The pool team in your head

This is a good way to think about playing.

  • Total voters
    20
  • Poll closed .
J

JoeW

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Based on the thread "Getting the most from your game" started by wincardona, I came up with this idea from Patrick Johnson's post suggesting that focusing on the cue tip will improve one's game.

I suspect that we simply do not have the words in our English vocabulary to state what it is that needs to be done to execute a shot well. Therefore, we resort to words such as focus, concentration zone and use others such as meditation, hypnosis, etc.

These types of activities take place in many areas of life. An excellent chef, women who have a natural talent with children, playing most games or participating in some types of craft activities.

Playing pool requires a special form of concentration / awareness/ focus. Tim Galway discusses Self 1 and Self 2 in The Inner Game of Tennis. And I have learned something about this state in some of the sports I have played, authoring texts, and in writing computer programs, oil painting, and sculpture. All of these things are related to a special form of concentration for which we do not have words. I was a competitive diver and involved in gymnastics as a teenager and remember a special state I would get into when executing a particularly difficult dive such as a double twisting two and one half somersault. It seems to me that I used the same type of relaxed, focused, heightened concentation while staring at the end of the diving board for these difficult dives.

It is a trainable technique that goes under various names in such varied sports as sailing and football, From what I have read to date, Jim Loehr in his book Mental Toughness Training For Sports has one of the best training approaches. And of course Bob Fancher outlines various aspects of the issues to be addressed in his Pleasures of Small Motions (especially the second edition).

I have become intrigued by this aspect of playing any sport and will round up this literature and the current research in mind sciences for a text that explores the issues.

While I am not against the use of words from other languages, our language is full of them, I do think that we need some parsimonious terms that have applicability to our language and our sport.

Consider that one cannot simply focus on the cue tip. There is a need to consider many, many other aspects of the shot. However, once these have been analyzed one must place their primary (for lack of a better word) focus in one place to allow the other aspects of the mind to accomplish the bodily coordination that will accomplish the task. For instance I have begun to use the focus on the tip technique a few weeks ago and found that when I use this type of technique I am less likely to forget to follow all the way through on a shot (one of my bad habits). So focusing on the tip helps my shot makng in other ways -- hmmm

One of the things that is most fascinating to me is this nonverbal aspect. Watch some of the top pros and you will see them point to a spot on the table where they want the cue ball to land. And darn if they don't put it exactly on that spot. It is not in words but in imagery that the conscious mind must communicate with the sub or unconscious mind to accomplish a task.

I think that this may be the basis for a book, where each role is discussed in terms of how we play a match.

What do you s think?

The pool team in your head

Coach = consciousness, the guy with the knowledge and experience of other teams

Assistant coach = books, educational material

Quarter back = Team leader, knows his people well

Wide receiver = valuable player

Setup = the way the team gets it all together for a play

Pass play = a particular strategy

Run Play = another particular strategy

Kicker = specialty team member

Defensive team = another group of players.

Stock holders = Owners who get people hired and fired if they don?t like the way things are going. In our case, they attend every game and while they have little knowledge they have lots of judgment calls based on irrelevant information
 
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Joe, I guess you ignored my advise concerning long distance focusing. If one is concentrating on the cue tip too much then one's focus will be only on nearby objects, or short sighted.

In the short run, maybe doing this helped you use the right side of your brain temporarily.

My wife is a psychologist also, and she came up with an interesting theory which I believe is true:

When one tries something new, the right side of the brain naturally runs the show for a while as your left side of the brain has not had a chance to form any opinions on how the screw this up LOL. The result is that in the short run you will actually shoot better because you have abandoned that evil left side of the brain.

I suspect that after a few weeks you will revert to your old form, and even shoot worse since you are not focusing using the long distance advantage.
 
Quite the contrary Whitewolf. I find your idea is one of the more useful ideas I have bumped into lately. I have now shown it to four or five people and all have found that it is indeed useful and a confidence builder.:D

However, I like to use your approach in the preshot routine when I establish the line to the pocket. When I get down over the shot the first thing I think that one should look at is the pocket based on your ideas. Drawing a line from the pcket to the OB is indeed the best way to go as the pocket is so much bigger. Unfortunately most people do not realize this is true. All you have to do is get them to use your trick of comparing their hands.

Not sure about the right side of the brain idea. It makes sense to some extent. It seems to me that when learning a new technique it is all about conscious control. That is making sure that I do everything "right." Later as I learn the technique it is placed under sub-conscious control.

It may be that we are initially good at something because we do not know what to control and the usual body control is sufficient for the first few attempts until the "coach" tries to play the game.
 
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I think analogies are best used on those who maybe won't understand a concept in the traditional way... you then use stuff like this to help solidify things in their head. Even then, the analogy has to be relevant, and ideally tailored to the person you want to educate.

This analogy might be lost on guys like me... are we talking about the game with the funny brown ball? The only game I really follow is pool.

Not to bash what you're trying to do, but as a book concept... if I saw it in a store I would immediately think "gimmicky" in the sense that it's taking an analogy too far, and also in the sense that it's trying to translate a game that has a little mass appeal to something that joe beer drinker can enjoy and understand.

I went with "don't know" since there's nothing to say it wouldn't help at least the football-fan audience.
 
Thanks Creedo. Just the type of advise I am looking for. I agree, it does seem gimmicky, though that was not my intent. It is probably not good to start a whole new vocabulary, but there is a need for some concepts that do not have excess baggage such as Zen or hypnosis. The problem with the football analogy is that it too has excess baggage, some of which is useful. I am no football fan either and was trying to come up with something that might be easily understood. So it is back to the drawing boards.

The football thing is what I call an example of my hot tub thinking. I swim nearly every day and then get in the hot tub for 15 minutes or so. Seems I have a lot of ideas in the hot tub, some good some not so good. I think you are right, this is a not so good idea.

My intent for a text would be one for the serious player who appreciates the ideas that science can contribute, it definitely would not be for the average Joe.
 
teams

Shooting pool is more closely related to a NASCAR team than a football team in my opinion. Many team members involved in preparation, a smaller but still substantial group supporting the driver during the race, and the driver alone in control of the situation with input by radio when needed.

The subconscious is the "driver". Everything else including the conscious, which might be considered the crew chief, supports the driver during competition. The driver is processing far more than needed to just get the car around the track on a fast line. He is always aware of a handful of gauges, traffic both around him and far away, changing track conditions, and changes in the way the car handles as the fuel load and tires change between pit stops.

The subconscious is fully capable of discarding distractions, processing shot options, and making shots without any loss of ability to pocket balls too. It is when we try to focus it into one narrow channel that every little distraction derails the subconscious. Train it, give it the tools to work with, and then like the stock car driver mostly leave it alone to do it's job with minimum interference.

Hu
 
I agree with you Neil about things like walking. When it comes to complex activities such as playing pool, tennis, golf, there is a need to learn some specific approaches that are then placed in the sub-conscious.

I think that playing excellent pool also requires some very specific types of mental organization. This type of organization needs to be understood, structured, and placed in the brain - mind for recall at will.

I know that today, 40 years later, I can walk out on a three meter board and do some things that will make jaws drop and I have not done some of these dives in 20 years. To some extent natural talent was required to learn these movements, to a much larger extent the profeciency was the result of good coaching that lead me to do things I had never thought possible. BTW I was invited to the Olympic tryouts but got sick and was hospitalized, so I am alluding to a very high level of expertise in a very difficult sport, none-the-less most anyone can dive off a diving board. I never have met a "natural" when it comes to diving. Anyone who was any good learned most of it from a coach -- natural talent will only take one so far in that sport. It may take people further in pool playing but not often.

For some things it is not just a matter of walking and one of the reasons I enjoy playing pool is the true challenge it presents.
 
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I know the brain is a powerful tool to use in many ways. I was a body builder years ago and competed in serval contests...I met Mike Dayton who was a natural Mr. America and Mr. Universe..No steriods....He was also a martial arts champion and won serval strong man contests....
He once asked me if I had a quarter. Not the new ones we have now but the old one's made of metal that don't bend or have copper in them. He proceeded to take the quarter and twist it around and almost in half...Then he told me to try it. At the time I was fairly strong, benching 315 lbs for 3 reps, 275 lbs for 10 reps., and so on.....I could not do it...Mike said to me that the reason I can not do it is because of the pain signal my fingers send to my brain. He said I was strong enough to do it but pain was stopping me....He said he had studied CHI, which trains the brain to over come the pain and bend the quarter... He said he could not do it either until he mastered the power of Chi and could get past the pain and bend the quarter...
This may seem off the subject but I feel there are ways a person could find to train the brain for a better pool game...I feel these comments are on the right track for tryng to improve one's pool game. I just wish I coud find one that works for me...
Keep working on them guys..I know they are out there...
 
But, I'm Willing To Learn (something)

CreeDo said:
Not to bash what you're trying to do, but as a book concept... if I saw it in a store I would immediately think "gimmicky" in the sense that it's taking an analogy too far, and also in the sense that it's trying to translate a game that has a little mass appeal to something that joe beer drinker can enjoy and understand.

I went with "don't know" since there's nothing to say it wouldn't help at least the football-fan audience.
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At this stage of my pool career, I'm more interested in two things. When can I go to the bathroom and will my opponent move any balls while I'm gone.
Doug
( I also voted "Don't Know", because I truly don't know ANYTHING )
 
Pool

'Natural' players Visualize (Instinctual), 'Logic' players Rationalize (Product of our upbringing). But as we age, and after being exposed to the various facets of the world where things become complex and we have to think more in our jobs, family, etc., we tend to go towards being more of a 'Logic' player than we were when we were younger.
 
having all those different characters/roles in your head will make you crazier than a shithouse rat
 
bigskyjake said:
having all those different characters/roles in your head will make you crazier than a shithouse rat
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Boy do I agree with that and it is more a matter of how to get rid of and or control them as a process than as a character.
 
JoeW said:
Boy do I agree with that and it is more a matter of how to get rid of and or control them as a process than as a character.
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OK, so why segment Gellways "Self 1" into so many roles ? One central idea in the Inner Game is to quiet Self 1, whereas in your concept you would have to quiet each role individually, a much harder task. Of course I may not be interpretting your idea properly.

Dave
 
Dave:
Self 2 makes the shot.
Self 1 (and it's components) are used in the analysis phase, especually when Self 2 gets in trouble.

Unlike tennis, Self 1 and self 2 must constantly interchange throughout the match. This also occurs in tennis but not necessarily as much.
 
Maybe this also has too much baggage, but a fairly accessible way to characterize the two pool voices are the devil and the angel.

Devil: GO FOR IT. The bank is dead. You can break up the 5 7 cluster and you're out.

Angel: That's a flyer. You know better. Roll into the cluster and lock up the CB.

Devil: Only pussies play safe.

etc.
 
JoeW said:
Dave:
Self 2 makes the shot.
Self 1 (and it's components) are used in the analysis phase, especually when Self 2 gets in trouble.

Unlike tennis, Self 1 and self 2 must constantly interchange throughout the match. This also occurs in tennis but not necessarily as much.
Click to expand...

This is all well and good, and is the essence of the Gallwey, but my question remains : What is the benefit of splitting self 1 into components as you suggest ? If you want folks to try to interpret these voices into various roles you are asking people to create a group of 'Japanese Admirals', so you must have a reason. Without any benefit why would one make the Inner Game more complex by adding to it's cast of charactors ? I'm trying to understand your concept Joe, but you need to explain it further of you expect reasonable feedback.

I tend to agree with your last statement, and will likely read The Inner Game of Golf to see how Gallwey applies his Inner Game concepts to a non-realtime sport.

Dave
 
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