Practice and Matches?

[Particle Physics]

I was thinking to myself (whilst painting and later gardening) today, that I really enjoy practice by myself. Just me and the balls. Time just flies by, and I get a lot done, and play so many shots, routines and experiements. When I play with some practice partners frames can get very bogged down and 1 or 2 are far too competitive and take winning far too seriously given it's only practice. I know winning is important for folk who also play league, but smashing the cue around and cussing all the time and getting angry just spoils the session for me. And mostly, all the important development I've achieved appears to have be done alone. Now I've got a good set-up, I'm thinking that developing the vast array of shots/break building is my next port of call. There are a lot of routines one can take up to get through all the situations that mostly appear in a frame. There are potting routines, and one can even play oneself, as Vmax said a while back I think (one persona defensive, the other attacking) and keep proper scores. One can also arrange the balls in a variety of scenarios, try and pot a long ball and start a break or being a break in the balls.

I've been asked to play on another league team. It's a big geographical area, and it could take an hour and a half to get to and from matches, and all for one frame, over an entire evening. That's over four hours I could spend with the balls developing more of my game. I'm not even sure I can make the matches on time, due to family commitments. I wonder if it's worth it at this stage of development (3 months into playing snooker seriously) and if I could be more productive building my own game alone, or with a trusted friend once/twice a week, who is a very good player and adviser about break building/shots/position/you name it.

I gave myself a year to see how much progress I could make, to decide how much time after that I wanted to devote to the game Time is limited, and I have to use it wisely, to get the best snooker out of myself so that I can approach the decision about what I want from the game in the best positive light. Thoughts on what I should do gents?

Kind regards, PP.

[bricktip]

Is there potential to play in real tournaments, rather than the single frame leagues?

[pottr]

Depends how good you are? If you prefer playing by yourself than with pals, I think your answer is there.

[Particle Physics]

Is there potential to play in real tournaments, rather than the single frame leagues?

Good point, signing on for a team allows entry to singles tournaments, both handicapped and scratch. What you thinking?

[bricktip]

What you thinking?

Just asking because i never played competitively over in blighty. Someone asked me once, but i wasn't interested in going out just for one frame. If you have to do the leagues to gain entry into other more serious tournaments (e.g. best of 5's) then maybe it's worth the sacrifice.

[magicman]

I'd never travel an hour and a half for league snooker.

The most competitive league for me locally is 30 to 40 mins away and that's a struggle!

[Particle Physics]

I'd never travel an hour and a half for league snooker.

The most competitive league for me locally is 30 to 40 mins away and that's a struggle!

I think I meant roundtrip being 1.5 hrs, but it may actually be two hours. There's the rush to handover family duties and the 15min dart to the home venue to get in the team MPV, then on the road to an away match at least half an hour away, maybe 45mins for some. I think it's going to be quite a lot of time for one frame. Even if at home for a match, I wonder whether my time (as a newish player) can be better spent playing 8-12 frames with someone good (a friend who is good does a bit of coaching on break building as we go along)?

[throtts]

[QUOTE=
I gave myself a year to see how much progress I could make, to decide how much time after that I wanted to devote to the game Time is limited, and I have to use it wisely, to get the best snooker out of myself so that I can approach the decision about what I want from the game in the best positive light. Thoughts on what I should do gents?

Kind regards, PP.[/QUOTE]

May I ask how old you are and the fact that you have a family plays a major obstacle.. Are you aiming to compete in the Q school for example ?..

I am playing well in practice but when with my snooker partners, who do not practice like myself (thus being not my standard) makes for a somewhat totally different ball game. Balls and colours end up everywhere due to my tight pockets and thats when you need first class single ball potting and also you know you need to be playing serious players with a decent standard.

Key is then,, to continue to practice and then try and find a player thats better than you. Practice is practice but you also need to practice carrying out the craft of break building when under pressure by that better player and to see if your technique holds up and if your tactical thinking is still clear ..

[Terry Davidson]

I tried driving 2 hours (each way) for 2 lousy frames in Toronto in a tournament and I found it just wasn't worth it. Since I'm driving in heavy traffic it was a little nerve jangling and I arrived out of sorts and didn't play too well. I gave it up.

If you intend to become a tournament player though you have to learn to deal with scrappy frames and if your league tournament is the only action in your area for the season then I would say you should invest the time to get the experience.

When I lived in Leicester in the 80's I used to drive 2-4hrs to get to tournaments on a Saturday morning but again I was younger then and except for the London area inside the M25 the traffic wasn't too bad. For instance, Leicester to Newport or Bristol was quite a drive but the old Roman Fosse road helped me to get to the southwest fairly quickly. South London on the other hand was a nightmare, but as my ambition was to try and turn pro I felt I had to do it and of course the tournaments were held every weekend in those days

Terry

[Particle Physics]

There's also the issue of politics, of which there is a lot around 5 man teams and the league has a lot of politics too. I started playing snooker to get away from that sort of personal thing in the pool league. I just want to pot balls! I'm too old to not understand the importance of taking part and enjoying snooker, as Mr. Steve Davis does now. Winning is secondary to playing well and improving and enjoying the game for me.