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  • Training drill

    Hi,
    I have just returned to playing snooker after a very long time and would like to share a training exercise that significantly improved my game way back when, i hope someone benefits from it.
    I used to coach snooker and having no tuition myself on how or what to coach i had to look at the best method from my personal experiences.

    The drill doesn't correct stance and assumes you are already familiar with playing the game to a reasonable level and if used correctly i believe will improve your potting in practice and under pressure.

    If you practise the drill you will almost be brainwashed into how you play a shot, most of us pot a ball but do not fully understand how we are making the pot/position etc ill explain as we go through the simple steps.

    1) put a matchstick or something small overhanging the cushion by the black spot.(3-4 can be placed along the line)

    2)place the white ball on the baulk line.

    3)the exercise is to knock the matchstick off the back cushion and push the cue as far through as possible through the cue ball

    4) with each shot no matter which type you play leave the cue fully extended so you can see how far you are oushing the cue through the cue ball.

    5) all the shots should be mixed . Ie full screw back /stun/top/side/side and screw etc

    This is the hardest part , you shouldnt play a frame or pot a ball for 3-4 days

    The purpose of the first part above is to prove to yourself that you can cue straight, no matter what shot you are playing(assuming of course you are hitting the target you have set)
    This should also give a smooth cue action, i also advocate pause on the back swing and look at point of contact but more of that shortly)
    This above seems stupid but once you have completed the above and are confident that no matter what shot you are playing you are hitting the intended point again and again and again without fail you are nearly where we need to be.
    However do not move onto stage two until at least 3 days to really convince your subconcious that you hit where you aim.
    Please dont think you are confident of above this drill is NEEDED by everyone regardless of how good they are

    Stage two

    Ok we now have to look at where we need to hit the object ball in order for it to go in the pocket.

    I am sure you will agree the easiest way to ascertain this is to put the cue ball in a straight line behind the object ball and the pocket, if we hit the object ball in the centre it will go in the pocket.

    Now keep your eye on that point on the object ball.....wherever you now place the white on the table the point of contact is exactly the same( obvious i know but telling yourself is worth doing believe me)
    Right , remember the first drill you perfected, good put the white anywhere you like, looking at the point of contact and...

    Do your usual cueing up to the ball, on your final backswing pause at the back , at this time i want you to forget the cue ball is there at all and push the tip right through to the point of contact that you are looking at -try and make the tip hit the object ball at its point of contact even if its 6ft away etc

    The important bit here is to:-

    REMEMBER THAT YOU ALWAYS HIT THE POINT YOU AIM AT
    PICK YOUR POINT OF CONTACT AND TRUST YOURSELF IT IS CORRECT

    a) forget the cue ball is there
    B) push the cue tip through to the point of contact on the object ball
    C) Do not watch the object ball -keep your eyes where the point of contact was

    The ball WILL go in .



    The reason this works is the majority of players in practice and more so under pressure subconsciously try and guide the object ball in the pocket by trying to see it go in the pocket and they dont trust a)their cue action or choice of where to hit the ball and part way through the cue ball will alter their aim, resulting in a miss or worst case a miscue etc
    But once your mind knows you hit where you aim no matter which type of shot you play , the only real thing you have to do us find the point you want to hit-easy!

    Stage 3

    Postional play

    AAAH this is the only slight change you will need to get used to with this method , a slight loss of control

    Most players "feel where the cue ball needs to be when playing the shot".
    This is changed because now what you are going to do is:-

    1) think about type of shot to play-top/screw side. (Practised in stage 1)

    2) how far through you are going to push the cue (practised in stage 1)

    So what we are now going to do is one thing only- hit the point of contact

    What this does is unfortunately lose a small touch of cue ball control maybe by about an inch , but this is easliy justifiable by how well you will be playing

    I always advocate overhitting the cue ball anyway as it tends to leave you high up on the object ball giving more options around the black spot for position and you normally see an open pocket rather than a blind pocket.

    So to recap

    Do drill 1as much as possible initially VERY IMPORTANT

    2) choose where on the white you are going to hit - top/middle/side

    3) how far through and speed of cue through the cue ball

    4)walk round the table to look at object ball in a straight line to get the point you want to hit

    5)walk back round the table keeping your eye on this point

    6)get into position and cue up to cue ball as point 2

    7)when you are ready PAUSE ON BACKSWING EYE ON POINT OF CONTCT And

    8)Trust that you remembered the point of contact and Push the cue right through the ball smoothly (FORGET THE CUE BALL IS EVEN THERE -IMPORTANT)

    9)don't forget you should be trying to hit that point with your tip of your cue- almost as if you are pushing the object ball into the pocket with your cue.

    10) do not follow the object ball with your eyes

    11) if a blind pocket listen as the ball hits the back of the pocket!

    I hope this helps someone , years ago using this method i trained someone from scratch to a century player and my own game improved beyond belief

    Let me know how you go on, if im teaching you all to suck eggs i apologise , i realise the game has improved in the last 20 years

    Paul

  • #2
    whoa, hold on paul.. tel, tel, terry, terry, where are you?

    Comment


    • #3
      HI This is confusing why dont you put it on Youtube and then we can try it just a thought or maybe its on now

      Comment


      • #4
        the only time you point the tip through the cue ball to the contact point on the object ball is when it is a full ball contact , are you pointing the tip at the line of aim or the line of contact . How can you point the tip at the contact point on a 1/4 ball pot , the tip will be pointing at thin air outside of the object ball in order to pot it . I agree , please post it on youtube as i may not be understanding fully your aiming and sighting techniqe.

        Comment


        • #5
          @ Paul12001

          This sounds great. I will try this. Thanks.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally Posted by Paul12001 View Post
            The important bit here is to:-

            REMEMBER THAT YOU ALWAYS HIT THE POINT YOU AIM AT
            this could be very confusing for a beginner, they will assume you are saying pointing the cue at the contact point, which we know is only on dead straight shots. any other shot there is an offset between line of aim and line of sight.

            Alabbadi

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally Posted by alabadi View Post
              this could be very confusing for a beginner, they will assume you are saying pointing the cue at the contact point, which we know is only on dead straight shots. any other shot there is an offset between line of aim and line of sight.

              Alabbadi
              Yep, I agree. It is only useful for full-ball shots (aim at the contact point i.e. middle of the object ball) and half-ball shots (aim at the edge of the object ball). For fine cuts, you need to aim outside the object ball so that only the edge of the cue-ball hits the contact spot on the object ball.
              My favourite players: Walter Lindrum (AUS), Neil Robertson (AUS), Eddie Charlton (AUS), Robby Foldvari (AUS), Vinnie Calabrese (AUS), Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry, Alex Higgins, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Dominic Dale and Barry Hawkins.
              I dream of a 147 (but would be happy with a 100)

              Comment


              • #8
                Hi Sidd,
                This is an incredible post !!!
                Thank you very much for spending the time to share your thoughts with us, very generous.
                I intend taking my iPad to the club this weekend and I will work through your instructions stage by stage.
                Thank you.
                " Cues are like girlfriends,once they become an EX I don't want them hanging around ".

                Comment


                • #9
                  I don't want to go into the cueing at the contact point stuff , but I would like to know why you would lose control of the cue ball, the rest of it seems sound to me, pick the line(won't go into cueing bit) figure out how much top ,stun screw you need, figure out the pace of the shot(I'm guessing that's what you mean) visualise the shot and stay locked onto the potting point, all sounds great to me, why would you lose the cue ball?,
                  This is how you play darts ,MVG two nines in the same match!
                  https://youtu.be/yqTGtwOpHu8

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Before I comment I would like to see a youtube video posted as I don't fully understand some of the things stated in the original post

                    Terry
                    Terry Davidson
                    IBSF Master Coach & Examiner

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      I like the idea with the matchsticks ! I think this would be very useful in showing up any problems with aiming and cueing.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Thank you my friend. I tried your tip on looking right thro the white today and it works.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Thanks for your replies, i am glad that it has helped a few of you already, remember the first stage is to prove to your brain that your cue action is reliable, that is why it is important to do this drill first.
                          It is simply not enough for you to think you can do the first drill without trying, your subconcious has to know you can hit the spot you are aiming at time after time after time.
                          Then when you are playing a shot it is one thing that wont let you down, the other things left to master are where to aim (walk around to see contact point as in first post)and position of cue ball.
                          For some of you i realise i am not that great at explaining things, but i am all i have....but for those who grasp the concept please try it out and post your results good and bad!
                          Good luck

                          Paul

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Hi Terry,

                            Sorry i am not much good with technology and am obviously not great at trying to explain myself...
                            But just noticed you are Canadian and from ontario, i am from the uk and used to practice daily with a canadian pro in the 80s called Mario Morra who taught me every shot counts! And to punish any mistake anyone makes lol he certainly did , i believe he is back in ontario canada and playing still, if you ever bump into him give him my regards
                            Paul Davies

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally Posted by pcb View Post
                              the only time you point the tip through the cue ball to the contact point on the object ball is when it is a full ball contact , are you pointing the tip at the line of aim or the line of contact . How can you point the tip at the contact point on a 1/4 ball pot , the tip will be pointing at thin air outside of the object ball in order to pot it . I agree , please post it on youtube as i may not be understanding fully your aiming and sighting techniqe.
                              I understand this totally and for those that do not let me explain the way I see it.

                              Your eyes give the information to your brain, telling it that you wish to make two balls contact in such a way that one of them is sent on an exact path.

                              The brain knows the line between the two contact points on the two balls because your eyes are looking at them.

                              The brain works out the line of aim for the cue because your eyes are giving it the correct information.

                              The brain will decipher, without any input from you, that the cue ball when addressed by the tip of the cue becomes part of the cue, as if the tip of the cue is 2 & 1/16 of an inch wide.

                              The brain has worked out that the contact point on the tip of the cue, which is now 2 & 1/16 inches wide is the distance away from the contact point on the object ball that it is.

                              The brain will calculate the distance of the shot and make the cue (with its 2 & 1/16 of an inch tip) the same length as the distance of the shot, like stretching it out over that distance to make the two balls contact exactly where needed.

                              Of course the cue doesn't stretch out, but as the cue ball is seen by the brain to be the tip of the cue then it makes perfect sense to focus the eyes on the contact point of the object ball no matter what the angle of the shot.

                              Like I've mentioned before it's not the tip of the cue you're aiming, it's the cue ball, and the brain sees the cue ball as part of the cue.

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