Those brief periods in your playing career where the pockets are as big as caves and the balls fly in like marbles.
Everything goes good, everything looks easy, until suddenly it doesn’t and then the wheels quickly come off.
What then, do you have a reliable, conscious “A” game? Or do you spend so much time trying to get in stroke that you have neglected the rest of your game?
I need to play like that all of the time is often heard. This is a fallacy that will lead you absolutely nowhere and hinder your improvement.
Why spend your valuable time chasing a phenomenon that only happens about 10% of your life. You have no control over this event, true you can put yourself in the right frame of mind to make it more likely to happen, but it shouldn’t be a goal.
Why, because you will spend 90% of your time playing out of stroke with your “A” game, actually thinking, making difficult decisions and often struggling.
On average you will play your average game most of the time
Players often reference Joshua Filler, Johan Chua, Jason Shaw etc. and say when I’m in stroke I play just like they do! So getting in stroke becomes a goal to strive for.
So let me tell you something …. you don’t play like them, not even close and usually they are not even playing in the zone.
The “A” game of the top players is their usual default playing standard. Sometimes they don’t play their best, sometime they only play their “B” game but its still good enough to win against 98% of players.
If you are lucky enough to see a top player hit a gear, it wont look anything like it does when you are in stroke:
- They will make every shot
- Get perfect position on all balls
- Play immaculate patterns
- Their tempo may increase slightly
- They make the game look even more simple
- You will make every ball also
- A few recovery shots not from ideal positions
- Your patterns will be doable
- Your speed will increase noticeably
- You usually get out, but its not optimal
The top pros are just doing what they usually do but better.
You are making 3 ball runs followed up by back to back 60% shots, playing questionable shape with lots of luck, banks, combos, carroms and miracles. I know this because I have been on the receiving end and I’ve dished out the medicine myself.
So what is the bottom line? Don’t chase unicorns!
Aim to improve your whole game so that your average game gets better, accept your game as it is now and set goals for improvement in the future.