Nerves!!!!!!!!!

C

chuck amos

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I continue to strugle with nervosness when playing a match on league night. Sometimes to the point of trembelng hands EEEEK!!!!
I love pool, and have experenced calm and fluid play on the practice table. It's sublime! I pray that some day I can fully enjoy a match (maybe even a tournament) free frome fear. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated.
 
When in a stressful situation most people reduce their breathing to shallow. This is the main culprit as to feeling nervous. Also from your view point---People are watching, maybe your opponent plays much better than you, stuff like that can be very intimidating as well. As you start your turn take some deep breathes and look over the crowd and your opponent, relax and try to enjoy what you are doing. And oh yea, take a lesson.
 
Nerves disappear with time and experience. I've got friends who have a bear or 2 before a big game to lose the nerves. I've played people who will be sat with a hood over their head looking at the floor listening to an iPod. I've seen people stretching before they get to the table to relieve some tension.

I used to suffer horribly with nerves when I started playing competitively. I'd just sit and drink a bear and when it was my turn just get up, deep breath and crack on. Are you new to competitive play?
 
chuck amos said:
I continue to strugle with nervosness when playing a match on league night. Sometimes to the point of trembelng hands EEEEK!!!!
I love pool, and have experenced calm and fluid play on the practice table. It's sublime! I pray that some day I can fully enjoy a match (maybe even a tournament) free frome fear. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated.
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Try this, Chuck:

The next time you are going to compete, before you get there, tell yourself that you will not care one bit about what other people think about your playing. Keep telling yourself. Then act like you don't care. If you care what they think, you will get nervous. It's an irrational fear caused by your attaching too much importance to something relatively unimportant.

Unless someone is holding a gun to your head while you're shooting, who cares what they're all thinking? Ever see how many mistakes they make when it's their turn? Ha! They make a ton.

Perspective is everything.
 
FranCrimi said:
Try this, Chuck:

The next time you are going to compete, before you get there, tell yourself that you will not care one bit about what other people think about your playing. Keep telling yourself. Then act like you don't care. If you care what they think, you will get nervous. It's an irrational fear caused by your attaching too much importance to something relatively unimportant.

Unless someone is holding a gun to your head while you're shooting, who cares what they're all thinking? Ever see how many mistakes they make when it's their turn? Ha! They make a ton.

Perspective is everything.
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This is great advice and SO true..I usually get stupid when I notice a really good player watching me play. One tournament about a year ago, I was finishing a break and run in 9 ball; I noticed Mike Davis watching me out of the corner of my eye and dogged a total hanger. I was an absolute wreck the rest of the tournament, don't think I made three balls after that. In competition that counts (for me in tournament play) I'll often find myself in the wrong mental state, constantly visualizing a miss, which guarantees it every time. When nothing's on the line, I can beat anyone...make it count for something, I choke. A trick I have that works really well is as I'm doing my pre-shot routine, I mentally picture Efren doing it. The conscious exercise of visualizing my favorite player going through the same motions pulls me right back into it, distracting me from all the extraneous junk that throws me off.
 
FranCrimi said:
Try this, Chuck:

The next time you are going to compete, before you get there, tell yourself that you will not care one bit about what other people think about your playing. Keep telling yourself. Then act like you don't care. If you care what they think, you will get nervous. It's an irrational fear caused by your attaching too much importance to something relatively unimportant.

Unless someone is holding a gun to your head while you're shooting, who cares what they're all thinking? Ever see how many mistakes they make when it's their turn? Ha! They make a ton.

Perspective is everything.
Click to expand...

Chuck,

Listen to Fran on this one. Most "nerves" are pressure to perform... FOR OTHERS!!! Someone once told me that their nerves completely disappeared when they finally learned to not care about what the railbirds were thinking about how he performed. After that, his game took a huge jump in competitive play.

Funny, but I can get a tough draw, like Gabe or Chip and have no nerves whatsoever... go to a small tournament where, if I played like I did against the "big boys", nobody should be able to keep up with me, and I get a little lump in my throat. Fortunately, it only lasts a game or two, then I settle in to just doing what I do and not caring what the onlookers think.

Bob
 
I got so nervous once I couldn't get the rack off the balls without knocking them all over the place! I almost had to have someone else remove it!
They don't call me Shaky for nothing! :embarrassed2:
 
nerves

Thanks for all of the help. I think that the head game part of pool is one of the things thatmakes it such a chalenging sport. I have only played league for a fiew years I have seteld down a lot compared to when I started. Not knowing anyone, I looked at every opponent as possable monster who would make me feal like a fool. What I found were a lot of good people who love pool and often strugle with the same issues that Ido. I have goten lots of help and encoragement. I am a skill level 5 APA and have three times gotten MVP, so I am working through it, I just resent anything that takes the fun out of pool. I beleave that desire plus action equals change, so I'll keep the focus on me and play through it.
 
While sitting and waiting for your turn do not hold onto your cue. Sit up straight and breathe deep, get a stress ball and squeeze it with your left hand while you are waiting for your turn.
While at the table relax your, neck, shoulders and arms, let all the tension fall out of your body, hold your cue loosely, even if you feel nervous allow your body to relax and shoot through it.
Between shots stand up straight and take the long way around the table to your next shot and take some deep breaths.
These are things that work for me... your mileage may vary.
 
I used to have a terrible time with the game and my nerves when it counted. I started working on thinking less about the shot and just letting go. While i thought this was working I still missed shots because I wasn't caring enough (of course now i'm missing both ways). I was big into tennis in college and high school and red the book from Agassi's sports physiologist about chocking. He said that chocking is basically a good thing that means you care and thats why you choke. You have to make those tough shots when the pressure is on and your nerves should be just a touch below chocking. I have made a huge jump in my game just from fixing the mental aspect of tournaments, actions games, and yes i know you'll hate to hear it but... "you play how you practice" and that cant be more true about your nerves in pool.
 
I also struggle with the same thing. Nothing more frustrating than being able to run a table with friends but can't win a game on league night.

I look at most of the other guys and realize they have probably been playing 10 years as opposed to my 1.5 years. I am sure that after 10 years of league play I will have no problem with nerves either.
 
Billyard said:
I also struggle with the same thing. Nothing more frustrating than being able to run a table with friends but can't win a game on league night.

I look at most of the other guys and realize they have probably been playing 10 years as opposed to my 1.5 years. I am sure that after 10 years of league play I will have no problem with nerves either.
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Billyard,

Don't bet on it. I still get that feeling at times to the point of making me feel weak at times. It does not happen all of the time or even often but sometimes & I'm not sure exactly why except that it is related to a fear of some kind. The best thing to do is what Ms. Crimi suggested & CJ Wiley has a breathing technique as well. I just take a few deep breathes & just say to myself, 'don't be ridiculous, you know you can do this, now just do it, besides, it's only a game, its not life or death, now just do it'. Maybe I should be a Nike commercial.

Good Luck with it to all that are having this problem.
Best Regards,
 
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You can tell yourself you don't care all you want and that doesn't change the fact that deep down you care. Try telling yourself 1000 times tomorrow that your grass is purple then go outside to look and let me know how that works our for you.

I shared your problem from time to time. With help from Scott Lee, I came to the realization that a solid and consistently applied pre shot routine was the best thing to beating the nerves thing. In other words, create a consistent process from the time you step up to the table to get your aim line through striking the ball.

The other thing that helped me was reading the book "The Inner Game of Tennis" (I think that was the title). Several people here have recommended it in different threads. Through reading this book, I realized I often have to much left brain activity going on when getting down to shoot the ball when in fact there essentially should be no left brain activity at that point. Combine this with the PSR, where the left brain stuff occurs while your still standing up, you're able to get down on the shot with your plan in place and only need to do right brain stuff at that point.

I hope this helps.
 
im not an instructor

I've been there too, the thing that helped me the most after what's already been said is, for me to do warm up shots by myself.
 
Pidge said:
Nerves disappear with time and experience. I've got friends who have a bear or 2 before a big game to lose the nerves. I've played people who will be sat with a hood over their head looking at the floor listening to an iPod. I've seen people stretching before they get to the table to relieve some tension.

I used to suffer horribly with nerves when I started playing competitively. I'd just sit and drink a bear and when it was my turn just get up, deep breath and crack on. Are you new to competitive play?
Click to expand...

I tried having a couple of bears once years ago, and I was so stiff and sore, I couldn't pick up a cue for a week! Stephen Colbert was right!

Seriously, I still get nervous, even after 58 years of play! One thing that i do before a critical shot, game or match, is to remind myself that usually the worst thing than can happen is you miss (or lose) and the best thing is that you win. Neither are earth-shaking events, don't make them such.
 
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To the OP...While breathing definitely plays a role, it is not the "main culprit" when it comes to feeling 'nervous'. For most players, nervous feelings come from the fact that they don't feel confident with their stroke process (whatever that may be). When you develop true trust in your stroke, the nervous feelings often are abated in competition. That said, even with a great stroke, some players still experience the "butterflies". Some are able to perform gambling, but can't produce the same results in tournament play (or vice versa). At that point, only getting into more combat can help alleviate feeling nervous. Good luck in your quest.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

jims111343 said:
When in a stressful situation most people reduce their breathing to shallow. This is the main culprit as to feeling nervous. Also from your view point---People are watching, maybe your opponent plays much better than you, stuff like that can be very intimidating as well. As you start your turn take some deep breathes and look over the crowd and your opponent, relax and try to enjoy what you are doing. And oh yea, take a lesson.
Click to expand...
 
I'm not an instructor but have been playing for many years and yes I still get nervous. A top pro told me a consistent pre shot routine would help, unfortunately I play pretty fast and sometimes forget about the pre shot routine. Also note my signature line, in simpler terms "just do it"
 
I've read nothing but good advice to help settle nerves except the beer idea. That only leads to more beers and a dependancy each time a critical situation arises.
The breathing exercises are the best choice in my opinion to combat the yips. Take a few deep breathes while thinking out the shot in detail.
DO NOT HYPERVENTILATE! Visualize the shot to completion before you get down to shoot. When you feel ready, try to relax and let about half the air out of your lungs. This is important. If your lungs are full of air your muscles will tighten. If your lungs are empty of air they will be starved during the shot.
Put everything out of your mind except making that shot and don't get down to shoot until you have done that and then stay focused. In other words, don't let yourself be rushed into shooting until you feel ready.
Good luck,
Tom
 
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