Fundamentally Stable - Katniss

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

As more pool matches are happening again, I can’t help but notice how some of players are so fundamentally stable! It’s like the pandemic never happened, like the pool halls and bars never closed, like they never stopped playing. I even hear some of them exclaim, "I haven’t hit a ball since March." But, yet their skills on the table are showing me otherwise! I’m over here just drooling in amazement.

Then, there is the opposite. You check out another match and just cringe because you can see a player struggling. It’s painful to watch! They are frustrated and their play is going from bad to worse right before my eyes. Ouch!

What separates the two players? More or less experience? Natural vs unnatural talent? Good fundamentals versus needing more fine-tuning? Hunger or no hunger?

How will my play measure up? 

Well, whatever decides to show up on my first match... just know I have the HUNGER!

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.

Playing Pool For Fun? Uh, no.

I was talking to a new coworker the other day, who has only been employed at my office for about 8 months, but been with our company for about 15 years. He had no idea I used to play pool and he was very intrigued because he plays golf. As we all know, the sports are very similar.  Further, he plays in tournaments on weekends and is a pretty good player for an amateur (hey, just like me!).

During our convo, he asked me something unusual, and as soon as he asked it, though, I immediately knew something about his golf game.  And when I gave him my answer, he immediately knew something about my pool game.

He asked me if I ever practiced pool for fun.

Again, I thought it was an unusual question, so I first looked at him funny, but then confidently said, "Nope."

And he replied, "Now I know you were serious about pool when you played."

And I replied, "Just by you asking that question, I also know you play a good game of golf!"

I'm not sure if I've shared this before or not, but once I became more serious about competing and also when I started to focus more on trying to make my fundamentals solid, I didn't play pool for fun anymore. I discovered it was one of the worst things I could do, was play pool for fun.

By that I mean, I either practiced with intention, or played in league and in tournaments ONLY; I no longer played pool for fun.  I wouldn't ever again, say, play for fun on a Friday night with a couple of friends that weren't pool players.

In other words, if I'm at the pool room on a Friday night and I happened to be playing pool, I'm usually doing a race, maybe gambling, maybe there for a tournament, or hitting balls to get ready for a tournament (ie practicing). But you would never have seen me in the previous 10 years just having fun with friends drinking and playing pool.

Why?

Well, when I would be out having fun with friends at the pool room, it would cause me to resort back to my old tendencies of two-stroking and jumping up on my shots. Let's face it, it had been difficult enough for me to stay down on my shots and follow through, and being in an atmosphere where there wasn't competition, I didn't even try to stay down or follow through; I was having fun with friends.

And anyway, who wants to hang out with a friend who is trying to be super serious at pool? They would rather be joking and drinking and catching up anyway.

I had put so much time and energy into my game, I didn't want to put myself in situations that set me back.

What do I mean by set me back?

Well, I found this out the hard way:

Once my fundamentals started to get better, if I went out to the pool room for fun and drinking with friends (who don't play pool), I noticed at my next practice session I had some fine tuning to work on because I had flubbed up my fundamentals. Figured it was fluke, so of course I went out and had fun again a few weeks later on another night lol. And what to do you know - same thing happened: my mechanics got messed up.

My fundamentals weren't solid yet, so any time I played where I wasn't serious, was a detriment to my game.

Seriously.

You see, I was finally always working on my game. You may not have seen it, you may not have known it, but if you saw me on a table in the last 10 years I was either trying to stay down, trying to focus on three-ball shape, trying to walk 'into my shots,' working on shape, trying to learn... all that type of stuff. So why would I possibly want to take steps backwards?

Okay, okay.... don't be sitting there thinking I didn't have fun lol. I did have a lot of fun! I went out a lot still - I just didn't play pool when I did go out and have fun.

I remember also that when I traveled for my job, people would always try to get me to play pool after work. It was always difficult to explain I just wasn't interested. Even if I gave the excuse I didn't bring my cue (which I didn't travel with unless I was playing in a big tournament), they would say, "Just use a house cue, come on!"

Nope.

Again, playing for fun when I was trying to improve and work on my fundamentals was a step backwards for me. I wasn't using the same muscle memory when I was having fun. Why? I was focused on laughing and joking and drinking with non-pool playing friends. Those nights just weren't the proper times to be working on my game.

And btw, this proved extremely beneficial to me. Because even when I play pool now, I am surprised just how solid my fundamentals are and good I am still playing, though I hardly play pool and haven't competed in over 2 years.

Now, go check your fun factor. Have you noticed the same thing? If so, just have fun with your non-pool playing friends at other spots that don't have pool tables. See? Simple solution. haha

Effects of Not Playing Regularly

One of the things that's been on my mind lately, especially after I dabbled trying to play pool a few times in the past 12 months, was something a friend of mine said.  He said that once you quit playing, your game just isn't the same anymore.

And he regrets he took a few years off.  His game just isn't what it used to be.

I also know that playing regularly is good for your game as well.  And since I don't play in leagues at all anymore and hardly play in any tournaments, I am a little nervous about this.

I'm not nervous to the point I want to play more, lol, but nervous in the sense that my game will falter when I do play.

And I have already noticed that.

In early November I played a little 8ball tourney and noticed my game is definitely off.  I missed some key shots, I messed up my patterns, and my mental game wasn't strong like it used to be.  Even a friend watching who I haven't seen in over a year asked me what was going on.  I was disturbed as he didn't know I haven't played often in a year, but I just tried to blow it off.  Point being though it's noticeable lol.

I truly feel that having solid fundamentals is crucial for me to be able to play well still.  Am I kidding myself that I can keep playing "okay" the longer I go without playing pool regularly?  No, of course not.  But, I feel okay for the moment for the position I'm putting myself in.  And that is, just playing for fun when I might have the urge.

Like Riding a Bike...?

Imagine my surprise when I'm warming up the morning of the OB Cues Ladies Tour.  I say hello to a fellow player and she asked where I had been.  I told her I hadn't been playing pool hardly any more.

Her response was, "It's not like riding a bike, is it?"

I was defiant, "Hmmm...well, I think it is."

And she replies, "Really?  Well, my game gets thrown off when I don't play regularly."

Of course, this is from a person who is known to go practice at another pool room between matches if there aren't tables open for her to practice on.

The interesting thing about this exchange was that I did NOT want it to bother me.  I didn't want her words to get to me mentally and to affect me negatively.  To me it was negative words, negative thoughts, negativeness in general... and I wanted to be positive to give myself the best chance possible this weekend.

I tried to so hard to get the thoughts out of my head.  Last thing I wanted to be thinking about or reminded of was that I haven't been playing regularly, lol.

So, as I warmed up, I just focused on what was going on with my game on the table.  Why was I missing?  Oh, I'm not staying down. Why did I not get shape?  Oh, I didn't walk around.  Why did I miss again?  Oh, I need to stroke more.

I wanted to focus on what I could control - resolving and thinking about some things with my game before the matches start.

Like I said before, I missed a lot of shots this past weekend, but I also made some great outs and played some good safes.  Whew.

What I See in this Video (Drill by Daren Appleton)

I saw this video the other day from Darren Appleton:

1-15 rotation one pocket drill brutal.. Completed it 4 times but 3 of them wasn't clean slightly nudged a ball so I kept going till I did it without contacting a ball... Great drill one of the toughest I've ever done .
Posted by Darren "Dynamite" Appleton on Wednesday, February 17, 2016

I am not sure what others see in this video, but what I see is GREAT fundamentals!  I realize the drill is a good drill and tough, don't get me wrong, but what I what really stuck out for me was these two KEY very important points:

1. Darren stays down and follows through on every single shot.
2. He chalks his cue every single time.

What does this mean?  It means he treats every shot the same and has fabulous fundamentals.

What people don't understand is it's very easy to get lazy on drills.  And also because there is no pressure practicing by ourselves, we rush our shots.  So, it's refreshing (and this is why he's a Champion) to see Darren taking his time on each and every shot.  He also has the slight pause each time, staying down REALLY well on each shot, following through beautifully, and doing his pre-shot routine on every shot (looking at the shot as he chalks his cue and steps INTO the line of the shot).

I mean, seriously, how many times have you practiced by yourself and not chalked your cue because you were just "hitting" balls around?  Treat every shot even in practice with the same due-diligence as if you were competing. 

The reason this particular video is also good to show how important fundamentals are, is you can see how long his cue stays still after he shoots each shot (that great follow through).  From the angle of the video, it looks as tho he is laying his cue on the table after each shot - that's how well he stays down and follows through - the keys to great pool.  :)

Enjoy!

Learn from Dennis Orcollo vs Corey Deuel 10-Ball Match (video clip)

Here is a great match to self train with!

Dennis Orcollo and Corey Deuel, 2013 10-ball finals, U.S. Bar Table event Reno.

Camera man is very close to the players and table on all the shots throughout the match.

You can really study front hand “bridge hand” back hand “stroke hand and  grip”  many times.

Also, eye pattern with shooting and overall playing the runouts and game.

Also, stance and strategy is all very clear, as well as observing “bear down“ that happens a lot.

See how many times the player will not rush and at times will get up off the shot until he is sure of what and how he wants to execute.

These champions are really determined and their determination is shown (you'll see it).

Getting in the Zone is Not Key for Me

I read in Mental Toughness Training for Sports how to get "in the zone."  I read it in my mid 20s, and will never forget it. 

I have known how to do this for years.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  But what I know now is even more valuable:   While everyone thinks getting in the zone is huge, I think being confident and being in control of your fundamentals are MORE important.

I prefer to have confidence in my abilities and to feel confident about them.  I prefer to know that staying down and following through is more valuable than being in the zone.  I prefer to know that having a smooth stroke and taking my time helps me make more shots.  I prefer to recognize that I need to breath under pressure.  I prefer to recognize that if I'm focusing on fundamentals, that also helps my mental toughness as well. 

Sure, being in the zone is amazing.  And it's a feeling like none other. 

But that cannot be achieved every time.  You know what can?   Knowing that staying down and solid fundamentals are what you can bring to the table every time.  Obviously, knowledge is KEY, also, but the combo - wow - is priceless. 

And THAT feels better than being in the zone.

I want to be clear.  BEING confident is one thing, but being confident and in control in your fundamentals is quite another.  It's one the best feelings in the world is focusing on staying down with a smooth stroke on every shot of a match. 

I recall how my ex boyfriend had a real big money match the following day that was set up.  He was playing a set for $5,000.  I was at home back in Texas and he was to play a guy in Alabama I think (this was 20 years ago).  *I* could not go to sleep.  I wondered, "how could he sleep and not wonder about the match or how it would go?  How could he not be nervous?"

I know now.  He was confident in his ability. 

I get more sleep before big events now than ever before.  I don't fret about how I might do or worry about it.  I don't get nervous because I'm the clutch player in all my team events.  Nope.  I sleep like a baby because I'm confident with my fundamentals and the knowledge of the game.

Zone?  pffft.  Even the best athletes in the world admit that they have only been in the zone a handful of times.  Wish I had instead the last 20 years the knowledge that focusing on solid fundamentals would win me more matches. 

How to Get Rid of Embarassment Feelings

During the Best of the Rest playoffs for my women's league, in the middle of the second day, during a tough, close match, I noticed one of my teammates walked briskly outside after she lost her match.

Being the person that I am, I went outside to talk to her and see how she was doing.

She sat on this cement ledge and was pretty much in tears.

I asked her what was going on and she wasn't sure.  She had just lost another match of the day, though, and was trying to figure out why.  She played timid today and didn't play like her normal self, but she couldn't figure out why.

And she was so upset at herself for losing because we were in a tough, close match now. I tried to explain to her that it is a TEAM event and that I personally had just lost a match, too, and so we had both contributed to the lopsided score.

She was in tears, "but I play better.  And now we are losing...." her voice trailed off and she had to look away from me.  She was sad, upset, and ashamed.  I felt so badly for her to be in such turmoil.

I told her we haven't lost yet!

She was then trying to figure out, while talking out loud with ideas, what the hell was going on with her.  Why was she missing so much.  Why was she not playing like usual.  After brainstorming together, she finally realized that she was embarrassed.  That something had happened earlier in the day and now she was not confident (like she normally is) and she was missing and worried what others were thinking or judging her.

I IMMEDIATELY shared with her what Phil Capelle shared with me when I went through this for a several brutal, tough months many years ago.

I told her the only way to get through this was to keep her mind busy.  You do that by thinking ONLY about your fundamentals, only about the balls on the table, only about what your options are on the table, only about staying down, and the execution of your stroke.  I explained that concentrating on those "items" keeps your mind preoccupied and wont give it enough space/time in your brain to feel embarrassed because it will be busy.

I know - embarrassment is a very negative feeling that can almost paralyze you.  IT SUCKS. lol.

She let the words sink in and then we had to go back inside to play.  Her and I were both up.  We both had to win our matches.  It was GO time. 

I looked over at her table and I saw her playing with more confidence and making more balls!  She wasn't timid anymore, she was in control and confident.  And she played GREAT - like she had the whole year.  After she won, she looked over at me and she was smiling SO big, and then she blew me a kiss with extreme happiness!  I don't think I've ever seen her smile with that much passion and happiness before!  She was ECSTATIC.

I won my game too and since that was the hill-hill game (that she handed to me to win because she won), we were still on the winner's side of the playoffs!.

I joked with her later that I helped her from jumping off the cliff to her demise (since she was sitting on that cement ledge that was 2 whole feet off the ground, lol).  She hugged me tightly and whispered. "thank you so much."

Hope this helps others someday, too!  Enjoy!

Here is another tip about reversing those feelings into positiveness (click here from a past blog entry).

Straight Stroke Still

I mentioned in a previous post that I was put in the box while out of state recently.

An older gentleman was watching us play, and I saw him leave for the night as the night went on.  He seemed nice and quiet.

The next day, my Partner in Crime (PIC) saw him at the pool room in the afternoon.  They were talking about the night before and he singled me out (after he said we both played better than the people we had gambled with).

He said, "your girl really plays good."

He replies, "she does, doesn't she?"

The guy continued, "She stroked really well and she stayed down.  She had a straight stoke, too.  I tried to tell the guys to watch her because she didn't move when she was down on her shots."

WOW!

I consider this SUCH a great compliment because I have worked on it for some many years and to know it's still there after not playing much the last few months really ticked me!

I was glad my PIC shared all that with me.  He could have kept it to himself, but he did not.  Really meant a lot the guy said something to him about my fundamentals.  :)

Take Your Time When Struggling

When you are struggling, it's very good to exaggerate your fundamentals.

I remember during a state tournament when I was two-stroking shots because I was nervous.  But... I didn't know I was.  My boyfriend at the time told me, "you are two-stroking.  Take your time.  Stroke more."

And like magic, I started to play better.  I was nervous, heart was racing, I felt a lot of pressure,  and my adrenaline was going wild.  While I know to take deep, deliberate long breathes when my adrenaline is fast, slowing my breathing was not helping my stroke, lol.

But, stroking more and taking my time calmed my fast pace.  And it helped me out.... immensely.

So when an Omega Tour player named Dylan told me two weekends ago, "yeah, I learned you should exaggerate your strokes when you're struggling."  It was a great reminder.

Because as you can all picture in your mind right now, when you feel pressure, you stroke fast, stroke less, jump up easier,  etc.  You can feel all that can't you?  During a high pressure situation?  Right?

Yep.

But after you have been in many of those situations,  you learn to take your time.  To not play fast.  To not rush yourself.  You find out that taking your time and stroking more during pressure allows you to stay down and get the job done.  Nothing worse than rushing a shot, dogging it, and losing a match or key game.

Exaggerate those strokes!  Take your time!

Time is your friend, my friends.

Advice from Dennis Hatch - Taking Your Time

I eluded the other day in my blog that Dennis Hatch gave some advice to a friend of mine during the ACS Nationals.

Well, here it is!  I finally had time to write this up.  :)

He noticed that a friend of mine two-stroked her shots and shot real fast.

Now, everyone in the world has given tips to my friend (and all fast players), not to two-stroke.

They will say, "stroke the ball more.  Take your time."

 

I heard this a thousand times myself the first ten years I played pool (or more, lol)

Or, they will try to be more specific: "Take 5 strokes before you shoot.  That will help you from two-stroking."

BUT.  This is what Dennis told her:

"Stroke 4 times, then shoot."

Then he adds, "Stroke 1."

(then he paused for a second)

then he said, "Stroke 2"

(then he paused for another second)

Then, "Stroke 3."

(then he paused again)

"stroke 4."

(yes, he paused again)

Then he said, "Then shoot."

She replied, "okay, thanks.  I understand.  Stroke 1, 2, 3, 4, then shoot."

"No,"  He shook his head very politely.

 

"No, that's not what I said."

 

 And he repeated himself:

"Stroke 1."

(then he paused for about second)

then he said, "Stroke 2"

(then he paused for another second)

Then, "Stroke 3."

(then he paused again)

"stroke 4."

(yes, he paused again)

Then he said, "Then shoot."

 

She looked at him intrigued.  And I looked at him intrigued.   And then her and I looked at each other.  WOW.

The next morning (she was my roommate), she woke up and as she was getting ready, she repeated what he said and HOW he said it, with ALL the pauses and everything!

 

"Stroke 1."

(then she paused for about second)

then she said, "Stroke 2"

(then she paused for another second)

Then, "Stroke 3."

(then she paused again)

"stroke 4."

(yes, she paused again)

Then she said, "Then shoot.  I got it!"

I told Dennis later that day that the WAY he said and DESCRIBED the 5 strokes was so key and spot on.

I know I will learn from this exchange for the rest of my life.

Even the other day when I was explaining not to whack at a ball to a girlfriend, I got out of my seat, and motioned how to have a smooth stroke on a tough shot.  Visualization and the WAY you word things is obviously key to get your point across.  AND, for the person to remember it better.

I bet a thousand people have told my friend to stroke more, or stroke 5 times, or take your time.  But the way Dennis explained it, using pauses in his explanation, and having her repeat it WITH pauses will be instrumental in her game and she will remember it a LOT more than just "hey, stroke more."

 

 Dennis Hatch from BonusBall

The Pause

I believe that a "pause" in your stroke is a good thing.  If you ever had the privileged to see Buddy Hall in person or on tape, you will see so clearly his pause!  And of course Allison Fisher has a clearly defined pause.  But, not all pro's have this clearly defined pause in their stroke.

People talk all the time about if you need a pause to be a good player or does it help you be a good player, etc.

I sometimes pause, I sometimes don't.  It's not a consistent long pause in my stroke for sure.

The other day someone posted about pause, and thought I'd paste what he said.  Food for thought:

From Pool School instructor Leslie C. B. Rogers:

I just wanted to add my 2 cents to this discussion of what the "pause" in a stroke represents. I'll try to be concise and to the point. That's not easy for me (ask anyone).

I feel the term "pause" is frequently taken out of context and misconstrued because there are basically two sides to the pause coin. Both are equally important, and in order to avoid confusion in discussion, it is necessary to distinguish between the two. On one side, the pause is an "Event" that happens naturally. On the other side, the pause can be an intentional "Act." Both are related to what is happening at the moment the stroke changes from a backward motion to a forward motion. The true focus of the term "pause" is about this transition.

Physics states that in order for an object to change direction 180 degrees, its velocity in the contrary direction must approach zero. Like when a pendulum reaches its apex, the backward motion must stop before there can be any forward motion. This period during transition of no velocity in either direction is frequently referred to as a "pause". Whether the duration of the pause is discernible to the naked eye is immaterial; it is there. For all practical purposes, the forward stroke starts from a stopped position and accelerates from there.

Physiology states that muscles operate by contraction. Basically, there are different groups of muscles used for each (forward and backward) stroke. This means that before moving the arm forward, the muscles used for the back stroke should stop contracting to allow the next muscle group to do their job. This period during transfer of control between muscles can also be referred to as a "pause". The amount of time it takes to transfer control may be different for everyone.

The above are somewhat simplified descriptions, but essentially the pause is about transition. It is not about "if" (because it does) or "how long" (that depends) a cue stops at the end of the backstroke. It is about transitioning from one state of motion to another. Since this pause happens anyway, it is neither a question of "should I pause?", nor "how long should I pause?". That would just be missing the point. The real question should be "how well do I pause?". Ideally, the pause should happen smoothly without fighting the inertia of the cue or trying to muscle through it. Which brings us to ...

Pausing can also be an act of deliberately or forcefully stopping the cue. But (and this is important), for a specific purpose: to help learn the feel and timing for smooth transitions. As such, it is useful mainly as a practice tool to aid in developing proper habits. Exaggerating the pause during practice can help build muscle memory and rhythm much more quickly than simple repetitive trial and error. It's about developing feel and control. In essence, this type of pause is not about how to play - it's about a way to practice.

When I first devised the Set-Pause-Finish description of a stroke, I needed clear and concise words that could reference each phase of the stroke order. I chose "Pause" because it is both descriptive and directive. It is a simple way to reference that specific point in the stroke (and asking a student to "Transition!" during class is a bit tedious as well as distracting). The SPF regimen has always been intended mainly as an instructional and practice tool.

In a classroom environment, I use the word "pause" because, frequently, that is exactly what I want a student to do. Sure, with video I can freeze-frame, but sometimes stroke issues are easier to diagnose when pointed out on the spot. By exaggerating a pause, it can be easier to identify and correct errors in the stroke transition. Using a pause helps me to efficiently analyze and communicate with my students. It is also a simple method for practice that can be used by anyone without the need for video equipment.

I disagree that "any stroke with a change of direction that lasts under 1/30 of a second does not have a pause". By definition, if it lasts more than 0 seconds it has a "pause". There is no exception for duration.

Regarding the assessment that "over 90% of (professionals) do not use a pause", well, that might be accurate - but only because there is a difference between "having" a pause and "using" one. Deliberately "using" a pause is not really a suitable technique during play because focusing on your stroke can take focus away from the shot. If you're not used to it, it can even feel downright weird. Professionals have generally established their technique to a point that they don't need to think about their stroke. Years of cueing have helped them to develop habits that allow for a smooth and efficient transition. Some may be quick, and others may be a bit more methodical about it.There may not be a conscious effort to use a pause, but they do have a pause. Pretty much all of them.