Hi guys,
After a superb weekend in NYC, I decided to write a short review for all of you that might consider a similar approach.
Lessons – Why?
First of all, let’s talk about the motivation to take lessons. Well - for me, it was the first time ever. I mean, we all play every now and then with better guys. And we ask them one thing or another. And if we are lucky, we also get an answer. Also, just watching good people play, even on video, helped me to play a bit better. But hey – pay money for lessons? Why? Why would a 52-year old fart now start to take a lesson?
Well, you see – The plan was to get a new cue and spend the weekend in NYC before going on with a business trip. So instead of spending a lot of money for shopping, I thought to give it a trial, not knowing at all what was going to come.
Selection
The next thing is what you already know – putting my question up at AZ. There came quite a few responses, by open answers and even more by PM. It soon boiled down to 3 preferences: Earl Strickland, Hunter Lombardo and Fran Crimi. As Hunter and Earl were out on a tournament (and Earl is just not my cup of tea), the appointment with Fran was fixed at Amsterdam’s for Saturday. Up to that time, I never heard of Fran Crimi (shame on me), so I did not know anything about that teacher.
First impressions
After finding a parking spot (for a person that lives in a village with 638 inhabitants, that’s one major task!), the first meeting with Fran was in front of Amsterdam’s. I was quite surprised – Fran was a lady!!! I mean, there’s nothing wrong with that, it just never crossed my mind that there are female pool teachers out there. And Fran is a certified Master Billiard Instructor.
Amsterdam’s itself is a very nice and very big billiard hall. Good tables, plenty of space and good service. And it was packed at Saturday before noon! … OK, they had a league game going on but anyway – good and busy place. They even had cue repair man available to touch up my tip that had slightly mushroomed.
Shooting!
We got a nice table at the back
The start was as expected: Shooting balls so Fran could see where I was. Quickly came then the first corrections on my stroke and stance: Bend lower, look differently at the balls. Then the stroke itself: longer aiming, less hasty backstroke, follow through. Then staying down longer after the shot …
After the pure mechanics came a bit tactics: Thinking the positions through, looking from a different angle …
From beginning onwards, it became clear that this was not just a good player explaining a few details; it was a professional instructor providing first class studies. With video-analysis (provided just with a small camera but very effective), feedback during play and demonstration a good and always patient and friendly procedure.
We covered much more, but hey – you must hear it from a good trainer, not just read it…
We then trained a bit on the break and jump shots. For me, that never got a ball intentionally in the air, this was a real big step forward. After 15min of training, the cue ball was flying and first hidden target balls were pocketed – just great!
Bonus
We were well under way, as another player walked by and told us that Thorsten Hohmann just entered the location. Fran, who seemed to know everybody in the place, quickly disappeared and reappeared together with the champ himself. So suddenly, a top ten billiard player that I knew just from videos and television, stood there at our table and was chatting with us casually. He was there for some training. He had a look at my new cue and showed us what to check out for in a cue. Great person, that guy!!!
Thorsten went to look for a table and Fran and me concluded by playing a few racks of nineball.
After the lessons, I went to the “Strip House”, that was recommended by Thorsten, and had one of the best steaks that I ever had in America.
Summary:
A very well spent day. I would do it again without thinking. I have the feeling that I know now, where to look to improve my game. And it was a lot of fun, too.
Thanks to all of you for providing recommendations and to all the people at Amsterdam’s.
Gerhard
