This is my friend Steve Hansen. We are both ACS National Champions! I won the 9ball women's singles in 2014 and he /just/ won the 8ball men's senior division earlier this month in Vegas.
I saw him last weekend and I was so very mindful of how he must be feeling. He walked into the pool room, and friends were congratulating him and shaking his hand.
I walked up to him and gave him a big congratulatory hug! And called him, "Champ" and asked him how he felt. We each had big smiles as we swapped similar stories.
He said he never thought in a million years he wold be a National Champion, and I remember thinking and feeling the exact same way.
We shared how we each had goals in our pool life, or maybe even in that tournament (like top 10 he confessed), but never thought he would actually be able to be a National Champion. I SO related to all he was saying and it was cool to swap our emotions about the win and how unreal it feels!
So, of course we had to get a pic together! ACS National Champs!
I love running across things that can relate and potentially help our pool game, and then I get to share it via this avenue (blog).
At work we were going over the different scenarios that may happen as we give weather briefings. We give weather briefings to the media, emergency managers, etc., so, we were talking about the differences between how the audience "hears" and receives information based on the weather situation. If it's a Fall day with no weather, versus a large hurricane about to make landfall, the presenter should be aware of the stress levels of the audience, which will effect the way we deliver information and how they receive it.
This all boils down to stress levels and how people receive information during different stressful times. I think this ties directly into competing, so I wanted to share.
If we are in a high-pressure situation when competing, our stress levels may go up. And if we haven't had a lot of experience in knowing how to handle the current racing adrenaline or nerves, then we kind of falter.
I have written before how I have test anxiety, so competing in a high-stakes-to-me title tournament, I would always fall apart. It took YEARS to figure out how to resolve my "test anxiety" so that I could finally perform well and win.
So, I would compare my anxiety to a high stress level. Let's see what I found out recently (click graphic to enlarge):
As stress levels rise in emergencies, the amount of information that
people can process decreases.
In low-stress situations, people can
process an average of seven messages at a time, but in high-stress this
drops to an average of three. In low-stress situations, people can
process things in linear and chronological order, but in high-stress
situations, it is important to start with the most important impacts
first. Priority order is key.
In low-stress situations, we process
information at seventh or eighth grade level, while in high-stress
situations, that drops by four grade levels! So, we are taught to keep things as simple as
possible without watering down the main points, during high-stress situations.
So, if you think about the difference in how people handle information during high stress situations, it makes sense when you picture yourself practicing and you can't miss. But, when you play in a big tournament and all of a sudden you miss more, or can't think clearly, that can be related to stress and anxiety.
Not sure this info will help you play better in stressful situations, but what it should do is make you realize that indeed we do process information differently from a calm practice situation to a high-stress match for your team or trying to make your way to the finals in a big tournament.
(for tips I have shared before on how to handle stress, try this link.)
I've been wanting to write about this for a while but needed some dedicated time to write this one up.
Before I go into the details of focusing, I'd like you to review this video below. See if you can beat my score! You need to watch closely to see if you can count the correct number of times the ball is passed from the girls only in the white shirts.
If you can't view this video now, go ahead and come back later - it's the whole premise of the topic.
Ready to beat my score??
So, if this was your first time viewing this video clip, then you are JUST as shocked and surprised as I was.
Even weeks later after seeing it, I will walk down the hall and see the coworker who shared this with me and still say something to him because I simply can't believe it. And of course, as soon as he showed me, I just /knew/ it would be a blog topic!
Basically, the video is proof how well we can focus on pool, and be in the zone. It also proves that we can indeed focus on things and miss other things.
I could write prolly 10 topics just related to this video and focusing in matches, but let's only touch on a few:
1. Team Captain: This video shows why a team captain is important. Some players need to focus on their game and wont be cognizant of the dynamics of what is going on around them. And that's good! We want their best game. And so the Captain can be the person who sees the entire picture. As captain, it's their role to see who is playing well, how to change up the line-up, or maybe help someone who is dealing with high emotions (as an example). Letting the players focus on pool, allows the Captain to focus on the players.
2. Focus on the Table: This video kinda encapsulates why you can be in the zone and not notice anything else around you. It also PROVES that you can be THAT focused on one thing. And for us, that is the game at hand. If you are focusing solely on 3-balls-ahead-shape, I guarantee you nothing else will enter your mind. That's the type of focus you want. If you are struggling with focusing or you think you can't focus lately for some reason, think about how well you watched the balls from the girls in the white shirt and what you missed. Yep! See?
3. Multi-Tasking: What the video doesn't show but it attests to in documentation, is that if you were to see all three changes (curtain, the walk-on, and someone leaving), then you may not have counted the correct number of passes. The neurology of our brain to do calculations is resource intensive, so if we are doing too much, other things may slack off. That's why it's crucial to try and focus only on the game at hand when we are playing pool. That's why when we get distracted by something external, we don't play as well.
4. Practice versus Tourney Play: This video also explains why during practice we play so much better sometimes than in competition. In practice, we are not distracted, having fun, making all our shots. Here comes competition and we are worrying about our "status" in the event, who our opponent is, who is watching, why someone just said something crappy to us, etc. How can we possibly play our best being distracted? That's why it's important to let things go, focus on the table, and regroup quickly when something distracts you or throws you off.
Hope this helps prove you CAN focus well, and how important it is. :)
