Many aspiring players make the mistake of solely focusing on the physical side of pool in order to improve. Practicing drills and learning new shots can only take you so far in your game. The mind controls the body so it’s important to give equal attention to your mental game.
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Have you ever had a shot where the only thing you can think about is the possible scratch and then you inevitably scratch? By choosing to focus on the possible scratch, you make that a more likely possibility. The internal “conversation” you have with yourself throughout a match can have a huge effect on how you play. As a Scorpio (if you believe in that sort of thing) I am naturally a very emotional player. It’s incredibly hard for me to “let it go” when I make a poor shot and I often carry that anger or disappointment into my next shot. This can be disastrous for your game. Dwelling on past shots will only hurt your confidence and take your attention away from executing the next shot correctly.
I once told a friend of mine, a boxing trainer, about this issue I was having. I told him that I needed to learn to forget about my mistakes after they happen because it’s hurting my game. I was surprised by his reply. He told me that when you work on a mental aspect of your game, you shouldn’t try to change things that are naturally part of your personality, just learn to control or redirect them. What did that mean? Well, it meant that instead of trying to make myself forget about the shot, I should let myself think about the shot, but change WHAT I think about when I “dwell” on the shot. Ah, the power of positive thinking! So, armed with that expert advice, I developed a handful of positive affirmations to use when I come across an intimidating shot or to use after I make a mistake.
It may sound a little bit corny but having positive things to say to yourself can help you stay in a confident mindset. For instance, if I miss an easy shot, instead of thinking, “geez how did I miss such an easy routine shot, I can’t believe I’m going to lose this game because of a stupid mistake like that,” I say, “I know better than that, I KNOW how to make that shot, it’s not like me to miss that shot, I’ve made it 100 times before and I won’t make that mistake again.” Remind yourself of the time and practice you have put in, reassure yourself that you’re a better player than what you have just shown and tell yourself that you WILL execute it correctly next time. Sometimes it helps just to identify what you did incorrectly and reassure yourself that you will make the adjustment to correct that the next time. When you get too focused on the actual act of missing the shot, you aren’t constructive about fixing it for future shots.
Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t – you’re right.” This basically means that your mind controls your ability to do something. Confidence is everything. A friend of mine was playing in a match this week and twice made a sarcastic comment like, “I have a wide open table, watch me run the whole table and miss the last ball.” Well, once you put it in your head, it’s not going away, particularly if you’ve said it out loud! Instead of being nervous about messing up the “easy” run-out, have some positive sayings in your arsenal to talk yourself thru the rack and encourage yourself to win, one shot at a time.
The same is true for distractions—you will be distracted by something as long as you think it will distract you. I can always remember the mistakes I made when I was not playing well but I rarely remember my run-outs when I feel like I’m in dead stroke. When you’re playing well, you aren’t over-thinking shots and you aren’t doubting your decisions. You’re just shooting in a good rhythm and playing well. Unfortunately, even for the top players, being in dead stroke can be a rare thing. It’s only natural that you’ll notice things happening around your table. Maybe it’s the people walking by, someone being loud at a nearby table or your opponent not sitting still while you’re shooting. Whatever it is, you don’t have to ignore it. Sometimes you can’t help what will catch your eye or your attention while you’re at the table. Don’t fight against this natural reaction to notice your surroundings. Instead, identify the distraction and address it. One of my pet peeves is not being able to ignore waitresses walking by. I think it bothers me because they seem to be the only people in the pool hall that are exempt from poolplaying etiquette. By that I mean, when another player or an opponent is walking by they will stop and wait until a player that is down shooting a shot completes the shot so as to not distract them. However, waitresses seem to be exempt from this and walk freely without hesitation around all matches. I’m not complaining that this is the case, I’m just explaining that this distracts me more than other things because I’m constantly thinking, “Is she going to walk across my shot or will she go a different direction?” Rather than trying to ignore the waitress walking by, I have learned that it’s better to notice her walking by, stand up and wait until she passes, then readdress my shot, with no distractions. Of course, this is easier said than done when you’re playing against a loud opponent or something that won’t just pass after time. In those cases it’s important to have positive things to tell yourself and reaffirm to yourself that you’re a good enough player to not let those things bother you.
What happens on the table is only a small portion of what makes a winner and a loser. Just as it may be impossible to learn everything there is to learn about the game of pool, you can never stop developing your mental game—there will always be room for improvement and something new to learn.
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Cristina De La Garza Cristina De La Garza is a WPBA Touring Professional from Austin, Texas. Cristina joined the APA in 2004 and competed in several top regional and national APA tournaments. She made her WPBA debut in 2008 and through her finishes in the 2009 season, earned her Tour card for 2010. She will share how her experiences in the APA shaped her development and taught her important concepts that she still applies to her game today. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
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