Warming up for winning

Friday afternoon. Sunshine and showers and a howling gale tossing the boats in the Marina about their moorings. A rush to the venue after cutting short my work day and before I had much time to think, the doubles match, postponed from a few days ago, was under way.

It was a tough match. Later, Her Ladyship Indoors, who had come along to watch and lend her support said (expletives deleted): "It was like watching you mix concrete with a teaspoon." Always direct, Her Ladyship.

But that is pretty much how it felt. Every shot was an effort, every movement felt as if I had a steel reinforcement bar shoved up my jumper, or across my shoulders. I struggled to position the white, every pot was a bonus rather than a given, and even my legs (quite handy for steadying you into perfect balance at your chosen position) felt as if the knees and ankles had seized up with rust. I had been alright half an hour earlier, or so I thought.

My doubles partner was not faring much better, and we managed, after fighting for every shot down to the very last black, to scrape through a win. Not that we really deserved it - our opponents played steady, consistent pool. They were that little bit less lucky than us. As one of them put it: "We didn't let you guys simply have a walk-over, and we are both over 70, you know." And considering the age, they were relaxed and fluid, where I was - well, trying to mix concrete with a teaspoon.

I mentioned the fact that it had been a busy day at work and, being self-employed, I had to compress a full day and work a couple of hours less than usual to accommodate a time change. That should not have been a problem. I was rushed, had probably drunk too much coffee earlier in the day, had not had a proper meal and was not entirely mentally prepared. That should not have been a problem either. Tournaments are full of unexpected twists and turns and distractions and part of playing successfully is being able to deal with those. But, what I should have done that I hadn't, was to warm up.

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Suggestion from Her Ladyship!

Sounds easy, doesn't it? And it really doesn't take a lot, so I am guilty of often not paying the warm up the attention it really deserves. As with any other sport, pool needs its pre-match warm up. Stretches, breathing, movements that loosen up all the joints and muscles are essential. They get the blood pumping oxygen into all the muscles, and into the brain - this is, after all, as much about strategy and mental strength as it is about motor skills. Most importantly, warm up exercises get you in a calmer frame of mind, they help you push the rest of the world to one side and begin to focus solely on the table and each frame, each ball, each pot at a time.

Every pool player will have his or her individual warm up routine. Ideally, a few stretches done in a private space to loosen the muscles and joints are great. But then at the table, it's all about getting into that trance-like state, that zone, that creates the fluidity of movement that makes you unbeatable. Repetition of movement is one way that many players achieve that "trance" - the way they move the cue between their hands at the start of each frame, or even as they prepare for the shot. Let's face it, we don't continually chalk the tip because we need quite so much chalk - this is part of the routine, the trance-setting, if you like.

Taking pre-match warm up strokes is essential and of particular importance is the coordination of your eyes to the movement of your cue. I noticed in this particular match that I felt I could not 'see' the spread of balls properly when I went down to take my shot. I had not realised that you have to warm your eyes up too - eyes are vital to the shot, and relaxing the eye muscles and tuning the optic nerve is essential.

With some solo warm up shots pre-match (which means setting aside pre-match time and not rushing into it straight from work!), the arm and grip are warmed up and along with these, the eye movement sequence can be settled too, from getting down to the stroke to final delivery of the cue. Warm up shots are about settling a repeated pre-shot routine, getting the bridge set firmly and then getting into the stroking / eye movement pattern. And the warm up routine - the same each time - is all about getting your body and your mind - set for match success.

The lesson taken from that doubles match is to prepare, to treat every match with respect. And to treat your body with respect: warm up, get into routine and set out your pathway to win.

I'm taking Her Ladyship along next time too - just to show her I can play a beautiful game when on form!