By Elliott West
“It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen”.
Muhammad Ali
Introduction
In any sport or walk of life, belief is a critical part of achieving success. In snooker this is integral and without it, the player will flounder and never win a match let alone a tournament. Without the assistance of belief, do you think Dennis Taylor would have potted that final black in the 1985 World Championship final? Similarly Cliff Thorburn cited a dream he had before his 1983 maximum break at the Crucible, where he achieved the same feat. A dream that surely fuelled his inspiration to succeed. Who can forget when Paul Hunter won three Masters titles to equal Cliff Thorburn’s record? An achievement reached because Paul had found that positive mental attitude that was needed to win and more importantly believed he could achieve the ultimate aim.
The Nature of Success
The route to success is not easy and is often an arduous process. It is attained by the individual and only they can ultimately make it happen. However it can be nurtured and inspired. Inspirational figures in the sport such as Chris Henry, Steve Feeney and Dr Steve Peters, have worked wonders by spending time with a player, helping them to channel their mind beyond the pressure of play and to focus on positive energy and techniques to envision success such as meditation.
There also may be a flaw in their game which stops this success from developing. A different type of cue grip or the way they walk into a shot, can trigger a mental barrier and prevent potential victories. The intermediary acts as a key to deconstruct their game and reconstruct it into a far better and resilient one, a game that is able to produce better shot choices, choose safety over flair and to cope with the mental strains that the sport inflicts on the player.
The Finished Article
If you take Judd Trump as an example, look how far this player has come in a short space of time. The younger Judd would have gone for everything on the table in order to impress and entertain. However, over the years Trump has learnt how to channel his immense talent into a refined and defined game. The results have been spectacular with Judd almost dominating the snooker calendar with tournaments wins.
Judd now believes he is the best player on the tour and goes into a match believing that he can win. When defeats occur, he can handle them and move on to the next event. Snooker is about the here and now and not about dwelling on the past. If you start overthinking, that negativity will creep into your game and Trump has managed to build a very high mental walk to prevent that from occurring. Success is prevalent in his mind, game and his general approach to snooker. He no long spends his time concentrating on his social life but instead on a rigorous practice regime. He knows this is necessary because there is a thin line between success and failure.
