Ego Breaking

I wrote a few months back how a friend of mine pulled me aside to talk to me about my break.  It wasn't a solid break because my stroke was all over the place.  I didn't put a lot of dedication to the strokes (like I have with all my other shots/stroke)... and I needed to do that on the opening shot he reminded me.

That same player, went hill-hill with a tough player on Sunday last weekend of the Omega Tour Season Finale.  He was down 0-4 and came back hill-hill.

He confided that when he broke on the hill, that he had too much adrenaline and wanted "to be the hero" and instead of breaking like he normally does (solid and controlled), he broke too fast and hard... and the cueball flew off the table.

That gave his opponent ball-in-hand and he consequently ran out.

He was very forthcoming with what happened and took full responsibility. He knew right away what he did, why he did it, and he was reflecting on the tough loss.

This blog points out two important things:

1. Remain calm and try and stick with your normal stroke during all shots even when under pressure or anxious.  We tend to shoot faster - instead, stroke more to slow yourself down a tad.  (read more here)
2. Reflecting right away about what happened will be HUGE for your game (as it will for his for the very next time he's in this situation).  Learning and reflecting after each match is crucial for your future self in future tournaments.  It goes A LONG WAY.