Nerves!

[jadoma]

there is a lot you can do to help calm your nerves.
Firstly as Terry D. says don't expect booze to be a solutions.Instead drink water .It
controls the adrenalin. when your opponent is at the table, don't analyze his shots
or think negatively about all the points he is going to score. Only notice his weaknesses
and study his attitude.Calmly wait for your next turn without wasting energy.This is when the nerves can start to get to you if you let it happen. When you are at the table, be confident about making a good shot even from a very tough situation. you cannot be beaten when it is still your turn

[highbreak 8]

Good posts ; Slightly off topic

Firstly the inner game , [ which was initially a study in the 1980;s about the tennis serve, remember the player NEVER sees the ball on the initial shot in tennis ie the serve , which led to a scientific study as to how it could be consistently done ]
The conclusion , was most sports involve performing a particular task without thinking ,it becomes mechanical, ie Darts ,snooker , tennis etc. But sometimes the brain forgets a part of this task [ SOMETIMES PERMANENTLY !!], ie the yips in Darts and the condition many players have suffered from in snooker , rolling up to a ball ,or in my case i find it difficult to pot ball' s that are close .

Good technique, in snooker / any sport will help to prevent this, and you will be able to play to a higher standard longer at any sport with initial sound technique.

Nerves .

I used to perform as a stand up comic , and the biggest cause of nerves is under preperation, first nights, or new material are awful ,its the great unknown , and it can be a killer..... literally .

So my point snooker is a hobby , a game as a previous post said play the ball's not the man/ woman, think positive don't drink lot's it does NOT calm nerves the opposite is true, it blocks sensation;s and alters judgement , and the biggest piece of advice THERE IS NOTHING YOUR OPPONENT CAN DO WHEN YOU ARE AT THE TABLE ....NOTHING .

So enjoy the sport dont beat yourself up when you lose , ask yourself why , it should only be three things .

1. the opponent is / played better than me .
2. i had consistant bad running/ luck .
3. i did not play to my usual level

IT should never be i beat myself . Watch Nadal for the perfect sportsman , it was Federer till he lost to Nadal in Australia .

[DWOT]

This is getting silly now, played and beat the best player in my side once again, I've yet to lose to him........

However

My form in the competitive matches is appalling and despite all the good advice and trying to put it al into practice if anything I'm getting worse, missed easy balls off the spot last match and eventually lost to a fluked black when I should have been out of sight by then.

Hrumphhh

[Giggity1984]

This is getting silly now, played and beat the best player in my side once again, I've yet to lose to him........

However

My form in the competitive matches is appalling and despite all the good advice and trying to put it al into practice if anything I'm getting worse, missed easy balls off the spot last match and eventually lost to a fluked black when I should have been out of sight by then.

Hrumphhh

We've all been there mate. In practice, all the flair, confidence and complete disregard of shaky cue arm or nervy legs etc. But come match time you're a different player, can't pot a red over the hole.

All the advice in this thread has been A* stuff, I can only suggest that you stick with it and don't give up!

Interestingly, I saw my biggest improvements when I accepted the fact that in a match I shake a lot and miss easy shots. It was like letting go of the expectation. You can't play your best 100% of the time. You can't play your best 50% of the time. It's just not realistic. Steve Davis had it spot on... "Play like it means nothing, when in fact it means everything."

Keep @ it!

[AndyG]

Meanwhile I've finished my first read of the Pleasures of Small Motions. What an astonishing find. Thank you so much to checkSide and Giggity for the recommendation.

It's a painful lesson to learn to accept that your standard is your average performance level not your best. On average, my positional success is a mere 69.5%. Only on my very best days does it push to 80%. Most pros run at over 87% for their average game. It's a chasm, even though I'll always have a chance to pinch the odd frame here and there.

[Giggity1984]

Meanwhile I've finished my first read of the Pleasures of Small Motions. What an astonishing find. Thank you so much to checkSide and Giggity for the recommendation.

It's a painful lesson to learn to accept that your standard is your average performance level not your best. On average, my positional success is a mere 69.5%. Only on my very best days does it push to 80%. Most pros run at over 87% for their average game. It's a chasm, even though I'll always have a chance to pinch the odd frame here and there.

Once you've learnt that fact though, you'll find that it gets better after a while as accepting the fact is most of the battle. It did with me anyway!

[DWOT]

Well I've another match tonight and will try and adopt the "play as if it means nothing, when it mean's everything" approach again, to help matters my tip has just some off and I'm darned if I can get it level, need to take it to somebody who really knows what they're doing, out with the trusty old Riley tonight.

[Sport Focus]

theres a lot of good advice on here and the points around not using alcohol as a way of coping are important ones.

This question has come up as well at a time when a lot of nerves have been shown during this weeks Tournament on TV by many of the players.

A lot of work can be done to help with this which includes looking back at how you have coped with nerves in the past and what you have achieved already on and off of the table.

Its a great achievement to be asked to captain the team which you would have only have been asked to do if you desevered it and if people trusted you to take on that position, its things such as this that can help build on your confidence.

Perhaps my site may be of interest: www.mattandrewsmentoring.org