for me.
I started incorporating some of these techniques into my game and they have helped a great deal. I've been working especially hard to get my preshot routine down and it has definitely helped my concentration in pressure situations. Also, I focus on breathing through my mouth. It controls my breathing and it keeps my brain focused on something rather than 'wandering'.
Renard: Quit your job and become a pool instructor. I've read several of your posts and they are always right on the money. Well, atleast they are for me.
I started incorporating some of these techniques into my game and they have helped a great deal. I've been working especially hard to get my preshot routine down and it has definitely helped my concentration in pressure situations. Also, I focus on breathing through my mouth. It controls my breathing and it keeps my brain focused on something rather than 'wandering'.
Some good advice on the age old pool problem of staying in highgear. Now if finding your top gear could be bottled it would change the game radically. Every player of all speeds has those moments, varying in length, when they are in overdrive and loving it....then, pop goes the weasel...what happened? All players in those quiet moments ponder the question "how could I fall out of my tree like that?" I think we all have spent countless hours pondering "what was it?"
Without rehashing all the individual possible reasons and relying on personal experience plus observation of others the only conclusion I have been able to come too is 'brain fart'....I hope this helps....
Without rehashing all the individual possible reasons and relying on personal experience plus observation of others the only conclusion I have been able to come too is 'brain fart'....I hope this helps....
Muffer said:
That is like asking "what is the secret of life." (-:
Tiger says that he makes a TOTAL COMMITMENT to every shot. Allison says that she TAKES PRIDE in every shot.
But as another poster pointed out, the brain becomes fatigued just like the muscles do and it is the ability to fight that fatigue...and overcome it that distinguishes the top champions from the rest of the pack.
How the champions overcome mental fatigue differes from player to player. Some use "meditation" techniques...others use an EXACTLY repeated pre-shot and shot sequence.
Mosconi used ANGER. He basically came to hate playing pool early on in his career and wanted to quit on several occasions...he actually did for a time. But he became his family's leading bread winner and did it for the money but VERY grudginly most of the time.
So, he approached the balls as though they were his ENEMY and used that anger to keep himself jacked up emotionally and mentally.
All the rest of us mortals can do is try out best to remain focused and commited but the fact of the matter is that we are going to let the dog out A LOT more frequently than those who are far more gifted in terms of "MENTAL TOUGHNESS".
Regards,
Jim
