By Tony Robles
Just Breathe
WHAT HAPPENS after you’ve spent countless hours, days and months learning the game — working on fundamentals, fine-tuning your technique, practicing drills for hours on end? The practice table is where you lay the foundation for your game. But at a certain point, you have to venture out and test yourself in high-pressure situations. That’s the excitement we all crave, right? Competition and measuring yourself against others is why we learn a sport. In pool, that means joining a league or entering tournaments.
But be mentally prepared, because this is where nerves come into the equation, and they can wreak havoc on all that work you’ve put in at the practice table. And whether it’s your first night of league, first match in a local tournament, or a match with something bigger hanging in the balance, pressure can negatively impact your performance.
The best advice I can offer in those situations can be summed up in a single word: Breathe. If you talk to top players these days, almost all will admit to using some sort of breathing technique when the pressure starts to rise. The biggest result of pressure is that it causes us to fill our mind with clutter and thoughts that race around in your head. Breathing slowly, in and out, is the best way to slow everything down. It helps you mentally simplify the task at hand. It allows you to harness all that extra energy.
By simplifying things, I also mean learning to rely on your fundamentals. If you’ve worked on your fundamentals, much of what you do should be muscle memory and automatic. The less you think about it, the smoother your approach will be because you already have confidence in your fundamentals.
Over time, I have been able to train my mind to react properly in pressure situations. I avoid the temptation to dwell on all the clutter going on around me and in my head. I keep my focus simple and on the task at hand.
Negative thoughts are always destructive, whether they creep into your head in a pressure match or even in your daily practice. You have to constantly remind yourself that the past does not equal the future. Focus on how poorly the match is going and you’re not trusting yourself.
Like they say, losing is easy; it’s always just an excuse away. Don’t allow frustration to take over. And never allow it to be obvious. You’ll just be relaying a message to your opponent that he’s in control of the match. Don’t let that happen.
One of the best things to remember is that you are sometimes going to lose. Sometimes it’s just not your day. Still, that doesn’t mean you should throw in the towel. Instead, use those opportunities to completely relax and focus on each shot, one little victory at a time. They will quickly start adding up.
