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Further thoughts on the Mental Game based on Phil Capelle's A Mind For Pool. The
Quantum Leap
Seemingly out of nowhere
you will start to beat players who used to give you trouble. You may win
an important tournament against a formidable field, record the best record
in your league or achieve some other worthy objective that serves as a
sign of your Quantum Leap.
Your quest for constant improvement creates the atmosphere for a Quantum Leap. For example, a periodic review of your fundamentals may help you uncover a flaw in your stroke that's holding you back. Your leap could also come from an insight into the mental game that enables you to make the key shots in the finals of a big event. When you experience a big jump, it is crucial that you believe your higher level of play is your new game. If the following conditions have been met, you have every right to believe that you are now a considerably better player than you were prior to the big jump.
In Play Your Best PoolI presented an illustration of the Pyramid of Excellence. The major categories of player's skills are: A
- Pro
The three major categories above the beginner stage (A,B,C) are broken down into additional sub categories. For example, players can fall into the B-, B, and B+ category. There are significant differences within these sub categories. A player rated as a B+ can give a B the 8-ball in Nine Ball, or something close to that. The major hurdles, however, are the ones that separate C+'s from B-'s, and B+'s from A-'s. For example, it is easier to go from a B- to a B than from C+ to B-. At the pro level, there is a big hurdle separating the A+ from the A++ players. The chart below shows the typical weekly progression over a four-month period of a C+ player who is approaching a Quantum Leap. Their game may test the upper limits of the B- boundary several times before the breakout occurs. During several games or matches they may actually be playing at the B- level. All that's missing is a measure of consistency. Then, as the chart shows, they break through to the next level for good. The leap from C+ to B- is perhaps the most significant in a pool player's career. It shows that the player has the desire to improve, and the skill to take their game to an above average level of performance.   The chart below depicts a possible pattern for a player who finally emerges as a world-class competitor. They will make steady progress while creeping through the many layers that separate top players. Then, boom, they will have a big jump. (Note: Buddy Hall's big jump appears in A Mind for Pool, page 51). A couple of players whose recent patterns resemble the chart below are Mika Immonen and Cory Deuel. Both moved steadily higher up the ranking and then recorded breakout years in 2001. This resembles the leap from Point A to Point B on the chart. The table lists their top four finishes in events in which there was a full field comprised largely of top players. Their most important wins in 2001 are in bold type. What was responsible for these players' improvement? At this level, it was most likely a shift in attitude from I think I can compete with the very best player's in the world to a very strong belief that I'm the favorite and I expect to win no matter whom I'm up against. Mika Immonen's jump could also have been attributable to his strict training regime.
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