The warm up process is designed to take you from an off-the-street condition to your ready-to-play condition. The process is a series of shots used to help find your groove, center, platform, etc. These shots dial in your feet positioning, weight distribution, arm/hand positions, bridge hand, head position; everything you need to set up for a shot.
In conjunction with getting comfortable bent over the table, start shooting balls into pockets, beginning with mid table straight in shots, and then incrementally working back. As you get comfortable with the standard shots, throw in a few shots that you know need some work.
Sometimes you come to the warm-up table, and discover unusual accuracy and control. When this happens, mentally examine your body positioning and stroking. That is what makes it work. If you don’t, your game can go bad and you won’t have a clue on how to recover. The examination helps you memorize what works.
Other times, you start off with near-total clumsiness. This tells you that your fundamentals are bad. Instead of trying to shoot your way through the problem, focus on placing your feet and work upwards from there.
You could simply start shooting, and depend on muscle memory to finally fall into place. Another technique is to run a conscientious checklist that starts with feet placement and angle, knees, butt angle, etc. Once complete, strokes and the results validate correct positioning.
At a minimum, use 10 minutes to determine if you are on top of your accuracy. If you are about average, 15-25 minutes are good for the warm-up. If you are really off your game, you will need about an hour. Get in the most shots in the shortest time frame that focus specifically on dialing in basics. Use the warm-up to settle down. You want a calm mind that can play logically.
To be systematic, set up and shoot a series of common shots. Here are several different types that can help you warm up:
- Straight in medium distance stun shots at different speeds.
- Angle shots with the cue ball going to designated locations.
- Use exaggerated practice strokes (as far back as possible, as far forward as possible).
- Basic draw and follow shots.
- Spot shots with the cue ball at various places in the kitchen.
- Throw out and practice three and four ball runs.
Whatever you do before the competition, do not bang balls around with your friends. You can’t concentrate on getting your stroke – and their presence guarantees you will start the competition poorly. If you have to share a practice table – claim half the table as yours and keep them from interfering with your preparation.
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