sjm said:
Want to get to the next level? Learn to create opportunities at the table.
Players who can run out are a dime a dozen. The winners are the ones who also learn to create opportunities to run out. The way you do that is with your break and with your moves game (defense/kicking/two-way shots).
Develop a solid break and a rock solid moves game and you'll start beating those who only run out as well as you do on a consistent basis.
In short, learn how to beat your opponent to the shot, because you can both run the table.
This may be true but DCP's problem is mental, it is the first part of #5.
DCP I have actually told you a few times on this board what your problem is and how to fix it. You need to approach the game from a totally different state of mind then you currently are. I know this because I was once the headcase that you are now, tons of natural talent and a hot head and mental weakness getting in the way of my beating those people I should. Little things got me down, pressure got me down, the game never got to flow from me the way it should and those top players in the city that I knew I was as good as when it came to skill could beat me consistently only due to me mental weakness.
Your understanding of the physical aspects of the game are likely solid, you have practiced alot, you have gone to coaches, you have watched alot of pro matches at least on TV and for all I know live as well, you also have the hunger and drive to get better, that is pretty obvious.
#5 is your problem, and it is only the mental toughness aspect of it, without chaging your approach to the game competition is simply going to drill you and discourage you. Going out there and getting your ass kicked by people with less skill and more mental toughness then you is not going to help your game, you cannot play through this kind of problem and expect it to go away. You will keep losing and keep shooting far below your skill level and making terrible mistakes and bad shots at key moments and losing. I played with this type of problem for years and my skills got better but the problem of mental toughness never did, my skills got to nearly the same level as the top players in the city and yet my game was many steps below because my approach to the game was riddled with negative reinforcement instead of the confident ease with which the top players approach the table.
Everything I have said is theoretical. The above wont help you work through the rut, it is only there to tell you what is the problem, the cure, well I took years to get through it and I have the key that could set you off if you heard what I had to say. Coaching on the mechanical aspects of the game are meaningless, what you need to figure out is the mindset of a champion, the mental approach, and that is something that few pro's can or even would teach. It is not mechanical skill that makes the pro's as good as they are, tons of guys have phenomenal mechanical skills and never make it to that level, it is all mental approach.
Email me at
Lyonspride@hotmail.com if you want to hear what your problem is and therefore fix it. I dont want to post it here, it is basically one of those things that when you learn it you dont really want to scream it from the rooftops because it is pretty important information on what it truely takes to reach the top and beat the other guy. Pro's teach the mechanical aspects of pool to everyone because it is meaningless, that is a small part of pool and they can rest assured that the person they teach is never going to come close to beating them because the true important part of the game is not in the mechanical aspects that so many have virtually mastered, it is in the head where champions are different.
I know you went to a coach, what I am offering is ten times as useful as any coach will teach you because most of them live in the mechanics of the game, and that is a pretty small part of the game. Given a couple weeks I could have you on the road to beating virtually anyone, winning all your local events and looking at a race to 11 against anyone in the world as actually possible to win no matter who the opponent. You are not going anywhere until you figure out the proper mental approach.