Social Distancing in the Future

My friend Janet was helping run the Midwest ACS Championship tournament in Davenport, Iowa last week. She shared some photos and said they were all wearing masks and social distancing, including the tables, and shared a photo to prove it:

I immediately thought, "hey, every tournament in the future should do social distancing between tables even after the pandemic! "

There have been many times in bar table tournaments where our butts get in the way of the table next to us, or we have to wait for someone to shoot on the next table because the tables are so close together.

How cool would it be to not have to worry about the matches around us in bat table tournaments?!

The Cueist has a Question for You All about COVID

On Wednesday before Christmas, I started to feel a little sick. Just a sore throat and a bit of a cough. By Thurs morning, I had gotten worse and my family decided to cancel the Christmas exchange just so I didn't expose anybody to whatever I had. I just so happened to see a post from a guy out of state saying that he tested positive for Covid-19. He was posting it as a PSA since he was at a tourney the Saturday before Christmas (he had come up here as his wife has family in the area), and started showing symptoms on the Tuesday before Christmas. Now, I happened to be at the same tourney (he had traveled up to my state to play in it) and I was in close proximity to him a few times. So, naturally, the thought of having covid crossed my mind immediately.

Fast forward to the Sunday after Christmas, and I lost my sense of taste and smell, and had a really bad headache. Monday, I started to get a fever and lost all of my energy. So, I went to get tested on Tuesday, and sure enough, I was positive for covid. Ugh! Thanks goodness we cancelled the Christmas exchange so I wasn't around my family! So, I immediately went into quarantine mode. It had already been a week since I was first showing symptoms, and I wanted to quarantine at least one more week before getting tested again. Meanwhile, that player attends yet another tournament here locally again - and this time without waiting for his 2nd test that shows negative. Not only that, he specifically mentioned that he didn't feel 100%, while he was at the tournament.

While I don't want to debate everyone's moral compass, living in fear, or conspiracy theories.... I do seriously see something wrong with this decision on his part....all of us love this game of pool. But at what point do you refrain from going to a poolroom knowing you have a virus which can potentially be fatal to some individuals. Especially in a pool room, at a tourney, where the room is rather full and you're in close proximity to the venue staff, players, TD staff, and spectators.

So, now that I'm fully recovered, I'd like to ask any pool players that have had covid if they've had any lingering effects that have affected their pool playing?

In my case, covid has somehow affected my vision and balance. Not to the point where I'm falling over or anything. But I've not been able to line up properly when stepping into a shot. And in addition to that, I almost feel like I'm swaying while down on a shot. Swaying may be too strong of a word, but I do feel like I'm not able to stay 100% still during my shot. Which, as we all know, will cause all kinds of problems when trying to make various shots. Not only that, but I've noticed that I get tired after about 4-5 hours of constant playing. Whereas before I had covid, I was able to play at least 8 hours before I even started to get tired physically.

Anyone else experiencing something similar?

A Ghost During a Pandemic - by Katniss

Katniss from the Project Hunger Games of my blog shared some insight with us:

I have really enjoyed staying in during this pandemic. I have access to a pool table, mainly during the evening time, all to myself! 

I have played and practiced by myself. 

AND I have taught myself the ghost ball effect!

It literally took me years to finally understand it. And, it's something I would have never taken the time to fully learn and understand the concept of if COVID hadn't happened.

Why? 

Pre-COVID, I was playing 3 nights a week for league, while combined with playing weekend tournaments. Whew! That was like 4 to 5 nights just competing! I did not have the time nor make the time to really concentrate on the ghost ball effect.

But, I have taken the time to learn new things....in total SILENCE. No music and no interruptions. It’s like I could hear my thought process out loud! It was an awesome discovery.

Now that the world is starting to open up, I get to put my new found tool to work.

I, however, am NOT looking forward to going back to playing so many league nights. But I am looking forward to some competition from other human life other than own.  

 

Mental Toughness During a Pandemic

Seems like the title is a a paradox, right?  The pandemic, if anything, has affected our mental strength because there are so many unknowns, and stress, and impacts to our daily lives, etc.

And what about our pool game and mental toughness during these remarkable times?

I have written a couple of times this year that from my experience, if you have solid fundamentals, your game will not go down during the pandemic. So, stop sweating it or worrying if you can't play a lot of pool - your solid fundamentals will carry you!

While I wholeheartedly believe this deep in my soul, there is a part that I forgot.

Oooops.

I am being reminded because of the struggle, tough times, and nerves that Katniss and The Cueist (and maybe you if you are back to playing) are feeling lately. Katniss said after a little tournament she played in, "It's like I lost my kilter instinct" and The Cueist shared in his recent blog post, 

I started to get nervous! Now, don't get me wrong, I get nervous all the time. But I haven't felt nerves BEFORE walking into the poolroom since the early part of my pool career. The only difference was that this time around, I was nervous about not playing up to my usual expectations, and making a fool of myself.

I wrote about this same 'anguish' back in late 2016 - basically that I had played in a little tournament and while my fundamentals were solid still, my mental toughness was NOT, because I had not been playing in league or tournaments; I had cut down on my competing.

Yes, fundamentals are key. But, the brain is a muscle as well.  

Honestly, the only thing that keeps me from competing well after taking years off is not my stroke, but the pressure I feel. The more we put ourselves in pressure situations, we find ourselves becoming stronger and stronger in those situations. But, if you aren't competing, that part of our game, that big muscle, has not been worked on.

As I said two years ago, 

"The bottom line is, I know myself and based on my past attempts the last few years at playing in tournaments, I already know that I am only mentally strong when I'm consistently competing. Once I stopped competing, that mental toughness definitely went away for me. 

As a matter of fact, I noticed it was the first thing that went away for me.  Even though the brain is a muscle, for me my muscle memory in my arms and in my pre stroke routine were still there, but not in my mental toughness."

So, what can you do about this?

What would I do?

Take advantage of what you can control: I would read about mental toughness!  

If you can't play in high pressure situations, then improve your mental toughness the only other way if you can't compete: READ, LEARN.

Winning Ugly is a book I have HIGHLY recommended a lot in my blog. You cannot read that book and not improve in your mental toughness arena.  I PROMISE. Therefore, pick up the book and read it when you can't compete. I also recommend Mental Toughness Training for Sports. But, the point is, find books or articles or watch video Ted Talks about mental toughness, how to gain the killer instinct, how to be mentally stronger, etc.  

I have this good book within arms reach right now,:

(watch out, you will also learn about leadership as well when you read about the mental toughness topic)

There are a ton of books out there for many different sports, but I recommend those about golf or tennis most.

I admit nothing can take the place of playing regularly in the middle of true pressure situations, but you can at least still work on it in other ways. Give yourself an advantage over your competitors for when you do start to play pool again. 

One side note. When I was in my late 20s, my mentor suggested I read Mental Toughness Training for Sports. I happened to be in a big slump and was playing terribly. So, I decided to take some time off and NOT play pool. And so I read that book during the time I wasn't hitting balls or competing. My mentor told me later, "I wanted to share that with you, but wasn't sure you would stop playing for a bit. Not playing pool while reading/learning about the mental game is a great plan."

Again, if you can't play pool, work on your game! 

Someone has to win, right? Might as well be you because you put in the time to improve in so many different ways even when you can't play pool regularly!

The Cueist Finding His Stroke

Latest thoughts from The Cueist:

So I've been slowly going out to play a little more pool. My first time back to hitting my first ball was about a week after my previous post. My Wednesday league had our league banquet, which was mostly to give the payouts for a very short season. But nonetheless, I went out there mostly to get out of the house. Usually, they have a small tourney to pass the time, but I had no intention of playing it IF they had one. I wanted to hit a few balls and find my stroke, which had been on an extended hiatus. 

So, one of the shots that I spent a ton of time practicing was a stroke shot with inside English. I set the object ball on the spot, and the cue ball on the head spot. I also set up a ball on the short rail closest to the head spot, so you have to avoid the scratch, and go 3 rails for shape on the next ball. I get down on the shot, and my eyes are having a hard time adjusting to the sight picture. I guess it had been THAT long. LOL. I do a few warm up strokes and my arm feels so weird doing the cueing motion again. So I stand up, step into the shot and concentrate on the shot. Surprisingly, I fired it in center pocket, avoid the scratch, and float the 3 rails for shape. One of my teammates saw and said, "Wow, haven't been playing my a$$!" I laughed and set up the shot again. Stepped into it, and boom....center pocket again. Now, this is one of my most practiced shots so I figured I made the shots due to the fact that it was so comfortable to me. So, I decided to break a rack of 9-ball and try to beat the ghost for a few games.

Now, this is where the wheels promptly fell off. LOL. 

I took ball in hand and got perfect shape on the 2. Now, the 2 is about center table, and I had to force follow with inside for shape on the 3. So I get down on the shot and I missed the shot by a diamond. I set it up again, and same result. Now, I set it up one more time and adjusted.....missed the shot by 1/3 diamond this time - so I was improving, LOL. So I decided to scratch that and go back to the basics and do a drill my old coach Gordy used to have me do. 

While I didn't have the actual track, I just set up the balls accordingly and practiced on mechanics. It took me about 30 mins, but I managed to complete the drill after lots of frustrations. But as you (Melinda) mentioned in a previous blog, if you have a good stroke then we'd have nothing to worry about. But, I sure was worried there!!

Now, since then I've gone to practice about once a week and have been sparring with a guy that's about 2 points (Fargo) lower than I am. He's got access to a table at home, but hasn't really competed either aside from playing the ghost at home. So the first night, we played 3 races to 7. I lost 7/1, won 7/3, then won hill/hill. The following week, the same exact result. The 3rd session, I lose hill/hill, win 7/1, win 7/2. 

The practice was leading up to a goal in mind, and that was me playing in a tournament coming up. Last week, I made it a point to go play 2 times that week, and I felt like I was about 90% compared to my old self. But, while my muscle memory may have been there, along with my stroke, my mental game wasn't near at 90% come to find out. 

So, the morning of the tourney, I woke up early and made it a point to stop and get breakfast at God's chicken house (Chick-fil-A). The poolroom is about 50 mins away so I got there with plenty of time to hit balls and finish my breakfast in the car. While finishing breakfast, the weirdest thing happened....I started to get nervous! Now, don't get me wrong, I get nervous all the time. But I haven't felt nerves BEFORE walking into the poolroom since the early part of my pool career. The only difference was that this time around, I was nervous about not playing up to my usual expectations, and making a fool of myself. I mean, last year I worked so hard on my game and was finally getting the results that I wanted in my league. So, I felt like I somewhat had to keep getting some decent results.

After the draw was complete, I realized I had to play a guy who is a low 600s Fargo on paper, but I'm the favorite. But he's been going out of state to play during the pandemic, while I've been doing home projects and woodworking projects. LOL. So it was a tough first match. 

In my mind, I thought "oh great, there's going to be an audience for this attempt of mine to play pool again." Aside from that, the nerves started to creep up again immediately and I felt my grip hand quiver a bit during my PreShot Routine. So, I had to reset multiple times on each shot to try and shake that feeling.

Naturally, because of the extra concentration, I found myself playing pretty good actually. I gave away 2 games but overall, played well and made it to the hill first. I was up 7/2 and was firmly in the driver's seat. I was finally able to close it out with a score of 7/4. 

My next match was against a good friend, teammate, who has tons of knowledge. So, by me not being at 100%, I knew I had to play good just to make it competitive. I played great, only made 2 mistakes. But unfortunately, he only made 1 mistake! Damn him, lol. He beat me hill/hill. It was a little disappointing because I played soooo well. But, I can't be too upset because he really did play almost flawless.

My next match was on against that sparing partner I mentioned (figures, right?). I didn't play too well in that match, and I ended up losing hill/hill. But, considering I haven't competed in five months, I'm both disappointed and proud. 

Disappointed because I felt like I gave myself a chance to win both matches that I lost. And proud because I did give myself a chance to win. So, all of my hard work wasn't lost 100% during the pandemic. Sure, I have a little rust in my mechanics. But, give me another month and I'll be VERY close to 100% again. 

Like you said in your blog.....give it time, you'll be fine if you haven't been playing much.

From Katniss: Busier Now During the Pandemic

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I had told The Cueist and Katniss that if they wanted material in their sections of the blog, they would need to write about it. I have been teleworking since mid March and my workload has increased substantially due to COVID and therefore I haven’t had time to mentally add creative writing into my repertoire. 

I asked Katniss recently, “Do you have anything you want to write about for the blog?” Her response was, “Sorta! I just haven’t had time to write anything - been busy.”

 

WHAT?

 

I asked, “Let me get this straight. You no longer have your 2-3 leagues to play in and haven’t played any weekend or weekly tournaments, but you are short on time and busier?”

 

She kinda laughed, “Well, yes.”

 

I quipped, “Then why don’t you write about that first.”

 

A day later (yay!), she sent me this:

So, at the start of this world-wide Covid pandemic, we had nothing but time on our hands.  At the beginning of it, I truthfully enjoyed the extra time to relax and just not have any plans nor commitments. I also really liked not having to deal with people’s drama or attitudes at leagues and tournaments. Further, I also realized I relished not having to stay out late due to league.

Bottom line, I enjoyed doing NOTHING... because that's all we could do. 

I enjoyed it too much, though, and therefore my physical and mental health started to suffer. I started to pick up some unhealthy habits. I was disappointed in myself. 

Consequently, I started to practice more pool (I had plenty of time, right?). Then, as the days went on and on and the pandemic was still going strong… I started to wonder, “Why am I even wasting my time and effort?? The pool world will never be the same. I would NEVER get to compete again.”

Yep, I was having a pity party! Hence the unhealthy mental state reference.  

I decided I needed to make changes to both my mental and physical state. I started with small changes - diet and exercise. My exercise routine is now daily and it includes table time and walking. With the exercise came more energy. Imagine that?!  And what comes with extra energy? Yep, a happy mental state! 

So, yes, Melinda, my days are busier now than before the pandemic with my job (I am blessed I work in an essential position), my new physical/mental healthy habits, a new profound burst of energy, and a hunger to be at the pool table. Heck, I could REALLY, REALLY get used to this “NEW NORMAL”  ha!  

The difference between before and during the pandemic? 

I am taking time to take care of myself now, as opposed to trying to take care of my league and pool responsibilities (which caused stress at times). 

As the world is slowly opening up and tournaments are on the rise.....I am ready mentally and physically. This pandemic has taught me to slow down, but don’t give up!

From The Cueist - His Thoughts on Pool and the Pandemic

I told The Cueist and Katniss just last week that if they wanted material in their sections of the blog, they would need to write about it. I have been teleworking since mid March and my workload has increased substantially due to COVID and therefore I haven’t had time to mentally add creative writing into my repertoire. 

I wasn’t sure how they would respond.

But, luckily, they each said they had things they wanted to write about!  WHEW!

The Cueist was first:

I definitely don't mind giving a short dissertation at times. [LOL]

I do want to talk about the current pandemic closings and pool. Moreso, the ability to play or even the urge to play while keeping safe....let me ‘splain. 

 

Personally, I haven't hit a ball since March 16th, when I was still at the BCA in Vegas. That's exactly 4 months to the day today. I don't think I've gone this long without hitting a ball, ever! Sure, there's some chances to go out and play here or there, at some of the pool rooms that have been open for action, or sporadic tourneys. But it's such a tough decision for me not to go play right now. I don't worry about myself contracting Covid-19, but I worry about my parents contracting it all because I was being selfish and wanting to go play pool.

 

Not sure if you heard, but there was a small breakout of Covid within the pool community here in my state within the last few weeks. And prior to that, there was another breakout in a city close by. The first breakout seemed to center around a small, private poolroom that was open for action during the pandemic. It was being frequented every day by at least 30 different people in a small space. One person got symptoms, and then another, and then another. Next thing you know, six people that I personally know tested positive. I kept being invited to go play and get into action. But, I said no every time. Of course, my friends have ribbed me the whole time, but I'm having to set my pride aside for my family. In fact, one of the guys I know well was in direct contact with all six people and never showed symptoms. But, all of a sudden, his wife had symptoms and tested positive. Then their daughter showed symptoms too. But yet, he never once thought about staying home. Clearly he was in contact with the virus at some point, so he was obviously an asymptomatic carrier, or already had it. 

 

In that other city, one of the pool rooms finally was able to open, but then only for about a week or two. On the one Sat night it was open, though, there were a few big matches going on (about four matches, so eight players). Of course, there was also about 15-20 spectators that were in/out of the place that night. Shortly after that, about seven people tested positive, and another four showed symptoms but didn't get tested. They simply treated the symptoms. Again, I was invited to go due to me betting, but I turned down the invite and stayed home. One of the guys literally told me that the symptoms that he experienced can give the flu symptoms the 6-out (gotta love the pool talk). And he wished that he had never gone to the pool room. And as a result of him being sick, his brothers had to cancel plans to go to their family out of state for a week for fear of possibly getting them sick. 

 

So, I'm in limbo as far as pool is concerned. Of course, I miss the friends, the camaraderie, the banter, the competition. And I'm dying to go out and play when friends invite me. And I want to get in action myself, as much as everyone else. And quite frankly, it's killing me not going! Last year, I put in a lot of work on my game. And it showed (finally) by consistently doing well on the local tour and big tourneys, and action. And my Fargo improved by almost 50 points in a span of 8 months. I feel like all of that work is down the drain now. And I'm not sure if I want to go back to trying to improve again after all of this. Only time will tell I guess.

 

How Will You Fair After the Pandemic?

I've been thinking about how pool players' games will be after the pandemic. Specifically, after the pool rooms open, will your game go down because you didn't get to hit balls or play in tournaments?  Or will it go up because you worked on some things?  Or, will it be the same?

Here's my take:  

It is about the person; not the environment.

Are you surprised by my opinion?

It really does depends on YOU.  Let's look at some examples:

• Are you the type that NEEDS to hit balls to stay in stroke?  
• If so, then if you got to hit balls during the pandemic (have your own table at home or visited a friend often who had one), then your game is probably going to be the same. Lucky you!  As many will not fair as well.
• If you did not get to hit balls, then don't be frustrated if your game goes down a little when things open back up. Just know that it's normal and begin to hit balls again to get in stroke.
• Maybe you are new to the game and didn't really practice before?
• Therefore, no practice during the pandemic means your game will most likely be about the same. Pretty cool. huh?
• What if you didn't have access to a pool table? 
• Did you practice stroking into a bottle or watch videos? If you did. your game might have gone UP.
• Are you the type that has great fundamentals and a solid pre-shot routine?
• If you are, then even if you didn't hit one ball, you will still be playing well when the pool rooms open. I promise!
• And what if you didn't do a damn thing (lol), and you notice your game went up? 
• This is actually normal as well. Sometimes taking a break can be a really great thing for your pool game. But, it's hard to take breaks when you have leagues to play in or tournaments to attend. The pandemic kinda forced us into the "break" many could have used to improve.

So you see - it's not your environment, but what you did and/or what type of player you were before the pandemic.

Let me give a really drastic example, to help my point:

I do not know if you know any pool players that went to prison or not, but if you have, then this will make sense. Pool players that are strong on the table and top of our game, if they happen to find themselves in jail/prison for a long time, they will come out a strong player still, even without ever hitting a ball or learning more about pool while they were there. If they were a mediocre player going in, and they loved the game so much that they worked on their stroke by trying to shoot into an invisible coke bottle (or maybe something illegal, lol). then their game will be UP when they get back to society.  

photo credit

Same goes for the players who practice their stroke while in jail/prison. HOw do you do that without a pool table? You now how sometimes we get down in our stance to see if maybe our shirt rides up too high in the back, or if the shirt is too tight in the shoulders?  We get in our stance and stroke several times on an imaginary pool table to figure it out. Those who practice those strokes a lot in their environment, esp when they have no other way to improve, will fair well. As a matter of fact, pre-shot routines have improved after jail (or a pandemic, you'll see), if they practiced their stroke a lot over a chair or bed, or whatever.  

Here is something to really think about: when you practice your stroke on an invisible, imagery pool table, have you ever jumped up on your shots?  Shot too fast?  Exactly!  No you didn't.  Now you can understand how it would actually improve your game.

Again - it's about the PERSON, not the environment.

Damn You, Poker

Let's be honest. Most pool players are jealous of poker.

Not jealous of poker players, but jealous of the sport of poker.

We (us pool players) have yearned and begged and pleaded and tried so hard, literally for decades, for pool to have some mainstream attention.

Back in the 60s, pool was on tv. Regular tv!  But that went by the wayside. The WPBA put pool back on the airwaves and we saw pro players (female, even!) play pool on cable - ESPN - no way!

There wasn't a ton of those hours of pool on ESPN, but we didn't care - it was still on tv for several years!

Then here comes poker.

We all like poker, some of us even love poker... but it took off on tv. It was welcomed and loved and cherished and showcased, even though poker still has the same image as pool. You know, 'bad men in smokey rooms playing for money.'  Yet, poker excelled while pool is still left behind.

We all know that the lure of poker on tv is because a "nobody" can all of a sudden win millions. MILLIONS. Now, I wont understand why pool didn't have the same backing or investments, but it is what it is.

Let's face it, skill on the pool table is different on the poker table.  While both have mental and physical exhaustion and both have skills, it's simply plain easier for recreational players to play poker.  100 guys would rather play poker than pool, right?  Plus, there aren't pool rooms in casinos, but there are poker rooms. We can't compete with that.

But, I'm even more pissed at poker right now!

(I know, you are glad I'm finally getting to my point, lol).

Here we are in the middle of a pandemic. I never in a million years thought those words would come out of my mouth, but here we are. We can't leave our homes safely, we can't shop, some of us can't go to work, schools are closed (what?), and of course pool rooms are closed.

And what about poker?  Yep, the poker rooms are closed as well.

But guess what?

Peckers, I mean poker players, are doing just fine during the pandemic!

WTF?!

While us pool players may be able to play at home IF we have a home table, we still cannot play in leagues, all the State tournaments have been cancelled, even national tournaments have been cancelled. We can't play in tours or weekly tournaments.  Are hands are tied due to the pandemic.

But poker?

Oh, nooooo.

Poker continues to be special.

Why do I say that?

Just look at the recent headlines and see for yourself:

• "Online poker tourney sets records amid pandemic"
• "Poker Sites See Surge in Activity During Lockdown"
• "Online Poker at All Time High"
• "Online Poker Surging Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic"
• "Poker Reaches Record Traffic During Coronavirus"

Poker has upped us again because it can be played online.  Damn you, Poker.  Surge in Activity they are writing. Record traffic during pandemic they are headlining.

/puke/

Work on Your Pool Game During Pandemic

First off, I hope all of you are doing well. I bet you feel like I do, like the pandemic has hijacked our lives.

Besides the upheaval of our normal lives, what about my pool game??

Because it's important to do activities that lower stress and anxiety, it goes right along with some ideas I wanted to share to keep your game up while you might be required to "Stay-At-Home" due to the pandemic.

If you don't have a table at home:

• Work on your stroke by trying to get your cue tip consistently into a coke bottle. This can be done at home without a pool table.
• Run a rack in your head. Imagine yourself breaking, then staying down for each shot and try to run out. Use English and get good shape, all in your mind, all as you try to run the entire rack in your head. Warning, this isn't easy! And don't just run the rack fast in your head, but run it with dedication to each shot. Give each shot the attention it deserves (just like on a pool table). This is a great technique to imagine your pre-shot routine on every shot, stay down, and helps train your brain to focus.
• Speaking on running racks. One the most helpful things I like to do (and my most favorite) is to think about is that one particular game of a match that I stayed down so well on every shot, in front of a crowd, making all shots with a smooth stroke, feeling calm and confident. Maybe that time you were 'in the zone." You can picture your own certain match/game right now, right? Really focus on it and remember the feelings, the sounds, how your shoulders were not tight because you didn't feel pressure, you stayed down really well, smooth stroke, you felt good, etc. Thinking about your own great game or match you played well, helps solidify your pre-shot routine (I promise!).
• Use dumbbells regularly to build your arm muscles.  This helps your stroke be more solid.
• Watch matches on YouTube. Search billiards. Or maybe check out the CSI YouTube Channel which will keep you busy for DAYS.
• Oh, hey - read part of those pool books you haven't ever opened. Or, if you don't have one, finally order one online!
• I would also reach out to pool friends. We may not talk about pool, but with league paused and tournaments delayed, it's important to connect with our pool friends.
• If you have an extra billiards towel or fabric, make your face mask out of it! Show your love of our sport.

If you have a table at home:

• Practice "Carom Nine" (see rules at bottom of this page). Helps you learn carom shots in a fun yet frustrating way, lol. (basically, the object ball must make first contact with the cue ball to count as a legal shot, the goal being to carom the object ball into a pocket or into another ball.)
• This is a good time to work on your break. Practice it. Get it down pat. It's the opening shot - it's an important part of the game a lot of us don't give enough attention to.
• Speaking of breaks, practice your break using different racks if you have them - magic rack, accu-rack, and also regular wooden/plastic racks from the pool room.  
• Play opposite handed. That's fun!
• Play one-handed. Even tougher!

I know there are a ton other things, but hopefully this gets you started to ease stress AND work your game.

Stay safe my friends! We will get through this together.