Natural ability

[cyberheater]

I'm pretty sure I've seen Higgins look at the white sometimes when he's taking his shot.

[Terry Davidson]

DandyA:

Well, I tried just looking at the cueball at time of strike and soon found out it isn't for me. When I was just shooting the spots it worked find and I got through the cueball well, but when I started trying angled pots I missed everything. After about 10 minutes I tried with my eyes closed and made more balls that way but that's likely me concentrating on staying very still, although I tried to do that when looking at the back of the cueball.

I think it's 'horses for courses' but you are definitely in the minority on this one.

The only other sport where I can think of 2 round objects and trying to get one to hit the other at a predetermined spot is curling, and boring (to me at least) as it is to watch the curlers don't ever look at the rock they're throwing but always at the rock down the ice that they are trying to knock out of the 'house' and they throw or pitch (I guess the proper word is curl) their own rock at that target.

Terry

[j6uk]

I'm pretty sure I've seen Higgins look at the white sometimes when he's taking his shot.

on the tv when the balls are so close together in the scoring zone it can be deceptive how the eyes move. on the backswing players like to look through the whole shot, like watch the cue come back then flick through back to bob

[cyberheater]

on the tv when the balls are so close together in the scoring zone it can be deceptive how the eyes move. on the backswing players like to look through the whole shot, like watch the cue come back then flick through back to bob

If/when I've got time I'll see if I can find any instances of Higgins looking at the white on the strike and post it up to see what other folks think.

[DandyA]

DandyA:

Well, I tried just looking at the cueball at time of strike and soon found out it isn't for me. When I was just shooting the spots it worked find and I got through the cueball well, but when I started trying angled pots I missed everything. After about 10 minutes I tried with my eyes closed and made more balls that way but that's likely me concentrating on staying very still, although I tried to do that when looking at the back of the cueball.

I think it's 'horses for courses' but you are definitely in the minority on this one.

when I decided to try changing from looking at the OB to CB during delivery, it took around 10 sessions of 2-3hrs each before it started feeling normal and I still do very occasionally and accidentally look at the OB ...

I understand I'm in the minority and I don't think looking at the OB is wrong, simply that looking at the CB is a valid alternative for some ... I have found it makes no difference at all to my inherent accuracy, it's one less moving item during the delivery stroke (ie eyes), it promotes keeping the head still during delivery, it very much encourages getting the cue on the line of aim, it stops any possibility of steering the cue (those last two points are because I don't know where the OB is when I deliver the cue) and finally, in competitive games it can take a lot of pressure off the shot (because I don't see how scary the shot is) ...

I don't think it's a matter of right or wrong - the benefits I've mentioned above are very real to me but, of course, they might not be of any benefit to you or anyone else ...

[CoachGavin]

Natural ability

Chris Henry has coached many of the top players and I believe he is coaching Murphy now. I have personally seen a video of Stephen Hendry potting long balls when looking at the cue ball on strike. I find looking at the object ball far easier but I think Henry is saying there is no right or wrong way. His comments are on Facebook and he says Ronnie and Hendry both look at the cue ball. Anyway For me there is not really a thing such as natural talent. A player looks natural when he has done it so many times it is subconcious and doesn't have to think about it.

[alabadi]

i am not convinced looking at the cueball solely would improve accuracy, i have tried it and its terrible for me. then reading some comments saying "Chris Henry advocates this" i was surprised he would say this so i visited his Facebook page to see if he actually said it and i found this comment.

Chris Henry Soheil," focussing on the CB obviously doesnt work, ask Ron and Hendo, oh and by the way, you could even ask another World Champion on this post ! Peter David Ebdon ?"

it seems that he is saying it doesn't work , not that it does, he is even saying ask Ronnie, Hendry and Ebdon. so where did anyone see that he said looking at the cueball works?

[eaoin11]

eaoin11 I think you have some very good points. I remember I started playing snooker at 16 on a full size table and my brother who was 13 started at the same time. my brother is probably what most people would call a better sportsman than me and would always take over me. However he never got involved as much as me and I played far more and to this day I am the better player when it comes to snooker. many of my friends who played when young didn't have my circumstances. I had plenty of people to play, had the patience to practice and I had a part time job to feed my habit. I therefore became the best player out of the lot of us. In regards to China I think perhaps where they are just lacking perhaps at the moment is in top top practice partners. In the UK Selby could go off and practice with a number of world and UK champions. In other parts of the world the practice partners will not be at that standard.

Regarding looking at the object ball on impact Chris Henry, a leading coach, says many of the top 16 are looking at the cue ball on the strike which would be similar to looking at the golf ball when putting at golf

Yep that's a great example and I think it's a valuable insight for a coach or educator in general. Related to your point on the Chinese, when Neil Robertson first made it onto the tour he was only 15 and there are so many challenges that go with that off the table, let alone handling the huge leap in standard from Australia to the UK. He understandably quit the tour the first time, but had success when he got back on the tour some years later. He has developed enormously as a player since then and continued adding aspects to his game right up to now but I sometimes wonder how his style might have changed if he'd been able to stay in the UK in those earlier years without the issues of being away from family etc. He might have ended up displaying a bit more of the touch and fluency of John Higgins or Ronnie.

[eaoin11]

i am not convinced looking at the cueball solely would improve accuracy, i have tried it and its terrible. then reading some comments that Chris Henry advocates this i was surprised that he would so i visited his Facebook page to see if he actually says this and i found this comment.

Chris Henry Soheil," focussing on the CB obviously doesnt work, ask Ron and Hendo, oh and by the way, you could even ask another World Champion on this post ! Peter David Ebdon ?"

it seems that he is saying it doesn't work , not that it does, he is even saying ask Ronnie, Hendry and Ebdon. so where did anyone see that he said looking at the cueball works?

I don't think anyone here has recommended it, maybe the question is whether even pros do it sometimes without realising.

I think focussing on the object ball helps, no doubt, but most other sports teach us to keep the eye on the ball that you're hitting and most of us would have been conditioned to that by the time they started in snooker. Who's to say that this can't be done in snooker with sufficient accuracy?

I would have thought that pros might be most likely to do this (probably without realising) when playing accurate stun to go into the pack or to cannon into a red, and when the pot is easy, to make sure they hit the white ball where they want to.

[j6uk]

Chris Henry has coached many of the top players and I believe he is coaching Murphy now. okay so you think cris is coaching murphy great but where did he say the top 16 look a the white on the strike? I have personally seen a video of Stephen Hendry potting long balls when looking at the cue ball on strike. really? ok! I find looking at the object ball far easier but I think Henry is saying there is no right or wrong way. His comments are on Facebook and he says Ronnie and Hendry both look at the cue ball. where does stephen say he and ronnie look at the white on the strike, link please? Anyway For me there is not really a thing such as natural talent. A player looks natural when he has done it so many times it is subconcious and doesn't have to think about it.

some links would be nice gav otherwise it looks like your talking choff thanks

[j6uk]

I think focussing on the object ball helps, no doubt, but most other sports teach us to keep the eye on the ball that you're hitting and most of us would have been conditioned to that by the time they started in snooker. Who's to say that this can't be done in snooker with sufficient accuracy?

and thats what happens in snooker they look at the ball there hitting and want to pot but they do it with another ball

[Ramon]

i am not convinced looking at the cueball solely would improve accuracy, i have tried it and its terrible. then reading some comments that Chris Henry advocates this i was surprised that he would so i visited his Facebook page to see if he actually says this and i found this comment.

Chris Henry Soheil," focussing on the CB obviously doesnt work, ask Ron and Hendo, oh and by the way, you could even ask another World Champion on this post ! Peter David Ebdon ?"

it seems that he is saying it doesn't work , not that it does, he is even saying ask Ronnie, Hendry and Ebdon. so where did anyone see that he said looking at the cueball works?

. you're right!!!
CH , never said that looking at CB works. A few weeks ago I saw on my facebook page a statement of C, Henry. According to him, ROS is a player who looks at CB. , he also said that this is not the right way. I said to him: Chris, you're wrong about this. ROS looks (at the time of strkg) to the OB. he did'nt like that and said to me: Ramon better not be gessing!!! . I still do'nt agree with him. ROS in my opinion, does'nt look at the CB.!! You can find it on Facebook. though, is a statement of him from a few weeks ago.!!!!!!

[thelongbomber]

[thelongbomber]

[eaoin11]

and thats what happens in snooker they look at the ball there hitting and want to pot but they do it with another ball

Obviously but I'm just making a point about why this might not seem natural to new players. Focusing on the cueball is probably a habit that carries over from other sports and needs to be unlearned. Chris Henry seems to be saying that even some of the very best haven't been entirely successful in doing this.