The mental side of the game

[trob]

I was listening to espn the other morning and they were talking about last years runner up at the us open. He had played great for the entire open and was generally a player nobody knew. On hole 16 on the last day he hit a beautiful shot that stopped a few inches from the cup to give him a 2 stroke lead with 2 holes to play. He said that was the first time the whole tournament that the thought hit him "I'm going to win the open!" He then went on to bogey 17 and 18 and bogey the first hole in sudden death to lose to Tiger. It made me thing about my pool game. I realised that usually when I blow an out it's because after I make that key shot in the out where it's all gravy from there is where I get that same thought. I'm out from here..and that's when something silly happens. It's almost like mentally you leave up a bit because in your mind you already ran out. So that's been my new mental exorcise lol one ball at a time and never thing about the outcome.
Sorry if this is silly ..just something I wanted to share.

 

[John Biddle]

It's not silly at all! It happens all too often to way to many people, your truly included.

I wish I had an easy answer for how to solve it, but I'm currently working with an idea that is helping me. I use a modification as well.

I don't remember who I heard this idea from or I'd give credit; I thought is was excellent. When tension mounts and you start getting nervous and antsy it's because adrenaline is being released into your body. Instead of letting the nervousness get to you, remind yourself that the adrenaline is your body's way of maximizing your ability to perform when it counts. Your senses are sharpened, so you can relax a little and continue to concentrate on what's important, playing the game, not thinking about winning.

Any little something that gets your head out of the game and onto something else, like how good you're going to feel beating this guy, etc., inhibits your ability to play. I remind myself that those feelings come up at important moments, when my body is poised to let me perform at my best. That's helps my confidence and I finish much more often that I used to.

You simply MUST get rid of any negative feelings. Smile, it improves your attitude. Take the posture of a winner, and shoot confidently. You'll kick butt.