Concentration

[throtts]

Hi Guys,

I have been playing lovely snooker in practice. However, when playing with say family members in just a knock around its amazing how bad you can play, you feel so stupid because they know I practice alot.

Must be down to poor concentration and then that promoting lazy technique..

Anyone else have / do this in friendly knock arounds, I must put a stop to it.

[rob s]

Yes mate I think we all can be guilty of this at times. I've got 1 particular friend that only plays once every 1-2 weeks when we meet up and sometimes he wins or I just beat him even though I practice regularly and I'm sure I'm a higher standard than him. With me I think the issue is all the chatting during frames puts me off at 1st and it takes me a while to find my rhythm, also when I play someone I know I should beat I can become complacent and start to miss easy shots. Then once Im behind I start taking on silly shots then leaving him on all the time, I know what I'm doing wrong but I'm struggling to fix it
I might see a coach about my mental approach and to get some pointers but it's expensive and where I play regularly in Northampton doesn't have a coach at the moment!
Do you chat a lot when playing your friends or family members?

[alabadi]

Yes mate I think we all can be guilty of this at times. I've got 1 particular friend that only plays once every 1-2 weeks when we meet up and sometimes he wins or I just beat him even though I practice regularly and I'm sure I'm a higher standard than him.

Carbon copy of me, i have a mate who again plays once a week when i play him, he has never practiced a day in his life, never pays any attention to stance, grip or technique. drinks heavily when playing...amazing. however can beat me sometimes. i think sometimes what the heck i am doing wrong, wheres all the practice gone. why am i struggling when i am a much better player...arghhh its so frustrating.

With me I think the issue is all the chatting during frames puts me off at 1st and it takes me a while to find my rhythm, also when I play someone I know I should beat I can become complacent and start to miss easy shots. Then once Im behind I start taking on silly shots then leaving him on all the time, I know what I'm doing wrong but I'm struggling to fix it

Maybe you have a point here, maybe i am being too casual, i even sometimes feel embarresed, me walking aound the table trying to plan things out, yet he just gets down and not bothered.

Alabbadi

[CoachGavin]

I coach in northampton. I am world snooker and terry griffiths school of coaching qualified. I have probably coached over 300 players of all standards so please PM if interested in coaching or check out my website.

[hotpot]

Its strange how you feel and play great when practicing alone but as soon as you play someone you start to think about all sorts of things , then you become a totally different player . Your outlook on the game is totally different and you start to complicate things .

[pottr]

It's the exact opposite with me and it frustrates me.
I can't seem to gear up unless I'm playing against someone.

I'm sure not being able to get my head on in solo practice is stopping me from moving up a level.

[NorthWestJunior]

I think it's usually because your opponent will miss and knock balls all over the table. When the balls are all over the place I just lose concentration as it completely takes the fun out of it for me when the colours are stuck on cushions and in baulk for example. When you're used to developing reds and spending lots of time scoring around the black and blue spots it comes a surprise when you have reds everywhere and colours tied up in tricky places. The chatting and banter doesn't help either.

[Gerry Armstrong]

The problem is comapring what you believe to be your best game against the other player's average game i.e. you're comparing what he is actually producing against what you believe you are capable of producing.

For example, I know I am capable of decent sized breaks (60+ breaks). If I don't get any I could fall in to the trap of thinking "how come this guy is beating me? He only gets 15-20 breaks but I know I'm better because I can get 60+ breaks?"

The answer of course is I'm not producing any 60+ breaks!!

Don't convince yourself that you're a much better player than someone else if they beat you as much as you beat them. The game you actually produce on the table is on a par with their game. If they beat you all the time, what they produce is better than what you produce no matter what their technique is, how often they practice or how hard you believe you are working and therefore should be rewarded for.

And as for a messy table, if you don't give your opponent a shot he can't mess up the table!!

[Particle Physics]

It's the exact opposite with me and it frustrates me.
I can't seem to gear up unless I'm playing against someone.

I'm sure not being able to get my head on in solo practice is stopping me from moving up a level.

Morning mate. Is a lack of desire/ambition stopping you? I'm not having a dig btw. I know a lot of pros hate practice, but the ones who get to the top do it regardless, because of ambition. How badly do you want it? Have you tried reminding yourself before, during and after practice of your the future standard you want to be?

I love practice, this is were I do my best stuff, but I'm a novice, so it hasn't gotten boring yet. What I can't stand, is folk I know who will practice and talk all the time, even when I'm playing a shot. I know one player who does this on purpose, gamesmanship. Not good.

I think it's all about getting in to the zone and staying there. I need to order Ronnie's sports psycho's book.

[AKashyap]

I have played over the years with little confidence to even extreme death defying and true confidence. And the only thing I can say is that when I was that confident, I was even making shots beyond my caliber. It was as if I could pot anything. Have you seen movies, the hustler, color of money etc?? They teach you a lot about confidence.. When playing with family members, just play. Win only with who can withstand defeat, but you are the snooker player and everyone must at least acknowledge that fact. What more can I say, just focus.

[nrage]

I think it's usually because your opponent will miss and knock balls all over the table. When the balls are all over the place I just lose concentration as it completely takes the fun out of it for me when the colours are stuck on cushions and in baulk for example. When you're used to developing reds and spending lots of time scoring around the black and blue spots it comes a surprise when you have reds everywhere and colours tied up in tricky places. The chatting and banter doesn't help either.

You need to "re-frame" in this case. Instead of looking at the messy table and thinking, "I can't make a decent break on this", instead look at it as a challenge i.e. "I wonder what kind of break I can make on this". Take a leaf from Ronnie's book - he has made some truly amazing clearances on absolutely rubbish/messy tables in pressure situations, so, why can't you..

[steve clarke]

I posted a thread on this not so long back.

What PP says about the zone is dead right – but for a sociable game or two I think the trick is to go in and out of the zone at will.

I’d love to be able to do this – any tips anyone?

But of course – sociable evening or not – always respect your opponent’s turn at the table, never ever speak when it’s his go, give him chance to get in the zone also.

[hotpot]

I posted a thread on this not so long back.

What PP says about the zone is dead right – but for a sociable game or two I think the trick is to go in and out of the zone at will.

I’d love to be able to do this – any tips anyone?

But of course – sociable evening or not – always respect your opponent’s turn at the table, never ever speak when it’s his go, give him chance to get in the zone also.

No one knows the howto get into the zone , you cant plan it and there is no secret ingredient , it just happens , usually when your mind and game are at one .

[Particle Physics]

I posted a thread on this not so long back.

What PP says about the zone is dead right – but for a sociable game or two I think the trick is to go in and out of the zone at will.

I’d love to be able to do this – any tips anyone?

But of course – sociable evening or not – always respect your opponent’s turn at the table, never ever speak when it’s his go, give him chance to get in the zone also.

The pros can do this, it's mind training, that they or their coaches have built. I've ordered Dr. Steve Peters book. I'm going to read it, and do a review for TSF. He's coached all the Olympic champions, tour de france cyclists, ROS, and all the top sports stars we can mention. I'm on the case.

Yesterday: The pink was near the yellow spot, the cue ball towards the yellow pocket. I potted the pink in the bottom right pocket and screwed the ball. This is a <10% completely blind shot and it didn't touch the sides. I got down, I played the shot without fear, and just assessed the angle and cued through the ball. I think I thought to myself, oh well, who cares if I miss it, it's ridiculously hard anyway, anything is a bonus. It's a strange game sometimes.

[steve clarke]

I've ordered Dr. Steve Peters book. I'm going to read it, and do a review for TSF.

Thanks - I look forward to that.