coach in New England?

[wigglybridge]

looking for a stroke doctor who can also run 100.

know anyone who fits that in New England? i'm in western Mass, so nearest cities are Springfield MA, Hartford CT, Albany/Troy NY, Worcester MA, then Boston, then New Haven CT. could travel further if needed, central NJ is a possibility.

thanks for any tips, public or private, positive or negative.

 

[stevekur1]

Maybe ask Bob Maidof:

He owns drexline billiards and is a hell of a player ran over 100 many many times.
I think recently he broke his high and ran something in the mid 300s if I am not mistaken.

If you want I can inquire with bob to see if he is available.

Tell him I sent you. You can find him on Facebook as well.


If not look up out very own Steve Lipsky, he lives in jersey and is a very very capable player. Holds a high run of 207.


Steve

 

[Blackjack]

Tony Robles is in NYC. He's quite busy these days, but worth the wait, as he's an awesome player and teacher.

Also in NYC area are Steve Lipsky, Dany Barouty, Fran Crimi, and some guy named Charlie Eames that runs 400 balls every day one handed while wearing an eye patch.



Pat Fleming is in NJ.

If you want to travel a bit further south, Mike Sigel is in Maryland - so is Shaun Wilkie.

 

[richiebalto]

looking for a stroke doctor who can also run 100.

know anyone who fits that in New England? i'm in western Mass, so nearest cities are Springfield MA, Hartford CT, Albany/Troy NY, Worcester MA, then Boston, then New Haven CT. could travel further if needed, central NJ is a possibility.

thanks for any tips, public or private, positive or negative.

BOB HUNT is in that area,great guy and also a tremendious pool player,ask around,he is still playing,i talk to him at last derby city!bob has gamble with all the best players of his time and held his own!

 

[STORMINORMAN]

mike zuglan rotterdam ny ................ the best

 

[Ron F]

Zuglan

Zuglan was a great suggestion. And a lot closer than many of the other suggestions.

Ron F

 

[wigglybridge]

great suggestions, all!

i'd no idea Mike Zuglan was there; 2.5 hours away, but still...

if Steve Lipsky is interested that's also tempting, because i have connections in NJ, and i Really like the playing and analysis on his 143&lose video. plus he seems like a heckuva nice guy.

i may end up trying to visit with a couple of people. but i'm still hoping to find someone nearer if i can, so please keep the ideas coming if you have any!

 

[3andstop]

I'd like to qualify what I'm about to suggest by saying that I am by no stretch of the imagination any great player, and I get very little time to spend any quality time playing anymore and it shows. If the moon is in the right house and the stars align properly, I may get a few 40's or 50's these days in a session, and that's about it. As I approach the big 60 in age, desire is also a factor in my game, and none of those things can be fixed by a lesson.

Ok, with that said, I am a firm believer that suggesting any kind of useful lessons for someone has to be based on their current ability. More specifically, the ability to comfortably move the CB and pocket well.

If you are a beginner, and more often then not do not get through a full rack and onto a break shot, then anyone of the suggestions for a teacher would be useful, if you play about my speed, which I think is about average for a 14.1 player. Nothing great, but can pretty much run multiple racks when playing well, then I think at that stage it is more about the mental game and concentration and focus.

It's about how well you can shut out your outside life's issues and devote total concentration to what you are doing. I for one don't fair well in that area as I get older.

I don't know if a teacher can teach what they feel in their heads when they play. It's not something tangible that can be compared to what we feel in our heads.

We have finite amounts of concentration as human beings and the more things that can come on auto pilot, the more space there is for deeper focus on more subtle precision.

I don't think a teacher is the best answer in that case. Just my opinion, but the better you play the more difficult I believe it is to gain any great benefit from a teacher. Not that there isn't always something to be gained, it's just that the more you know, the less you will gain.

For example, my game is so inconsistent that while I know full well what the proper sequence is in a given rack, I will shy away from it if it starts with a shot out of my comfort zone. And, when I'm not really in gear, there are an awful lot of shots outside that zone for me!

So what improving means to one person, it may not mean to another. This game requires hours on the table of devoted practice to allow more things to happen on autopilot without concern so we can free up some of that finite thinking space. It's pretty tough to teach that stuff.

Maybe even a video clip of your play posted on the forum will provide you with enough feedback to work on specific issues and it wouldn't cost a penny.

Sorry if I sound like I'm trying to take a student from a teacher, that's not my intention, but that's how I truly feel.

 

[Dan White]

If you are a beginner, and more often then not do not get through a full rack and onto a break shot, then anyone of the suggestions for a teacher would be useful, if you play about my speed, which I think is about average for a 14.1 player. Nothing great, but can pretty much run multiple racks when playing well, then I think at that stage it is more about the mental game and concentration and focus.

I have to disagree with this one. If you don't often get into the next rack, then all of the above teacher recommendations are overkill. Any master level BCA instructor would be a great choice for a player like this because at least you are assured to have someone who can communicate well. You don't need to be able to run 100 for teaching someone at that stage, IMO. There are sure to be some stroke problems and position issues, before issues of strategy and concentration come into play.

If you can run several racks once in awhile, I contend that you STILL have plenty of issues keeping you from running more balls, aside from concentration problems (I understand that this may be your specific bugaboo, but I don't think that holds for 99% of players at this stage).

Now if by mental game you mean shot selection, then I agree. Lou recently posted about his lesson with Dallas West (who apparently I'm fond of confusing with Buddy Hall for some reason). Interestingly, Lou mentioned shooting the "wrong" ball about 40% of the time compared to West's recommendations, and Lou is a very good player.

So I just really think someone who runs a few racks now and then still has lots of stroke/position play/shot selection issues that need to be ferreted out and fixed.

Regards.

I should add that taping yourself for others is always a great idea.

 

[3andstop]

I have to disagree with this one. If you don't often get into the next rack, then all of the above teacher recommendations are overkill. Any master level BCA instructor would be a great choice for a player like this because at least you are assured to have someone who can communicate well.

Dan, sure it can be considered overkill, but none the less all the suggested teachers would still be well capable of teaching them. I have to assume that a professional player who gets recommendations as a teacher here can also communicate well.

You may well be right that the thing holding back players at a level where they can routinely run two or more racks is relative to picking correct patterns.

I feel that when a pro sees a pattern situation, and tries to suggest it, he sees it through the eyes of someone (his own) who has a stroke and skill set that will allow him to achieve a specific result based on his ability and he explains and teaches the patterns based on his perceptions of correctness.

That result may not be the same for his student based on their comfort level or perception of the shot's result. You can't assume that when a pro suggests a particular play that the student will then see it, and execute it the way the pro envisions it. I'll also bet if you put a dozen 100 ball runners in the game layout, they will all get through the racks differently.

Certainly any instruction from a pro will in some way benefit your game, I just think the primary reasons these guys run lots of balls is because they practice, practice, and then practice more. So much so that stance, stroke, alignment, and ball pocketing are completely run on autopilot.

No effort has to be consciously expended in those areas and therefore there is more brain matter left over for all the other things that count. I believe this is why they run balls, and I believe teaching patterns won't come close to substitute this degree of practice.

That along with unique abilities to shut out all concerns with life's issues, and focus for extended periods of time is more the formula to the problem than lessons IMO.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but I'm assuming most of us posting here get no more than 5 or 6 hours a week to play. It's awful tough to get everything running on autopilot playing that much IMO.

On the other hand, ( you're really gonna think I'm nuts) I also believe that we can actually get better merely by thinking we will, when we get a lesson from a pro. So from that perspective, it may be very beneficial anyway.

 

[tom mcgonagle]

I live in Billerica, Mass. I'm on my way to Vegas, as we speak.

___________________________________________

http://tommcgonaglerightoncue.com

 

[wigglybridge]

just to put my question back in perspective, and help everyone help me...

i pretty much Always expect to finish a rack starting from any reasonable place with a shot; if i don't clear 14, i am very surprised. i expect 16-20 per inning. i'm smart enough that i can spot opportunities to manufacture break balls at several stages of the rack, avoid making unnecessary clutter, make sure i leave good key balls, etc. maybe not so smart to see the best key to the key and how to get on that, but basically, not a total dumbass.

however, i very seldom get into rack 3, and it's not a mystery why: (1) more often than not, whitey goes off somewhere Very different than i intended, and that -- i think -- is due to stroke inconsistency. hence my statement that a stroke doctor is Part of the equation. (2) frequently i get towards the end of the rack and can see several valid patterns for getting to the end sequence -- stock patterns that i've seen used repeatedly by good players -- but can't decide which of them is the percentage one for Me, at My level of play. any of them would work for a pro, and for most of you, i'll bet. but i often choose one and then quickly lose position in such a way that i can't recover. which says to me that in addition to point (1) i'm Also making poor choices from the available patterns (or maybe even missing a pattern that i should see).

so i think i'm a Looooong way from the kind of mental game issues that some of you better players face, but that i could benefit from someone (a) whose Strongly preferred game is 14.1, and (b) who can see mechanical flaws i suspect are there, since i've never had a lesson of any kind.

i really won't do this at all unless i can do it with someone who has Both of those elements, because i'm pretty sure that both are equal contributors to my current plateau. the good news is that i'm pretty certain that several of the suggestions already made could help me greatly with those things.

 

[3andstop]

I'm curious as to how much table time you get a week?

 

[wigglybridge]

most weeks, 3 hours. 6 hours maybe half the time. very rarely, 10.

and my play rate is about 125 per hour.

 

[3andstop]

i think -- is due to stroke inconsistency. hence my statement that a stroke doctor is Part of the equation.

I'm sure I'm not very good at communicating what I'm trying to say, but during the execution of a stroke, while playing a game at a nice steady rhythm, and going through a rack nicely, you come to shoot your next shot.

Something, ever so microscopically, minutely, vaguely, enters your mind about the shot you are currently shooting, and I do mean microscopically, minutely, and vaguely so microscopic is this feeling that it is nearly impossible to discern. Certainly not enough to notice on a level that can make you hold up and stop to regroup. Only after the shot do you consciously realize that something felt different.

Then, while you may not miss the shot, you may end up sending the CB to the OB with just enough wrong speed, spin, or precision as to the portion of the pocket you are aiming to, that position is off for the next shot.

The degradation begins .... These are the things of a stroke that while on the outside seem like a better stroke would cure, are far more cerebral and not necessarily caused by the physical ability to stroke correctly.

This is what I mean by total autopilot. The part of the game the pros have honed so perfectly through total dedication and hour upon hour of practice, that the feeling I described happens far less and therefore runs go far longer.

 

[wigglybridge]

you Are good at communicating it, and thanks.

everything else i've been good at: golf, music, programming -- has all required putting in the hours. i think it's Malcolm Gladwell writes about geniuses at anything have all put in 10,000 hours at an early age. i've never been at that level, but i've certainly put in 1000 hours per year at some of the above, and i'm a Long way from that with straight pool.

especially having taken off 40 years from the game and then being newly back.

 

[Dan White]

I feel that when a pro sees a pattern situation, and tries to suggest it, he sees it through the eyes of someone (his own) who has a stroke and skill set that will allow him to achieve a specific result based on his ability and he explains and teaches the patterns based on his perceptions of correctness.

I took an afternoon lesson with a HOF player some years ago, and I recall one position play where he said, "Now this is what I'd shoot here, but you should shoot this instead..."

You make some good points, especially about being able to play on autopilot as regards to fundamentals.

 

[doitforthegame]

Saw a post earlier in this thread by Tom McGonagle. He is an excellent teacher. Back in the day he took my game from a typical bar room hacker to where I played in the Turning Stone event. If you are interested I can pm his phone. He lives in Billerica.

Bob

 

[zensteve]

Yes wigglybridge, you are correct. Malcolm Gladwell's book entitled Outliers. Great book along with his others..Blink and Tipping Point.

Well worth the read.