Getting really frustrated!!!

[Jake O'Sullivan]

I'm starting to get really frustrated when I'm practicing on my own, missing really easy shots! Also practicing with the line up and nothings going right for me what so ever!

Help!

Cheers,

Jake

[willtyson]

I feel the same way in situations and we all have rough patches in our game, all you have to do is work through these periods and keep going. If you are missing easy shots it will be because of a lapse in concentration, just make sure you play each shot with equal thought and you will be fine :snooker: Keep going!

[Luke Hooper]

i struggle with the same thing at the moment, just got to grin and bear it... there is a light at the end of the tunnel if you continue to practice.. take a day off or something, go relax and then come back with a fresh mind

[Terry Davidson]

These problems are normally caused by movement on the shot and that means not just the delivery of the cue.

Concentrate on keeping the upper body ABSOLUTELY STILL from the time your bridge hand hits the table, through the feathers, especially during the backswing and then the delivery. Even just 1mm of head movement will cause a pot to be missed in some circumstances, especially under power.

DON'T EVEN BREATHE IN OR OUT...it's that important. I would be willing to bet there is some kind of small upper body movement during the backswing. Remember how Steve Davis father taught him to be still, by holding a cue over his head and if his head or hair touches the cue he would get a light tap on the head to remind him. Then look at a video of Steve and see how still his head was during any shot. John Higgins is also very still on the shot.

Players tend to ignore the backswing but it is the main culprit when players are having a real bad day

Terry

[Jake O'Sullivan]

Cheers guys and cheers Terry!

I'll stick at, wasn't it the right frame of mind today at all! Couldn't compose myself or let the temper blow over!

Jake

[thelongbomber]

Set yourself some goals in practice and try and beat them from the last time. That will up your concentration and get you focused on performing to your best.

I'm currently working on achieving a 3-red, 3-black, and all colors, three times in a row without missing once. I place the reds in open play and in easily pottable positions. After potting the last black, I setup the reds randomly again (not duplicate of my last clearance) and then have another go. When I can clear 3-red, 3-black, and all the colors, three times in a row without missing, I'm ready to have a go with 4 reds. I'm not doing the lineup for reasons I won't explain here but let me just say it has limited usefulness for me right now and it was recommended by a century runner to me to start at this routine vs the lineup. So far, it's helping and I have gotten through a single clearance (51 points) and working on round 2.

I haven't gotten to 3 total clearances yet. It's something a little bit away from my current ability but it's a target I know I can do if I work at it. All the while, I'm learning, absorbing and paying close attention to things I didn't see before, which is an outcome I'm always striving for in practice time (and so should you). My goal is not going to come without working at it, but I know I can do it if I set my mind and push myself. Now practice is fun and challenging.

I will admit, even with adding some pressure, targets, goals, etc into your practice routines, it's still a tough go because nobody pays the price for your miss except you. You have to discipline yourself to not stray and keep focused and work at it. Try to learn while you do it so that the next attempt get's easier and you get something out of the practice time. If Ronnie can do the lineup, so can you. Something that may motivate you also is this statement: what you do in practice you will do on the match table. If you get lazy, tired or frustrated, it may show up in your match game also. Relax, stay calm, and work hard on the practice table and those results will show up in match play. That's one of the many rewards.

Can you share a bit more about your skill? What's your highest break? Average break in match play? Number of years playing? Maybe the practice routine you are doing isn't right for your ability yet. I'm guessing the lineup is frustrating because you don't know how to play the stun/screw/spin shots properly? Maybe you use a lot of English to compensate on position or have some fundamental troubles with certain shots (maybe low on black or something)? Fill us in.

Terry is also absolutely correct, keep still and follow his other sage advice.

[Blanchon147]

I am the same, i have only been playing the game for a few years so i don't really know all the potting angles. If i miss an easy ball i set the same shot up again and have another go. Don't get too stressed and try to enjoy it.

[vmax4steve]

Remember how Steve Davis father taught him to be still, by holding a cue over his head and if his head or hair touches the cue he would get a light tap on the head to remind him. Then look at a video of Steve and see how still his head was during any shot. John Higgins is also very still on the shot.Terry

And yet both Davis and Higgins still miss balls when they don't move their heads, why ? probably because they have taken their eyes off the point of contact on the object ball. Keeping your eyes on this focus point at the moment you strike the cue ball is just as important as keeping your head still IMO. And yet there is now that 'blind sight' thing that's in my head right now after watching this weeks HORIZON. It certainly isn't getting any easier.

[Terry Davidson]

vmax:

The main reason why a pro will miss a pot, even if he stayed still on the shot, is they are playing the cueball for position rather than playing the pot and yes this means they actually take their concentration off making the pot.

This happens to a lot of good players, especially when in the balls where it also has larger implications as it will let your opponent in almost every time. It's very important to drop the head straight down on EVERY shot and do not allow anything in the upper body to move until you're finished delivering the cue.

If you watch a pro or good player when this happens you usually see a slight shift in the hips in one direction or the other and if you take a look at this with yourself you will find that any shift in the hips by ANY AMOUNT will take the cue off-line by a little bit. Get down into the address position and watch the tip on the cueball and try shifting the hips just a couple of millimeters and you'll see what I mean.

This is what the commentators mean when they say 'he took his eye off the pot' and I've noticed Steve Davis especially lately is getting more guilty of doing this (the few times I see him on video lately)

Terry