eyes on object ball

[pcb]

hi all , can anybody explain the reason we look at object ball contact point as we strike the cue ball , i have recently started doing this and my game has improved . is it because the cue arm and cue ball follows where the eyes are looking. i dont even line the shot up anymore i just get down aim the tip to the middle of the cue ball then on delivery i look at the point on the object ball i wish to strike to pot it . is this correct thanks

[Sidd]

yes that is correct. The eyes must be focused on the potting spot on the object ball while striking and that is true that the cueing arm will follow that point but above all it is done to keep the mind focused on the spot and sort send a signal through the mind to lock itself on the potting spot; helps in hitting the correct spot.

i cant see how you can manage to play well without lining up maybe cuz you are unintentionally lining up correctly- carry on the way you like but once things go wrong a little and you feel that then you must line up properly and then eyes on potting spot while striking.

[pcb]

thanks sidd for your advice , i suppose i do line up the shot without thinking about it before i strike

[Terry Davidson]

The reason you keep your eyes on the object ball as you get down is to keep yourself on the line of aim you selected when standing behind the shot. So your head is on the line of aim chosen when standing up and if you drop the head straight down you will be guaranteed to have at least your head on the proper line of aim, which is most of the battle

Terry

[pcb]

thanks terry , however i struggle with looking at the object ball as i get down to the shot . i tend to find i have to reajust my position as the tip is not in the middle of the white as i am not looking at it as i get down . i prefer to put tip to the middle of the white and then make micro adjustments if needed to make sure i am aiming the white at the contact point i need to strike to pot the ball.also sometimes i feel i am not even on the correct line but as long as i look the object ball last i still tend to pot the ball , my body seems to reajust to where i am looking. any thoughts thanks

[Terry Davidson]

pcb:

If you are not lined up on the spot on the cueball when you get down then you are not doing your pre-shot routine correctly.

It all starts with the straight leg foot. BEFORE you drop down into the shot (if right-handed) your right foot should be placed on the line of aim of the cue, with somewhere between the arch (laces) and the back of the toes directly underneath where your grip hand will end up when you assume the address position. The right foot forms the foundation of your set-up and should be placed in the same position consistently (with a normal shot).

Then while STILL STANDING UP ensure you choose your line of aim and make sure your head (use the nose) is pointed at the object ball and your eyes are locked on the object ball. Keeping the nose pointed at the object ball and the eyes on it drop into your address position and if you have that right foot placed correctly and drop your head straight down you should automatically be on the cueball correctly and also on your chosen line of aim.

NEVER, EVER make aiming adjustments once you're down in the address position. The most accurate aiming is ALWAYS derived when you are standing over the shot as you get the best perception of the shot from above it and NOT when you are behind the cueball with the chin on the cue.

If what I say above forces a slight change in your set-up and you find you are not correctly behind the cueball don't worry as it will come quickly with a little practice. You will almost never see a pro make aiming adjustments once they are down into the address position and not moving the aim when down is one of the golden rules of snooker (for a very good reason). The only exception I've ever noticed is Mark Selby and I don't know why he does that.

Terry

[DannyC]

Hey Terry, have you ever considered condensing your knowledge into a single resource or website? You post a huge amount of great advice on the forum, the only problem is it's hard to find any individual piece of advice because they are spread over multiple threads.

[narl]

Be interested to see Terry put up some vids showing how he does things, lot easier to show rather than trying to explain with text.

[Terry Davidson]

DannyC & narl:

I have three problems though. First of all not a lot of time as I'm still playing competitively and still have some life outside of snooker and at my age I have to practice a lot, which eats up a lot of time on a daily basis;

Secondly, I'm here by myself with no one to run the camera and even with a tripod I would have to move the camera around to get different angles on each demo; and,

Although I don't mind being on here and not charging for advice for this kind of service I think I would like to have a website with paypal/charge card fees so I could make a little money at it since I do charge about 30GBP/hr for my coaching time. Not being a computer person I would have to learn how to do that first or else maybe do something with Ferret as a link from this site although I would think there would be some sort of commission involved for Ferret as he can't work for free either.

Maybe when I retire from competitive play it would be something to keep me busy and interested

Terry

[DannyC]

If you did want a simple to use website Terry I'd be happy to create you one for free (creating websites is my day job).

[Sidd]

Terry I think DannyC has the answer to your question. Its kind on his part I guess you can ask him for this and charge for your coaching through that. then with some help you can get some students online from different countries and after they pay you, you can Skype with them and coach them online... Nic and others use skype.

Give it go and you will get a hang of it over time...!

[Skywalker8]

eyes on object ball

Even if you don't make a massive website or start charging loads you could at least copy all the good stuff you use from here into a simple but effective hints and tips site. This would also save you time as you very kindly type advice over and over for people that is all based around essentially the same basic technique. This way you could send people to a link on your site and maybe ask for a small PayPal donation if your advice helps people.
I know you have helped me reading your very informative and succinct style.
Terry's cue school blog. All those in favour ?!!

[alabadi]

lets get back to the point of the thread, keeping eyes on the object ball when striking.

i find that when within a couple of feet keeping the eyes locked on the OB gives you a great sense of awareness,what i mean is if i get down just off the line of aim for correct point of contact i can feel it.

however its a bit different from distance, especially over 5 feet, i haven't got the same feel because its harder to focus, on these shots i have to use my judgment and memory from similar shots.

Alabbadi

[Sidd]

When we play the longer shots and miss... I have noticed that I would normally miss the long pot by over cutting.. sometimes by a little margin and sometimes more. I personally think its about not lining up correctly and maybe about lining up correctly but while down one might look at the wrong spot; is that correct..!

lets discuss something about lining and aiming and looking at the spot on long pots like when the cue ball is just in or above baulk and you are taking a red in corner near pink black area

[MartinB]

After reading this thread, I tried to observe myself to see how I am doing this. I realised that I always look at the cue tip and the white when going down because I am afraid that I might hit the white accidentally when placing the cue on the bridge.
Then I observed the players in the APTC finale and realised something I never noticed before; While still standing, they already put the bridge hand to the cue and keep that contact between bridge hand and cue while going down, moving the hands apart. (To check, I also looked at Ronnies famous maximum - same thing there). I briefly tried that (at my living-room table, no practice table in reach right now) and it seems that this should help a lot in avoiding banging around with the cue. Funnily, this was never explained in the snooker books or training sites I looked at - possibly because it is obvious?
Is this the right way to do it?