Focus On The Physical Side

By Glenn Bond

As a pool instructor, I see this all the time. Players who have not mastered the physical part of pool focus on their mental game and not enough on the next step in improving their pool game.

Some time ago, someone told you some great information on the mental side of pool and your game jumped a notch. Now for the past two years you have struggled in your own muddled mind game as your pool game deteriorates. Stop it! For someone who hadn’t thought about the mental (psychological) aspects of the game, the study of it may be invaluable, but you are drowning in it. Please accept this as a differing viewpoint: POOL IS 100% PHYSICAL.

Drive, deliver, send, stroke or do whatever it takes to make those little balls. Use any mental trick you like. Pretend you are a ball-pocketing robot or fancy yourself as Johnny Archer. It doesn’t matter. Just get over yourself and get those balls in the hole. We each have psychological quirks that advantage or disadvantage our game, but that is no reason to be in a slump for two years. Come back ready to focus on the physical side, which includes:

• working on your weaknesses
• identifying what players better than you do, and how they do it
• learning new games
• practicing a single shot until you “own” it
• playing that person you never thought you could beat
• evaluate your fundamentals---stance, bridge, grip, stroke
• learning trick shots and inventing new shots
• gaining experience under differing pressure situations, whether gambling with better players or competing in higher rated tournaments

Just a harsh perspective from your friendly neighborhood billiards instructor,
Glenn Bond

All copyrights are owned by Glenn Bond. No duplication is allowed without his permission.