Performance

PerformanceBy The Monk, InsidePOOL ColumnistThe match is played not to see how well you can shoot, but to see how well you can play. Oftentimes, we are content with a fine performance. The following statement comes from one who has just lost: “It’s not if you win or lose, but how well you play the game.” Some of us use that saying to cushion an impending loss. We know we are going to lose, so we focus our attention on the performance. We arrive at the tournament to “see how far we can go.” In other words, we are paying our entry fee just to see how long it takes for us to get our butts kicked. Our focus on the performance is a smoke screen to cover our insecurities about our own game. We need to focus on how we play the game, not on how we shoot the shots.
Winning or losing is a reflection of our inner self. Some of us can shoot very well, but when it comes to winning, we stumble on the key shot. Our performance is first rate, yet we have trouble completing the run. We miss the key ball and never reach the money ball, or we miss position for the money ball and leave ourselves a tough shot. We do just enough to keep us from winning, and this becomes a personal pattern. Go back and erase those blown matches, and your winning percentage looks much better. If we are not winning the games we are in a position to win, we have not completed the fourth stage of pocket billiards. We have not mastered self. Even though you have gone through the fours stages of shot making, the four strokes, cue ball speed, and mastering self, you will still have days when you are not shooting well. But they will be very few. How well can you play? This does not mean how well we pocket balls or how sharp our position play is. How well you play centers on how strong you compete. For instance, I was not shooting well one day, but my fighting spirit was strong. I prevailed simply because of my will skills. My opponent mentioned that I shot poorly and was lucky to win. I replied that my will skills were very strong. I was glad I did not give up. I could see the safeties when they came up. I played within myself. I was patient. I did not concern myself with how well I shot. I concerned myself with how well I played the game. If you can begin all matches with “I came to win,” you will do the things you need to win that game. Let the concept “I came to win” become your theme. one of my students won the BCA Nationals. Her last seven matches were 5-1, 5-1, 5-0, 5-0, 5-0, 5-1, and 5-0. When I mentioned this to her, she replied, “I was just trying to win the game I was playing”. Remember, it is not how well you shoot the shots. It is how well you play the game. I will look for you at one of my seminars. Check my ad and make plans to attend one near you. Let’s talk about your game.Visit InsidePOOL for the latest techniques from the top instructors in billiards and pool.

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Inside Pool Magazine publishes billiard news. Definitive Synergy creates pool and billiard management software.