Reconfiguring Your Game…Game Goes Down The Toilet?

[KillerWhalePool]

I haven’t played in years, probably 3-4 years. Had a rough go with COVID a couple years ago and almost died, pulled through, and decided I wanted to go back to the game I love. But I wanted to be better, so I have started from scratch and have changed multiple things about my mechanics, and now my game has gone in the crapper. It’s rough. Anyone else have a similar experience with trying to get better and actually getting worse…way worse?

 

[dquarasr]

If you are rebuilding your game, steps backwards are expected and highly probable. Hang in there. (Assuming you did indeed have bad fundamentals you needed to undo and rebuild.)

 

[MitchAlsup]

You must rebuild the fundamentals
a) the way you hold and stroke the cue
b) the way you position your body to perform (a)
c) the way you look at a table position and decide what to shoot
d) the way you use your eye to perform (c)
e) the calmness of your mind when performing (b) and (d) simultaneously

 

[boogieman]

I haven’t played in years, probably 3-4 years. Had a rough go with COVID a couple years ago and almost died, pulled through, and decided I wanted to go back to the game I love. But I wanted to be better, so I have started from scratch and have changed multiple things about my mechanics, and now my game has gone in the crapper. It’s rough. Anyone else have a similar experience with trying to get better and actually getting worse…way worse?

Yeah, this is something that happens to many people. As said, start right and try to get the fundamentals real good. It would probably be a good spot to get an instructor if you can find one and get on the right track.

Even if you feel you are playing bad, often building correctly from scratch is better than fighting old habits.

It does get better, just keep one foot in front of the other, baby steps but they all get you toward your goal.

 

[JolietJames]

Yup. When I started taking lessons I had to learn a new way to hold the cue, new stance, new stroke, etc.
It took about 3 months to get back to where I was but then my game just kept going up after that.
Hang in there. Do the work. Profit.

 

[George the Greek]

Some good advice there! I've only played a half dozen times in just over 20 years and I was like a fish out of water. I was thinking give it up but it's been a big part of my life and after watching all the YouTube matches for so long I'm invigorated again. I'm putting in a 9ft in the basement once our new house is completed and starting at square one.
I'll be concentrating on cuearm action, refinding a comfortable stance and making sure I'm shooting the cueball straight. The rest will come back on it's own with some practice/playing time.

 

[George the Greek]

Yup. When I started taking lessons I had to learn a new way to hold the cue, new stance, new stroke, etc.
It took about 3 months to get back to where I was but then my game just kept going up after that.
Hang in there. Do the work. Profit.

The game goes up in little plateus and it's fun when you recognize them

 

[tg_vegas]

You see the same thing in golf. Every time I seem to hit a plateau and get some coaching, I take several steps back, but over time, I reach a new high point. Sometimes it really does require throwing out what is wrong, but somehow manages to work, in order to fortify the foundation and reach new levels of performance. Tiger Woods went through this exact same phenomenon when he changed coaches.

I got some coaching this year from a well known coach on this forum and it destroyed my game. However, after several months of practicing what I learned, I'm now playing as well as I ever have. I'm now wondering if a "tear-down and rebuild" might do me good again!..

 

[LarCam]

There's no hope---I've been bad for 60 years ( not really --only 40 years )

 

[George the Greek]

There's no hope---I've been bad for 60 years ( not really --only 40 years )

There's always hope as long as the expectations aren't too high. I just want to have fun again and if I get to the level I want I'll be happy.

 

[hang-the-9]

Of course it will get worse, you are changing how you are executing shots. Expect about the same amount of time building it back up as it took to learn how you are doing now. I started to re-do how I played maybe 15 years ago after playing about the same amount of time, and I'm still working on it because for the first 15 years I was aiming to the left and did not have the center of the cueball properly seen but I had no idea that was happening. Now that still comes into issues with using left spin and missing quite a few longer shots due to throw when I put unintended right spin on the ball.

 

[WobblyStroke]

are you working with an instructor? A knowledgable guide can really streamline the process for you. Random tips on youtube are fine, but nothing beats direct instruction specifically catered to your needs.

I've had several students come to me after many months or even years of trying to do things on their own and develop more in a few weeks than in all the time they spent at it on their own. Im sure every teacher has examples like this.

A couple of guys I worked with were simply trying to apply the wrong things for them. There are many ways to deliver a cue well. A good instructor can fine tune and refine what u are already working with rather than immediately try to overhaul everything. Even if u had enough flaws for a full overhaul to be required, instructors have experience in applying changes that fix multiple flaws at once by addressing their cause rather than dealing with individual symptoms. It is money well spent.

 

[mikemosconi]

You must rebuild the fundamentals
a) the way you hold and stroke the cue
b) the way you position your body to perform (a)
c) the way you look at a table position and decide what to shoot
d) the way you use your eye to perform (c)
e) the calmness of your mind when performing (b) and (d) simultaneously

Great steps in a rebuild! I have been on a two year rebuild since obtaining Mark Wilson's Play Great Pool- One tip- I think you need to video yourself if you are not doing that on a regular basis. if you don't see what you are doing - you can easily imagine that you have changed things, when maybe you have not changed- or changed incorrectly.

All it takes is a $20 tripod and an I phone.

 

[TheBasics]

KillerWhalePool, Howdy;

Been playing since the Summer of 1961. Sounds like a long time but really
it breaks down to maybe 20 years of actual playing. Many vacations, some long
others not so long. Without consistent use the 'muscle memory' tends to forget.
With age added into it it almost becomes a lost cause. Happy to report that with
a return to the true basic fundamentals you will have gaps in the rebuilding.
Speaking from my own experience. I've gone from books to even getting modern
and using videos and even you tube. Realize your body has also changed so some
of the contortions won't be there like they used-ta-be. chucklin'

Create a stance then a pre-shot routine, then go to work on the stroke. Take things
in order as you would if you were shooting. One step at a time. yup, long drawn out
process, but strangely, that kinda how ya learned originally isn't it. Only now as the
muscles begin to remember the time frame gets shorter. Something to look forward
to, eh. chucklin'

Good luck and enjoy the table time.

hank

 

[ChrisinNC]

I haven’t played in years, probably 3-4 years. Had a rough go with COVID a couple years ago and almost died, pulled through, and decided I wanted to go back to the game I love. But I wanted to be better, so I have started from scratch and have changed multiple things about my mechanics, and now my game has gone in the crapper. It’s rough. Anyone else have a similar experience with trying to get better and actually getting worse…way worse?

Depends how good you played before your layoff? If you were satisfied with your game, making a bunch of changes when you came back just because you were rusty and weren’t playing well doesn’t necessarily work. Give yourself a little time.

I experimented with virtually every change imaginable including looking at the cue ball last when I was in a slump not long ago, with no lasting results. Then I finally decided to not overthink it, trust what I’ve done for nearly 50 years, and my game eventually came back.

Yes, fundamentals are important, but the mental game and practice / playing time are also huge.

 

[GoldCrown]

Gets worse then better. Trust that

 

[ShootingArts]

I am going to buck the tide a bit and say the worst mistake I ever made in pool was trying to update my game after about twenty years mostly away. I came on AZB and the pendulum was all the rage. I am here to tell you all I had horrible flaws in my pendulum stroke. What I didn't realize is there wasn't a thing in the world wrong with my full arm stroke.

I got to where I was neither fish nor fowl, my stroke plain sucked trying to force it to be something it wasn't. Most of the time I never reached much over 50% of my old game. The only times I played well was when something caused me to just play pool, without thought. I was practicing on the only nine foot table in the town, small town. The table was old and very rough but the only one in town and I got a sweetheart deal on the table time. Because of these things I let anyone join me that wanted to.

A youngster came up with a cue case buried under all kind of league stickers and accomplishment patches and decals. We hit balls for an hour or so, then he wanted to play one set before he left. The same signs that have warned me for years said it was time to play pool or lose, I was seeing his best game. No doubt in my mind that his goal was to go away feeling good at my expense, nope! I started gliding around the table, the stick was started back as I set my feet. As soon as I hit the cue ball I was moving into the next shot. Two quick games and the youngster quit, he could see there would be no joy in Mudville that night!

If I had it all to do again I would have just let my old game come back. Now I am usually stuck betwixt and between. Of course forty years since my best game and more surgeries than I can remember haven't helped my game any!

With hindsight I wouldn't try to build something new until I was sure what was old was broken. I was taking pretty much anyone that came looking before I decided to fix my game.

Hu

 

[WobblyStroke]

Hu's experience outlined above mirrors that of a few of my students and one AZBer who I havent seen around in many months....

they had a good game. yook yime off and came back but got lured in by THE fundamentals. So they tried futily to jam their natural round peg game into a square hole and had disastrous results. What I did with them....and in the case of the AZBer it was justa quick DM or two... is I got them yo lean into their natural way of playing and let them know how/why it works. with the confidence to not try to live up to someone else's ideal but instead let their natural stroke out, they all quickly returned to their old selves. I wish he wasaround to corroborate the story, but the AZBer sent me an update within a werk or two that he was playing some of his bestpool ever. All he needed was to trust his technique and not be lured into a completely different way of playing.

This is something a skilled instructor can do for you...provided u did indeed have a strong game before. A complete rebuild is a slow process. waking up a sleeping giant can happen in a hurry. Many will be able yo get there if they give their own style a real chance yo come back as Hu did. Im certain an instuctor can make that happen even faster as long as they arent the 'my way or it is wrong' type.

 

[jtompilot]

I’m in the process of overhauling my stroke. After 55 years of doing it poorly but getting away with it, I’m trying to fix my problems. Sometimes is see the improvement and then I get in a money game and all the bad habits return. Currently it’s very frustrating but I’ll keep plugging away with improvement.

 

[George the Greek]

Great steps in a rebuild! I have been on a two year rebuild since obtaining Mark Wilson's Play Great Pool- One tip- I think you need to video yourself if you are not doing that on a regular basis. if you don't see what you are doing - you can easily imagine that you have changed things, when maybe you have not changed- or changed incorrectly.

All it takes is a $20 tripod and an I phone.

I was in a little slump (playing snooker) years ago and a friend brought in his camcorder ( that long ago) and did a video for me. I went home watched it over and over and over and saw the problem. I went back to the poolhall and we did another video and it was night and btwn the 2 sessions. Many years later I was playing and one of the oldtimers ( wallflower) said something is not right with my bridgehand( open bridge) . I had gotten lazy with my thumb and it wasn't making a solid vee so everything was off a bit. I corrected that and got back into making balls. Playing pool/9 ball I had a decent break and have made 5-6 off the break several times and try and get the one ball where I want it. Once I start playing again I'll try some different breaks.