What do you do?

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Snorks

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What do you do to help a friend out of a slump? I have two close friends that are going through pool pains for some reason or another. Early exits in tournaments, playing poorly in league play, etc. Both have talked about giving up pool since they can't seem to improve to next level and now they are fighting to stay at the same level because of some confidence (at least in my opinion).

So, is there anyway to help, or what do you recommend? I was thinking of buying one friend a lesson for Christmas :)
 
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Snorks said:
So, is there anyway to help, or what do you recommend?
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Step away from the game for a week or two, or even a month or two.

Good Rolls,
Rasta
 
Rasta said:
Step away from the game for a week or two, or even a month or two.

Good Rolls,
Rasta
Click to expand...

What he said. But I gotta wonder, if they are wanting to quit playing altogether, how much love do they have for the game??? If they are only playing as long as they are improving, then they are playing for all the wrong reasons, IMO.

Maniac
 
You have to rethink your whole approach to the game. When success is your only stimulation for picking up a cue, you've already lost. No matter how good you get, pool is going to be frustrating. Ask any professional out there and they'll talk about an episode where they felt inferior to their competition.

Play because you enjoy playing and little can go wrong from there.
 
Well I think it depends on the personality of your friends and what drives them to succeed. I think the best thing is to help to build their confidence with as much positive encouragement as you can. The lessons are a great Christmas gift and would help ones game long term, but would be a terrible ego hit to someone in a slump, IMO.
 
Well there are usually 2 ways to help you get out of a slump. The 1st way is usually to take a few weeks off and the second way is to go back to the basics. What I mean by that is pretty much to teach yourself how to play all over again. First work on your stance then your stroke. Shoot the cueball up and down the table in a straight line. After that set up a straight shot and teach yourself how to stop on a dime etc... it's time consuming but by starting all over you may find out what you have been doing wrong.
 
Funny thing is.. this is actually for a couple of friends not for me :) So, how do you politely tell them to take some time off, go back to the basics, ... or.. do you let them figure these things out themselves? Plus they often play in weekly leagues so how do you take time off?
 
Snorks said:
Funny thing is.. this is actually for a couple of friends not for me :) So, how do you politely tell them to take some time off, go back to the basics, ... or.. do you let them figure these things out themselves? Plus they often play in weekly leagues so how do you take time off?
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Call them at work and ask them how they're doing. When they start to tell you about their crappy day, interrupt them and ask, "Wouldn't you rather be playing pool?" When they quickly agree, tell them to remember that the next time they're losing their match on league-night. I mean c'mon, it could be worse. They could be working!
 
I agree with some here. Step away for a little bit and get to where you miss pool. I myself have been trying to get back into pool after being off and on since I was about 8 years old. I found out whe i was a bowler and a dart player that when you can understand the game and can watch and see how your opponent beat you, you will get better. When it came to darts i got tired of getting beat and almost gave up. I watched real close for a few weeks and started seeing what was beating me. I was at home one night and threw 1000 darts and wrote down where i missed and what i thought made me miss. You could probably do something similar in pool. After i did that I won the very next tourney i played in. I went on to win 74 more tourneys before i quit playing darts. At one time i was rated in the top 10-15 in the tri_state and was never rated pro because i never played in a tourney that would rate me.

I'm just a strong believer in when you know you are losing you need to see what your opponent is doing to beat you. If you can see it you will learn. It doesn't have to always be "your" mistake that beat you.

John
 
Rasta said:
Step away from the game for a week or two, or even a month or two.

Good Rolls,
Rasta
Click to expand...
This is the very BEST advice anyone can receive..when people burn out most of them do not realize what the problem is..i first experienced burnout when i was about 34 years old.this seems to be approx.when most people go thru the phase..like the other posted stated take 2 or more weeks away from whatever you are burned out about .when you come back start with basics.good luck and Merry Christmas..:)
 
2 weeks off
Then play cheap games with someone less skilled
KEY.....Play as close to perfect as you can
when playing these cheap easy games
DONT GET LAZY
Wait till you are having a great shooting night
then step up to a harder game.....

Sounds like a case of lazys too me,
play 25 cent 9 ball with a nuub, and spend 2 weeks
playing like its a buck......'IF' you (can) do that you will get better
 
Snorks said:
What do you do to help a friend out of a slump? I have two close friends that are going through pool pains for some reason or another. Early exits in tournaments, playing poorly in league play, etc. Both have talked about giving up pool since they can't seem to improve to next level and now they are fighting to stay at the same level because of some confidence (at least in my opinion).

So, is there anyway to help, or what do you recommend? I was thinking of buying one friend a lesson for Christmas :)
Click to expand...

I would go with the pool lessons. They need to find out what they are doing wrong when they are playing bad and what they are doing right when they are playing well. It's all well and good to know everything about the fundamentals about the game, but without the ability to see yourself and any twitches you may or may not be aware of, it is incredibly difficult to self diagnose. Believe me, I know. I have been completely self taught which is a decision I regret.

To tell you the truth, I think taking time off in many cases is just avoiding adressing the problem. Sometimes the only thing that might be wrong is a mental block, which taking time off would help, but more often than not it is a mechanical error.
 
i still dont agree with swami...if playing someone less skilled is all you can beat...then that is what you are going to need to beat anybody..imo
 
One thing I saw nobody mentioned. Tell them to change the way they think, and to start thinking more positively when they are in the pool hall.

Getting down on yourself is the worst possible thing you can do at a pool table. Think like a loser, and you will perform like a loser.

Russ
 
kydartmaster said:
i still dont agree with swami...if playing someone less skilled is all you can beat...then that is what you are going to need to beat anybody..imo
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Missed the whole point man, It builds confidance,
And i belive if you can play a beater all night for .25
you shouldnt have problem playing for more scratch
BUT the key to this idea is 100% effort on all shots
and safties! If when playing (25 cents)you feel ANY let down
then thats going to be 10 fold in a yahoo (1000) race....
So if you take a shot off and instead of laying a cue ball
behind another ball (PERFECT), and just push a lazy roller up the table
knowing he cant make it, there lies the problem...
It's easy to GET UP for a tuff game but ALLOT harder
to get up for a 25 cent 4 hour grind when the guy cant run 3.
you play 100% NO LET DOWN for 4 hours a night to win 3.00$
you do that for a month, come tell me your game in crunch time is
not better:)
 
swami4u said:
Missed the whole point man, It builds confidance,
And i belive if you can play a beater all night for .25
you shouldnt have problem playing for more scratch
BUT the key to this idea is 100% effort on all shots
and safties! If when playing (25 cents)you feel ANY let down
then thats going to be 10 fold in a yahoo (1000) race....
So if you take a shot off and instead of laying a cue ball
behind another ball (PERFECT), and just push a lazy roller up the table
knowing he cant make it, there lies the problem...
It's easy to GET UP for a tuff game but ALLOT harder
to get up for a 25 cent 4 hour grind when the guy cant run 3.
you play 100% NO LET DOWN for 4 hours a night to win 3.00$
you do that for a month, come tell me your game in crunch time is
not better:)
Click to expand...

hmm...I'm not so sure. I guess it depends at what level you intend to play at after a month. If you go from playing bangers to pros, AAA, AA or A players, they will paralyze you. You need to get used to the pressure of playing better players. Regardless of how hard you are trying, in the back of your mind you know that a mistake will not be punished.
 
good answer cameron. i mistyped my actual answer in my second sentence. what i meant to say is "if you want to beat easy players then that is all you are going to be able to beat". my whole point is you learn by losing. if you can see why your opponent beat you and learn from that you can use it in your favor the next match.

john
 
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