Correct mindset / state of mind to maximise performance

[Nick D]

Hi everyone, id like to talk about the psychological side of the game.

I am sure you have all been there when you struggle to pot the simplest of balls. You are getting down on the shot and your mind cant focus and you miss. You feel tense inside and do not deliver the cue properly. Your timing is all out and the game feels very difficult. I am sure you all know exactly what I mean.

Then all of a sudden, you start playing better. You are suddenly "in the zone" and potting balls becomes easy. Your mind is focussed, you are relaxed, you can see the shot clearly and you are cueing well. Its like someone had flicked a switch and you are a totally different player.

This is the frustration I have with the game.

I play twice a week against a friend. We are both keen players who are eager to improve but get so frustrated with the lack of consistency.

We feel that us playing good or bad is purely in our heads.

Do you guys have any tips or tricks to help us relax and play more consistent snooker?

[djax]

Hi everyone, id like to talk about the psychological side of the game.

I am sure you have all been there when you struggle to pot the simplest of balls. You are getting down on the shot and your mind cant focus and you miss. You feel tense inside and do not deliver the cue properly. Your timing is all out and the game feels very difficult. I am sure you all know exactly

Then all of a sudden, you start playing better. You are suddenly "in the zone" and potting balls becomes easy. Your mind is focussed, you are relaxed, you can see the shot clearly and you are cueing well. Its like someone had flicked a switch and you are a totally different player.

This is the frustration I have with the game.

I play twice a week against a friend. We are both keen players who are eager to improve but get so frustrated with the lack of consistency.

We feel that us playing good or bad is purely in our heads.

Do you guys have any tips or tricks to help us relax and play more consistent snooker?

Slow it all down, then recall why it is you're playing this great game in the first place? Pleasure, enjoyment - Our mortgages getting paid don't depend up on our ability. Other than that, put Smooth Radio on in the background.

[Byrom]

Well the reason you do not improve is not in your heads...that's a overused clique .. Like saying I could have made it at football if I had not had that knee injury.

The reason you don't improve is in your question . You practice twice a week with your mate.

That's not practice that's playing. You want to improve then get on a table on your own do the leg work. Get the ironing board n bottle or matchbox out at home read up on everything known to man about snooker mimic the cue actions and movements of a certain player that is close to your style . Pinch bits here and there buy a dozen cues try a dozen tips become obsessive compulsive with your practice play every hour you can till your feet drop off. Badger every single ton man you can for a game pick the brains of a good player at every opportunity. Work on things off the table as your personality off table is reflected on it. Practice more on the table.

Give it a couple of years - if you ain't improved after that take up golf.

[tedisbill]

Exactly what Byrom said above. Put the hours in.

[djax]

L

Well the reason you do not improve is not in your heads...that's a overused clique .. Like saying I could have made it at football if I had not had that knee injury.

The reason you don't improve is in your question . You practice twice a week with your mate.



That's not practice that's playing. You want to improve then get on a table on your own do the leg work. Get the ironing board n bottle or matchbox out at home read up on everything known to man about snooker mimic the cue actions and movements of a certain player that is close to your style . Pinch bits here and there buy a dozen cues try a dozen tips become obsessive compulsive with your practice play every hour you can till your feet drop off. Badger every single ton man you can for a game pick the brains of a good player at every opportunity. Work on things off the table as your personality off table is reflected on it. Practice more on the table.

Give it a couple of years - if you ain't improved after that take up golf.

I agree with all that you say Byrom, and I'm sure you could add a great deal more? However regardless of the amount of practice and level of consistency that it's possible to achieve, all of us regardless of who we are? Will experience "One of those days" Whatever we do is botched and our opponent happens to be blessed. How then do we cope with the building up of frustration before we implode completely is what Nick D is looking for help with? How do you Byrom and others deal with that when we find ourselves in that position?

[Nick D]

Many thanks for the replies guys....

I am well aware that only playing twice a week limits my ability. I am know that practice will make me more consistent but I do feel the psychological side of the game is a massive thing and I want to try and focus on that if possible.

Let me give you an example of what I mean....

I played on Friday and we were both having an absolute nightmare. We stopped playing a frame and just set simple two reds up in and around the black and took it in turns to pot as many red/blacks as possible (putting more reds on as we potted them).

At the start we could barely pot a single red or black off the spot. It was shocking, truly embarrassing. We are both good enough players to pot these balls easily. Don't get me wrong we aren't century break players but we do make regular 30-40+ breaks. Potting wise we are fairly solid, its the positional side of things that we need to tighten up on and we are well aware of this.

Anyway within about 20mins I had totally loosened up and could barely miss. I was potting for fun and started doing all sorts of fancy silly shots to make it harder for myself. The game become stupidly easy. I could now see everything so clearly where as before it was all a struggle to pot a simple black off the spot.

So how can I go from being totally crap to potting balls for fun in such a short space of time?

Surely this is something in my head?

I know sport psychology is massive in sport to help players focus and get in that frame of mind.

There must be techniques I can use to help relax and focus the mind?

[tedisbill]

You were just potting easy balls around the black spot. In a real frame things are complicated. The black won't pot, you're the wrong angle on a red to get on a colour, the Pink is tied up, youre slightly further away from the object ball which makes the pot harder.

Mostly players are not playing at their best. It's just that when a hundred break player is playing at 60%, they can still win a frame in one visit. When a 30-40 break player is playing at 60%, you'll make 15-20 breaks.

[djax]

.

Many thanks for the replies guys....

I am well aware that only playing twice a week limits my ability. I am know that practice will make me more consistent but I do feel the psychological side of the game is a massive thing and I want to try and focus on that if possible.

Let me give you an example of what I mean....

I played on Friday and we were both having an absolute nightmare. We stopped playing a frame and just set simple two reds up in and around the black and took it in turns to pot as many red/blacks as possible (putting more reds on as we potted them).

At the start we could barely pot a single red or black off the spot. It was shocking, truly embarrassing. We are both good enough players to pot these balls easily. Don't get me wrong we aren't century break players but we do make regular 30-40+ breaks. Potting wise we are fairly solid, its the positional side of things that we need to tighten up on and we are well aware of this.

Anyway within about 20mins I had totally loosened up and could barely miss. I was potting for fun and started doing all sorts of fancy silly shots to make it harder for myself. The game become stupidly easy. I could now see everything so clearly where as before it was all a struggle to pot a simple black off the spot.

So how can I go from being totally crap to potting balls for fun in such a short space of time?

Surely this is something in my head?

I know sport psychology is massive in sport to help players focus and get in that frame of mind.

There must be techniques I can use to help relax and focus the mind?

Nick, I think you already have a grasp on part of the solution? As an ex pro cyclist, I can confirm performance levels are influenced by your psychology and confidence, the two go hand-in-hand. Whenever I find the going tough, be it on the bike or table, I recall the team's psychologist mantra "Slow the mind down" take back control. There's much more to it, but you get the idea. I also once had a very enlightening conversation with an Australian sports psych. She got me to recall in the heat of battle why we are doing it? Because we all enjoy it. Garner pleasure from performance or any other activity, and you usually do it better.

[Byrom]

Ok I will go into it a bit more - basically it's expectations and how you deal with them. Every player gets frustrations at this game ted for example knows to get good you need to put the hours in and he has done so he can now knock in a ton on occasion but as he said consistent 40-50 s more realistically. He will however just get one of those days as we all do when he is tired or has things on his mind or just not with it accepting this can do yer head in lol

We are all different in how we tick but sometimes there is certain things that might help during a game. A great coach called Del hill called these things -dummies-

I concentrate on keeping still and down not moving up off the shot too quickly and getting the foot placement right so I get down on line correctly and this helps me - some people might say to themselves keep head still or relax the grip or speed up a bit or smooth helps timing or down to up or just something to do with keeping with the pre shot routine.

Your own pre shot routine that you work on as you develop helps you retain a consistent approach and the hours you put in developing that pays off. Again though if you don't put that practice in you cannot seriously expect much.

I don't think any snooker player is ever truly happy for long tho it's the nature of the game. The good players or ones that want to improve all get frustrated Searching for perfection that is unobtainable don't we? Some people just deal with it better than others because if you do dwell what good does it do ya? Move on stay in the present focus treat the game with respect keep calm and try your best.

Oh n practice practice practice - two times a week with yer mates not enough that is just playing - do some solo stuff set some targets and develop a solid pre shot routine and consistent approach to suit your particular style of play ... Many many More hours in the club basically as this help you prepare right. Fail to prepare then prepare to fail.

[djax]

Ok I will go into it a bit more - basically it's expectations and how you deal with them. Every player gets frustrations at this game ted for example knows to get good you need to put the hours in and he has done so he can now knock in a ton on occasion but as he said consistent 40-50 s more realistically. He will however just get one of those days as we all do when he is tired or has things on his mind or just not with it accepting this can do yer head in lol

We are all different in how we tick but sometimes there is certain things that might help during a game. A great coach called Del hill called these things -dummies-

I concentrate on keeping still and down not moving up off the shot too quickly and getting the foot placement right so I get down on line correctly and this helps me - some people might say to themselves keep head still or relax the grip or speed up a bit or smooth helps timing or down to up or just something to do with keeping with the pre shot routine.

Your own pre shot routine that you work on as you develop helps you retain a consistent approach and the hours you put in developing that pays off. Again though if you don't put that practice in you cannot seriously expect much.

I don't think any snooker player is ever truly happy for long tho it's the nature of the game. The good players or ones that want to improve all get frustrated Searching for perfection that is unobtainable don't we? Some people just deal with it better than others because if you do dwell what good does it do ya? Move on stay in the present focus treat the game with respect keep calm and try your best.

Oh n practice practice practice - two times a week with yer mates not enough that is just playing - do some solo stuff set some targets and develop a solid pre shot routine and consistent approach to suit your particular style of play ... Many many More hours in the club basically as this help you prepare right. Fail to prepare then prepare to fail.

Amen to all that Byrom.

[Nick D]

Thanks for the replies guys, you have all given me plenty to think about.

I guess ultimately it comes down to practice and spending more quality time on the table.

I just have to accept we all have shockers every so often. It doesn't often happen to me so it really baffles and annoys me when it does.

[Cannonball]

Hmmm, someone once said the shot should look crystal clear when you're down or 10/10. If you miss, then set-up/cueing has gone awry. Because your eyes don't lie and we can all pot them blind when we're in the groove. It's easy to forget but running a 10/10 check before first feathers is vital. If it doesn't look 10/10 you can start to correct things by getting up and sussing the solution. Once it does look 10/10, you've solved the set-up issue and what's left is body and head movement (tension) and relaxed, dead-straight cueing (no wrist rotation). Your partner can tell you if these areas are issues by simply standing behind you and looking at your grip and body movement. I think that within 10mins, players can understand what is different to 'normal'. This is why a bit of line up or free potting is a great way for two players to start a session and help each other. Players can miss consistently at the highest level, go to the practice room mid-session, then come out and hit clearance after clearance. So even Ronnie has to make wee adjustments to get back to his best. Obviously, confidence is an issue because that stops body movement and tense cueing/snatching/rotating. So leave everything at the door before you get the cue out someone very knowledgeable told me. Whatever is on your mind cannot be sorted until you leave, so forget it unless it's critical, in which case, leave the snooker room immediately! :biggrin-new:

Oh yeah, have fun! Enjoying the game and setting out to do so vastly improves the standard for most folk. Get into a good mindset an hour before you go to practice, think about what you'd like to achieve and do on the table, even the night before if you have time. Make a mental plan or jot a few ideas down; or have some small notes on your phone. If having a beer helps you relax, do that but don't go overboard. I'd avoid high sugar foods and drinks, that makes people antsy and jumpy and too energetic and it can lead to less concentration. Don't go after a heavy meal, that can lead to soporific issues. Do the social chat with your mate after the session not during.

Always play the shot 100%, never 80% or 120%. Too little is giving into fear, too much is being aggressive towards fear. Fear wins in both cases; form drops. 100% means the computer is in charge, not the monkey. Never refuse the correct shot (that is within your capability) that you always play in top form or fear wins, breaks drop and you go into your shell and limit your game. It is better to play the correct shot and miss, than hit 20 breaks or win a frame IMO (unless you've got big money on it!). This is basically the Hendry philosophy.

Byrom has mentioned more 'practice' which is controversial on TSF (no I'm not joking) as Inevermissblue will explain soon enough I hope. :biggrin-new:

[itsnoteasy]

I don't think Inevermiss is anti practice, he's just anti hitting balls around for hours willy nilly and calling that practice.

[alabadi]

Hmmm, someone once said the shot should look crystal clear when you're down or 10/10. If you miss, then set-up/cueing has gone awry. Because your eyes don't lie and we can all pot them blind when we're in the groove. It's easy to forget but running a 10/10 check before first feathers is vital. If it doesn't look 10/10 you can start to correct things by getting up and sussing the solution. Once it does look 10/10, you've solved the set-up issue and what's left is body and head movement (tension) and relaxed, dead-straight cueing (no wrist rotation). Your partner can tell you if these areas are issues by simply standing behind you and looking at your grip and body movement. I think that within 10mins, players can understand what is different to 'normal'. This is why a bit of line up or free potting is a great way for two players to start a session and help each other. Players can miss consistently at the highest level, go to the practice room mid-session, then come out and hit clearance after clearance. So even Ronnie has to make wee adjustments to get back to his best. Obviously, confidence is an issue because that stops body movement and tense cueing/snatching/rotating. So leave everything at the door before you get the cue out someone very knowledgeable told me. Whatever is on your mind cannot be sorted until you leave, so forget it unless it's critical, in which case, leave the snooker room immediately! :biggrin-new:

Oh yeah, have fun! Enjoying the game and setting out to do so vastly improves the standard for most folk. Get into a good mindset an hour before you go to practice, think about what you'd like to achieve and do on the table, even the night before if you have time. Make a mental plan or jot a few ideas down; or have some small notes on your phone. If having a beer helps you relax, do that but don't go overboard. I'd avoid high sugar foods and drinks, that makes people antsy and jumpy and too energetic and it can lead to less concentration. Don't go after a heavy meal, that can lead to soporific issues. Do the social chat with your mate after the session not during.

Always play the shot 100%, never 80% or 120%. Too little is giving into fear, too much is being aggressive towards fear. Fear wins in both cases; form drops. 100% means the computer is in charge, not the monkey. Never refuse the correct shot (that is within your capability) that you always play in top form or fear wins, breaks drop and you go into your shell and limit your game. It is better to play the correct shot and miss, than hit 20 breaks or win a frame IMO (unless you've got big money on it!). This is basically the Hendry philosophy.

Byrom has mentioned more 'practice' which is controversial on TSF (no I'm not joking) as Inevermissblue will explain soon enough I hope. :biggrin-new:

very good post +1

[tomwalker147]

Nick- Ultimately you're suffering a lack of consistency, this does not breed confidence.

Do you have a standard pre shot routine that you use for each shot? If you find you're missing balls the best thing to do is limit the chances of you missing them. One way of doing this is to Have a consistent pre shot routine.
By doing this you'll understand what 'the norm' is for you, you'll understand why you played a shot well or badly and ultimately will trust your technique giving you one less thing to worry about.

I've not played for 3 weeks but the next time I play i'll go back to my standard routine which is now engrained in me so the amount you play is not the be all and end all.

The pyschological aspects of any sport come down to limiting the variables which can effect your performance. Making sure you are consistent with your cueing cuts out many of these variables.
Sorry for rambling on.