Quiet Eye Theory

[Tennesseejoe]

I played pool many years before being exposed to the 'Quiet Eye Theory'. While my spending practice time on stroke improvement was worthwhile, I missed an important component of a 'pure stroke'. Stroke follows eye movement. And that component was keeping my eye on the specific target. With my aiming method that target is a specific spot on the object ball.

In missing shots, I found that my eye lost focus on the specific spot causing my stroke move off of the target. Something like an opponent sharking you by moving in front you on your last stroke. Your eye follows the opponent and then your stroke follows your eye movement.

My question is: Do you know exercises to strengthen 'the quiet eye' keeping on target?

 

[Bob Jewett]

... My question is: Do you know exercises to strengthen 'the quiet eye' keeping on target?

One is to make sure the object ball is as sharply in focus as possible.

You could try the Allison Fisher method. She is looking at the cue and cue ball at the "set" position, with the tip at the cue ball. She pulls the cue back and pauses. As she does this, her eyes move to the object ball. The pause is important so that she can focus on the object ball. (Quiet eye testing says the focus has to be more than a certain length of time.) She seems to have the discipline to do this every darn shot.

Here is a technical article that is about the quiet eye for pool players. It is a relatively easy read for such articles.

https://www.andrews.edu/~rbailey/Chapter%206/Motor%20Skills/6837246.pdf

 

[maha]

it like most things is an individual thing. it may help some or ruin some.

did lou butera who was a top player and shot as fast as anyone do a quiet eye. would he have done better or would it have ruined his game.

basically all sports and things as such, your natural instinct and natural stroke or way of accomplishing is usually the best way for you.
there is always room for improvement but radical changes only work for a time and under pressure a person reverts back to what is natural for them.

as sam snead said about your swing for the day,,,, "dance with the one who you brung to the dance"

 

[JPB2]

it like most things is an individual thing. it may help some or ruin some.

did lou butera who was a top player and shot as fast as anyone do a quiet eye. would he have done better or would it have ruined his game.

basically all sports and things as such, your natural instinct and natural stroke or way of accomplishing is usually the best way for you.
there is always room for improvement but radical changes only work for a time and under pressure a person reverts back to what is natural for them.

as sam snead said about your swing for the day,,,, "dance with the one who you brung to the dance"

My WAG is that he did. The quiet eye doesn’t have to be real long, I forget how long and didn’t read Bob’s link. As fast as he played I would think his focus was stable for the time necessary.

Pretty sure mine isn’t.

 

[nataddrho]

The good news is that once you learn this skill you won’t have to think about it and you can move on to the next problem.

Learning to keep your eyes focused will cause you to play very slowly. You should probably take a few sessions off from competition and practice by yourself. You want to practice having both the cue ball and object leave your field of vision while you continue to look at where the ball used to be.

It’ll give you a headache and will take a lot of mental energy for a few days. But your brain will learn and then it’ll become second nature. You’ll be glad you suffered for a very short while.

 

[dquarasr]

The study noted a relationship between higher skill level and longer quiet eye interval. But I don’t think we can conclude definitively whether quiet eye is coincidental or causal.

In other words, we still don’t know if higher skilled players employ longer quiet eye interval as a methodology to achieve higher performance, or whether longer quiet eye is a by-product of a skilled players routine.

Are higher skilled players thus because of quiet eye, or is quiet eye apparent because of higher skill?

That said, I have a feeling that a purposeful quiet eye can contribute to higher skill in most players.

 

[mikemosconi]

The Allison Fisher method of using the visible pause to lock eyes onto the OB contact point just prior to the forward stroke to the CB works best for me too.
You must find that OB contact point somewhere in your PSR and then the quiet eye is the idea of staying focused on that point completely during the last forward stroke to the CB.
It is being aware of this concept and then applying a method that works for you to incorporate it consistently in your final cue stroke. A 2006 book dedicated to this one single concept as being the most important part of the pool stroke! Rare to find this book.

 

[maha]

as long as you can naturally do it and keep from reverting to something else under pressure, key shot, or having issues, then if it works for you fine.

that is my point when changing things in your routine.

 

[Callaghan]

Here is the conclusion from Bob’s linked article. Cool read. Not surprised by the results. The researchers go on to suggest that more study is needed to see if a proper training program can be developed to help one enhance their quiet eye time. I know I’m typically at my best when I’m going slower and spending more eye time on the target/object ball.

 

[garczar]

This is good article. applies to pool as well. https://oconnorgolf.ca/the-quiet-eye-approach-to-putting/

 

[tim913]

The way I’ve been practicing for years

 

[straightline]

This is all fine if you have been able to groove your stroke towards infallible. Most of us do other manual skills - even 9 - 5 at the computer will creep into your physique. Be that as it may, I find CBL the most effective way to do pool.

 

[mikemosconi]

The duration of individual final focus will vary naturally by individual. The consistency of longer duration final focus from shot to shot will also vary by individual. In all sports those with natural high levels of final focus duration and consistency will have a beginning advantage.
Awareness of the value of final focus and the discipline to find and incorporate consistent final focus in your shot sequence will absolutely result in much more consistent ball pocketing

 

[fjk]

it like most things is an individual thing. it may help some or ruin some.

did lou butera who was a top player and shot as fast as anyone do a quiet eye. would he have done better or would it have ruined his game.

basically all sports and things as such, your natural instinct and natural stroke or way of accomplishing is usually the best way for you.
there is always room for improvement but radical changes only work for a time and under pressure a person reverts back to what is natural for them.

as sam snead said about your swing for the day,,,, "dance with the one who you brung to the dance"

I agree with you and would bet money most legends of pool from years past never heard of all of today's techniques for improving your pool game.

Having that been said, I also believe some people are blessed to be born with extraordinary hand eye coordination, eyesight, and mental toughness to focus for thousands of hours of practice. These rare individuals have a huge advantage over the rest of us. The concepts that are now being introduced with the help of science based research will undoubtedly help the rest of us close the gap on those born with freakish natural ability.

I'm too old to reinvent my game now nor do I have the time or energy. For me, I'm just enjoying the game regardless of my speed. Upwards comparisons may help motivation, but it can also ruin some of the relaxing enjoyment of playing.

 

[mikemosconi]

The speed of rhythm has little to do with duration of a quiet eye as the final shot focus ; even at maximum duration,
Is less than a second. So guys like Lou Butera certainly needed great final focus to pocket balls so consistently .
His speed of pool rhythm was faster than most, but he still had to have great final focus on each shot to be a World Champion.
Pool strokes also do not need to follow textbook visuals to be very effective. Both Lee Van Corteza and Allen Hopkins rarely pulled the cue back far at all compared to most pros - but they always had enough smooth forward motion of the cue to impart desired spin or roll on the cue ball to have it end up in the next desired position on the table.

 

[Stew boo]

I pick an object about 7-10 feet away and see how long I can stare at it without my eyes reverting to something else. I'd recommend starting with 1 minute. The trick is to try and relax while you're doing it. And yes, you are allowed to blink, you just can't move your line of sight from that specific target.

 

[garczar]

I pick an object about 7-10 feet away and see how long I can stare at it without my eyes reverting to something else. I'd recommend starting with 1 minute. The trick is to try and relax while you're doing it. And yes, you are allowed to blink, you just can't move your line of sight from that specific target.

C'mon man be honest, we all know you're starin' at some tail walkin by.

 

[dquarasr]

I just did a few racks trying a *very* quiet eye, unwavering from the OB as I paused at CB address and again at backstroke. Wow, that's really effective!!!!! I think I'll incorporate it into my game regardless of whether I'm freewheelin' it and shooting quickly shot-to-shot, or if I'm a little more deliberate. My go-to is to be a little deliberate, but when I am not feeling it because I start to overthink when I get too deliberate, I switch over to "less aim, just shoot". But there's no reason not to incorporate a quiet eye even when shooting quickly, right?

 

[FranCrimi]

One is to make sure the object ball is as sharply in focus as possible.

You could try the Allison Fisher method. She is looking at the cue and cue ball at the "set" position, with the tip at the cue ball. She pulls the cue back and pauses. As she does this, her eyes move to the object ball. The pause is important so that she can focus on the object ball. (Quiet eye testing says the focus has to be more than a certain length of time.) She seems to have the discipline to do this every darn shot.

Here is a technical article that is about the quiet eye for pool players. It is a relatively easy read for such articles.

https://www.andrews.edu/~rbailey/Chapter%206/Motor%20Skills/6837246.pdf

Or you could spend more time in the set position and move your vision to the ob before you pull back your cue. Then you won't need to pause for longer than a normal transition at the end of your back swing. Athletic players generally don't like to take that longer pause.

 

[tim913]

It doesn’t take that long of a pause, it’s not a pause for pause’s sake, it’s just to acquire your target, CP, before you pull the trigger. Like Fran said you can move your focus to the OB before your pause, I do.