Just a little problem.

[Nat5guns]

Hi every1, i got a little prob with the mental side of the game at the min,( only in competition) i always feel like im gonna lose and i think to myself when i get down on a shot," im gonna miss this". If i overcome this and put my practice play into my match play i will be a decent player. Could any1 give me any advice to over come this please? THNX

[kev147]

try thinking the opposite to what you do now that might help.

[reverse_side]

Maybe if you explained to the Forum in some finer detail your experiences of what you go through, what you think and feel when it's happening, it'll be easier for people to really understand what you're going through and to then help you. It's very unique and personal how people deal with overcoming adversity and apart from a lightning bolt of shocking insight; we'll struggle to tie all your mental loose ends up so thery're the cords holding a hot air balloon of serenity and calm application to improve your state of mind. At 15 year old too, it may take someone who's been there and done it to perfectly put their finger on your side of the scales in your favour...... calling all young adults, helps this youngster bungster out please. (I thought of an interesting phrase a few months back which helped somebody..... 'confidence is only hope with a few good results behind it', more poetically/memorably, it could be said as "hope, wins, confidence")

[Robert602]

I'm wary of giving advice to a better player than myself, but if I ever find myself thinking negatively about a shot I don't play it there and then. Get up from the shot, tell yourself you eat them for breakfast in practise and you can do the same in a match, then knock it in. If you can't convince yourself you'll pot it then it's probably best to go with your 'B game' as it were and play a tight safety.

Snooker's very much a mental game at any level, and if you're not confident about a pot the chances are you won't get it, and that'll hurt your confidence further. On the other hand potting every ball you attempt (even if there's nothing too spectacular amongst them) and playing good safety in between will gradually build match confidence.

[cueman]

I would say that possibly you need to get a drill (not the electric kind!) or some sort of routine that you use for each and every shot. It sounds like you may be trying to play a different game than how you would play when you practice. If you can find some way of preparing for each shot in the same way it will help stand up under pressure.

Also everyone gets nervous in a match, if you miss an easy ball or make a mistake just try and forget it. Only think positively, such as I'm not going to miss, maybe show a bit of arrogance or something to intimidate your opponent. If you think positively you should play well.

[reverse_side]

A drill sounds a good idea Cueman as Nat seems to be playing very well in practice, he probably also just needs to make sure that in practice he gets the conditions; both environment and opponent that replicates what'll happen when his Pontins events come along.

When I practice, it's about 75% and that allows me to feel as though it's competitive and there's a chance I'll lose if I don't play well enough or concentrate hard enough.

As I've said before, if the results come then the confidence will follow, which will help win the next match too.... and so on. But if you lose, you just need to have made sure your preparation was as good as possible. If they're scratch games then you've got to be able to accept when the better man wins; if it's handicap and they're fair, it's more difficult.

I think Nat needs to come back into this discussion and let us know why playing away from the matches is so different from practice; other than the obvious - he wasn't playing so well before now.

If Nat plays very well in practice, but hasn't the know-how to hold on to the majority of the confidence he's built, that needs to be addressed. Like Cueman says, the arrogance helps to retain your confidence even if things aren't going great. You know yourself how good you can play and if you're nowhere near 85% of that standard, you need to practice how to (rapidly) change things around. Like Robert602 says, have a plan-b, c, d, e etc! Play safe and really see what you're doing and learn from it to see what needs changing.

There's so many elements to the game; some you can control, others you can't but I'd say that Nat's practice conditions isn't close enough to his matches; otherwise he'd feel as comfortable on the match table as he does in the competitive hall...... sometimes the answer is pretty simple.

Feeling confident allows your natural ability to shine through and make it possible to approach and even exceed your expectations; feeling intimidated cramps your style and can only ever make you frown and crumble - UNLESS you've managed to crack the nack of snapping out of bad situations, recognise on your own what's going wrong, when things are going wight to allow you to kick-on and take some risks etc. Your technical ability is the engine around which the oil of confidence is spurred on by the fuel of determination; you're the pilot and need to be able to guide yourself in the right direction. Only learning in pressurised conditions can you ever hope to groove yourself into playing well no matter what... or at the very least, learn how to change course and kick in the turbo boost of adrenalin from either fear or desire.

If Nat explains his thoughts more, we'll see where he can think slightly differently and make the right decisions to play the best he can under any circumstances. The situations he's finding himself are probably like any other the experienced players have been in, and even the beginners too - just at a different level... there's sometimes only a maximum amount of strees and anxiety a person can feel, it's just how we rationalise the factors affecting your emotions and make some positive decisions to affect the outsome.... which can then transmit to your oppo as Cueman says, and then THEY can start to feel the heat and jump on that slippery slope to losing.... hopefully!

As Nat's got a Pro Coach, what do they say about how to handle the mental side; that must come within their remit?

[Shockerz]

I can't think which golf pro went through this but when he had a particular shot he had to make he would always take the club out that he didn't like until it went away.

When he struggled to chip, apparently he could heard to be saying, "I love my sand wedge over and over" and he just over practiced it until it went away.

When I started playing again I used contact lenses and my brain had obviously over the years compensated for certain angles to the middle pockets so now my favourite pockets were my worst enemy on crucial, frame winning shots.

I saw Tim Dunkley at Chandlers Ford who had me hitting ball after ball from all these angles into the middle until my brain worked it out and then confidence grew from there.

I love middle pockets............

[DeanH]

yep he did the same with me

you do know this thread is from 2005?

:biggrin: