Nationals And Adopted Pressure Problem IMO

[Sid_Vicious]

I held off discussing an aspect with my captain that I noticed from playing in the Nationals the first time last year, on a locally stellar team, that being that what I gauge as solid players simply losing part of their talent due to an instant pressure addition. It was countered by my captain that "We play all year long to play in Vegas and we know it's serious" as if this is without reservation, acceptable. Now, I can shoot like a B player, but I don't feel that the simple fact we are hitting teams in Vegas that these veterans should over worry to the point that they do too. If it'd been one match or a killer team to play, I could understantd that response, but otherwise what does it do to the success ratio to go from playing an A game to mentally letting your confidence lower you to bad decisions and sub par execution, just because you are in another city playing in the Nationals? I just didn't make sense out of that response.

Can ANYONE get jitters at any time,,,yes. Should a team who's played in the Nationals for a decade succumb to this anomoly and go into another one thinking this way?, I personally think not. I'm talking about decisions which were wrong and poor execution of 90% plus shot. I'll tell ya, my B+ game and confidence settled down seeing the level drop amongst other players, cuz in my mind, worry about a pool game is just a bad thing, and I'm less embarrased if the others make some of my mistakes. Thinking again about a crutial shot is fine, but Fellas...play like you can play. Am I wrong???ssid

[SPetty]

Happens to the best of us at inopportune times... /ccboard/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[Sid_Vicious]

But to "Forget how good you are" just because of the venue seems wrong...sid

[Snapshot9]

Think only about the next game you will play, in otherwords, concentrate on the task at hand. I always think about my form and keeping my stroke smooth, on getting a good break if breaking, and then the run, and handling problems in the run.

BUT, invariably, the best performers in Vegas are the most seasoned players, and generally the players that have played for the most money and more frequently for larger money sets than other good league players or small money guys. I last went to Vegas (BCA) in 2001. I was on Terry Young's team.
Terry owns Rumor's Billiards here, and is a 2 time National
Champion, once in singles, and once in teams. Terry is real good, and used to play a lot of money when younger. I, too, have played my share of 4 figure sets over the years. The other 3 guys are good players, standouts locally in league, and up to $100 sets. Terry and I were the only ones to not
'choke' in Vegas. The other 3 made mistakes, had tremors, whatever. I ended up with the best win percentage on the team, winning over 91% of my games. Terry lost 1 more game than I did. Did I feel pressure, you bet I did, everyone did, but coming though in the clutches is something a good money player in used to, more so than other type players.

[Barbara]

Sid,

Getting "the jitters" and "not playing your game" are two different things, IMO.

Getting the jitters can happen to anyone, at any time. Not playing your game is up to you.

Should you "find another gear" in competition is another thing.

Barbara