Heckler said:
Interesting......
I am not worried about players who just go for the 9 all the time as you say.....as the bad thing about luck is that it runs out....lol
However I would say that on a good day one chance and I can run a rack no problem however on a bad to average day I could need a couple of chances as my cue ball control tends to let me down.....
Oh well moving to Canada soon so will get shooting in those comps and see what happens
Heckler, when one is practicing and playing pool every single day, much like a 9-to-5 job, their game SHOULD be at their top speed after they devote some time into developing their skills set on the table. It is almost like learning how to play a musical instrument. Some folks are more gifted than others (in music and in pool), and for them, self-confidence comes quicker, but there are some techniques that can only be acquired through experience.
In the court reporting industry, as an example, students pay big bucks to attend schools to develop their stenographic skills, which, again, can only be acquired through many hours of practice each day. Some attain the necessary speed to graduate, but to date, there's about a 2-percent dropout rate because most give up. Then those who do graduate from court reporting schools come out into the "real" world almost kind of green (IMO). It is only through years of experience in the field, developing a knowledge base and being able to tackle every possible scenario that could come up in the pit, recognizing the difference between "uh-huh," "uh-uh," "its/it's," "discreet/discrete," and then produce a verbatim high-quality comprehensive transcript that makes a topnotch court reporter. The reporters who can go into cruise control are the pros.
When you're driving a car and you need to slow down, you're not thinking about the location of the brake pedal being on the floor and that, in fact, you must remove your right foot from the gas pedal to apply pressure to the brake pedal in order to slow down. I'd venture to guess that strong players who are on top of their game aren't thinking about "set, pause, and freeze" because they go into cruise control when they're in the pit.
I have read that Niels Feijen of The Netherlands practices 8 to 10 hours every single day. When you see him play on TV, he's definitely in the zone or "cruise control," if you will.
I don't think there is any easy way to become proficient in pool, without hours and hours of play (IMO), whether in competitive events or in action. The guys/gals I see usually winning the tournaments -- local, regional, national, international -- are the ones who play every single day.
Young or old, male or female, it don't come easy. One pool factoid I like to remember is that Mike Lebron won the U.S. Open when he was 54 years old.
JMHO, FWIW!
JAM
