Mental Maximization

By Max Eberle

Come Back Strong

It would be nice to jump out to an early lead and cruise to an easy win in every match you play. Everything goes your way while your confidence soars and you play perfect pool, cruising with your beautiful performance to another textbook match win. The perfect pool dream situation every time you step up to play.

While this would be nice and sometimes does happen, the truth is that it does not always happen, and if you are unprepared for something less than your great expectations, your performance and your winning percentage will surely drop. Sometimes it is adversity that pushes us to peak performance and to realize this is a blessed thing in this game. So often, without wrongdoing o­n your part, you can and will find yourself trailing in a match to varying degrees. And sometimes o­ne or two little errors or bad rolls will put you behind in a match. Or maybe all the rolls went against you and you played miserably. The point is that there are countless ways to fall behind, and the more tournaments you play, the more of these ways you will experience.

So while you must try hard to make things go your way, you must be prepared for when they do not and have the necessary mental and physical ammunition by your side to turn things around.  For o­ne, many players lose their edge o­nce they have you own because they get comfortable and start to take winning for granted. Then when you fire back, they are caught off guard and falter. The heat is o­n them when you start coming back. Knowing this should be enough to make you keep bearing down.

Also realize that if they don't win any more games, they can't win. Come up the score you must beat them by to win. If they are up 6-2 in a race to 9, then you have to beat them at least 7-2 from there out. That gives you a goal and a positive mind frame.

Nick Varner, the most legendary come-from-behind player of all time told me, "I just always like to try o­ne hundred percent o­n every shot."  Thanks Nick, that thought has won me countless matches. I almost feel like I'm in the favorite even if I'm trailing.

So don't whine, complain, or feel sorry for yourself if things don't look great-get out there and play, try your best, give 100%. Many times that is the o­nly way out, and many times you will make it out!

Physically keep a winning posture and keep breathing deeply from your belly. This will keep oxygen in your brain, and the winning posture will give you and your opponent the message that you are a champion and watch out baby-here you come! It's never over until it's the last ball drops.