Is there such thing as TOO much practicing?

Bobalicious

Bobalicious

The one and only.....
Silver Member
I have an interesting question that I have been wondering about for a while. I was wondering if there is a point at which you are practicing too much pool. (i.e. not shooting with anyone, drills, specific shots, rotation, etc.)

I was talking this over with my friend Tin Man, and he had some interesting thoughts on the subject.... He basically said that as long as you are having fun and your attitude doesn't turn sour towards the game then no there is no such thing as too much practice.

I agree to a point with this. I think that, yes if you have a great attitude toward pool then you can practice all you want but I would think that it would wear on your mentally.

For example, I've been playing pool for around 1 year and 7 months, am probably a solid "B" player and have been putting, on average, about 40 to 50 hours a week in at the pool hall I work at (playing pool not working :D ). I know thats a lot of hours but I really love this game. Recently I have been feeling a little worn out but I still want to go down and shoot pool. When I'm practicing I will shoot alone unless Tin Man shows up or unless someone comes in looking for real cheap action.

Keep in mind that while I'm at the pool hall I'm not constantly at the table every second shooting. I'm BSing with friends or grabbing something to eat. That being said.......

I'm wondering if practicing this much is going to hurt my game in the long run? Is it just making things harder for me to pick up on things I'm doing wrong? Down the road will I actually have anything to show for it? And is practicing this much a week really going to improve my game "THE WAY I THINK IT SHOULD?" Does anyone have any suggestions on what I might want to do differently?

Thank you in advance.
 
Well, I agree with your friend, as long as you aren't getting burned out on the practice I don't see where it would hurt at all. Granted, you're going to want to put that practice into use against someone but yeah, if you're comfortable practicing then keep on it. You may want to also have someone higher level than you watch some of the things you practice just to make sure you're not making any bad habits.
MULLY
 
I usually do have the state pro, Jimmy Wetch, watching me since he is the one who owns the pool hall or I will have Tin Man help me out. He is a great help and a ninja on the pool table. :D
 
I do believe there is such a thing as too much practice. For example, if you become too mentally or physically fatigued (which everyone does at some point), then your practice will not be productive, and in fact will only contribute to reinforcing bad habits. If you are mentally fatigued, and so not concentrating well, then you will in fact be training yourself to perform poorly.
 
If you do not dream about pool every night, you are not practicing enough.

Back when I was playing better I had one month where I averaged about 73 hours a week PRACTICING or PLAYING against someone in my home hall, plus another 10 or so hours hours of tournament table time.

I drove home from the pool hall at 230AM and watched an Accu-Stats tape until I fell asleep, slept abut 6-7 hours, woke up and showered, and was back at the pool hall 1130AM. Rinse and repeat each day for the 30 days I was on leave.

If I got tired of 9 ball, I went over to the 12 foot snooker table and practiced with the pool balls. Once I got bored with that, I practiced two rail One Pocket banks.

I absolutely LOVED to practice back then, and have felt that something has been missing out of my life the last 10 years I haven't been able to play.

Russ
 
PoolBum said:
I do believe there is such a thing as too much practice. For example, if you become too mentally or physically fatigued (which everyone does at some point), then your practice will not be productive, and in fact will only contribute to reinforcing bad habits. If you are mentally fatigued, and so not concentrating well, then you will in fact be training yourself to perform poorly.
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Bingo. I fully agree with you. After playing for >10 years, I quit for 1.5 months for the first time in my life and after that I concentrated on my weaknesses and played the best pool of my life for a couple of years. The problem with too much practising that it's very hard to unlearn the bad habits which you develop when you practise mentally or/and physically fatigued. I also feel that you are more hungry to win tournaments when you don't have a rigorous practice season behind you. Look what many athletes do before a major event, they concentrate on being relaxed and having a right mind-set to win instead of tiring themselves with hard physical practice.
 
I think if you set goals for yourself during your practice sessions, it makes it more productive. If you just throw balls out on the table and hit them in, you can get board with it and not focus as much. I have a little workout that I have been doing for quite a while and it has really helped me. I play 10 racks of 9 ball, just like playing the ghost. Break, BIH after the break and if I run out, I get a perfect score of 10 points/ rack (all balls 1-8 =1 point and the 9 =2 points). If I miss, I count the number of balls I made and give myself that score. (combos on the 9 and the 9 on the break are still 2 points, but I have to continue running out). Then after 10 racks, I total up my score (100 points being a perfect score). Ive gotten in the 80's a couple of times, but around 70-75 is where Im usually at. It just gives me a goal for practicing so that it doesnt become repetitious. JMO.

Southpaw
 
I think it depends on the person, the level of play he/she is at. Also are you continuing to get better with all the practice or are you stuck at a level? What do you want from pool? Just play friends or guys in your homeroom, Tournaments, or do you want to gamble?

If your not getting better, then I would think a few lessons are worth it. If your gambling now you will remember what shots or shape you missed that cost you money, then practice them. I hated practice after I leveled off to B, so I just gambled and practiced the shots that cost me money. Johnnyt
 
I agree. Setting goals would best help anyone,
not just in billiards, but in everything else.

:)

Southpaw said:
I think if you set goals for yourself during your practice sessions, it makes it more productive. If you just throw balls out on the table and hit them in, you can get board with it and not focus as much. I have a little workout that I have been doing for quite a while and it has really helped me. I play 10 racks of 9 ball, just like playing the ghost. Break, BIH after the break and if I run out, I get a perfect score of 10 points/ rack (all balls 1-8 =1 point and the 9 =2 points). If I miss, I count the number of balls I made and give myself that score. (combos on the 9 and the 9 on the break are still 2 points, but I have to continue running out). Then after 10 racks, I total up my score (100 points being a perfect score). Ive gotten in the 80's a couple of times, but around 70-75 is where Im usually at. It just gives me a goal for practicing so that it doesnt become repetitious. JMO.

Southpaw
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If you aren't the best then you haven't practiced enough, imo. Stop typing and gogoogogogogogogogogogo
 
I think it is very important to have a routine.
For example if u decide to practice 2 hours everyday than u should keep it constant for sometime and than slowly increase hours u put in.

IMO if one day u play for 10 hours and than u dont play for a week and than u play for for 5 hours and again u dont play for 3 days.

This kind of practice hours would not help u improve your skills and concentration levels.You have to make definate practice routines and than follow them rigoursly and slowly increase your practice timing.this will enhance your consistency as well.


The Most impotant thing is to Enjoy your practice sessions(no matter short or long)

Just my 2 cents
 
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I do my little routine of warmup drills and then pratice on a couple of certain shots that I might be having trouble with then I'm through. I don't think just hitting balls is doing anything for you other than your mechanics. I play one pocket so I work on end game shot that I have come across and had trouble with.---Smitty
 
It's not the quantity of practice, it's the quality. The problem is that most players fail to practice in a way that produces noticeable results.

It's one thing to toss balls out on the table with little or no purpose. It something completely different when you concentrate on a specific area of your game to attain preset goals.

Everybody that has mentioned the word "routine" - My take on that is this - Routines lead to boredom. Boredom leads to the player eventually abandoning the routine in exchange for something less structured.

If you are practicing for a tournament, it would be wise to recreate the stress of tournament competition during practice. For many players the physical blunders are the result of not having the mental skills to deal with the pressure of the situation.

Tossing balls out on the table and just aimlessly shooting away won't strengthen your mental game. Neither will a "routine". You have to accurately recreate the situations that that have crushed your mental game in the past. I don't care if you just play league, just gamble, or just play tournaments - you have to challenge and strengthen your physical and mental skills continuously. That way, you stay one step ahead of your opponents, or at least meet them in the middle.

If you're not challenging yourself in hour #1, chances are that you won't be challenging yourself in hour number 4, 5, or 6.

My advice is to find somebody to practice with that is of equal or greater ability. You have to make a commitment to challenge each other on a daily basis at the table. Evaluate each other's strengths and weaknesses. Set aside one day where you have a race to 15 - the winner gets to play in the local tournament - the loser gets to sit out and evaluate. Take it seriously.

Make every second you spend on the table count. No wasted energy. No wasted strokes. No wasted motion.

This way you are not just going through the motions. With preset goals you will know where you are going with your game. You will have a good idea where all of your practice is leading you, as opposed to feeling like you're lost in the forest and going around in circles.
 
If

you aren't learning something everytime you practice, you aren't practicing right.

To become a master of anything, you have to learn everything there is to learn about it.

Let your passion feed your practice. When it is high, practice long, when is short, practice short.
 
I don't think there is a thing such as too much practicing. it's about passion and how much you love to play and practice pool. It's all about FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME ! ;)
 
PoolBum said:
I do believe there is such a thing as too much practice. For example, if you become too mentally or physically fatigued (which everyone does at some point), then your practice will not be productive, and in fact will only contribute to reinforcing bad habits. If you are mentally fatigued, and so not concentrating well, then you will in fact be training yourself to perform poorly.
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I'm getting older and I don't hold up as well as I did when I was younger, naturally. When I'm fresh and rested and I practice I'm hitting shots well and the position is very good, but once I start getting tired I start missing shots and not staying down and I might as well put my cue up and call it a day.

I play much better if I don't over practice. I can practice a short while and feel myself getting into a good rhythm and do that for an hour or less and that's enough for me. If I keep pushing myself I start to get sloppy and my fundamentals start to go away. I think your age and stamina will determine how long you should practice and you just have to recognize when you are really doing some good with your practice.

James
 
enzo said:
i think there is such a thing as too much anything.
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Well, by definition, "too much" exceeds the amount deemed acceptable...;)

Who cares what you can do in practice, it only matters when you win something: The Belt just hol' up ya pants.
 
Blackjack said:
It's not the quantity of practice, it's the quality. The problem is that most players fail to practice in a way that produces noticeable results.

It's one thing to toss balls out on the table with little or no purpose. It something completely different when you concentrate on a specific area of your game to attain preset goals.

Everybody that has mentioned the word "routine" - My take on that is this - Routines lead to boredom. Boredom leads to the player eventually abandoning the routine in exchange for something less structured.

If you are practicing for a tournament, it would be wise to recreate the stress of tournament competition during practice. For many players the physical blunders are the result of not having the mental skills to deal with the pressure of the situation.

Tossing balls out on the table and just aimlessly shooting away won't strengthen your mental game. Neither will a "routine". You have to accurately recreate the situations that that have crushed your mental game in the past. I don't care if you just play league, just gamble, or just play tournaments - you have to challenge and strengthen your physical and mental skills continuously. That way, you stay one step ahead of your opponents, or at least meet them in the middle.

If you're not challenging yourself in hour #1, chances are that you won't be challenging yourself in hour number 4, 5, or 6.

My advice is to find somebody to practice with that is of equal or greater ability. You have to make a commitment to challenge each other on a daily basis at the table. Evaluate each other's strengths and weaknesses. Set aside one day where you have a race to 15 - the winner gets to play in the local tournament - the loser gets to sit out and evaluate. Take it seriously.

Make every second you spend on the table count. No wasted energy. No wasted strokes. No wasted motion.

This way you are not just going through the motions. With preset goals you will know where you are going with your game. You will have a good idea where all of your practice is leading you, as opposed to feeling like you're lost in the forest and going around in circles.
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Well said David...I'm realizing that more and more (especially with people like Jimmy telling me over and over again haha)

Over the past year, I've seen my game level out and even come down in certain areas, and it wasn't for lack of practice. It is for lack of good practice and fatigue.
 
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