Improving Powers of Concentration

[paulthorne147]

Hi All,

I put in my fair share of hours practising but I find it is becoming harder and harder to maintain my powers of concentration.

Anybody done something simple that they have found works?

[RocketRoy1983]

Hi Paul

Is there a certain shot you continually miss or is it general?

[paulthorne147]

I would say it was more general. Some days I can practise for a few hours and only miss the odd one but some days after a while I tend to miss the odd easy one where I just seem to throw in a quick one. Got any ideas???

[joe.l]

concentration

try this ...1. step back from the table , look at the shot and ask yourself "what do have to do to play good here " ( make your plan )..2. what is the contact point on the object ball ? 3. where do I have to hit the cue ball ? 4. how hard do I have to hit it ? .......these are only 4 steps and you have something definate to concentrate on , it's not over taxing and you should be able not to lose thought easily . keep it simple and less can go wrong ...later Joe

[wildJONESEYE]

best way to improve youre powers of concentration is get thumped often then that will defanatly focus the mind for future matches.

[nimROD69]

You could try incorporating 'The Drill' into your game. Not only does this regulate your play and give you a nice rythm but also greatly enhances your concentration.

[bongo]

The problem with forcing yourself to say "where do I need to hit the cue-ball?", "where do I want the cue-ball?" etc. is that this is all taking up mental 'bandwidth' and it can really affect your concentration at the table. All of the planning needs to be done subconsciously. Like Rex Williams once said, the more you plan in a 'snooker language', the better your concentration is likely to be. Obviously, one isn't going to be able to do this instantly, but as you become more experienced in snooker even though you WILL have an exact clear image of what you will do (it isn't an excuse not to have that clear plan and image of what you will do) but it needs to be done subconsciously so that it doesn't affect your concentration and break rhythm. I can guarantee that is what Ronnie does what he is at the table, he is in total control and knows EXACTLY what he needs to do yet he isn't consciously thinking about it. You should still stand back from the shot and walk in, keep that discipline! All of your planning on the shot should be done BEFORE you get down to the shot, you can't go thinking about what you will do when down on the shot, it may seem like Ronnie is doing that as he can be so quick, but he knows exactly what he will do before he gets down because he thinks subconsciously when it comes to planning the shot. It's hard to explain but I hope this helps.

Remember that there is no quick-fix or magic tip to suddenly improve concentration or we would all be world champions! It takes a lot of work to achieve good concentration at the table which is suited to your game.

EDIT - 2 hours of focussed practice is better than '4 hours of not so focussed practice because you got tired' so you could break it up by having a few frames or have a 'break' (a glass of Coke for example, not snooker break!).