I'm back to the stressful work routine, lost my stroke already

[whitey2]

Last week, I started a new contract job, after having countless free time for pool for almost
the last two years. It also requires me to ride a small motorbike about 15 miles each way.

Well, I did not even pick up a cue all week, and when I did today, it felt as if I never had a good
stroke. This is the first time, in a VERY long time, that I did not practice for at least an hour or
two each and every day.

I'm not exactly sure what to make of this "condition", but I'm going to try to practice again tonight,
and see if I have better results. Offhand, I'm not sure if I'm going to have to give up pool for a
while (Oh, no), or somehow force myself to play for at least half an hour a day/night, if I can fit
in into my schedule.

Has anyone else ever felt that strange sensation? It was really surprising, as I never imagined one
week off, and such a dramatic schedule change would impact my stroke as much.

 

[Neil]

.............

 

[JoeyA]

Last week, I started a new contract job, after having countless free time for pool for almost
the last two years. It also requires me to ride a small motorbike about 15 miles each way.

Well, I did not even pick up a cue all week, and when I did today, it felt as if I never had a good
stroke. This is the first time, in a VERY long time, that I did not practice for at least an hour or
two each and every day.

I'm not exactly sure what to make of this "condition", but I'm going to try to practice again tonight,
and see if I have better results. Offhand, I'm not sure if I'm going to have to give up pool for a
while (Oh, no), or somehow force myself to play for at least half an hour a day/night, if I can fit
in into my schedule.

Has anyone else ever felt that strange sensation? It was really surprising, as I never imagined one
week off, and such a dramatic schedule change would impact my stroke as much.

Yes, any time that I've been away for a week, things change drastically for me. It seems like it takes at least an hour to get back in stroke.






































OK, I'm just kidding, I have the same problem and am scared to death that if I quit for a few weeks, I may NEVER come back to pool again, knowing that recovery to my leaving level, might be impossible for me.
JoeyA

 

[Pushout]

Happens to me in less than a week sometimes. Today, for instance, I ran off a rack of 15 w/o missing a ball, but it didn't feel "right". Butt and shaft both felt too big, focus wasn't good, felt like "work".{ugh} Hit balls yesterday, definately better than today. Sometimes, taking several days off seems to help, sometimes not.

 

[Terry Ardeno]

Last week, I started a new contract job, after having countless free time for pool for almost
the last two years. It also requires me to ride a small motorbike about 15 miles each way.

Well, I did not even pick up a cue all week, and when I did today, it felt as if I never had a good
stroke. This is the first time, in a VERY long time, that I did not practice for at least an hour or
two each and every day.

I'm not exactly sure what to make of this "condition", but I'm going to try to practice again tonight,
and see if I have better results. Offhand, I'm not sure if I'm going to have to give up pool for a
while (Oh, no), or somehow force myself to play for at least half an hour a day/night, if I can fit
in into my schedule.

Has anyone else ever felt that strange sensation? It was really surprising, as I never imagined one
week off, and such a dramatic schedule change would impact my stroke as much.

You've had "countless free time for pool for almost the last two years"...and you're upset that you finally have to...WORK???? Is this your Labor Day " haha joke's on us?"

Whitey2, I think everyone on this thread except for Randy G, Williebetmore and Jay eek: ) all have to work and somehow stay in stroke.

Now, kidding aside, I think that once you get back on the table, you'll be fine. You probably were acutely aware that you "did not pick up a cue for a week" and you may have been expecting to not shoot up to par. I myself have to work the same schedule, which is 6 daylights and 4 days off, 7 afternoons and 3 days off and 7 midnights with one day off then back onto the daylights. It perpetuates itself over and over. I still have 9 years 3 months and 27 days left on my sentence until I can retire, and I can't hit as many balls as I'de like. There's also the matter of overtime shifts and even more importantly, my family obligations. But if I do take a 2-3 day break and I discover my game has dropped off, I can usually correct it within a rack or 2. For me, one of my fundamentals may be just a hair off, i.e, stance not solid by having one of my feet as little as an inch or so off from where I normally stand, or I'm not taking that extra backswing in my pre-shot routine, or I'm rushing the pace that I usually shoot from. What I'm trying to convey is that if you're like the majority of the rest of us, I'm sure there's something very small that is different than what you've trained yourself to shoot like and once you make the minor adjustment, you'll be fine.

Try matching up with someone you really have to be in stroke for to win. Put extra heat on your game and don't baby yourself when you're in this "slump". Force yourself to really bear down when you shoot every shot. You'll be fine. A shooter of your caliber is not going to have their game go to the junk yard with just a week lay off.
I had a full tear of my left rotator cuff a few years back. I'm a right handed shooter. Since Icouldn't put weight down on my bridge hand, I played southpaw for about a month straight. Now, I never have to use the bridge because I can shoot pretty good left handed as well. In fact, I like to joke that I can do 3 things equally well left or right handed...I can swim left or right handed, I can shoot pool left or right handed and I can wave goodbye left or right handed.
You'll be just fine if you don't panic.
Best of luck as you work your way back into stroke.

 

[jgpool]

Take Care of the Job

Last week, I started a new contract job, after having countless free time for pool for almost
the last two years. It also requires me to ride a small motorbike about 15 miles each way.

Well, I did not even pick up a cue all week, and when I did today, it felt as if I never had a good
stroke. This is the first time, in a VERY long time, that I did not practice for at least an hour or
two each and every day.

I'm not exactly sure what to make of this "condition", but I'm going to try to practice again tonight,
and see if I have better results. Offhand, I'm not sure if I'm going to have to give up pool for a
while (Oh, no), or somehow force myself to play for at least half an hour a day/night, if I can fit
in into my schedule.

Has anyone else ever felt that strange sensation? It was really surprising, as I never imagined one
week off, and such a dramatic schedule change would impact my stroke as much.

Do the job. Your mind has to be there. Play pool when you want to, not because you havn't played in awhile. Sounds like you have to re-evaluate your schedule and or short term priorities.

 

[Terry Ardeno]

That's going to be the best single sentence in this thread.

 

[whitey2]

not joking, wish I was

No, I'm not joking, but I wish I was. Thanks for the posts so far. I'm not upset that I have to
work again, I'm very happy to have gotten the opportunity. I neglected to mention that it's an
extremely complicated job, and although I've been doing software engineering "stuff" for all my
life, this position not only requires me to "get back in the swing of things" with what I already know,
but to also ramp up quickly on another 10-12 technologies. (And be under evaluation.)

And, my head was spinning so much during the week with all the new stuff, that I had a real hard
time falling asleep, and only managed to get about 4-5 hours of sleep per night. I suspect that
once I feel more comfortable with the new stuff I'm working with, that the negative influences to
my game will taper off. But again, it just felt so foreign when I bent down to get into my stance,
never mind the actual stroke mechanics.

Anyway, I just wanted to make sure folks knew I was serious, although it would have made for a
nice Labor Day joke, and I got a kick out of that. I'll see how it goes, and hopefully will be able to
get to the table during the week(s).

 

[Terry Ardeno]

No, I'm not joking, but I wish I was. Thanks for the posts so far. I'm not upset that I have to
work again, I'm very happy to have gotten the opportunity. I neglected to mention that it's an
extremely complicated job, and although I've been doing software engineering "stuff" for all my
life, this position not only requires me to "get back in the swing of things" with what I already know,
but to also ramp up quickly on another 10-12 technologies. (And be under evaluation.)

And, my head was spinning so much during the week with all the new stuff, that I had a real hard
time falling asleep, and only managed to get about 4-5 hours of sleep per night. I suspect that
once I feel more comfortable with the new stuff I'm working with, that the negative influences to
my game will taper off. But again, it just felt so foreign when I bent down to get into my stance,
never mind the actual stroke mechanics.

Anyway, I just wanted to make sure folks knew I was serious, although it would have made for a
nice Labor Day joke, and I got a kick out of that. I'll see how it goes, and hopefully will be able to
get to the table during the week(s).

whitey2,
I'm sorry if I upset you with trying to be funny and I apologize. I promise I was not trying to belittle you and I didn't mean any harm. Please forgive me if I did offend you.

In your response, you added a lot more information about the stress that is now in your life. If you're like the rest of us, I'll bet your pool game is not going to be the only thing you see with a wrinkle in it. Those times in our life are when we lock the keys in the car, become forgetful and sometimes irritable and I think this affects even the pros at times.
I think that once your mind settles down and becomes used to this new stress, you'll see your game and everything else pick up a beat.

If I were in your position, I would try to get extra sleep and make sure you do find time to relax and unwind as you put the stresses of work behind you when you're at home. Use pool to relax yourself and just have fun with it until other things straighten out.

You're too good of a player to have forgotten how to play after just a week or so .Like Neil said, when this happens to all of us, most of our misses are in our head.

Good luck to you in both your job and your pool game!

 

[whitey2]

not offended at all, really

Hi,

No, I wasn't offended in any way. But, I've got to tell you
that last night was a nightmare on the pool table. I was
hitting the cue ball during practice strokes, and lost my
"smoothness" for lack of a better word.

I had my stoke honed down in the past, and would get
very close to the cue ball on my practice strokes. I'm
going to have to play this by ear for a while. If you don't
see me posting much, it's just that I'm too busy. All, in
all, it's for the best. Hopefully I'll be able to work something
out in the future, and be able to get time on the table.