pressure!?!?!?!

[petieboinyj]

i play a lot and sometimes when the money is on the line...and i have to make that last ball i choke...
i mean i know i have to make that ONE shot and i put too much pressure on myself...it doesnt matter whether or not its a $1 dollar shot or like tonight...a $50 shot...i choked and missed the eight...thankfully the other player didnt run out and left me an easy shot and i won.....but i never should have let it get to that point...
any help would be great...

[skor]

There are very good reviews about this book


I have not read it yet but I ordered it and it's on the way

[Neil Fujiwara]

What are you thinking about when you get to that point? It's natural to get nervous, you just have to know how your body reacts and compensate for it.

Example: If under pressure you know you hit a certain shot too hard, then try to either hit it softer or choose a different shot. If you jump up, try to stay down, if you shoot too slow try to let your body take control and not think so much.

Have someone watch you practice and play under pressure, ask for their feedback on what they saw was the difference. "The Pleasure of Small Motions" is a great book, so are "Zen Golf" and "The Inner Game of Tennis".

[dags_lax]

Everyone misses shots, even easy ones. It happens. One thing to look at is are you missing the money ball any more often than you would other shots of that difficulty. This is important because if you are not, then you are just playing within your skill set and you are not a choker. One thing is for certain you don't want to create a mindset where you think of your self as a choker. It just might become a self fulfilling prophecy.

[petieboinyj]

for instance...the shot i missed was a long straight in shot..the cue was about 6 inches from the bottom rail and the 8 ball was about one diamond past the center pocket.
to me that is an easy shot but when i was shooting i was just thinking about dont miss....i dont want to lose...calm down.....just stroke it...i mean i know...i keep my body still and i hit it good but i missed it by a fraction of an inch...i definitely need to focus more on my mental game....
HELP!!

[Neil Fujiwara]

It seems to me you were focusing on the outcome in a negative way, not about actually delivering the shot. When I am shooting I try to think "Okay, hit it like this." and I watch the shot happen in my mind and pay attention to how it feels when delivered.

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[spartan]

As you get more experienced the pressure will decrease. Just play loose and relaxed.

[Neil Fujiwara]

I would have to agree and disagree. Sure over time you become used to pressure situations, but there will ALWAYS be times when you get nervous or excited and the butterflys will come back.

People seem to think being nervous is a bad things, it's not, it's how your body reacts naturally to the situation. There are many players that play their best when they are nervous, myself being one of them. If I am comfortable I tend to make mistakes and am sloppy, when I am nervous I force myself to take the time and plan everything out.

[skor]

You should do all your "thinking" when you study the table and when you figure out your moves, but once you know what you want to do and you go down to the shot then your mind should be blank, just focus on the point you need to hit.

[Neil Fujiwara]

Exactly, you write the program while you are standing up thinking about the shot, when you get down to shoot the ball you let that program run unimpeded.

[skor]

I got the book today in the mail, will let you know what I think of it when I'll finish reading it 8O

[spartan]

Neil, I agree. Thars why I said decrease and not totally go away. There will always be times where you are nervous. If it dosent work out you build on it and try to better prepare yourself for the next time.

[Neil Fujiwara]

It's amazing how quickly your nervousness goes away when you start concentrating on what you are doing. I mean REALLY concentrating on what you are doing, before you know it you are more driven to accomplish what you set out to do than think about the consequences if you miss.

Stay in the present with the at the task at hand, don't look into the future or curse yourself about the past.

[spartan]

So true. I play in a house tournament sometimes and even though its a double elimination tournament, there are a few cry babies who if they lose their first match they are done. They give up. You gotta look at the positive side of things like if on the losers side you get to play more matches and stay in stroke etc. Thats why those guys never get better.

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