Why I Moan & A Death

My .02 cents

1) Don't blame anyone else for your Poor shooting. You hit the cue ball, and it does what you tell it to do. If you miss shape, it is because you hit it too soft, too hard, or with the wrong english. Pool is like computers, not hard to figure out when you understand it from a basic level. Yes, it is fun sometimes to talk in details, but many many people overcomplicate things in Pool.

punch line - Take responsibility for your shooting, good and bad.

2) I have played 46 years, still learn things from all types of players, so keep an open mind. I don't have to play everyday to stay in stroke, never did. Sometimes, having variety in your life will do more for you, than practicing hard for a month or two everyday.

3) The best teachers ARE NOT ALWAYS the best players. The disposition and attitude of a teacher affects how effective he/she can be.

4) Pool is about learning to overcome problems, mostly in a systematic and precise way. To learn how to overcome problems, you have to know how to identify the problem, evaluate it, come up with solutions, and implement a solution with good results.

5) False confidence will not win you games. Know your limits when competing. Stretch your limits when practicing, and practice by yourself.

6) Listen to all the ole guys, they know a thing or two, may not be about a certain shot, might be about attitude, sportsmanship, or whatever.

Most players I see, I say to myself, that I could improve their play from 20-30% within 2 weeks to 2 months, at least give them the tools to do it, depending on what I identify to be their problems, but it is easier to teach someone from the beginning than it is to teach someone that has played for a number of years simply because breaking old habits and retraining them is hard to do.

I gave up Golf over 30 years ago because I could never break 80, and it frustrated me to no end, and I decided I didn't need the aggravation. Now, my Dad was a par golfer, had a golf scholarship to college,and my big brother was about a 1-2 handicap, so being the youngest in our family, I felt a lot of pressure in Golf. BTW, my big brother never beat my Dad playing Golf .... LOL .... but, I am the best Poolplayer in my family, plus I excelled in many sports growing up. Try making a basketball team of 12 out of 118 tryouts when you are (were) 4' 6 1/2" tall in the 7th grade, which I consider one of my biggest accomplishments, BTW..... :rolleyes:
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
perhaps this might clarify things for my detractors.

first, Elvicash, i dont think i am going to be able to meet up with you this weekend. as some might know i work at a naval installation, and one of our ex-chiefs was killed in a tractor accident last night. our building is very quiet so far today. plans are already underway for events, and as a result i will probably be on base this weekend. i was planning on being off tuesday and wednesday next week (5 day weekend), so i was probably going to work at least one day this coming weekend anyway. if nobody wants to believe this i am sure i will be able to provide a link.

second, regarding my moaning. of all the sports i have ever tackled this game of pocket billiards has been the toughest. i have taken lessons from Tom Rossman, Diana Minor, Mark Wilson, and now Scott Lee. i still listen to the audio/video tapes from Rossman, still at times review the material i received from Diana and Mark, and, yep, have watched the Scott Lee dvd twice and been through his notes.

i have bought four tables (7 foot Brunswick, 8 foot Steepleton, 9 foot E. A. Burgin, and the Gold Crown IV). i have bought all kinds of cues, i wont go into the makers. i have bought Kinister tapes, Bob Byrne tapes, have all kinds of teaching aids, such as the elephant balls, Rempe ball, pocket reducers, Buddy Hall cue guide, ghost ball trainer, Joe Tucker's third eye, been to professional tournaments at Vegas and Peoria. used to practice with the 1998 BCA 8-Ball champ (Dave) until he passed, bought all kinds of books from Phil Capelle and others, tape the ESPN shows and watch them constantly, bought all kinds of Accu-Stats tapes and watch them constantly, subscribe to Inside Pool, P&B Magazine, Billiards Digest, etc, etc, etc, etc. in short, i have been consumed with this sport/hobby for years now.

the point i am trying to make is that it frustrates me that i still struggle with consistently, and am not a world beater by now. i guess i expected more. normally when i tackle a sport (basketball, baseball, golf) it doesnt take me long to get pretty good. and please dont think i am being a pompous SOB in stating that. i am not Larry Bird, Don Mattingly, or Jack Nicklaus, never was close in any. my point, once again, is that pool has been the most difficult for me to somewhat master. and that does somewhat frustrate me. i realize there is no "Magic Bullit" out there, it takes TONs and TONS of effort to become an accomplished player. but after nearly 9 years of practicing/playing 2-4 hours a day i thought i would be better. and when those bad rolls start to happen it just compounds things, and gets me down mentally. i start to question if i am wasting my time. just dunno............:(

DCP

Ok, DCP. I have given you a lot of shit over the years for the *****ing and moaning you do but I'm not going to do that here. Instead, I am going to offer you some constructive criticism. Take it if you want or leave it behind.

I think you spend WAY too much time trying to find that one thing (a video, a book, a tool, a teacher) that is going to make your ganme jump by leaps and bounds almost overnight. I think you spend too much time worrying that you are not improving as quickly as you like.

When you combine those two together, you get obne very big thing: DISTRACTION. The very thing that is keeping you from getting better at the rate that you want to is YOU!!!

Dude, stop trying to find that one miracle product. Stop trying to find that one TOP NOTCH teacher. Stop asking a thousand questions of a thousand different people and most of all STOP FOCUSING ON WHY YOU AREN'T IMPROVING FASTER!!!!

Just play, man. Really. Just go out there and play. And every time you do, try new things. Make mental notes as to what happens when you try something new. Make adjustments accordingly. I know you want to improve faster than hell but you said it yourself! This game is hard as hell!!! There is no teacher or product that is going to be as beneficial as practice/time spent on the table.

Get out there and keep playing. Good luck man.
 
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