Help! I've got the yips!

[Where's Willie?]

Please help! I have been playing snooker and pool to a reasonable standard (high break 110) since I was 12. I am now 28 and in the last six months I have developed a problem with my cueing that seems to be getting progressively worse each time I play.
Basically it's taking me an eternity to play even the simplest of shots. Typically I line up the shot ok, get down to play it and am then feathering for ages, constantly re-aligning the shot and just can't deliver the cue. This is embarrassing as much as anything because I play in a pool league and slow play is frowned upon. I have to keep assuring people that I'm not doing it deliberately!
Anyway the more I think about it the worse it seems to get and everything I've tried just seems to exacerbate the problem. I am really concerned that if this carries on I won't be able to play any more.

I am 99% sure it's a mental problem and people keep telling me to slap out of it but everything I've heard and read about the yips tell me it isn't the sort of thing you get over easily.

If anyone has any help or tips for dealing with this it would be greatly appreciated.

[DeanH]

Sorry to hear you are having problems with the yips, it sounds like your infliction is the "freezing" version, I have the involuntary movement version, where at any time in my preparation to cue delivery my elbow will twitch
Yours is where you never seem to get to the "ready to release (delivery)" signal.
It has been mentioned that yips are mostly psychological but there are thoughts that there could actually be a physical symptom as well, that probably started it all off.
What I did to get over my yips, was to change my shot preparation to deal with them.
I do not go down to address the cue ball until I am sure I have the line right. Once down I do not tend to feather at all now, as that was when the yip would attack, by draw back is nice and slow and controlled but relaxed, the rear pause is there, not too short not too long, and deliever the cue.
Obviously I am not mentioned verything that goes through the shot prep/cue delivery, just thosie components that I have "deliberately" changed to reduce the yips. Seems to work for me, as I tend not to think about them now (the pyschological part, ?) and my stance/prep/delivery is now very relaxed - maybe that is an important part, to relax?
I look forward to reading further posts.
cheers

[Where's Willie?]

Thanks DeanH, that's very helpful.

I think I will try to change my shot preparation too. What you said about lining up the shot first and not feathering makes a lot of sense to me. I just hope I can get round the mental block in my head and actually do it!

I also think you're right about being relaxed because although I have this problem on every shot it's definitely worse under pressure.

Anyway, good to hear you got over your yips, that's encouraging and good to hear.

I also just read a story that said Stephen Hendry had been suffering with a form of the yips for 10 years! Don't know if it's true or not but if it is I imagine it must have been a major factor in him retiring. Can't say I ever noticed it while watching him play but it would go some way to explaining why his form and, most importantly, confidence seemed to desert him at the end of his career.

[Mick Dundee]

Help! I've got the yips!

A fella in our league has a similar problem in that he can't deliver the cue
But he can when he plays left handed

[Where's Willie?]

A fella in our league has a similar problem in that he can't deliver the cue
But he can when he plays left handed

Jeez, I don't think I could even hold a cue with my left hand, let alone play a shot with it!

I remember Ronnie O'Sullivan, a couple of years ago, going through a stage of saying that the only time he could hit a ball sweet was when he played left-handed. Change is as good as a rest, I guess.

[DeanH]

Anyway, good to hear you got over your yips, that's encouraging and good to hear.

oops, maybe my use of words was incorrect, ".. I did to get over..." means I have not cured them but I have then under control to a certain extent, being relaxed with the new technique works for me 90% of the time but they have not gone completely
When I was changing my technique I did go to a coach to ensure I was not bring something new and detrimental into my game for the sake of the yips. This helped greatly.
How all goes well for you. Look forward to hearing what you find helps your predicament.

[hotpot]

There are a few threds here on this , i had it bad a few years ago and just could,nt leave the cue go especially under the cush . i had to forget about form even in practice and just concentratred on leaving the cue go when intended and trying to relax . Eventually i overcome it and timing the shot better than ever .
Relaxation is the key , easier said than done but you have to think its just a game and i,m going to enjoy it , no matter how big the occassion .

[vmax4steve]

I mentioned in another thread about neural pathways forming in the brain as you learn new motor skills. These pathways remain ingrained and are then used on a subconscious level, until that is some conscious thought intrudes and disturbs them, bypassing one or two parts of that particular motor skill.
You could start again and learn do it by rote a slightly different way like DeanH has and form new neural pathways, difficult the older you are, or you could try to relax the mind and let the subconscious take over and hope to get your original game back.
Could be that the yips are caused by some kind of neurosis that inhibits your subconscious mind, something is troubling you that you can't put aside, and therefore that something has to be dealt with before you can move on and then go back to how you were.

A friend of mine had them last year and tried in solo practise to close his eyes at the moment of striking the cue ball to cut out any visual stimuli that could have been interfering with his subconscious. He had limited success at this, but later confided in me that he was having a few problems in his marriage, we discussed this and came to the conclusion that it was this that was causing the problems in his game because it was at the forefront of his thinking in all that he was doing, not just his snooker was suffering but his job and even his driving was poor.

As for those neural pathways, they do tend to shut down as one gets older, (brain) cells die and are not replaced which is the crux of the ageing process I'm afraid. Nothing anyone can do about that.

[Where's Willie?]

Just wanted to thank you all for your thoughts and advice on this, it's been a great help and I'm pleased to say that last night I had my most encouraging practice in a long time and was hardly 'yipping' at all by the end. I tried to relax, told myself it's only a game and not the be-all and end-all and that helped a lot but the big breakthrough seemed to come when I changed my shot routine. It seems the excessive feathering may have been the actual cause of my problems rather than just a symptom as I had previously thought. I've cut that out and introduced a small pause before playing the shot (something which most players do anyway but had never been part of my cue action before) and it seems to have made all the difference.
I'm trying not to get too excited as I've had false dawns before and there's always the possibility that the next time I play it will be back to square one but I feel so much more optimistic than I did a week ago. Also, I forgot how much fun this game can be when you're hitting the ball well!

[hotpot]

So glad to hear that your on the right patgh . Some people say its near impossible to crack bur your mind started it and your mind can cure ir . The mind is the most powerful and sophisticated machine in the world , you just got to get it on your side and let it help instead of punish you .

[DeanH]

good to hear good news,and that you have found your enjoyment again; enjoying the game is paramount I believe
I hope it lasts for you.