Gene,
Sorry to disagree with you but in stroke and in the zone have vastly different meanings. It is very possible to be in stroke but not in the zone. Far more common to be in stroke than in the zone in fact. I can fight my way into in stroke when I am having problems. It is impossible to fight your way into the zone as it is a mental thing, not a physical thing. The more you focus on what you are doing the further away from the zone you are.
The physical result of being in the zone is being in stroke but I don't want to see people start blurring the two together. Too many people don't understand what being in the zone is now. People who want to find the zone have to pay as much attention to mental preparation as physical.
Hu
Hi there Hu,
Years back before I did the Perfect Aim I would say to myself. I've been slacking here. I need to get in stroke. So I'd go down the the local bar and play and play and play. There were many distractions there bacause there was a door at each end of the table and the bathroom door was off to the side. I liked playing on this table because I could get used to all the distractions and zone it all out. Very mental. It was like practicing concentrating with a whole bunch of stuff going on. This was perfect because I played alot on the road back then and I was pretty solid no matter what was going on.
The other part is we play like we practice. When we practice part of it is to practice concentration. You need to practice keeping your concentration for longer periods of time especially if you are going to gamble or play in a tournament. Now these are 2 distinct types of focus and concentration. You've always heard that some guys can gamble but they don't play well in the tournaments. Then you have the guy that can play good one on one gambling but have trouble in a ring game. Then you have the guy that can play great for $5 but raise the bet to $100 and he can't make a ball. I've been on the right and left side of all of these senarios over the years. Each one of these types of games you need to be doing on a regular basis to feel comfortable mentally.
It was in the late 80's to early 90's that I learned how to position my eyes to see the shots real good. Perfect Aim. My game was already at a higher level. But when I practiced in these different games I was finding that I was in my own world of concentration. I knew exactly what I was going to do and felt confident because everything I was doing at the table was centered on how I practiced. I very rarely missed a shot , in fact when I missed I was very surprised. Miss 3 shots in a row and see how your zone or in stroke feels? Not so good. Plus depending what kind of game your in it might be over. Different types of pressure. If you are in a tournament it is probably over. If your gambling you can regroup and put yourself back together. The tough part is that if you don't know how to position the eyes in the correct position you now might have a little bit of a problem getting your focus back. Or your concentration.
I guess what I'm trying to say is instroke is where you are playing alot . You have muscle memory along with your mental part of your game. In the zone is where you can block out so many things that can distract you when you are shooting. But it is a combination of everything because if you start missing a little bit too much everything can go haywire.
I've seen so many players melt down over the years. I felt like I was cheating because I understood what had happened to them. They would get a little excited ,maybe the heart would pump a little harder, eyes would jump a little and they would miss. It's so difficult to have the eyes in the proper position if you don't understand where they need to be in the first place exactly. You can know this and still miss but if you don't know you have no way to correct what has just happened. You can be in the zone or be in stroke and it ain't goin to matter.
The only way that you can practice being in a final match in a tournament is to get to the final match. Now the answer is can I keep my focus,stay in my zone,can I keep aiming correctly,can I block out all the distractions especially when my opponent would love to do this to distract me if possible. And Hu you are right. Being in the zone and in stroke are different but they are so intertwined together with so much going on I would hate to try and figure out what would you put in each basket to seperate the 2.
But here is where the aiming is the most important. It's hill,hill. Your a little jacked up and shooting a long shot. If you make this shot you win, if you miss this shot you lose. I was more accustomed to making this shot than missing because of my knowledge with aiming. Being able to zero my eyes right into the perfect position is so huge. It makes you feel so confident the shot will go.
Example: In 1998 Ty Wilson from Minnesota wanted to put together a team to play in the VNEA masters in Vegas. He asked me to play on the team. He had personally seen me make the tough shot over and over many time over the years for all the bananas. We had a meeting with all 5 of us there and Ty just flat out told the other guys on the team that I was the anchor. One of the guys on the team acted kind of hurt by the decision but Ty looked at him and said when everything rides on one shot I want Gene to be the guy shooting it. I really took this as a great honor comming from Ty.
We were playing a team called Cabelas that everyone was saying that they might as well just give them the trophy. These guys played awful good. Tony Watson,Mike Painter, and the rest of the team were all superstars at the time. I talked to Mike Painter and told him that our team didn't have to lose to anyone. They had to beat us to win this tournament and he kind of smiled. I think he thought this was a pretty bold statement.
Finally we had to play Cabelas for the hill on the winners side. We need to win this match because we don't want to try and beat these guys twice in the finals.
There it was. Just like Ty had said. It was tied up and whoever won the next game won the match. I had never been in this situation before. Now I had 4 other guys depending on me to get it done. A whole different type of pressure. Ty Wilson, Rob Benson,Mario Parrauno,mo Baker and Myself.
It was Cabelas break. They broke dry. As soon as I saw this I turned to TY and said ; don't worry, I'll run'em out. Then I realized why Ty looked upset. The cue ball was deep in the pocket and the only shot I had was to shoot kitty corner at the 5 ball straight in about 2 feet from the other pocket. Not only that but I had to draw it 2 feet to get a good shot on the next ball. Knowing how to aim this I jacked up and fired it in. The ball drew back 2 feet. Ty had left the room before the shot. Now I had a real rediculous rack to run out. It seemed like every shot I shot I could just barely get shape on the next one.
Finally I was down to the 8 ball. The only shot I could get was an almost90% cut down the rail. I had to put some right english on the ball so when the cue ball came off the rail it would hit their ball square and not scratch.
Not my favorite shot in this situation. One that you can never practice for but just hope that when this happens you can focus through it all and get it done.
To those of you that have learned Perfect Aim, you know what happened already. Starting with the jacked up shot at the beginning to the superthin cut on the 8-ball. I made them both.
The people that know Perfect Aim know how I made those shots because I know exactly how to aim them with the eyes in the Perfect position. Would I have made them if I had not known Perfect Aim? I would like to think so!
But I can tell you one thing. There sure was a comfort in my mind during that 30 seconds that I studied that 8-ball shot. You could have heard a pin drop on the carpet. To get down on the shot and know exactly where I needed to position the eyes was so huge. It was everything.
This was somewhere in pool that I had never been before. A situation that you cannot practice for until you get there. To see if you can hold up mentally and physically.
But I can tell you this. Those 2 shots. The people that I have taught Perfect Aim to I know understand. If I didn't know how to line up my eyes in the right position I'm afraid the outcome could have been different.
And I hope that everyone out there can experience an outcome like this from some event you are playing in and say the same thing I did.
I'm glad I knew Perfect Aim. Because if you don't have the gun aimed right you can't hit any target.
The definition for zone would be mental your correct, in stroke is considered physical, but if you can't aim perfect niether one would do you much good. But then again if I wasn't in the zone I wouldn't be able to focus on my aim. And if I wasn't in stroke my body and mind wouldn't work as well as they should.
I'm really having a battle with myself over this. You have really made me do some deep thinking about this one.
Formula: 1. Practice getting to the zone. This can be done. Whenever you play give it total concentration or don't play. Practice concentrating
2. Instroke, excersize and play enough so there seems to be a good connection between your body and your cue. Muscle memory.
3. Learn how to aim perfect. Every part of the game evolves around aiming. Every shot,shape,safe,bank,break.
4. Have the right equipment. A major leaguer couldn't hit home runs with a little league bat.
5. Just like baking a cake if you leave one ingredient out the results might not be the way you want it. The best way to say it is this is a package deal. Put the package together and the results are good.
Thanks Hu on your comment. Got my brain working. Glad I could share my thoughts. Thanks for sharing yours. . Geno..............
