Ronnie O'Sullivan in town
- Thread starter JoeyA
- Start date
I don't know what kind of instructor he is, but Ronnie worked very hard on his mechanics so he would probably have a lot to offer in that regard. Anything else would probably be limited to snooker. But ya never know.
And that's what I would be seeking. :smile:
Anytime, a world champion billiard enthusiast is in town I want to learn as much from them and about them as I can. Guess it was just a guy with a British accent blowing smoke at one of our local poker players...
JoeyA
Methinks Ronnie is a great instructor
Ronnie actually seems to have a nice instructional style; very complimentary to the student, offers his views as "suggestions" (as well as "why" he feels that way), and is demonstrative with the same.
Here's some video installations of "Ronnie's Cue School" for the young 'uns, but the info is valuable regardless:
Installation #1: The Grip:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=AqgmMfP90Ys
Installation #2: The Stance:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cUe7NAWW6P8
Installation #3: The Bridge:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ghZXkpnL7zY
Installation #4: Cue Action:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pYB2id9qyL8
Installation #5: Sighting:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BqOsrJJcpEM
I agree with JoeyA; lessons with Ronnie look like they'd be great -- informative, friendly, certainly not boring (he's certainly not monotone) and it appears he would just make you feel good taking lessons from him.
-Sean
Ronnie actually seems to have a nice instructional style; very complimentary to the student, offers his views as "suggestions" (as well as "why" he feels that way), and is demonstrative with the same.
Here's some video installations of "Ronnie's Cue School" for the young 'uns, but the info is valuable regardless:
Installation #1: The Grip:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=AqgmMfP90Ys
Installation #2: The Stance:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cUe7NAWW6P8
Installation #3: The Bridge:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ghZXkpnL7zY
Installation #4: Cue Action:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pYB2id9qyL8
Installation #5: Sighting:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BqOsrJJcpEM
I agree with JoeyA; lessons with Ronnie look like they'd be great -- informative, friendly, certainly not boring (he's certainly not monotone) and it appears he would just make you feel good taking lessons from him.
-Sean
Thanks for posting the links, Sean. I didn't learn much new but I enjoyed listening to the way he talked to the young students he was teaching.
I didn't quite understand what he was saying on Coaching 4; at :46 seconds, he said something like, "when you're hitting the ball, you hit the elbow"? I didn't quite understand that.
Anyone who speaks the Queens language, could you help out a mate?
JoeyA
Joey:
Yep, let's be honest -- those videos were covering really basic stuff. I think Ronnie was targeting the entry-level players with those videos (even the "students" in that video had perfect form and looked like they'd been playing a while). Rather, I posted those videos to give examples of Ronnie's teaching style. He seems to be very informal, very at ease, comfortable, and people-oriented. I guess that comes with the territory when one is in front of the cameras so much when playing, as well as in interviews!
As for what Ronnie's saying at the point in installation #4, he's saying "hit with the elbow." Admittedly, the "with" was very abbreviated, like "hit wi-the elbow." Even though Ronnie himself is an elbow-dropper, methinks he was stressing that to the students (and his targeted young audience) because many small-stature students might be tempted to use their shoulder, even sidearm-style. He's stressing to get the elbow directly over the cue, and swing from the elbow, not the shoulder.
What I like about that particular point in the video you mentioned, is Ronnie giving Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis such kind accolades as "the two greatest players that ever played the game" when giving examples of players with the elbow form he's describing. Classy.
-Sean
Not living in the UK I'm just guessing that he means that the elbow and cue ball have to be operating in the same plane - not turning the elbow into the body or away from it. Same stuff that Scott Lee and Randy G will tell you. So you don't need to spend all that money to go across the pond for a Ronnie lesson :grin:
So you're saying that I can just go to Scott or Randy and they can teach me the same thing that Ronnie would teach?
Hmmmm, I might even be able to get Scott or Randy to buy me lunch to boot since we are on the same side of the pond.
Then I might have enough money left over for Donny Mills...:idea::banghead:
JoeyA
I wrote a blog post in early 2009 about snooker. The full article is http://www.billiardcoach.com/home/2009/04/21/how-to-improve-your-pool-game-in-30-minutes
In it, I mentioned Ronnie O'Sullivan. You could spend hours watching amazing clips of his snooker highlights.
I woke up at 6 am (no jokes please) to watch his finals match in the Shanghai Masters Snooker tournament. In frame (game) eleven, O'Sullivan plays Liang and he does another amazing thing. He makes a break (run) of 109 points in 33 shots without a miss.
What I find amazing is the run consists of 19 right handed shots and 14 left handed shots. He's naturally right handed, but plays better than most players with his left hand. He shoots his first left handed shot on the blue which brings his break to 14 points. As the run progresses, he mixes in his left hand more and more often. He is so natural and smooth, you might not notice it if you don't pay attention. Truly amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s39faklrowg
In it, I mentioned Ronnie O'Sullivan. You could spend hours watching amazing clips of his snooker highlights.
I woke up at 6 am (no jokes please) to watch his finals match in the Shanghai Masters Snooker tournament. In frame (game) eleven, O'Sullivan plays Liang and he does another amazing thing. He makes a break (run) of 109 points in 33 shots without a miss.
What I find amazing is the run consists of 19 right handed shots and 14 left handed shots. He's naturally right handed, but plays better than most players with his left hand. He shoots his first left handed shot on the blue which brings his break to 14 points. As the run progresses, he mixes in his left hand more and more often. He is so natural and smooth, you might not notice it if you don't pay attention. Truly amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s39faklrowg
blah blah
Shoebat
Wow. You're right- he's so smooth that if we weren't looking for it, we might not even notice he's switching hands. He shot righthanded all the way through the shot on the red at 1:48, and then for no obvious reason, shoots lefthanded next on the blue at 2:12. He has no obvious reason to switch hands there- there's no stretching or awkwardness in staying right handed, so why does he switch? In fact, after he mkes a right handed red, he has exactly the same blue side pocket shot at 2:42, and this time he hits that one right handed.
Interesting. Thanks for pointing that out!
You're absolutely right. That guy switches hands more easily than any pool player I have ever seen. Thanks for the link.
JoeyA
Joey, Mike, blah blah:
I've been a fan of Ronnie for a long, long time (he and Efren are listed in my AZB profile as being my favorite cueists).
Here's two of my favorite Ronnie videos:
Left-handed century (improperly labled, btw, Ronnie switches left-right like he's in a boot camp marching formation):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=IrfLch52g4Y
Ronnie O'Sullivan INCREDIBLE clearance (the Taiwanese commentator's reaction after every shot really cracks me up -- "Wa ha how!"
):http://youtube.com/watch?v=eEZxTyByg8k
"I'm like Mike" -- I wake up at crazy hours of the morning to watch this man in action!
-Sean
He's got one of the best strokes I've ever seen. He generates an incredible amount of speed with so little effort.
Here's a premiere league match against Marco Fu at the beginning of the season. The first frame is slow but it gets better afterwards. He makes a century from a position where many players (including top amateurs and many professionals) would be playing safe, or only for a few points to be followed with a safe.
I've linked the playlist
http://www.youtube.com/user/19cowboy#g/c/F4D1A443E4E285B8
Here's a premiere league match against Marco Fu at the beginning of the season. The first frame is slow but it gets better afterwards. He makes a century from a position where many players (including top amateurs and many professionals) would be playing safe, or only for a few points to be followed with a safe.
I've linked the playlist
http://www.youtube.com/user/19cowboy#g/c/F4D1A443E4E285B8