Will practising too much be bad?

X Breaker

X Breaker

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Is practising too much bad for one's game sometimes?
I feel that I was playing good about two weeks ago, so I have decided to put in about two hours to practise everyday, hoping I would play even better.
I also practise a bit of snooker, in order to improve my potting ability.
For some reason, I am now really confused and inconsistent. I am having a lot of problems with my cue ball control now.
I also feel very awkward about my stroke.
I am not sure if it is from switching between the snooker table (higher table, and I use a shorter stroke) and 9 ball table (lower table, with a longer follow through), or just from practising too much by myself.
I am just really confused, and frustrated.
In my experience, I know that somtimes doing something for a long time can put one in a coma, so one can no longer see and enjoy what one is doing. Sometimes, taking a break is a good idea. I remember when I was a student, taking a break after studying for about 2 to 3 hours can do wonders; while if I keep trying to solve a problem for a long time, without any break, my mind will just go into a coma, and nothing positive can come out of that.
Is it the same way with pool?
Is taking a break good?
If so, what kind of 'break" do you take? Do you play tournament only, go watch tournament but not play, or just practise shorter sessions?
Thank you for your help.
Richard
 
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The largest breaks I ever take from pool are normally a day at a time, at the most. Then im right back shooting and practicing again.

I practice for at least an hour and I try to do it everyday. I dont really look at it as practice though, it's fun and relaxing for me. Most of the time I go in the basement and throw my heads phones on or put a DVD in and listen/watch while I shoot. Only if it's a movie I seen before though, otherwise I usually spend more time glancing at the TV then the pool table. I mainly shoot 9-ball and 10-ball racks over and over and over for that period of time, I never practice snooker really, I will never play it.
 
I haven't found that practicing too much ever hurts, though I do think it reaches a point of diminishing returns.
Generally, due to work, I don't practice at all during the week, unless you consider 2 league nights practice.
On the weekend including Friday night, I spend as much time in the basement at my table as I possibly can. I have certain drills I do and shoot a lot of practice games. I just take breaks whenever I'm hungry, frustrated, or need to visit the bathroom. No set structure other than do those drills.
 
I've been taking a break from playing...it's been 6 weeks since I've hit a ball...the last time I played I had not hit a ball in over a month and I thought I wouldn't even make two balls in a row but I was still able to run out and continue to play well...I think once you get to a point you don't need to practice as much...playing to the point of being burned out is not what you want either....
 
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Simple

1) You learn by thinking about what you are doing.
2) When you can no longer think straight about what you are doing at the time, take a break until you are mentally settled and clear again. This could be a day or a week.


some tidbits:
The better you become, the more mental the game becomes.

It is proven by scientific studies that you learn over 30% faster when you think about what you are doing instead of just going through the motions.
 
I don't think you can really "practice too much" and have it hurt your game. I think you can get burned out, definitely. I don't suffer much from burnout. It seems like life gives me the breaks I need, and I try to play as much as I can (4+ days a week). When I'm not shooting I'm watching videos.

Sometimes though, when I start practicing one or two skills a lot, I lose track of certain aspects of my fundamentals. I think during these times I sometimes allow myself to use a "gimmick." For example,for long thin cut shots, I find it a lot easier to use a really loose grip. If I practice these too much I start using the loose grip all the time, instead of just long thin cuts. This can have a bad effect on my position play. If I don't realize what I've allowed to happen, my game can decline for a while until I notice it and fix the problem.

So maybe you have allowed some aspect of your practice to have a negative impact on the rest of your game. If you have, taking a break can definitely sometimes fix that. When you come back after a few days you can focus more on what you know you should do, instead of what your body wants to do, or does automatically. I would try to get away from pool completely. If you were practicing every day for a while, maybe you could take 3 or 4 days off and do something you normally give up for pool. Read a book or run or take your girl out. Whatever, just let it rest for a little while.

Good Luck!
 
Richard, I myself practice 5-7 hours a day, 7 days a week. Whenever I can't play my hours, I am very frustrated and grouchy. Taking a break from the table is something that I am not willing to do. However, I know what you mean about being inconsistent, even after dedicating most of my time to the game. What I did to solve this problem (which I sincerely hope helps you), is to do what Snapshot9 said... think about what you're doing. Set up about 30-50 straight in long shots, and pay attention to your stance, grip and stroke. If you are messing up, and are inconsistent, change your grip. If that isn't working, change your stroke, etc. Once you find the stance, grip and stroke that makes you play better and be more consistent, implant those in your head. The next day, do the same, but with your "new" stroke, grip, stance, or whatever you REMEBER from the day before. If it keeps working like it did then, you're on the right track. Practice from there until you can settle down a bit.


Sometimes, I'd spend up 9-10 hours on the table trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. Once I found out the problem, and made the change, I slept sooooooo much better;) Practicing too much shouldn't be a problem. Robb Saez told me he practices 7- 8 hours a day, and he's the Florida champion. Good luck, Richard. I hope you figure out what's wrong, and hope you become more consistent as you make little changes (if you decide to make them).
 
it depends

I just had a lesson with Scott Lee and one thing I learned was to focus on 1 drill and not overdo it ! I will practice 20-30 minutes on a drill then just hit balls using the skills I worked on for awhile. The mind will only take so much at a time so IMO after a point there is definitely a diminished return
 
Thank you everyone for your help.
When I practise, I am actually doing quite well. I switched to practising snooker and I was having a very high success rate of making my straight in long pots. I was also running balls and so on. I have changed my stroke, my grip, and my form a bit, ever since I started trying snooker.
I asked my friend to play some snooker with me yesterday. I had high expectation, because I felt that I was hitting the balls well. Once we started playing, I could not make even the easiest shot. I also lost my rhythm, and felt totally lost at the table. My friend ran a 50, and a 40 something on me, and then I was destroyed.
I actually feel that I am having a better understanding of the game and the stroke, since I started putting more hours in practising. I also feel that I am able to perform better in practise. However, in reality, whenever I play someone, I play much worst.
One thing I notice is my rhythm--it is just not there. I cannot get into my zone because I feel that my timing is really off when I play in tournaments.
Is it because I play with a different rhythm when I practise?
Also, I have been working on a few different things, and I am trying a new grip, which I have found to give me more accuracy on the snooker table. But when I actually play someone, this new grip somehow does not work at all.
Another thing is my cue ball control. I suspect practising snooker might be bad for my 9 ball game in terms of cue ball control. But I am not sure.
Anyway, I just feel like my performance is getting worst since I started really devoting my time to practise, although in my mind, I feel I now understand the game more than I ever have.
The frustration and confusion have caused me to lose my confidence.
Richard
 
Not to sound wrong, but what one person calls practice, another might not consider it as such. IMHO, drills carefully executed can be very beneficial but not productive to do the same drill for hours. More than two or three drills and you risk not giving your brain enough time to absorb and process what you are training it to do, sort of overload. Then you get bored and tired. You can practice playing, such as breaks and pattern work, basically just shooting some balls. Then you can play, like chanllenging the ghost.

My thought is that maybe a little better structure to your practice, and not trying to do so much, would be more rewarding. Do drills, practice strategy and patterns then play, not practice, change it around. But only work on 2 or 3 things each session. Also when you change something, grip, stance etc... expect your game may drop a little and your mind/body will try to trick you into using your old ways, especially when there is a little pressure.

Taking short breaks during practice sessions is a key to long term memory retention. Sort of like if your reading something and if you take a break and come back to the book, you don't remember the last part that you read. A learning hint, do A,B,C; take a break and do C,D,E. This repetition exhances memory retention. Just a suggestion. You can't learn if your tired or frustrated.

Mike
 
Deadon said:
Not to sound wrong, but what one person calls practice, another might not consider it as such. IMHO, drills carefully executed can be very beneficial but not productive to do the same drill for hours. More than two or three drills and you risk not giving your brain enough time to absorb and process what you are training it to do, sort of overload. Then you get bored and tired. You can practice playing, such as breaks and pattern work, basically just shooting some balls. Then you can play, like chanllenging the ghost.

My thought is that maybe a little better structure to your practice, and not trying to do so much, would be more rewarding. Do drills, practice strategy and patterns then play, not practice, change it around. But only work on 2 or 3 things each session. Also when you change something, grip, stance etc... expect your game may drop a little and your mind/body will try to trick you into using your old ways, especially when there is a little pressure.

Taking short breaks during practice sessions is a key to long term memory retention. Sort of like if your reading something and if you take a break and come back to the book, you don't remember the last part that you read. A learning hint, do A,B,C; take a break and do C,D,E. This repetition exhances memory retention. Just a suggestion. You can't learn if your tired or frustrated.

Mike
Click to expand...

tap, tap, tap! The human brain is not built for long periods of highly focused attention. We're only good for a few minutes at a time, after which we're very likely to become bored, frustrated or angry...none of which are conducive to learning. You simply cannot practice for HOURS at a time. Playing is not practice. You can play 12 hours a day or more, if you choose...but that is not practice. Fifteen minutes of highly structured practice is worth more than 6 hours of playing. Can SOME people practice for long periods? Certainly. Is it beneficial for their overall improvement? That's debatable. For the huge majority of us, it is simply impractical and counterproductive in the long run, to try and practice for long periods...particularly if you are practicing the correct things in the correct manner. jmo

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
X Breaker said:
For some reason, I am now really confused and inconsistent. I am having a lot of problems with my cue ball control now.
I also feel very awkward about my stroke.

Richard
Click to expand...

Richard...My advice would be to seek out a qualified instructor, and have them check out your stroke. It's quite possible that you have quirks and/or inconsistencies that are preventing you from having the ability to "trust" your stroke.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
I play every day for at least an hour and most days up to two hours with longer sessions here and there. What I've noticed is that my game comes and goes. I'll play really well for a couple of days and start feeling really confident in my ability, then I'll have a couple of days where I am wondering what happened. The cool thing is that my game keeps improving and my good days get better and my bad days aren't as bad as they used to be. You might want to find a way to track your progress. Maybe use one day a week or a month to play 10 games of 10-ball say, and record your results. This would give you a measuring stick to judge your overall improvement or lack thereof. Usually if I am facing a tough opponent, I can bring my concentration level and execution up enough to make it tough for them. Sometimes with a weaker opponent, I will unconsciously play at a mediocre level until I mentally slap myself and bring my game up to where it should be.
Switching back and forth between snooker and pool can mess with your game to some extent. The angles are different (actually a lot of things are different) and it can take some time to adjust. Sometimes the adjustment comes easy, other times not so easy. One thing I've found to be a killer confidence booster is to play pool on the snooker table. Sometimes it takes a little while to get going, but once I start pocketing balls, watch out.
One thing that annoys the crap out of me is that I get complacent when I'm just playing by myself. It can sometimes take an hour or more to settle down and play like I know I can. Once in a while I'll just give up and chalk it up to not being rested or too stressed to calm down and concentrate, but usually I'll force myself to work through it. Nothing seems to work as well as gettin' down and dirty with a worthy sparring partner, though.
 
Deadon said:
Not to sound wrong, but what one person calls practice, another might not consider it as such. IMHO, drills carefully executed can be very beneficial but not productive to do the same drill for hours. More than two or three drills and you risk not giving your brain enough time to absorb and process what you are training it to do, sort of overload. Then you get bored and tired. You can practice playing, such as breaks and pattern work, basically just shooting some balls. Then you can play, like chanllenging the ghost.

My thought is that maybe a little better structure to your practice, and not trying to do so much, would be more rewarding. Do drills, practice strategy and patterns then play, not practice, change it around. But only work on 2 or 3 things each session. Also when you change something, grip, stance etc... expect your game may drop a little and your mind/body will try to trick you into using your old ways, especially when there is a little pressure.

Taking short breaks during practice sessions is a key to long term memory retention. Sort of like if your reading something and if you take a break and come back to the book, you don't remember the last part that you read. A learning hint, do A,B,C; take a break and do C,D,E. This repetition exhances memory retention. Just a suggestion. You can't learn if your tired or frustrated.

Mike
Click to expand...

What a great great post

if i can just add that i found after a point of continuously working on aspects of my game i spent more time thinking and remembering what to do and how to stand than aiming !!!!!
 
I too have felt that I was practicing too much. I wold often leave the box thinking that I had just gotten worse. I think that for a while I was only getting worse. I have been thinking about this very point for a while now and with reading the other posts I would say that it is no doubt the quality of practice not the quantity. However this is not entirly true. I think that the practice you are doing is only as good as how focused and mentally aware you are of everything that you are doing when you are practicing. If you get destracted and begin messing arround and missing shots it is a sign that you are not focused and you may need to take a break and come back. I found that i really need to get myself ready to practice. Then i start off by realy breaking everything down and focusing on every aspect of my game by doing some straight shots. then from another similar post I think that it is important to limit yourself to one or two new things in a session of practice. If you try to learn too much then you dont realy learn anything that well. The key is to come ready to learn one or two new things and then work on them until you feel comfortable with them. For the rest of that session I would only play games and gain experience because that is the main thing that you get from practice but try to just use the things you know and just learned and save the next new step for the next session.
After all that just make sure that you are concentrated on every shot and think every shot out before you shoot it. It is practice afterall take all the time you need.

Hope someone can understand all that rambling.
 
Practicing means you are trying to learn a new skill or improve an existing one, therefore you HAVE to change something in your game to do so. If you keep doing what you are doing then you will keep getting what you are getting. Practice SHOULD temporarily decrease your game until the skill becomes automatic, then you will see marked improvement.

It is also important to note the distiction between practice and play.
Practice: you are paying attention to one aspect of your game
Play: you are paying attention to whatever you need to, integrating all of your skills

Personally, I take a break whenever I feel like it. I know that my game goes up and down, but I am definitely not worried about getting too much practice. :)
 
Pretty much the only time I play is one night a week for league and I usually don't practice before I play, I like to go in cold...Same for Friday and Saturday tournaments. Every once in a while I'll go out and shoot around for a couple hours during the week. This all seems to work well for me, as I rarely get in a "funk".

Matt
 
XBreaker:anyone in ANY sport can overtrain..the difference in people advancing further or stagnating is to recognize it.most people do not recognize burnout...when this happens people need to back away from what they are doing for a couple weeks whether it be pool playing,running,weightlifting ect..WHEN a person comes back you then need to go back and learn the basics of your sport..in pool i would say "The Mighty X Drill" would be good to start at again.Bert Kinister covers this in one of his dvd's.i am a firm believer of this drill it has worked for me....if a person cannot shoot a ball straight in they will not be able to do any other shot..the X drill works on the basics again..don't be afraid to take a break..good luck:)
 
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