A ball you usually pot is missed. A position shot you make most of the time does not work out. Your opponent seems lucky, and the table plays differently from what you are used to.
You may also pot a demanding ball or play a difficult position shot successfully. Success, too, can change how you feel and how you continue.
These are familiar moments in a match. Since we know they may happen, we can think beforehand about how we want to handle them.
One principle I take from high performance is this: we prepare our response before we find ourselves under match pressure.
That is why I ask my students to organise their own response to situations they encounter often. This preparation has two sides.
The first concerns thought. How do I want to interpret what happened? What do I want to say to myself? Where do I want to direct my attention so that I can manage my emotions and continue my game?
The second concerns the body. How does this situation affect me physically? What do I want to do to regulate my activation so that I am ready for the next shot?
For example, after a missed ball, the thought might be: “These things happen. They are part of the percentages of the game.” Even a ball we pot most of the time will sometimes be missed.
Physically, someone might choose a calm, deep breath with a slower exhalation. Someone else might choose a particular posture in the chair or a specific place to rest their cue.
What matters is having decided beforehand what helps. The thought and the physical action become a personal cue for resetting. A return to a more neutral state from which the player can see the next ball more clearly.
Before your next match, you can choose two or three situations that often affect you. For each, write:
“How do I want to handle this in my thinking?”
“What do I want to do with my body?”
The answers need to be your own, specific and practical. Try them in practice. Observe what helps and what needs adjusting.
What we prepare is how we will manage ourselves. Playing decisions still depend on the actual position on the table.
A match will bring surprises. Our response can come prepared.
GeorgeSarmas.com