Emotion and temper

[craigslater]

One of the guys down my local club who i would say i look upto a bit as maybe a father figure has taken me under his wing a bit thins season and started trying to improve my game by looking at the faults and trying to iron them out.
I have been playing really well this season and got to numbeer one in the player of the year ranking but recently i have slipped down to about 3 or 4.

My friend says i would be a force to be reckoned with and almost unbeatable (amatuer league) if i could keep my emotions and temper under check?

How can i do think and take emotion out of the game and not get angry when things dont go my way?

Has anyone got any advice or help as this could turn my whole game around for the better?

Thanks

[Semih_Sayginer]

anger management? (only a suggestion, please dont shout at me)

[craigslater]

lol not a bad suggestion....

[Semih_Sayginer]

lol not a bad suggestion....

only the bracketed part was a joke

and i wasnt being cheeky with the unbracketed suggestion. if you went there and were comfortable going there as a sportsman who wanted to use it to control his emotion and control his temper in pressure situations.....well lets say i dont think it would do any harm

[MrRottweiler]

I think it can be useful to a sportsperson to have that determination to win. It shows ambition. Its important to clear your mind of any worry. A red letter or other kinds of personal issues wont hep you on the table and can manifest its-self in anger and frustration resulting in dented cues or aparatus. Make sure all aspects of your life are in order and also very importantly get an effective practice routine in place. That way you will be in a mood to play serious Snooker and will be confident with all the practice behind you. If you lose its ok to give yourself a telling off and analyse where you went wrong but as long as you can say to youself "I tried my best" you will be able to channel that frustration, upset, anger etc in a positive way which is to make yourself a more capable player.

[CoachGavin]

i agree that emotion can be a good thing because it can show a will to win. I think some players are naturally better than others at covering up those emotions. There are things you can do. You need to try and understand why you get so emotional and when and also to let go of the emotions when they hold you back. For instance, being angry for missing a black off the spot to win a frame is fine but once the next frame is underway then you should tune your thoughts to the present moment. It sometimes helps to go to the toilet or something after losing a bad frame just to give yourself a break. You also need to look at positives and try and identify them rather than seeing the bad luck or the balls you are missing. These are just some of the ideas I use within my coaching. Hope it helps.

[Qubit]

Just an idea, but perhaps you could try to culture a ice man type persona when playing. In a way the most damaging aspect of getting annoyed with yourself is letting your opponent see.

[miscuehamburg]

There is a short but good note on mental thoughness at: http://www.worldsnooker.com/news_latest-17210.htm. Just in case you have not seen it yet.