The Ask The Instructor subforum is best.
What do you do when you're lost?
- Thread starter ldl01031
- Start date
No Such Thing in pool
Consistently doing something wrong as you've said is fixable from an instructor that teaches more than just fundamentals and shot execution.
Why, because there's a root cause of this, and by you doing this seemingly ''all the time'', to me it sounds like a man in the mirror moment, with a fundamental flaw in your game, riding on High Hopes ''just because'' of the ''man in the mirrors'' choice.
I'm not being negative, but I've in the past ''beat myself up'' to eventually find/fix/REALIZE what it was/ME.
CajunCountry
Registered
After a very long layoff from pool. My game was very inconsistent, even after excessive practice for at least a year. I wasn't nearly as accurate as I was in my 20's, now 47. I know my eyesight has diminished slightly, but I started thinking what I was doing different back then. Well, I was weight training pretty consistently. Having not touched a weight in over a decade and feeling tired all the time, I jumped back into it. Now this may be completely coincidental, but after just a few months of training I'm much more accurate again and my stroke is much straighter (no more unwanted side spin). I can't help to think about the mind-muscle connection and also how what we do so reliant on the central nervous system. All in all, I'm feeling much better about my game, myself, and my confidence and winning percentage is way up!
First thing, you may have a little unrealistic expectations. Miss a shot and set it up ten times and you may be eight or nine out of ten. The same shot when you get one try during a game you may be only six or seven out of ten.
When I miss a shot I shouldn't, my reaction is "damn, that was stupid!" Followed immediately by "That ain't my norm." Now I have dealt with the miss, forget about it.
Getting shape while missing the pocket isn't getting half the shot right, the shot was misplanned from the jump! Other than speed errors, it is impossible to make half a shot perfectly as you describe unless the error was before you ever got down on the shot. I usually put more thought and effort into position because that is usually the harder part of the shot. Once down, I am usually going to pocket the ball and get shape, or miss both pocket and position. Rare for me to make half a shot and a real annoyance, means piss poor planning on my part.
The mental game never costs you a miss. It may set you up for flaws in your physical game but it is these flaws that cause the misses. A fine but necessary distinction because it means there are multiple problems that need fixing. On the mechanics side, I would study the table then bend over and bring the cue back slowly, smooth transition or slight pause depending on your preference, a gradual gathering of force going forward. One stroke then stop at the end of your followthrough and consider where your tip is at and why. If it seems to be the result of something during the approach or during tip contact it needs addressing. Not an issue if it is the result of something happening after the tip and cue ball have parted company. Shoot almost entire practice sessions like this until your game straightens out.
Your business but if it was me and I had a session with an instructor of JJ's ability, I would break the session down something like this: Five or ten minutes on session planning. Not over thirty minutes on fundamentals. The rest of the session on what you want to get from the session.
I am sure Jeremy can fix your basics but so can a lot of other people including yourself. I wouldn't "waste" a session with a world class player working on grade school issues.
Good Luck!
Hu
Guy Manges
Registered
Eric may all your driveways be lined with trees, On and on ... Look close the right time of year there will be some orange ones... Guy
Guy Manges
Registered
Rush and Concentration needs competition... Guy
Ghost of OBC
Well-known member
If you used to play sporty, it is more likely your mind than your body. I recently read Pleasures of Small Motions: Mastering The Mental Game Of Pocket Billiards and it helped me a lot. The big take-away is that thinking in words is antithetical to the embodied thinking that gets you in stroke. I've spent a lot of time just trying to see shapes and feel good pool without talking to myself or anyone else about it. My teammates might think I'm anti-social, but just letting myself think in shapes and feelings has really helped. Keep the words out of the brainbox.
Personally no longer do hand shaking at it use to mean something.
My joke when I was still working most of the work I did was with verbal handshake. As long as you were both honorable people who respected other person. The verbal handshake ment something.
Thirty years I had few problems. Slow pays, a chiseler or two, and last agent/agency that ripped me off for thousands.
Two kind of people in world, good, and bad.
My joke when I was still working most of the work I did was with verbal handshake. As long as you were both honorable people who respected other person. The verbal handshake ment something.
Thirty years I had few problems. Slow pays, a chiseler or two, and last agent/agency that ripped me off for thousands.
Two kind of people in world, good, and bad.
This is the reason I plan my entire inning before the first shot. Once I am ready to start shooting the verbal part of my brain, the conscious, needs to get the hell out of the way. If I manage to get out with that verbal part chattering away it is ten times harder. If I slide from shot to shot in one continuous motion the balls fall, the cue ball assumes the proper position, very little effort involved.
Hu
Pretty sure this does not work in any kind of competitive scenario.
Well the people who do well at sports have one thing in common.
They work hard on building mussel memory, so work is the solution.
Pool is not an easy game. The great player work hard on game.
They work hard on building mussel memory, so work is the solution.
Pool is not an easy game. The great player work hard on game.
Try to relax. Often, trying harder just gets you further from your game. Take a break and come back when you are refreshed, then play without pressuring yourself. Let your subconscious override the worry and doubt that so often upsets the conscious mind.a