What questions would you ask when being coached by one of top 8 players for 2 hours?

[tedisbill]

Thanks Byrom. Some great tips and helpful points in there.

From now on I'm gonna stop my negative self talk. Why should I be negative? It's like you say, if somebody else was getting the results I am, I'd be very impressed with their game, yet when it's me, I'm just never good enough.

[vmax4steve]

Yes Ronnie knows stuff why does he go to various coaches why has this helped him - the people he has learned off cant play like him but they can still help him improve - you never stop learning in life and snooker is no different but itsnoteasy is correct the coach just advises if the pupil does not listen or practice then they will see little improvement.

Itsnoteasy is right, it's all down to doing the basics correctly. Ally that to superb hand/eye and you have a great player, but no coach or player on this earth is going to help you if your hand/eye is poor. Hand/eye is something that you either have or you don't, it cannot be taught. If someone doesn't look where they should when lining up the pot and on the strike, the textbook stance, straight cue action and perfectly still head won't matter a jot.

I believe the hand eye comes first and the rest of the game is built around that.

So the question is: are Ronnie and co totally consciously aware of all the motor functions of their hand/eye ? has it been drummed into them by a coach by rote ? or is it completely natural, were they all pretty good at the game all on their own and did the coaches merely fine tune them by spotting little flaws that cropped up now and again which made them miss ?

[ace man]

Hand/eye is something that you either have or you don't, it cannot be taught.

Ok, good natural hand/eye is a physical prerequisite for any sport which involves a lot of hand work. I agree that this cannot be taught. With very poor hand/eye you could never make a 16 break nor play any other sport to any decent degree.

At school I have been told that my hand/eye coordination is excellent. My eyesight is also really really good. I can read very tiny letters in almost dark conditions...
I am quite certain that I have "it".
However, I've lost matches to half blind drunks at times, so not sure that my supernatural coordination helps at all...

On a more serious note...not everybody can be a champion no matter what effort is put in, that's for sure. But I also believe that anyone can improve his game...within his own limits of course. For certain if one starts with snooker seriously as a 10 years old child, he has a much higher personal limit than if he started as a 30 year old.

So the question is: are Ronnie and co totally consciously aware of all the motor functions of their hand/eye ?

No. Come on, who would think that?

[Byrom]

well good hand - eye co-ordination it good for any sport with a moving target - tennis for example or ping pong however in snooker the balls stay still and so though I agree it helps to be natural - I would say that it is possible that you can teach a person to keep their eyes focused on where they are sending it if they don't do it correctly or naturally to start with.

[itsnoteasy]

I'm not sure if hand eye coordination can be taught as such, but constant repitition will improve it immensely . When I first played darts I couldn't group them together never mind hit what I was after, so my hand eye wasn't working, three years later after playing five hours a day , i could hit ton forties and ton eighties while chatting with someone in the pub, this I think is down to muscle memory and just sheer repeating over and over what was good and trying to iron out what was bad, so if I hit a treble twenty I tried to throw the next dart exactly the same and eventually I ended up with a consistent throw I could repeat without thinking, I think snooker is exactly the same, we might not all be Ronnie, but we can all be a much higher standard than when we first started, everyone will find their level and then the talent or ability will run out, but for me it's about being the best you can be.

[Byrom]

I'm not sure if hand eye coordination can be taught as such, but constant repitition will improve it immensely . When I first played darts I couldn't group them together never mind hit what I was after, so my hand eye wasn't working, three years later after playing five hours a day , i could hit ton forties and ton eighties while chatting with someone in the pub, this I think is down to muscle memory and just sheer repeating over and over what was good and trying to iron out what was bad, so if I hit a treble twenty I tried to throw the next dart exactly the same and eventually I ended up with a consistent throw I could repeat without thinking, I think snooker is exactly the same, we might not all be Ronnie, but we can all be a much higher standard than when we first started, everyone will find their level and then the talent or ability will run out, but for me it's about being the best you can be.

Good post and have to agree as I too think learning the game is more about developing timing and muscle memory and repetition and a instinct that comes better with practice, rather than sighting.

To improve sighting = simply focus and keep your eyes on where you are sending it - its the other bits that take more dedication.

Now if V-max had said some people just cant develop a natural timing *he probably means this when he says hand eye co-ordination - muscle memory - consistent rhythm on the shot then I would agree this is a lot harder to achieve if you have not already got some but everyone can improve bits of their game with the right practice to some extent.

There are various stages in coaching - I mean not everyone wants to be the next Ronnie if they go see a coach - though it would be nice and I am sure some are delusional - some people just want a little improvement - I once taught an old guy a few things in my local club and he almost instantly got a 30 break - never seen anyone as happy playing snooker before - he told me had played all his life without making one.

[vmax4steve]

I'm not sure if hand eye coordination can be taught as such, but constant repitition will improve it immensely . When I first played darts I couldn't group them together never mind hit what I was after, so my hand eye wasn't working, three years later after playing five hours a day , i could hit ton forties and ton eighties while chatting with someone in the pub, this I think is down to muscle memory and just sheer repeating over and over what was good and trying to iron out what was bad, so if I hit a treble twenty I tried to throw the next dart exactly the same and eventually I ended up with a consistent throw I could repeat without thinking, I think snooker is exactly the same, we might not all be Ronnie, but we can all be a much higher standard than when we first started, everyone will find their level and then the talent or ability will run out, but for me it's about being the best you can be.

With darts you only have one target and there is no confusion over what you should be looking at, the part of the board you wish the dart to stick into.
In snooker there is only one target also, but because there are more variables contained within a shot a great many people are confused over what the actual target is and their eyes will wander off the target as a result.
Some look at the cue, some at the cue ball, some at the pocket.

You can have great hand/eye for darts but if you then take up snooker and look at the pocket you've got no chance no matter how much coaching you receive.
You can have great hand/eye for golf but if you then take up snooker and look at the cue ball you've got no chance also.

The object ball is the real target in snooker and it's those who naturally look at the object ball that are the best snooker players.

Now a coach can tell a pupil to look at the object ball and he can explain why it's vital that he does, but if it doesn't come naturally to that pupil then I'm afraid doing so will always be hit and miss.