Tournament mental game problems (long)

[TATE]

Hi!


- i get a lot of adrenaline kick...way too much...
- which causes my shooting hand to be shaky
- in critical moments i can feel my heart rate go up...way up...
- stroke quality deteriorates...instead of long smooth one, sometimes it becomes pokey, jerky...just awful...i'd like it to be as good as the one i have in practice sessions, but it just isn't...the hand becomes either too stiff or too alive (shaky)...
- thoughts about missing get into my mind...can't get rid of them
- my confidence is completely ruined...


Thanks.

Hmmmm.... sounds like you are shooting pool in a tournament.

It's called "stage fright". All performers get it to a certain extent. As long as you don't faint or throw up on the table, you'll be fine.

A pre-shot routine, rock solid, can help a lot. Get in the habit of approaching every shot the same and keep one thing in your mind, like "stay down" or "follow through".

You don't have to completely get rid of the adrenaline, you just have to control yourself. Some of the best matches I've played in my life have been under full adrenaline pump. You can turn it into an asset. You will be incredibly alert and stronger than hell. Turn it into power. The deep breaths, take a little more time and intentionally go slowly. Don't rush the shot. I like to really pump my stroke and feel the weight of the cue when I'm uptight.

In a way, if you are afraid of this sensation, it makes it worse. It becomes self-fulfilling. Welcome the pump and control it. I swear, it works.

I just want to tell a little story. I played this young man in a tournament, and he was incredibly nervous. He almost fainted his first turn at the table. I thought he couldn't play at all. He couldn't make even an easy shot. I got up on him 5 to 1 and said a few nice words to him to help him relax. Big mistake. He calmed down, got it under control and fired back big time. Next thing I knew we were hill-hill and I lost.

I could tell that once he had the pump under control, he was playing superhuman. It happens.

Chris

 

[Tommy-D]

> One thing that helped me was paying close attention to what you hear when playing. The sound of the cue ball coming off the rail to the perfect spot,the sound your cue makes when you really stroke a shot well,the sound of the collision between 2 balls,and the differences between the sound of good shots versus bad. If you are concentrating on/observing the noises related directly to the game,you are automatically paying close attention to the game,to the point where the nerves eventually disappear until you decide or are forced to expand your comfort zone by putting yourself in tougher tournaments/action,or different surroundings. With my own stroke and cue,I can close my eyes and tell you by sound alone if I stroked it right or not,before the object ball tells me. I will say however that a side effect of doing this might be that you hear things in the background that might not be conducive to maximum focus,people rattling ice in their cups,jingling change,or common conversation. My solution to this was foam earplugs. Tommy D.

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

> One thing that helped me was paying close attention to what you hear when playing. The sound of the cue ball coming off the rail to the perfect spot,the sound your cue makes when you really stroke a shot well,the sound of the collision between 2 balls,and the differences between the sound of good shots versus bad. If you are concentrating on/observing the noises related directly to the game,you are automatically paying close attention to the game,to the point where the nerves eventually disappear until you decide or are forced to expand your comfort zone by putting yourself in tougher tournaments/action,or different surroundings. With my own stroke and cue,I can close my eyes and tell you by sound alone if I stroked it right or not,before the object ball tells me. I will say however that a side effect of doing this might be that you hear things in the background that might not be conducive to maximum focus,people rattling ice in their cups,jingling change,or common conversation. My solution to this was foam earplugs. Tommy D.

In my personal opinion, the greatest feedback you can get is the way your cue feels at the moment of contact. If you intend to hit the cue-ball dead-center and it doesn't FEEL like you did, then you're not hitting it dead-center, even if the results were exactly as you wanted them to be.

When I'm warming-up for a tournament, I focus more on how it feels than whether the balls actually go in. I figure, if I'm addressing the cue-ball the way I want, they'll start to drop.

 

[predator]

I knew I would get real good advices that are not in anyone's book. Thanks a lot guys. I'll print this topic out and read it many times.

Funny thing is, right after my loss at tournament I came back to my own club to see if I was really that bad. Well, the stroke was loose, I could run out, felt happy at the table. Completely different sensation.

My skill level:
I'm not a world beater. My records are only 52balls at 14.1 and 4 racks at 9ball. Never beat the 9ball ghost, but I'm getting closer to it. Especially proud of running a rack of 15 ball rotation 3 times in my pool career.

Competition:
Large majority of guys I compete with couldn't get anywhere near those numbers, rarely run out, whether 8ball or 9ball. Maybe 3 or 4 guys out of about 70 or so in my league could surpass my numbers in practice. But they are strong mentally it has to be said.

Here we ago about expectations again. I know the skill level of my competition and cannot help but wonder how the hell players far below my skill level are having so much more success? I can toy with them in practice, could give them handicap, but are they really below my skill level? Ranking doesn't say so. They must have something that I don't...

Ah well, enough ramblings, I have so much more to work on...
Thanks again for all the advices...

 

[DelaWho???]

Preshot Routine

2 Words that will make it better.....Preshot Routine...
Always approache each shot in the same manner. Look at the shot, at the lay of the table. See the ball traveling to the pocket. Chalk your cue and take a lap around the table. Breathe...If you're anxious about a shot or the adrenalin is still too high, repeat, look at the shot again, and feel confident in your ability to pocket the ball. Don't worry about the other guy or who's watching. When you're at the table see the green.

Play in tourney situations as much as possible. Soak up the pressure situations and feel how it feels to be under pressure. You get used to it and the nerves will settle over time.

McCue Banger McCue