I got "in the zone" quite a few times when I was doing Joe Tuckers shot drills.
There was no shot in the drills I could not make more than about 50 /50. Some we would make 10 out of 10 90% of the time. But, when you put that many shots together , going from easy to very difficult, it starts to become more dependent of focus. And that is what the zone is to me , it also can involve doing things you never or almost never did before, but that is really rare.
I had just moved back to Ohio from Phoenix , I didn't play well out there because I didn't usually feel very good. especially for any length of time. Like even 2 hours. I did have a couple of pretty good outings, but it was usually mediocre.
I get Joes drills and there is one shot I can't get to react correctly , the rail must have been hard in that exact spot . I even had a couple of pros try the shot , we could all do it at the pool room , but no one could do it on my table, so I moved the ball 1/2 inch easier and it became makeable like I figured it was supposed to be. It still took a good stroke after pocketing the ball to get there. and thats what is important.
Anyway , when I started the drills I think I shot a 220. I stayed there a couple of sets and it started coming down, I felt like I was playing pretty good at 170.
Then at 150 I felt I was probably playing close to my speed before I got really sick. I spent another month on this drill and about 2 hours more of practice and playing a few hours a day at the pool room and I got down to 130. Now I was playing my best days out, level. I felt pretty good about knocking 100 shots off my workout in just a few months and I figured any improvement from here would be tough.
I kept playing and practicing and I went up some days to 150 or even 160, but almost never higher and I fluctuated between 130 and 140 usually and I would get a great start some times then waste 7 shots on a ball I normally made in 2 max.
One night I thought about just taking the night off, I was tired , not in a good mood and figured I would have a lousy round anyway and just waste my time. I got downstairs, thought, I'm here , I'm not wasting the time, lets go. I shot a 117 and it should have been around 100 to 105 , I missed so many easy shots at the end because I had crushed all my expectations and even some of my dreams, In retrospect, like when you are in a serious do or die game, when you make the tough shot, take a moment and gather your thoughts, or you will misfire even an easy shot. I wish I had done that , but I didn't . Joe Tucker said when he was on the tour , that was what he was shooting!
I'm sure some of you can do it regularly , probably even beat it, but it isn't easy! Try it if you think it is. Remember , unless the table is broken, no fudging! NO saying , my wife told me the dog died in the middle of the shot or , the house caught fire, nothing, otherwise it's a lie ,and you are a liar. period. Anyway, I highly recommend those drills , I got in the zone several times playing them in 4 months and it seemed like my concentration while playing improved so much it was ridiculous, before, if a guy across the room moved I got yipped, after this drill for 4 or 5 months, I barely noticed anything, and that's usually a great thing!
Good luck to everyone, I hope this helps you as much as it did me.
