question about mental influence on basic technique

M

marek

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hi!
I would like to ask a question about mental influence on basic technique. First of all I need to say that I am basically a pool player who started to play snooker about 8 months ago(with no instruction as there are no instructors in my country unfortunatelly). My high run so far in the match is 56, from the line-up drill I have run 137. I have been always struggling with my aiming/stroke allignment possibly due to the fact that my dominant eye is quite stronger than the other. Since I moved the cue under my cheek favouring my dominant eye my cueing action became much more consistent. Now to the question? :D I entered some competitions here and I was quite succesful as I played a good mix of safeties and runs with very few unforced errors. But I found out that if I start to feel pressure somehow my game slips away a little, my aiming confidence gets worse so I have to play much more defensively to have any chance of winning = not to make unforced mistakes. I just feel that the pressure gets to my fundamentals, probably I tighten my muscles more which leads to some change in my stance. Am I right? If it is so what should I do to prevent this? The best thing should be not to get under pressure but it is virtually impossible with good competition?:D Any tips?
Marek
 
You may need more experiance under pressure. You will never not feel pressure while playing good players in competition, it's just you learn to deal with it and it should eventually help you focus.

A pre-shot routine is neccessary to ensure you are always setting yourself up the same way every time. In order to play consistently, you have to do things consistently.

The two main ways that pressure manifests itself in your game is through jumping up during your stroke and tightening your grip during the stroke, typically on the follow through. I would just focus on bringing your cue back smoothly, pause, and then follow through smoothly. Maintain your focus on the object ball throughout the entirety of your stroke, I find that if I am doing that I am less likely to jump up.

The other possibility is that you are not thinking well under pressure. If this is the case, then I would suggest trying to think two or three possible positional routes when trying to get on a colour or a red unless the shot is obvious.

Without seeing you play it's tough for me to help too much. But at the end of the day, the better your fundamentals are the easier it is to handle pressure.
 
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