I can’t speak for others, but to me, I utilize visualization quite differently than in the ideas proposed in Dr. Dave’s videos here. Clearly he is a large asset to the pool and billiards community in his research of all things cue sports and his information on all subjects is extraordinarily valuable and useful to those that love this sport.
While I feel the info posted here is useful to new players and those just starting their journey in this beautiful sport. I’m of the belief that after you reach a certain amount of table time, amount of balls hit, etc. That once this point is reached, any additional discussion regarding aiming is just like spinning your wheels in the mud.
In my years of lurking here I witnessed the flame wars that occurred over this subject, finally resulting in an actual sub forum specifically dedicated to those that continue to chase the “aiming point unicorn”.
I think I heard it put best by Jeremy Jones, “when seasoned players miss a ball, you never hear them say I really aimed that badly”. His reasoning being that once a certain level of proficiency is reached, everyone knows how to aim correctly. Yet even with this knowledge of the correct aiming point, many go years, sometimes their entire lives, never really reaching the level of proficiency of play that they aspire to. That a good portion of these people think it’s about “their aim” and chase system after system looking for the “aiming unicorn” that will magically transform their game. There are others that chase every “new and improved” cue, shaft, tip, chalk, etc. in the belief that their plateaued game is rooted in their equipment. The real truth being that it is NOT their aim or equipment that is at the root of the stagnation of their progress.
It’s often numerous things, flaws in mechanics, some ever so subtle that they are nearly undetectable without consultation with a qualified instructor that utilizes video in their diagnostic and teaching process. Sometimes even with that and true problems being identified, some still struggle to correct these flaws or keep them corrected consistently.
Visualization is extraordinarily important and necessary to achieve elite level of play and consistency. I was fortunate that over 30 years ago, I made the acquaintance of someone that gave me a unique take on visualization. I was a shortstop before I met him, in less than a year I’d left that plateau behind and reached a far better level of play.
He expressed that it was about finding a way to “get out of my own way”, to achieve flow state on demand. He said this could all be achieved through a particular manner of visualizing. He said our brains are really no different than a computer. That anything that we do, especially things we spend a LOT of time doing, form “files” in our unconscious mind, very detailed files. What speed, spin, cue tip position, type of stroke etc. produces in the myriad of combinations of all the above. What shots “feel like”, the different “sounds” of what the cue striking the ball is in different circumstances. That after reaching a certain level of play, that we form “files” of each of these shots that are stored in our unconscious. That it’s a matter of understanding “how to retrieve these files”, because if we can do that consistently, no requisite thought is necessary for us to play at our peak performance level. That the way to be able to do this IS visualization. Not of aiming point, cue tip position on the cue ball, etc. That it is developing a consistent routine where we “see” the shot we desire to execute, every detail of it. From the moment we drop on the ball, the cue striking the cueball, the cue ball striking the object ball, the resultant path of the object ball not only being pocketed, but in the precise area of the pocket that results in the cueball’s divergent path off the object ball, seeing the cue ball travel that entire path until it comes to a halt precisely where we want it to be on the correct side of the next object ball to provide the angle to get on the next object ball after that. To see it in it’s entirety, to feel it in your hands. Once you have “seen it, felt it” in its entirety, to lastly drop on the ball and TRUST it, fully committed to the shot snd get out of your own way and let your unconscious do what it does, execute it without conscious thought. Powerful stuff
