MENTAL GAME #7 Developing a powerful process! Before your match, it’s very important to not have any expectations related to the score, it should all be about process. Every time you have a negative distraction, revert back to your process immediately. 1. Free your mind from negative thoughts or expectations. Before you get down on a shot, you should be completely fresh and ready to go. You’ll be free of negativity by not thinking about: *The score *How you are playing or how your opponent will play *Your stroke *How well you played during your last match 2. Make quality decisions: Make you sure you pick the right shot and determine the correct amount of speed and spin you will need in order to execute the shot properly. 3. Become a self-fulfilling prophesy: Get a vivid image of how the shot will look and feel as you develop your plan. If you’ve practiced properly, you’ve got the appropriate speed control built into your muscle memory and you can simply trust your subconscious to tell your body what it needs to do. Commit to the shot and trust your decision and your stroke. 4. Align: This is the fundamental that requires the most maintenance and you need to make sure you’re perfectly aligned to the shot at hand. You should aim (chin lock) from a standing position then lock your eyes in on the contact point of the object ball as you settle into your stance. 5. Practice Strokes: Next, take several slow warm-up strokes to ensure everything is correct. This is your second aiming checkpoint to ensure accuracy. If anything does not look right at any time you should get up and start the entire process again. 6. Set: The first part of your Stroke is called “Set” (third aiming checkpoint). This is where you stop your cue tip 1/8 of an inch away from the cue ball and take one final look. You should note that it takes the human eye 3 seconds to focus on a target from a still position. Therefore, it is imperative that you come to a complete stop to zero in on the intended target. You will want to note that your eyes should be focusing on the cue ball at the end of the “Set” position. During practice, instead of saying, “Set”, you should say “1… 2… 3…” 7. Pause: The next thing you should do is move into what many instructors refer to as the “Pause. This is where you will slowly pull back your cue and stop at the end of your backswing. When making the transition from “Set” to “Pause” always remember that your eyes should move from the cue ball to the point of contact on the object ball. A good pause helps remove a jerky forward swing and should help you maintain accuracy. As you practice the Pause you will want to pull your cue back and say “1… 2...” (Second stop). 8. Finish: The third part the process is commonly referred to as “Finish. During “Finish,” you should smoothly accelerate your cue and follow through the cue ball. Always remember to keep your eyes on the target during this phase. 9. Freeze: The final part of the stroke is known as “Freeze.” During “Freeze” its important to keep your body, head, and cue still. This is the evaluative part of the process. It is here that if the shot is missed, you should try to diagnose what went wrong. As you practice Freeze you should say “1… 2… 3… 4…” (Third stop). 10. Natural process: During actual play Set, Pause, Finish, Freeze is something that you should not have to think about. It should be completely automatic. You should not have to count or think about coming to the stops. They should be a completely natural part of your game refined during your practice time. It is important to note that your stops will be roughly 1/2 of the duration that you practice. In other words, during actual play your set will last around 1.5 seconds, your pause will be 1 second and your freeze will last around 2 seconds. Now that the target for your match is “Process” not “Outcome” or score, a good way to keep you on track is by keeping a mental tally of how successful you were in following the process. For example, when you’re playing, give yourself a checkmark if you followed your “process” during the entire game. Give yourself an X if you do not. I call this Playing the Ghost Mentally. Keep track of how many games you go through the correct process and as you practice, you will develop a much stronger mental game.
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 23:25:00 +0000
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