[Check back Sunday morning for the second edition of PoolSynergy, hosted right here.]
How do you prepare for a big event? Are you the “Cram-Practicer”? You know the player that rarely practices and thinks that if they play 10 hours a day for the week leading up to the tournament that it will actually make a difference. Are you the “League Player”? That’s the player that only plays three nights a week, their three league matches, and believes somehow that will count towards a balanced practice. Or, are you the “Steady Practicer”? This is the student that spends hours a day in the poolroom shooting drills and learning new things. They work hard and are realistic about their expectations.
Ever heard the song lyric, “We only get what we give?” (“You Get What You Give” by the New Radicals, circa 1999) How true, and what a novel concept. What we get from pool and from our performance depends on how much effort we give to it. If we don’t practice, we can’t expect to play consistently. If we keep working hard and competing regularly, we will ultimately win more matches. We eventually get what we give.
Team Europe at 2009 Mosconi Cup, Photo Courtesy of icemanmika.blogspot.com
World Champions Ralf Souquet, Mika Immonen and Thorsten Hohmann are perpetual students of the game. At their level, it would be so easy to relax and lighten their practice load. Besides, they’ve earned it, right? They have won numerous titles and prizes. They can shoot any shot and they fear no one. They should be allowed to take a break from their practice, right?
On the contrary, they are three prefect examples of getting from the game what they give. Regardless of the countless notches on their belts, they continue to practice between tournaments and in between matches. They understand the importance of tournament preparation, even at their level. To them, “giving” not only includes their time on the table but it also includes maintaining good active health. They are athletes and their training encompasses mental, strategic, as well as physical conditioning.
“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good,” Malcom Gladwell (Outliers)
At tournaments of all sizes, whenever there is an open practice table, one of the first players to jump on it is former US Open Champion, Shane Van Boening. He is always hitting balls. Whenever he’s not in competing and he has a free moment before his next match, he’s at the table. A lesser player may wonder, “Why would someone like Shane need to practice so much? He’s already a champion.” Obviously, this is not a new concept for him. That is how he became the great player that we see today. He understands the value of practice and what he gets out of it.
In the words of the great Malcom Gladwell (author of Outliers), “Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” The greatest players didn’t get where they are by chance. They gave and gave to the game and in turn, they reap the benefits.
