Inner game of tennis

blackeee

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Jackson, Tn
My game as gotten so bad of late that I'm at a loss as to how to cure it. I have no confidence whatsoever and seem to concentrate more on mechanics than getting the ball in the hole. I'm liable to miss one a foot from the pocket!

I've just read a little bit about the book "The inner game of tennis," It describes us as "self 1"{the conscous part of the brain that tells" self" 2",{the subconscous brain" what to do and how "self 1" interferes with "self 2" in the execution of the shot.

I know that I'm letting "self 1"do the work, hence my poor performance.

I intend to read that book, however I'm wondering ifthere are any such books on the market directed specificilly to pool?

Anybody know of such?:confused:
 

fred bentivegna

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Dont know of any other...

Dont know of any other...

blackeee said:
My game as gotten so bad of late that I'm at a loss as to how to cure it. I have no confidence whatsoever and seem to concentrate more on mechanics than getting the ball in the hole. I'm liable to miss one a foot from the pocket!

I've just read a little bit about the book "The inner game of tennis," It describes us as "self 1"{the conscous part of the brain that tells" self" 2",{the subconscous brain" what to do and how "self 1" interferes with "self 2" in the execution of the shot.

I know that I'm letting "self 1"do the work, hence my poor performance.

I intend to read that book, however I'm wondering ifthere are any such books on the market directed specificilly to pool?

Anybody know of such?:confused:

I read The Inner Game about 40 or so years ago, maybe longer, and I dont know of any other book that goes into competitive thinking any better than that one did. If there are others, I dont know of them. Unfortunately, the book is only an aid, not a solution.

Beard
 

lll

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vero beach fl
blackeee
i play tennis and that is a great book
the idea is to get all the "chatter" out of your head
ie what if i miss??
do i have the right english?
i hope i get the right speed?
etc. etc. etc.

and when you go to shoot its on automatic pilot
you line up and hit the ball:)

in the book he suggests watching the tennis ball spin as a way to get you to focus and not let other "distracting" thoughts from self 1 get in the way


you will need to be alittle creative to come up with some analogous techniques for pool

its been awhile since i read the book
i dont recall seeing something similar for pool
 

Skin

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blackeee, I haven't read this one but have seen it mentioned by others who found it useful. It could be all stuff you already know. But if nothing else, it is affordable. ;) Good luck.

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Pleasures-Small-Motions-Mastering-Billiards/dp/1585745391[/ame]

Skin
 

NH Steve

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I read a few of this sort of thing back in the day too. I'll have to dig up the titles if I am going to add to the list at all. But one title I can add, which is more recent is Golf is not a Game of Perfect -- although you will have to overlook his one line misplaced mention of pool early in the book. Obviously the author knows golf, not pool, and he inadvertently picks on pool to make a point about golf.
 

Miller

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pleasure of small motions

pleasure of small motions

good book and an easy read.

if you want it, pm me your address and i'll send it to you. (you can just send it back to me whenever you are done with it)
 

RedCard

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blackeee said:
My game as gotten so bad of late that I'm at a loss as to how to cure it. I have no confidence whatsoever and seem to concentrate more on mechanics than getting the ball in the hole. I'm liable to miss one a foot from the pocket!

I've just read a little bit about the book "The inner game of tennis," It describes us as "self 1"{the conscous part of the brain that tells" self" 2",{the subconscous brain" what to do and how "self 1" interferes with "self 2" in the execution of the shot.

I know that I'm letting "self 1"do the work, hence my poor performance.

I intend to read that book, however I'm wondering ifthere are any such books on the market directed specificilly to pool?

Anybody know of such?:confused:

I read that book when it came out in the '70s. The advice in it is directly applicable to pool. It even helped my tonk game, which didn't need any help. The author, one W. Timothy Gallwey, put out another one after it called 'Inner Tennis'. It is also worth reading but not quite as much so as the first book, in my opinion.
 

petie

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Citrus Springs, FL
Eddie Robin's book on fundamentals of pool ytbp. Many of you might be wondering what ytbp means. It's Yet to be published. All kidding aside. Having been the recipient of one lesson on fundamentals (actually a critic of my stroke) by Eddie Robin, I am confidant that this would cure your ills. I'm not joking. He knows more about the subject than any living human and knows how to communicate it. I don't know if he's interested in doing this on a one-by-one basis but it is a gem and totally effective. Eddie does have this planned book in some stage of completion but that's another story. I hope we all live long enough to see it and I don't care what it costs.
 

SJDinPHX

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Good book, But....

Good book, But....

I also found the book a very good read, but as Fred said, "it is only an aid, not a solution"...No one who is honest with him/her self, can say that nothing ever bothers them. I have had times where a small comment could cause me to lose focus, and become very ineffective. (or "doggy" if you will).. At other times, I have been almost impervious to the "shark" (thnk RA) or maybe a personal problem I was dealing with at the time.

Usually, when someone is playing bad, they are also thinking bad...Pool, like golf and tennis, require a mental toughness, and focus, that can be very elusive...Much like natural talent, creativity and imagination, they cannot learned through reading or teaching. Or God forbid an "Aiming System"... If they could... we'd all play like Eddie Taylor, or Harold Worst...:cool:
 

SactownTom

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"Golf is not a game of Perfect" is also a great book about the mental approach to competition. So many similarities to Pocket Billiards.
 

petie

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SJDinPHX said:
I also found the book a very good read, but as Fred said, "it is only an aid, not a solution"...No one who is honest with him/her self, can say that nothing ever bothers them. I have had times where a small comment could cause me to lose focus, and become very ineffective. (or "doggy" if you will).. At other times, I have been almost impervious to the "shark" (thnk RA) or maybe a personal problem I was dealing with at the time.

Usually, when someone is playing bad, they are also thinking bad...Pool, like golf and tennis, require a mental toughness, and focus, that can be very elusive...Much like natural talent, creativity and imagination, they cannot learned through reading or teaching. Or God forbid an "Aiming System"... If they could... we'd all play like Eddie Taylor, or Harold Worst...:cool:


I read "Inner Game..." in the seventies and believe it made a huge difference in my game. From that time I have been keenly aware of self talk. I use it in my personal and professional life as well as in pool. What you say to yourself determines a great deal of what happens in your life, relationships, and performance. When you are talking, someone is listening...you. Your right lobe mostly listens to your left lobe but as a seperate person or personality. How many times have you heard someone say, "I'll probably miss this." or "I'm shootiin' bad today." or other negative comments. Your right lobe, the one responsible for actually seeing the balls and hand eye coordination, is saying, "OK you want to miss? We'll miss it then." or "OK then we'll shoot bad for the rest of the day." I believe in giving yourself a chance to win not making it easier to lose.
 

Cowboy Dennis

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RedCard said:
I read that book when it came out in the '70s. The advice in it is directly applicable to pool. It even helped my tonk game, which didn't need any help. The author, one W. Timothy Gallwey, put out another one after it called 'Inner Tennis'. It is also worth reading but not quite as much so as the first book, in my opinion.
The "The Inner Game Of Tennis" has a companion titled "The Inner Game Of Golf", also by Gallwey. Any golf players out there would do very well indeed to buy it.

The Inner Game Of Tennis is the best book I've ever seen on the mental aspects of playing games, just skip chapter 5 if you don't play tennis:) .

Sports Psyching by Thomas Tutko is also very good. [ame]http://www.amazon.com/SPORTS-PSYCHING-Playing-Your-Best/dp/0874771366[/ame].

P.S. My copy of "The Inner Game Of Tennis" is within arms reach when I'm on the computer. I've had it for over 30 years.
 

RedCard

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Cowboy Dennis said:
The "The Inner Game Of Tennis" has a companion titled "The Inner Game Of Golf", also by Gallwey. Any golf players out there would do very well indeed to buy it.

The Inner Game Of Tennis is the best book I've ever seen on the mental aspects of playing games, just skip chapter 5 if you don't play tennis:) .

Sports Psyching by Thomas Tutko is also very good. http://www.amazon.com/SPORTS-PSYCHING-Playing-Your-Best/dp/0874771366.

P.S. My copy of "The Inner Game Of Tennis" is within arms reach when I'm on the computer. I've had it for over 30 years.

My copy is right here too. I just opened it for the first time in years hoping to find money hidden in a long ago stupor. I'm always sticking relevant newspaper clippings and things like that in books but nothing there except the nice looking label from a leather jacket I got rid of many years past. Amazing (or maybe not so much so) how many of us have read that book.
 

John Brumback

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SactownTom said:
"Golf is not a game of Perfect" is also a great book about the mental approach to competition. So many similarities to Pocket Billiards.

Glad I looked down through here first.These are good books.There's two of em
By Dr. Bob Rotella.I read these when I was getting into golf but It's the exact same thing with and for pool."Staying In the present" Is one of his main things.
Good stuff.John B.
 

usblues

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St Paul,Mn
Good....

Good....

stuff indeed sir.Its like if you smile before you say hello on the phone,people on the other end will more readily respond to you positively.The little things that mean alot.Interesting sidenote by Redcard regarding Tonk.Cheers,B
 

SJDinPHX

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See the ball, Billy

See the ball, Billy

Be the ball, Billy...Chevy Chase (Caddyshack)
"Age is the bitch we can never divorce!" ...Nephew Don
 

blackeee

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Jackson, Tn
Miller said:
good book and an easy read.

if you want it, pm me your address and i'll send it to you. (you can just send it back to me whenever you are done with it)

Thanks but I've got it.
 

blackeee

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Jackson, Tn
Monk

Monk

fred bentivegna said:
I read The Inner Game about 40 or so years ago, maybe longer, and I dont know of any other book that goes into competitive thinking any better than that one did. If there are others, I dont know of them. Unfortunately, the book is only an aid, not a solution.

Beard
How bout Monks book "Point the Way?" Anybody read that one?
 
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