Subject: Re: The Rookie Blues

Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 21:53:59 -0700

From: "joe" <crask@tenforward.com>

Organization: Posted via RemarQ, http://www.remarQ.com - The Internet's Discussion Network

Newsgroups: rec.sport.table-soccer



Hi:



I was fortunate enough in my misspent youth to have had a good friendship

with one John Shotwell from Phoenix, Az.  In fact, I used to go over to

John, Steve (Edgell), and JJ's (Janet Jones) house about three times a week

following work.  John would let me practice and he would talk to me about my

game as I was practicing.  He said one simple thing that has been critical

to tournament success for me: Play the ball that is on the table.  Clearly,

that means that nothing counts but addressing the ball that is on the table.

His next piece of advice was to always play your game: nothing more, nothing

less.  These cognitive strategies work well for me, because I have come to

realize that if I play my game and if I am better than my opponent during a

particular serve of the ball, I will likely score or block at a percentage

which will lead to over all success over time.  That's the ticket, do what

you do well when you are doing it.  If you are a better player than your

opponent or opponents, you will have a better percentage of success over

time.  If your opponent or opponents are superior, they will likely have a

better percentage over time.  The goal is to improve your overall percentage

by improving your focus and self-control ball by ball.  None of us beat

better players consistently, I mean really, think about it, by definition

that can not occur or they would not be better players.  However, not all

the better players are technically gifted or well-practiced.  Thus, the

postulate follows that if a technically inferior player who plays a more

consistent percentage game, is actually a better player, thus we should lose

to that individual.  One must be careful at this point to realize that many

technically inferior or less gifted players are very capable of focusing in

on a particular ball and playing it and well as they can.  Furthermore,

these players can repeat this process over and over, thus leading the

opponent to frustration at losing to someone whose overall game does not

look as polished or whose shot is not as fast or smooth.  Where they win is

in between the technical behaviors of actual play and within the context of

focus, concentration, effort, and enjoyment of the process.  It is in

recognition of the fact that during the possession of the ball and execution

of defense and offense our focus should be on consistency and high

percentage play that the ability to play the opponent emerges.  Once we can

play the ball with intensity and focus, not thinking about anything but

playing, then we can begin to play the opponent.  A unique paradox...the

better we play our game, the better we play our opponent...fact is, you can

beat some folks sometimes through pysching them out, but it is a miserable

method to attempt as a mechanism toward tournament success.  You can psych

out someone who is there to play you, but you can't psych out someone who is

there to play foosball, they just don't give a damn.  So, focus on the ball

that is on the table, play as intensely as you do, realize you will win and

you will lose, and you will improve overall with greater focus and

consistency then you will with efforts toward technical competence.  When

you can snatch the pebble from my hand, you will be ready to

leave...........



Shapeshifter