What to Change About Your Game When In a Slump

[chefjeff]

Have someone who knows your game watch you play and maybe they'll see something you don't.

Jeff Livingston

 

[owll]

The thing with 'slumps' is, to get in one, you are doing something wrong with your fundamentals or mental approach.

Things to look for that might be causing accuracy problems

-back wrist twisted
- twitching bridge hand
- twisting hips on stroke
- front foot not planted firmly or you are rolling your weight across foot as you shoot
- squinting
- not staying down (of course)
- different position of back shoulder, ie shoulder scrunched up, or not (i keep mine scrunched up to isolate it, and keep it steady, works for me)

If someone told me there were fundamentals were all good, but there mental approach was screwing em, id be very disbelieving of that.

Work on your fundamentals alot, it is time well spent and it will improve your game and your consistency. When you quit trying to improve your game, thats when your game will quit getting better (Jay Swanson).

 

[ULTIMATE-BILL]

You guys have all made good suggestions. However, there are plenty of things one can do to IMPROVE his/her game. I'm more interested in how to get out of a slump.

A slump is like a valley - there are mountains and hills surrounding it that make it a valley. You have the skills, the stance, the understanding, and the confidence to run racks. You have done it many times, but you're just going through a rough patch, one that doesn't have a clear answer as to why it's a rough patch.

In reality, there are hundreds of potential reasons. Stress from work, stress from home, loss of a job, bad mood, poor eating habits, the economy, the weather, etc etc. I think it's important to understand the difference between being in a slump and not advancing in skill level. You NORMALLY shoot a .780, but these past few months you're shooting a .410.

CHANGE SOMETHING. This can literally be anything - the point is that you shake things up, you force yourself to look at the table differently, you approach each shot differently. This has nothing at all to do with your skill, it has to do with being in a rut. You know how to drive your car, but right now you're stuck in mud.

Just let it go. Tell yourself it's only there because you allow it to be. Now tell yourself to let it go and it will be gone.

Good Luck
ULTIMATE-BILL A.K.A.The Ultimate Lock