The zone and playing speed

B

Bluewolf

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am and have wondered about this for awhile. When I go into the zone, I play at a better speed than when not in the zone.

Is it possible to play ABOVE one's speed while in the zone?
Is one's true speed what one plays in the zone?
or
Is one's true speed what one plays when not in the zone?

I want to be realistic about my speed in terms of not thinking I am better than I am, nor thinking I am worse than I am. That is why I ask these questions.

So to those who frequent the zone, what is your opinion?

Laura
 
Your speed is an average of your good days and bad days combined.

When you are in the zone, or dead-stroke, you are playing at your full potential of the moment, which is above your average speed.
 
i'm inclined to agree with pro, though i think averaging out your highs and lows is difficult. i prefer to think that your speed is what you play MOST OF THE TIME, rather than an overall average.

and the biggest mistake is that everyone thinks their best game is their true speed. i think that's why they bitch so much:):):)

i prefer to underrate my speed, or at least think less of my game than others see it,,,,,,,less stress, more enjoyment
 
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Zone

You don't take the best day you ever played and think that is your speed. Your speed is the game you can depend on playing when you match up. Don't be fooling yourself it could be costly.
 
Re: Zone

macguy said:
You don't take the best day you ever played and think that is your speed. Your speed is the game you can depend on playing when you match up. Don't be fooling yourself it could be costly.
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I guess I am just weird then. I have no idea what my speed is, because most of the time I do not remember what I did. All I have to go on is what people who watched me said I did. I know that what I did is higher speed than how I play when I practice based on what they said, so I have been working on my practice to make it better.

Maybe if I had played longer, this would not seem so confusing, but it would be nice to know how good or bad I am. I cannot even go by the apa number because people complain about me all of the time. Maybe it would be safer to base my speed on what I do in practice rather than the match.

thanks.


Laura
 
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this is why i like 14.1,,,aside from the fact i think it's a better game:). in 9ball, you can encounter odd situations with difficult or easy shots,,,difficult or easy layouts,,,and also maybe you get streaky for a few racks.

in 14.1,,,if i'm running more balls per inning now than i did a month ago, i'm better. and since I am responsible for managing the table and massaging the balls, i think it's a more measurable yardstick than 9ball.
 
Thanks. 14.1 sounds like a good game but people around here play nine ball and eight ball. Maybe I should use that to practice.

Also here in APA, there are so many whose sls are not accurate, it is hard to tell and you dont play the same ones usually more than once per session.

Laura
 
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Bluewolf said:
Thanks. 14.1 sounds like a good game but people around here play nine ball and eight ball. Maybe I should use that to practice.

Laura
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,,,here's a good practice game. bowlliards. a rack of ten balls, and you try to braek and run. you can shoot at ANY ball,,,,there is no numerical order. the break is a free shot. run all ten, and it is a strike. run all ten with one miss, and it is a spare. if you miss a second time, you count only what you made. you can score the game like bowling, or not(maybe just keep track of your strikes and spares).

it's a great solo games. easy to gauge you progress. it is used in japan to determine "pros", so i'm told by my friend. i think they have to score 260 to be considered pros. at first, i thought this was funny, but you know what, at least they draw the line somewhere between pros and amateurs.
 
Laura,

If you can get into the "zone" on a regular basis, and if your definition of the "zone" is the same as mine, you are extremely lucky. My definition of it is when every shot seems easy and all your physical and mental abilities are working together at a maximum level. I didn't lose my cognitive thinking or anything like that. What happened to me was expressed by Fast Eddie in the movie "The Hustler". The cue became an extension of my arm and I not only felt like I could make any shot, I did make any shot, and the shots all seemed easy after a while. This experience only lasted about an hour and that was about 8 years ago and I haven't experienced anything exactly like that again so far, of course I'm still hoping! I have had moments when I'm playing really good but that one time was really euphoric.
 
Thanks Rick. It might be the same but you are so much a better player, it might be hard to compare. What is my best speed for me is obviously less than it would be for you. But thanks for telling me about your experience.

I guess i was wondering how one accesses ones speed also.

What really got me going in the right direction was believing I had a good stroke and to be able to have great confidence in that. I also work almost every day on my stroke cadence. That is relaxing and does seem to get me in the right rhythm for playing well in a match. That, I think, believing in my stroke, and having a cadence has done as much for my game as anything.

Laura
 
Oh how I miss that feeling. I got in to the zone one time and it was in Vegas for the team nine ball championships. I know how everyone feels about handicaps, me included, but I was a 6 playing a 7. I broke and ran the first three racks. Broke the fourth game, played safe and then continued to run out that rack and the next one to the six to end it. I ended up beating the guy 46-0 and to be totally honest, I barely remember it. Weird. And then when I got home I lost something like 6 weeks in a row.
Go figure...

Dave
 
Gosh how frustrating, to play so well and then lose 6 in a row. I used to be so inconsistent. I was in the zone once, then in a state of super concentration for a few weeks, then lost 3 weeks straight. Once I lost 3 weeks straight because I was upset about stuff and let my game go in the toilet. Then I got mad at myself and decided that I was going to control my emotions, and stopped doing the toilet routine.

I have not played but a year so I guess my game is evolving still and hope to settle into a real consistent game. That is why I think the stroke and stroke cadence really helps to level me out. That way, when the hot game is not there, there is at least a good game and my bottom is not so low.

Sometimes I think a consistent good game is way more preferable to hot and cold. Hopefully soon I will figure out my speed. Having those hot times I cant remember just kind of muddy the water in that sense though.

Laura
 
Consistency is certainly better than hot and cold. Thankfully I have since settled down a bit since and even when I lose, 9 times out of ten I can honestly say that I played my best and the other player just played a better game. Of course there are still those annoying moments when it seems like I everything I shoot is jawing the pockets.
If it wasn't fun I wouldn't do it...

Dave
 
Bluewolf said:

I guess i was wondering how one accesses ones speed also.

What really got me going in the right direction was believing I had a good stroke and to be able to have great confidence in that.
Laura
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here's what i noticed about my zoning. in a zone, the shot is just there. there is no quibble about right or wrong. you just know it. confidence,,,and the pacing is faster. so what i tried to devise is a way to access that zone quicker, which for me meant finding an aimimg technique that allowed for a quicker read on the angle.

in situations when i tend to over or undercut, i started to aim OFF the pocket,,,and mentally expanded the size of the pocket. ie,,,i made the pocket larger in my mind. this is what happens when i zone anyway.
 
I think a person is in a zone when he no longer uses an "aiming" technique. He/she just knows at what angle he/she approaches the ob to pocket it and knows where the cb is going.
I like the way the Monk puts it. Be ONE with the shot.
 
Joseph Cues said:
I think a person is in a zone when he no longer uses an "aiming" technique. He/she just knows at what angle he/she approaches the ob to pocket it and knows where the cb is going.
I like the way the Monk puts it. Be ONE with the shot.
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yes, that is what happens. some people,,,like me, take two hours to get there. so what i was trying to conjur up was a way to shorten that span of time.
 
bruin70 said:
yes, that is what happens. some people,,,like me, take two hours to get there. so what i was trying to conjur up was a way to shorten that span of time.
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well, when I was in the zone, I aimed at the ball. What do you mean, no aiming system?

Laura
 
Bluewolf said:
well, when I was in the zone, I aimed at the ball. What do you mean, no aiming system?

Laura
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but haven't you noticed that when you AREN'T zoned, the target is hard to find,,,,and when you ARE, the aim point is huge....
or that the pocket that was soooo small is now bigger?
 
I read an interview of, I'm pretty sure it was Keith Hernandez a baseball slugger, and it was a while ago. He said that when he is in the zone, he can see the threads on the baseball when it's coming towards the plate. When a small very hard white ball is coming at you at approximately 90 mph, being able to see the threads on the ball is pretty surreal.
 
fast larry said:
Hi there, this is Fast, Laura, who aims a terd, I am not that good, you just be one with it and allow a free fall, then listen to the water, the ripples, and focus on your deep breathing in and out. Until you are one with this, don't even think about trying to run 3 balls in a row. :D
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Well havent you the nerve!!! i can run three balls just fine as long as the shape is not hard. Now I have this drill to do to help me conquer that shape demon. But I plan to beat this drill very quickly. It is now my opponent, my enemy!!!!

Laura
 
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