Mind of Steel with Dr. Stankovich

Imagery is simply the creation of mental thoughts in your mind.  Imagery can be used in a variety of ways, skill acquisition and mastery, increasing self-confidence, and even faster injury rehabilitation.  Thousands of elite-level athletes use imagery every day for athletic success, and in this month’s column I would like to show you how you […]

“Choking” is when you know how to do something and have successfully done it before, yet in pressure situations you fail because of a lack of focus, poise, and execution.  In the game of pool choking is a common occurrence, especially during tournaments when it seems as though the table gets longer and the pockets […]

Confidence is a big piece of athletic success.  Confident pool players constantly look to dominate their opponents and “play to win,” while players lacking confidence consistently underachieve, choke, and play to “avoid losing.”  To some this may be a subtle difference, but to anyone who has ever played sports it’s often the difference between champions […]

Quick – what’s the most important shot in pool? The answer to this question might not be what you expect, as many players answer by saying the final ball to win a game. In fact, the most important shot on the table is the next shot, for if you don’t execute what is right in […]

Sport psychologists often teach athletes how to use imagery to improve skill acquisition and proficiency, but did you know imagery involves more than simply seeing things using only your vision. Yes, “seeing” balls go into pockets is a part of imagery, but only when we include all of our senses (touch, feel, and even smell) […]

We have all seen it before, that player that enters the bar or pool room dressed to the nines, complete with fancy case and all the décor. When he opens his case it’s even more impressive, a top name cue and more “ooohs” and “ahhhs” follow. From the outside looking in, this guy appears to […]

When it comes to playing your best, a big part of success comes from your level of focus – or lack thereof. Pool success, like all sports success, is largely a product of your level of focus. When you are “locked in,” you see the table better, pick the right patterns to follow, and execute […]

When it comes to stress, it’s often difficult to talk about since it isn’t something you can put under a microscope, or see on an x-ray. In fact, rarely do two people experience stress in the exact same way, further compounding the challenge around understanding stress. The reality is that “stress” is a term we […]

One very powerful, albeit it seemingly simple, piece of advice I was given long ago in my life is to always do the next thing best.  Often in life we get caught up trying to think about and problem solve many challenges at the same time, and the result ends up being that we do […]

Basic perceptual psychology can teach us a lot about our focus, especially about how we can change and shift our focus in any given moment. Why is this important? For pool players, successful shots and table runs require 100% fo- cus on the task at-hand, and when we allow our focus to wander and daydream about […]