How a Pro Handled Nerves - The Cueist Project

Cueist recently shared with me that he was in a tournament were he was very happy with so many hill-hill wins.


I asked him why he was successful with those matches.

I've been focusing more on calming myself down lately during big moments, as well as not remembering past matches while at a current event. 

Can you explain that a little bit more, please?

See, your blog entries helped me realize the importance of staying calm a long time ago. So having a good Pre-Shot Routine [PSR] helps a lot.  

Aww, thank you for the compliment!

And on top of that, I remember seeing James Davis Jr playing a hill-hill game at a Texas tournament a few years ago. James left himself a tough shot on the final ball and immediately got down on the shot. In the middle of his 2nd backstroke, he got up and walked to his seat. He took 3 deep breaths, took a drink of his soda, then closed his eyes for a few seconds. He then walked around the table, did his PSR, and got down on the shot. 

It was so amazing to see how a top player like him was aware enough of his nerves during that situation, while he's probably been in those situations countless of times over the course of his pool career.

 
We are all so very lucky  - Cueist is sharing a key part of his pool journey with us and we are learning through him!  He witnessed an amazing real-time example of how a pro handled a nervous situation. Cueist is correct - even though the player has been in nervous situations numerous times, he still needed to do what was best for his game at the moment.


It's also a good reminder we aren't alone in our nerves - yep, even the top players have those feelings. It's how we deal with nerves that is key!