jumping up on critical shot...

dbkrider

dbkrider

Registered
As a 7 rated player i should know better, but lately i have the yips where i jump up or deliver a poor stroke on game or match shots. My nerves are jumping all over the place and booze or pills will just mask the underlying problem.
Can this be resolved through any special practice routines to calm me down.
Thx
 
You have several choices there but personally I might want to review some video before being specific to you with advice. I'm sure you've already heard the old "hold your pose" at the end of the stroke as well as play position on imaginary 9- and 10-balls in Eight and Nine Ball so you can focus more on the rock and less on the game ball pocketing (as well as avoid scratching and etc!)

Send me a PM and I'll give you more specific advice. Don't worry, cocaine, bourbon and post-hypnotic suggestion are all off the table for you! :)
 
dbkrider said:
As a 7 rated player i should know better, but lately i have the yips where i jump up or deliver a poor stroke on game or match shots. My nerves are jumping all over the place and booze or pills will just mask the underlying problem.
Can this be resolved through any special practice routines to calm me down.
Thx
Click to expand...

Try this: When you're faced with game ball, stop, take a sip of water and a couple of deep breaths. Wipe down your cue. Then step up to the table and shoot it straight into the pocket.
 
kaznj said:
Read what mark wilson said you can do to stop jumping up. It is in his book..
Click to expand...

good advice: but doesn t cover perhaps his problem :-)

jumping up in stroke can have several reasons. stance, eye-patterns and more- or maybe mental problem also- what Fran has covered with her advice :-)


lg from overseas,
 
jumping up on critical shot

FranCrimi said:
Try this: When you're faced with game ball, stop, take a sip of water and a couple of deep breaths. Wipe down your cue. Then step up to the table and shoot it straight into the pocket.
Click to expand...


Sounds simple but it is VERY effective ... not only on game ball but any shot that tests your nerves.

Also, anchor your bridge by putting pressure on the finger tips of your bridge hand. This will help keep you down.


Keep Shooting ... STRAIGHT !!!
 
Pressure shots

dbkrider said:
As a 7 rated player i should know better, but lately i have the yips where i jump up or deliver a poor stroke on game or match shots. My nerves are jumping all over the place and booze or pills will just mask the underlying problem.
Can this be resolved through any special practice routines to calm me down.
Thx
Click to expand...

Fran had the answer.

Practice exercises will not help as you're not under pressure when practicing. Taking a video of yourself won't help much either, as it's not a physical or mechanical issue as much as psychological.
 
For what it's worth, I agree with Mr. Lutz that Ms. Crimi may have your solution.

I'll just add that many times we 'jump up' because our subconscious is trying to save a shot. It knows that something is not correct.

So sometimes a shot is NOT missed because of the movement. It was missed for some other reason & the jumping up is a byproduct of whatever that some other reason was.

Best of Luck in finding YOUR solution,
Rick
 
what about just telling yourself to
stay down until you see the object ball go in the pocket????
(would be good advice for EVERY shot)
im not an instructor
jmho
icbw
 
thanks...

thanks so much for the replies.
I purchased the choke book and
I meeting with a friend Tues for some
Help
Thanks again
Derick
 
Donny Lutz said:
Fran had the answer.

Practice exercises will not help as you're not under pressure when practicing. Taking a video of yourself won't help much either, as it's not a physical or mechanical issue as much as psychological.
Click to expand...

I slightly disagree.

Poor mechanics could very well be the catalyst for missing balls.

I might just be speaking from personal experience but I noticed a severe drop in misses once I got my fundamentals in order.

Solid fundamentals leads to increased confidence, which leads to fewer misses.
 
The reason I suspect video could help is because only rarely do we see players who are rock solid through impact and follow-through on all their other shots who then leap high above the table on game and case balls. This sound like a bit more than a little yip on the last ball. Jumpers jump a bit higher when the full press is on and others with more solid fundamentals may yip less but still complete the game ball... is all I'm saying. Of course, only a video or this player's testimony will confirm yet another of my famous "educated guesses". :)
 
BeiberLvr said:
I slightly disagree.

Poor mechanics could very well be the catalyst for missing balls.

I might just be speaking from personal experience but I noticed a severe drop in misses once I got my fundamentals in order.

Solid fundamentals leads to increased confidence, which leads to fewer misses.
Click to expand...

The yips is condition where the player experiences involuntary movement that causes the miss.

The great golfer, Tom Watson, developed the yips late in his career. If anyone has good mechanics, it's Tom Watson. The source of the problem is psychological. The solution starts with changing your mindset when faced with the shot that is causing the anxiety. In Tom's case it was with short puts. If Tom could have solved his problem by just focusing on his mechanics, I'm sure he would have.

This involuntary motion is triggered by a specific series of thoughts. The key is to distract your mind from those thoughts in order to prevent the involuntary sub conscious reaction.

With most people, the issue is temporary and can be solved with planned mental distractions, like taking a sip of water or wiping down your cue. With some, like Tom, it's much more deeply rooted and probably required psychotherapy.
 
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BilliardsAbout said:
The reason I suspect video could help is because only rarely do we see players who are rock solid through impact and follow-through on all their other shots who then leap high above the table on game and case balls. This sound like a bit more than a little yip on the last ball. Jumpers jump a bit higher when the full press is on and others with more solid fundamentals may yip less but still complete the game ball... is all I'm saying. Of course, only a video or this player's testimony will confirm yet another of my famous "educated guesses". :)
Click to expand...


He is an APA 7, he claims he should know better, which means he has a grasp on his fundamentals --- and his problem has arisen lately, which means he has a history of successfully pocketing game balls. He also mentions his nerves.

And your assessment is that jumpers jump higher? Seriously?
 
It's the pressure

BeiberLvr said:
I slightly disagree.

Poor mechanics could very well be the catalyst for missing balls.

I might just be speaking from personal experience but I noticed a severe drop in misses once I got my fundamentals in order.

Solid fundamentals leads to increased confidence, which leads to fewer misses.
Click to expand...

Many years ago, I missed a ball that was right in front of the side pocket. I had quite good fundamentals at the time.

The problem was that it was the first time I ever played a world champion in competition. It was a new situation for me, and I simply choked up. All the practice in the world would not have changed that.

What I needed was to relax and see the shot as I would have in any other situation. So it was clearly a psychological issue...
 
FranCrimi said:
The yips is condition where the player experiences involuntary movement that causes the miss.

The great golfer, Tom Watson, developed the yips late in his career. If anyone has good mechanics, it's Tom Watson. The source of the problem is psychological. The solution starts with changing your mindset when faced with the shot that is causing the anxiety. In Tom's case it was with short puts. If Tom could have solved his problem by just focusing on his mechanics, I'm sure he would have.

This involuntary motion is triggered by a specific series of thoughts. The key is to distract your mind from those thoughts in order to prevent the involuntary sub conscious reaction.

With most people, the issue is temporary and can be solved with planned mental distractions, like taking a sip of water or wiping down your cue. With some, like Tom, it's much more deeply rooted and probably required psychotherapy.
Click to expand...

Very Good Post Ms. Crimi. You certainly know your 'stuff'.

Best Wishes for a Great 2015.
 
Donny Lutz said:
Many years ago, I missed a ball that was right in front of the side pocket. I had quite good fundamentals at the time.

The problem was that it was the first time I ever played a world champion in competition. It was a new situation for me, and I simply choked up. All the practice in the world would not have changed that.

What I needed was to relax and see the shot as I would have in any other situation. So it was clearly a psychological issue...
Click to expand...

Good Points Mr. Lutz. Best Wishes for a Great 2015 to you Sir.
 
dbkrider,

Pidge has a thread in the main regarding how one handles a pressure shot. You may want to give it a look & see if anything in there 'clicks' for you.

Best 2 Ya,
Rick
 
I have a friend who jumps up on power draw shots. He never learns and often messes them up. The problem he has is he thinks he has to hit the ball harder than is actually needed. The biceps and deltoid muscles in his arm try doing the work for him and this causes severe tension in the arm and too much movement in the shoulder. I call it a shoulder drop. The shoulder doesn't really drop, but it tenses and causes the elbow to start dropping and the natural reaction is to raise up the torso to avoid smashing your hand into the table. This may or may not be the problem, but I would assume there is some tension in the arm.

Psychological problems also cause tension throughout the body. A pause that's not normal there in your stroke, or a pause that's longer than normal can cause tension and ruins ones natural timing of the shot and the biceps and deltoid take over and think oh crap, we need to really force this shot because the cues stopped when it wasn't meant to. The same can happen if you don't pause, but instead stroke quicker than normal. The brain recognises something isn't quite right and tells the arm to do more work.

When practicing count in your head. Notice how many warm up strokes you do and at what tempo. If say you have 3 practice strokes normally...count them out. And if "banana" fits in with your tempo ie 1banana 2banana 3banana etc. The word doesn't matter. What matters is finding a word that when you say it in your head fits in perfectly with your practice strokes. Then do the same for the final stroke. If you pause at the cue ball count how long it is. Count how long it takes you to pull the cue back. If you pause at the end of the back stroke count that too. Then hit the cue ball. Write it all down and keep practicing this.

Firstly this will get you to stop thinking when in the heat of the moment and down on a shot. All you think about is your counting rhythm which can stop any anxiety you may have. It also ensures your timing is as it should be...natural. This is quite a "thinking outside the box" approach, but it has helped me over the course of my life when at the table.
 
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