🎱 Action Cures Fear

Welcome to this week’s edition of Stroke of Confidence—where pool meets mindset. Whether you're here to sharpen your skills, build consistency, or just get a little weekly boost, you’re in the right place.

A special welcome to all our new subscribers—glad to have you on board! And to our existing readers, thank you for sticking with us and sharing your thoughts. Your feedback helps us shape every issue.

This week’s topics:

• Staying down on your shot

• Taking action

• Fedor’s top jump shots

Let’s dive in:

⭐ Skills & Drills

Stay down and observe

Two of the most mentioned topics that our readers say they struggle with are missing easy shots but not knowing why, and inconsistent stroke mechanics. This week’s video is a short one but it’s packed with useful knowledge that I think will help address those issues. The main topic of this video is staying down on your shot. As master instructor Mark Powell explains in the video, this is important for many reasons.

If you stay down on your shot, as Mark explains, you are able to observe what went right or wrong during a shot. Every made ball, and more importantly, every miss, becomes valuable feedback to improve and learn why the balls did what they did.

Staying down and following through on your stroke is also crucial in achieving proper stroke mechanics and applying spin on the cue ball. If you think of a golf swing or a baseball swing, they are not stopping the moment that the club or bat hits the ball. The swing continues through the ball after the moment of contact. This same concept applies to a pool stroke.

Mark also touches on the importance of positive mental talk while playing. Missing shots while practicing should not bring about negative thoughts or emotions. Practicing should be a fun and informative experience where we learn about why we are missing so we can address those issues. Go ahead and watch the video below and apply the lessons to your next practice session.

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🗳️ Quick Poll

🧠 Mindset Mastery

Being action oriented

One of the core ideas from The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz is simple but powerful: action cures fear. The longer you wait to do the thing you're afraid of, the more intimidating it becomes. But once you take that first step—once you act—the fear starts to shrink. This applies to pool in a huge way.

Fear at the table is real. You might be nervous about joining a league, embarrassed to lose or miss in front of better players, or hesitant to attempt shots that have burned you before. But here’s the truth: you will never think your way out of fear. The only way to overcome it is by doing the exact thing you're scared of.

Scared to play better competition? Sign up for the next tournament anyway.
Avoiding a tricky shot, like a long cut or jump? Set it up and shoot it 20 times.
Worried you'll embarrass yourself? Good. Do it anyway—and realize that no one else cares as much as you do. Every rep chips away at that fear. You build confidence not by waiting until you "feel ready," but by proving to yourself—through action—that you can handle it.

So next time you’re at the table, pick one shot that makes you a little uncomfortable—the one you usually avoid. Set it up and shoot it. Then shoot it again. And again. Keep going until it doesn’t feel like a big deal anymore. When you do this, the goal is not to be perfect. The goal is to just get used to it.

After a while, it’s not something you fear—it’s something you’ve mastered. And that’s a pretty good feeling.

Purchase The Magic of Thinking Big and more of our favorite books here: https://stroke-of-confidence-pool.beehiiv.com/c/book-recommendations

🤯 Get Inspired

Fedor takes flight

Ask any player who the best jumper in the world is and many of them would tell you it’s Fedor Gorst. Whether it's a full table jump or a tight shot near the rail, he pulls them off like it’s nothing. If you’ve ever tried one, you know just how tough it is to even hit the object ball, let alone make it and hold position.

Check out the compilation video below of some of his nastiest jump shots and subscribe to his channel. Watch how smooth and confident he is with every stroke. Once you’re done watching, grab your jump cue, set up those awkward safeties, and get to work. Start small and practice jumping over a cube of chalk or an extra cue stick laying on the table. You don’t need to be a pro to pull off a jump—you just need reps.

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💥 Quick Links

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Have a great weekend and we’ll catch you next Thursday!

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