Limited Practice/Mental Pool Fitness

ratnip

ratnip

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hello all,

My pool time has been severly limited as I have become a full-time single father for the past 10 months (of the most wonderful teenage daughter). I wouldn't change this for the world, however I'd still like to maintain somewhat of a "competitive" game for those few rare opportunities I do get to play.​
My regular schedule allows approximately 1-3 hrs a week practicing/playing (other than the one night I play league). I know this is not much time but I still love the game and some irony "it's more enjoyable".

?'s​
1) What are your favorite practice sessions 30min-1hr?
2) What (if any) are your favorite mental pool drills to prepare?
#2 is most interesting to me as I heard on a video that Ralph Souqet doesn't practice, but wouldn't say what he does do (mentally) to prepare. Mainly curious to hear from those who have limited time but still remain competitive. I've found when I visualize certain shots/run outs/patterns off of the table (when commuting home on Mass Transit) my game seems to come together at a faster rate than when I just show up at the pool hall to play (lots more rust to knock off).

Thanks for your time and consideration,

Jay P.
 
me too

Wife had triple by pass 7 weeks ago. Doing great, but the mental game is not there.
When I'm in it mentally, it's all most better than sex. I said almost.
I really can't remember much off the game or the shots execpt the last one. Is that the same with some of you out there.

I'm very interrested in any advise also.
Thank in advance,
Jeff
 
ratnip said:
Hello all,

My pool time has been severly limited as I have become a full-time single father for the past 10 months (of the most wonderful teenage daughter). I wouldn't change this for the world, however I'd still like to maintain somewhat of a "competitive" game for those few rare opportunities I do get to play.​
My regular schedule allows approximately 1-3 hrs a week practicing/playing (other than the one night I play league). I know this is not much time but I still love the game and some irony "it's more enjoyable".

?'s​
1) What are your favorite practice sessions 30min-1hr?
2) What (if any) are your favorite mental pool drills to prepare?
#2 is most interesting to me as I heard on a video that Ralph Souqet doesn't practice, but wouldn't say what he does do (mentally) to prepare. Mainly curious to hear from those who have limited time but still remain competitive. I've found when I visualize certain shots/run outs/patterns off of the table (when commuting home on Mass Transit) my game seems to come together at a faster rate than when I just show up at the pool hall to play (lots more rust to knock off).

Thanks for your time and consideration,

Jay P.
Click to expand...

Maybe Ralf may was just insinuating that he "trains" rather than practices.

I like the straight in shot. Stop, follow and draw progressive drills.

HOWEVER, Ralf is very secretive about everything he does. He once confided in me that he will not discuss how he is able to maintain his great focus until after he stops competing. Two thumbs up for Ralf being honest.

Ralf is also one the greatest "sportsman" on the planet. The man carries himself with dignity and class wherever he goes.

JoeyA
 
JoeyA said:
Maybe Ralf may was just insinuating that he "trains" rather than practices.

I like the straight in shot. Stop, follow and draw progressive drills.

HOWEVER, Ralf is very secretive about everything he does. He once confided in me that he will not discuss how he is able to maintain his great focus until after he stops competing. Two thumbs up for Ralf being honest.

Ralf is also one the greatest "sportsman" on the planet. The man carries himself with dignity and class wherever he goes.

JoeyA
Click to expand...

Wow, now we can't wait for him to stop competing.
P.S. He didn't happen to mention to you anything about agua-titanium did he?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ratnip
Hello all,


My pool time has been severly limited as I have become a full-time single father for the past 10 months (of the most wonderful teenage daughter). I wouldn't change this for the world, however I'd still like to maintain somewhat of a "competitive" game for those few rare opportunities I do get to play.
My regular schedule allows approximately 1-3 hrs a week practicing/playing (other than the one night I play league). I know this is not much time but I still love the game and some irony "it's more enjoyable".


?'s
1) What are your favorite practice sessions 30min-1hr?
2) What (if any) are your favorite mental pool drills to prepare?
#2 is most interesting to me as I heard on a video that Ralph Souqet doesn't practice, but wouldn't say what he does do (mentally) to prepare. Mainly curious to hear from those who have limited time but still remain competitive. I've found when I visualize certain shots/run outs/patterns off of the table (when commuting home on Mass Transit) my game seems to come together at a faster rate than when I just show up at the pool hall to play (lots more rust to knock off).

Thanks for your time and consideration,

Jay P.

Maybe Ralf may was just insinuating that he "trains" rather than practices.

I like the straight in shot. Stop, follow and draw progressive drills.

HOWEVER, Ralf is very secretive about everything he does. He once confided in me that he will not discuss how he is able to maintain his great focus until after he stops competing. Two thumbs up for Ralf being honest.

Ralf is also one the greatest "sportsman" on the planet. The man carries himself with dignity and class wherever he goes.

JoeyA
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input JoeyA

Let me see if Ralf was born like WIKI states "29 November 1968" and he plays until he is 60-65 we have 18-23 years (conservatively) to wait. And thanks for not pointing out that I had his first name misspelled :frown:, because I was worried about his last :p!

As for the drills, I'll put 'em in action next time I'm near a pool table.

Jay P.
 
I don't really practice my actual stroke, but I'm not saying it's something to avoid. I just feel it's fairly solid and it'll be there for me when I want it to be. If I'm playing good pool I won't need much stroke-wise, most of my shots will be easy.

What I do is always the same. I think it's one of the most useful drills there is. Roll out 5 or more balls at random, and figure out the best way to run them... something you can't screw up... and then try to run them exactly as planned. You must basically map out the entire run ahead of time and then make your shotmaking follow your mental game.

If something doesn't go as planned you can redo a particular shot that was trickier than anticipated... and try to demystify it... or you can just rake 'em if you know what your screwup was and don't need to waste any more time on it.

For added challenge you can try doing them in order, or just cut to the chase and play the 9 ball ghost, with a focus on making a good break (even if you're getting BIH after the break, try to control whitey).

When it doesn't go right, ask yourself if there's something you didn't account for, or didn't see, or executed in a halfassed way, and make a mental note to focus on that the next time the situation comes up... e.g. "I thought a stop shot would leave me straight but it left me just enough angle to make life hard. Next time I'm gonna walk around the table and LOOK and be sure."

Collecting a few of these mental notes = a great practice session.
 
I keep mentioning this.. and it keeps getting ignored..

but it WORKS!!!!!


get some video of YOU playing your best...put it on your laptop... put it on youtube... put it somewhere

and when you can't play... give yourself some time to watch yourself play... in your highest gear...watching yourself play well is fantastic practice...

second only to shooting..

it really works....
 
I'm basically in a similar situation (though in my case it's a wife and two little kids) and I average around three to four hours of practice a week. I do play some tournaments and league matches too, but I don't consider them practice. They're useful for my game, sure, but still a completely different activity than real practice.

I've been playing pool for years now, but it was only last fall that I got back into the game (kids are old enough now for me to sneak in some practice and match time) and decided to start to concentrate on the practice. I realized from the get-go that my practice time is very limited, but I nevertheless decided to have a go at it.

Some notes about the experience.

First, for me, working on the stroke with really basic drills has done wonders. It has made a huge difference on my competitive game. I've basically concentrated on improving the feel of my stroking hand and the whole body and being persistent about practicing straight-in follow/draw shots, I have developed a whole new kind of feel in my hand and in my body.

Second, the tough thing about practicing in the long run is that it's really hard to measure your progress. This doesn't sound like a big deal at first, but to maintain your motivation and focus on the practice, especially in the long term, you need some sense of getting forward. For me, it's a practice game called Fargo, developed by Mike Page.

Also, be prepared that it takes a lot of time to notice clear and consistent results on your game. It can easily take several months or even more. But it'll come.

Finally, I don't think you should be too worried about not being able to spend countless hours on the table. Like Joe Waldron points out, practice should be executed in short, tight sessions. Just concentrate on the quality of practice.
 
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