#289359 - 11/04/09 05:32 PM
Re: The mental game
[Re: JoeW]
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cushioncrawler
Pooh-Bah
Registered: 10/23/05
Posts: 2041
Loc: Ballarat Australia
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Joe -- Thanx for that stuff.
Mention of the mental game reminds me that every loony'bin in ozz had a 12' table.
Mention of the loony'bin reminds me that coming home late last nite i hadta stop and ring an ambulance koz some young guy threw himself in front of the car in front -- kood hav been me -- i mean my car.
I got my new glasses -- rimless titanium -- nice.
After i get my stroke straight i will then read that stuff properly and get my thinking straight.
madMac.
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#289602 - 11/06/09 12:12 PM
Re: The mental game
[Re: cushioncrawler]
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Soflasnapper
journeyman
Registered: 03/19/08
Posts: 87
Loc: South Florida
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I haven't read the linked piece yet, but I will.
At the US Open, I collected a half dozen publications, all containing a half dozen instructional articles each.
One piece discussed a bit of the mental side for HOF golfers Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson.
Nicklaus was quoted to say about half his greatness involved 'going to the movies,' and 'it's like Hollywood out there.' He was referring to always using strong visual imagery concerning his execution and results (he described imaging the results in reverse order, with the final landing of the shot first, the travel of the ball next, and his physical form performing the shot last-- complete with a "director's" discussion of 'dissolves' providing the transitions).
Watson was quoted to say that he simply couldn't win nearly close to the level he was supposed to win until he learned how to control his breathing at critical times in the match (!?!).
_________________________
A medium sized fish
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#289616 - 11/06/09 01:50 PM
Re: The mental game
[Re: Soflasnapper]
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JoeW
addict
Registered: 03/23/07
Posts: 431
Loc: Leesburg, FL
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Personally, I am a very strong believer in visualization. It seems that whenever I can “see” the lines and imagine the CB rolling down the line, contacting the ob and then visualizing the ob travel to the pocket, I make the shot. When I cannot see these visual images it is iffy with regard to shot making.
However, many others do not think that visualization is something of use. I think it is a matter of personal preference and training but most do not agree. While I have known about the use of visualization in sports for some time, it was Jack Nicklaus who persuaded me to spend some time and effort on the use of visualization. I think that it is one of the most important elements of consistent shot making.
For me it is one of the important elements of learning intense concentration. I have suggested that people begin to learn to visualize with the use of trying to see a candle flame as discussed in the article. When the individual is capable of seeing the flame they will come to realize that this ability can also be use to see the balls move.
Visualization is one of the next articles I will be writing about but I think I need to have many refernces from other highly accomplished professionals before it will be persuasive.
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#289653 - 11/06/09 06:30 PM
Re: The mental game
[Re: JoeW]
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bradb
old hand
Registered: 01/07/07
Posts: 792
Loc: Abbotsford BC Cananda
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A friend who is a very good player at banks and kicks tells me he uses the diamonds only for his shot making. but lately we played on a Brunswick table with no spots or diamonds and he still shot with the same accuracy?
When I pointed that out he had to admit that he just had a feel for where the shot was going. I suggested that its a feel created by visualizing the line. The argument is still in debate. Brad
Edited by bradb (11/06/09 06:33 PM)
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#289654 - 11/06/09 06:59 PM
Re: The mental game
[Re: Soflasnapper]
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Soflasnapper
journeyman
Registered: 03/19/08
Posts: 87
Loc: South Florida
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Having read the piece now, here's a small direct comment and a side comment.
There's an Australian player nicknamed the Oyster or something. He advocates the use of the chalk to trigger the player into execution mode, transitioning from thinking mode after having chalked the tip (setting the chalk down is his suggested trigger).
Joe, you mention that some people use that trigger, while instead advocating for the signal to be the 'stepping into the shot.' I suggest a merger of these two signals as the trigger, because if chalking the tip and putting it down is considered part of the step-in trigger (one following closely on the other), then the player would have certainly chalked up before any shot attempt! (Yes, players should do that, apart from using it as a trigger each time, but do they?)
I use this so much that if I stand up again because I have a second thought or a vague unease with the shot, I grab the chalk and reapply it to the tip a second time.
Just as a side mention, periodically I find this scenario playing out: I see a shot with some detail that I think I want to play, decide at some point before shooting that I'm going to shoot a different shot, and then, to my considerable surprise, end up shooting the first shot despite what I thought I was attempting. AND IT GOES IN!
I interpret this as showing the power of imaging in instructing the body mechanism's execution. My first shot selection was well-imaged, but the second shot, more intellectually determined as a decision rather than as well imaged as the first shot had been. Accordingly, the body seems to 'take' the first instruction 'more seriously' or perhaps as the ONLY shot instructed in the way the body system/unconsciousness/subconsciousness understands.
Actually MAKING the first shot is quite remarkable (completely ridiculous is more like it!) since I had aimed the changed shot, but delivered the first one.
_________________________
A medium sized fish
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#289655 - 11/06/09 07:31 PM
Re: The mental game
[Re: Soflasnapper]
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cushioncrawler
Pooh-Bah
Registered: 10/23/05
Posts: 2041
Loc: Ballarat Australia
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Fish -- I think that u are developing a split personality. U are going to need two different ratings one day.
My execution starts when i put the stubby of beer down -- this iz so ingrained that if i hav second thorts i havta moov away from the table and hav another sip of beer.
madMac.
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#289657 - 11/06/09 08:37 PM
Re: The mental game
[Re: cushioncrawler]
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JoeW
addict
Registered: 03/23/07
Posts: 431
Loc: Leesburg, FL
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I see your point and as we all know "chalk is good." The problem I have with the chalk trigger goes something like this.
I think that when we aim standing up and one step back we have used the quiet eye and have roughly chosen the contact point on the OB. Setting the chalk down takes my eyes off the shot line as I reach to the table. I have to bring my eyes back to the shot line. When using "stepping into the shot" my eyes stay on the target as I change modes and it is only a matter of holding the shot line as I bend over.
I think that establishing the shot line while standing is a good thing to do as it allows for a better (?) perspective on the shot before one bends over. When stepping into the shot the subconscious has been engaged and uses all available information from both perspectives as it bends to the shot.
I think that some people immediately switch to the subconscious mode when they set the chalk down and allow the eyes and stance to adjust as needed. If that is what one has learned I suppose it works for that player.
BTW I watched a match between Johnny Archer and Mika Immomen tonight(2003 US Open) and noted that Archer seems to use stepping into the shot on a consistent basis. Of course I do not know if he realizes or recognizes what he is doing but he did seem to step into most of his shots.
If the use of a trigger is a new part of one's routine I think that "stepping into the shot" keeps your eye on the ball so to speak.
I am not tied to stepping into the shot as a trigger I merely think it is one of the better approaches. In reality the player should use whatever feels right.
BTW I too have noted the phenomena you discussed, Changing my mind does not always change the shot. In a few instances when I was not sure what to do my subconscious has played position that I never would have thought of. It has happened enough times that I do not think it is a coincidence.
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#289670 - 11/07/09 12:16 AM
Re: The mental game
[Re: Soflasnapper]
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wolfdancer
Carpal \'Tunnel
Registered: 10/31/02
Posts: 10585
Loc: north to alaska
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The "Australian", nicknamed the Oyster, is the "Australian Oyster", Tim White who lives in Vermont, but who visited Australia, and maybe "fell in love with it" as I did on my two trips there. I think Tim is a little controversial maybe
"Blackjack" David Sapolis has a 4 part video on the mental game, on youtube, and disabled the "add commentary" due to a conflict with Tim
Blackjack
I've always liked David's input on the game and believe I'll enjoy watching the videos.
You can find more info on Tim, using a Google search
When Tim and Stan Shuffett were speaking, they made a video with Stan's pool prodigy son Landon. I notice that the chalk is part of his pre-shot routine. wish I could remember to chalk up first...I sometimes shoot till I miscue
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#289671 - 11/07/09 12:22 AM
Re: The mental game
[Re: JoeW]
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wolfdancer
Carpal \'Tunnel
Registered: 10/31/02
Posts: 10585
Loc: north to alaska
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Joe, I now remember something that I once read, and used for awhile as a trigger. It involved touching your thumb and little finger together to begin your pre-shot routine. It was for pool, I believe, or maybe Golf, or maybe something else , like a reminder to wipe, then flush afterwards....
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#289672 - 11/07/09 12:33 AM
Re: The mental game
[Re: Sid_Vicious]
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wolfdancer
Carpal \'Tunnel
Registered: 10/31/02
Posts: 10585
Loc: north to alaska
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That reminds me of playing once in a pool bar where you held the table until you missed. I wasn't a good player but by comparison to many of the ones that signed up...I was a "pro". So I played this young guy who wasn't a favorite to run 3 balls with ball in hand, and heard him comment after "I can't believe I lost to that old guy"
But you are right....they have the confidence because the haven't missed yet, the million balls that we have in our pool playing lifetime, and haven't seen the million bad rolls that lead to them misses....and they still think and believe pool is a fair game, and that the pool gods look down favorably on both players.
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