Just Hitting Some Balls....Feel Free To Critique

B

BasementDweller

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I started a thread a few days back about cue ball control being overrated. You can find it here if you're interested: http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=251310&highlight=ball+control+overrated

While, I really know that one must learn to control the cue ball to actually get anywhere at this game, my thread was more of a reflection of where I think I went wrong with my game. So, recently I have been really working on my potting skills; trying to make up for lost time.

Someone mentioned that I should post a clip of what I was talking about. Well, here it is. This is nothing spectacular I know. These shots are probably fairly routine for a lot of you but they really aren't for me. They probably should have been looooong ago.

This is just about 10 minutes of me shooting with the object near the center of the table. I’m shooting on a 9’ old AMF. I shimmed up the pockets but they are still big compared to some (around 4.5”).

Feel free to critique. I’ve already noticed one thing I’m doing wrong. :smile:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JopoWAw-VPk
 
first off i figured you'd be a fat guy with a beard. i was really surprised that you're a good looking thin guy. Good for you!

you look steady over the ball to me. might be better posting you playing a few racks instead of individual shots.
 
The only thing I could recommend (and you may already do this in an actual game) is to approach every shot from behind the shot line. That is, once you have selected your shot, stand in the shot line and step forward into your shooting stance. That way, you're consistently getting your body into the same position (or as close to as possible) and you don't have to wriggle around while you're down on the shot to get things feeling right.

Oh, and the HAMB (Hit A Million Balls) method works, too.
 
poolplayer2093 said:
first off i figured you'd be a fat guy with a beard. i was really surprised that you're a good looking thin guy. Good for you!

you look steady over the ball to me. might be better posting you playing a few racks instead of individual shots.
Click to expand...

LOL - You could take me and add all 3 of my brothers to me and I still wouldn't be a fat guy. I'm not even certain I could grow a "real" beard either.

I'll post some other videos at some point. It really helps my focus thinking I'm going to let the whole world see what I'm doing. It's pretty cool.
 
BWTadpole said:
The only thing I could recommend (and you may already do this in an actual game) is to approach every shot from behind the shot line. That is, once you have selected your shot, stand in the shot line and step forward into your shooting stance. That way, you're consistently getting your body into the same position (or as close to as possible) and you don't have to wriggle around while you're down on the shot to get things feeling right.

Oh, and the HAMB (Hit A Million Balls) method works, too.
Click to expand...

You should win something. That was the thing that I noticed when I watched the video. I think that is a really bad habit. I'm going to try and avoid doing that in the future. Sometimes I get going a little too fast and I end up staying down on the previous shot instead of getting all the way up and starting from the beginning.

Thanks for pointing that out.
 
BWTadpole said:
The only thing I could recommend (and you may already do this in an actual game) is to approach every shot from behind the shot line. That is, once you have selected your shot, stand in the shot line and step forward into your shooting stance. That way, you're consistently getting your body into the same position (or as close to as possible) and you don't have to wriggle around while you're down on the shot to get things feeling right.

Oh, and the HAMB (Hit A Million Balls) method works, too.
Click to expand...

This is what I was going to type.

Lee Brett calls it outside of the box and in the box shooting. You have to step outside of the box, see the shot, and step into the box.
 
You shoot fairly well from what I can see. In addition to what others have already said, you may want to tidy up your rhythm as well as your pre-shot routine. A particular, constant rhythm could give you even more consistent results. The same goes for your pre-shot routine. I sometimes have trouble keeping the same rhythm so it's something I have to work on as well.

Most of the time, we don't think about our rhythm but it is important to our consistency. When you're practicing, it's a good idea to practice just like you're going to compete.

Now show us how you move that cue ball around. ;)
 
Your pocketing is good. I would suggest recording yourself playing some 14.1 or equal offense to show how you move the cue ball and solve problems in addition to pocketing balls.
 
Chris:

I agree with JoeyA here. A common thread I'm seeing on your shots, is on those that you're missing, you get out of rhythm and just kind of "throw your arm [and cue] at the shot, expecting the ball to go in." It's the logical conclusion of the "no problem, I got this" flaw that we all have -- and that bites us all.

The "stepping into the shot" routine (as mentioned by Spidey Dave) can't be overstressed. It helps to "rigidify" (if that's a word?) your PSR on the shot line -- which you can only view when not in your stance. Just kind of "slinking into" your stance, "kinda/sorta" on the shot line, and then making aiming fixes while down there, actually leads to that "no problem, I got this" situation. One is not correctly lined up on the shot, and the throwing of the arm at the shot exacerbates the misalignment. (Not saying "you" are doing this, but that's just an observation I have from watching players that'd later become my students.)

I hope this is helpful,
-Sean
 
sfleinen said:
Chris:

I agree with JoeyA here. A common thread I'm seeing on your shots, is on those that you're missing, you get out of rhythm and just kind of "throw your arm [and cue] at the shot, expecting the ball to go in." It's the logical conclusion of the "no problem, I got this" flaw that we all have -- and that bites us all.

The "stepping into the shot" routine (as mentioned by Spidey Dave) can't be overstressed. It helps to "rigidify" (if that's a word?) your PSR on the shot line -- which you can only view when not in your stance. Just kind of "slinking into" your stance, "kinda/sorta" on the shot line, and then making aiming fixes while down there, actually leads to that "no problem, I got this" situation. One is not correctly lined up on the shot, and the throwing of the arm at the shot exacerbates the misalignment. (Not saying "you" are doing this, but that's just an observation I have from watching players that'd later become my students.)

I hope this is helpful,
-Sean
Click to expand...

Excellent!

This so called "stepping into the shot" is extremly important and helpful. If you re standing behind the *straight line* and stepping from there perfectly aligned into the shot, it will be an amazing help and will present you much more confidence.
I like to teach this as well- to stand behind the *ball* to step ready aligned intothe *baseline*.

keep shooting-and you re a good shotmaker :)

lg
Ingo
 
It doesn't look like you're working on anything. Your speed can't be judged because you are only whacking at balls from a set position which anyone can do. It'll be better if you do something like try to runout a rack of one pocket, then we can see your pocketing skills and cueball.
 
I understood your original thread about wanting to focus more on sinking shots and not so much on cue ball control. I would still recommend you give yourself at least SOME objective for the cue ball. Most all of your shots were addressed with draw/outside English. Doing this constantly will make this a default for these open table shots you're practicing, making potting those same shots with center ball or follow a lower percentage proposition for you. I'm also not a huge fan of using object balls as cue balls. For me, I need to maximize experience with my field of vision/sight picture/memory with a real cue ball in my field of view, vice some random color. Just an opinion...

I don't like standard drills, especially when I'm charged by the hour. Lately, I've spent most of my time breaking/running out racks of 8 ball (both suits) or 9 ball, then pulling all the balls out of the side pockets and head rail pockets, scattering them in a congestion in the middle of the table. Then I take ball in hand and run them all into the head rail pockets, basically doing the same thing you're doing in your video, but keeping congestion and at least a couple of shape options for me to use while I focus on these same types of shots. If I feel I'm using draw too much on this drill, I mix it up and force myself to use a couple of kill shots or follow in each iteration of this.

Then, all the balls are at the foot of the table for a re-rack and I start over.
 
poolplayer2093 said:
first off i figured you'd be a fat guy with a beard. i was really surprised that you're a good looking thin guy. Good for you!
Click to expand...

Hey, wait a minute ... what's wrong with fat guys with beards? I'll tell ya one thing ... I ain't got no stinkin beard. :D
 
SpiderWebComm said:
This is what I was going to type.

Lee Brett calls it outside of the box and in the box shooting. You have to step outside of the box, see the shot, and step into the box.
Click to expand...

In and out of the box. I like that. I will keep that in mind going forward. Thanks for pointing that out.
 
JoeyA said:
You shoot fairly well from what I can see. In addition to what others have already said, you may want to tidy up your rhythm as well as your pre-shot routine. A particular, constant rhythm could give you even more consistent results. The same goes for your pre-shot routine. I sometimes have trouble keeping the same rhythm so it's something I have to work on as well.

Most of the time, we don't think about our rhythm but it is important to our consistency. When you're practicing, it's a good idea to practice just like you're going to compete.

Now show us how you move that cue ball around. ;)
Click to expand...

sfleinen said:
Chris:

I agree with JoeyA here. A common thread I'm seeing on your shots, is on those that you're missing, you get out of rhythm and just kind of "throw your arm [and cue] at the shot, expecting the ball to go in." It's the logical conclusion of the "no problem, I got this" flaw that we all have -- and that bites us all.

The "stepping into the shot" routine (as mentioned by Spidey Dave) can't be overstressed. It helps to "rigidify" (if that's a word?) your PSR on the shot line -- which you can only view when not in your stance. Just kind of "slinking into" your stance, "kinda/sorta" on the shot line, and then making aiming fixes while down there, actually leads to that "no problem, I got this" situation. One is not correctly lined up on the shot, and the throwing of the arm at the shot exacerbates the misalignment. (Not saying "you" are doing this, but that's just an observation I have from watching players that'd later become my students.)

I hope this is helpful,
-Sean
Click to expand...

Ratta said:
Excellent!

This so called "stepping into the shot" is extremly important and helpful. If you re standing behind the *straight line* and stepping from there perfectly aligned into the shot, it will be an amazing help and will present you much more confidence.
I like to teach this as well- to stand behind the *ball* to step ready aligned intothe *baseline*.

keep shooting-and you re a good shotmaker :)

lg
Ingo
Click to expand...

Three guys that have opinions that I respect. I will take note of what you have all said. I will be making sure I'm properly stepping into the shot. I hadn't seen myself on tape in quite some time and it did jump right out at me that I wasn't properly stepping into the shot line. I know that makes a difference.

The rhythm thing is a constant struggle for me. I actually feel like I have made some progress in this department. I think hitting the record button on my camera threw everything off a bit :)
 
West Point 1987 said:
I understood your original thread about wanting to focus more on sinking shots and not so much on cue ball control. I would still recommend you give yourself at least SOME objective for the cue ball. Most all of your shots were addressed with draw/outside English. Doing this constantly will make this a default for these open table shots you're practicing, making potting those same shots with center ball or follow a lower percentage proposition for you. I'm also not a huge fan of using object balls as cue balls. For me, I need to maximize experience with my field of vision/sight picture/memory with a real cue ball in my field of view, vice some random color. Just an opinion...

I don't like standard drills, especially when I'm charged by the hour. Lately, I've spent most of my time breaking/running out racks of 8 ball (both suits) or 9 ball, then pulling all the balls out of the side pockets and head rail pockets, scattering them in a congestion in the middle of the table. Then I take ball in hand and run them all into the head rail pockets, basically doing the same thing you're doing in your video, but keeping congestion and at least a couple of shape options for me to use while I focus on these same types of shots. If I feel I'm using draw too much on this drill, I mix it up and force myself to use a couple of kill shots or follow in each iteration of this.

Then, all the balls are at the foot of the table for a re-rack and I start over.
Click to expand...

Good stuff. I will defend myself a bit though: I cut this video off after 10 minutes. I do usually switch over to shooting more with follow. I will agree with you that I tend to allow that outside english to creep into my game and a lot of times for no legitimate reason.

As far as the cue ball control thing: I have really stripped my game down to the bare bones. I'm just trying to build my confidence on all these different shots that I really haven't had much confidence in in the past. Hopefully, after a few more months of this I will begin to see some of these shots and know that I can at least cinch them in if need be. I will then go from there as far as trying to get the cue ball into a specific location.

I have been pairing these basic shot making sessions with playing 14.1 and I have seen quite a bit of improvement in my runs. It seems like my runs aren't ending nearly as often on a stupid easy miss. I'm now finding myself stuck to a cluster or left without a shot, or ruining my path to the break ball. I am going to begin working my way through those problems. But I will continue to practice firing balls in with reckless abandon.

As far as the shooting with the object balls - I love it! I had the non-stop retrieving of the cue ball. It just seems like a waste of time to me. I've been doing that for only about a year or so now and I actually laughed at myself for not having thought of that sooner. One of the problems I have though, is I get going too fast when I do it this way and as others have properly pointed out I don't step into the shot properly.

Thanks for watching the video. Maybe I'll post some others at some point.
 
Last edited:
In my opinion your grip is to tight. Your elbow is dropping and it appears that your cue tip is elevating on the follow through with some of your open bridge shots. Both can be a sign of a tight grip.
 
Not commenting on the shooting -

The table appears to be an old AMF Grand Prix. They were made during the late 60's.

It sounds like you still have the plastic ball returns - kind of a tube with a slit in it.

They very seldom jam and all that BUT they eat the balls. Over time, these will really tear up the surface of the balls because they are 'fighting' as they go down and are not rolling.

just like bein on sandpaper - something you need to be aware of and you will need to change out the balls a lot more often.

mark Griffin
 
Remember you asked for it ...

Hard to tell just from the one angle, BUT:

IMO, you stand too straight with your stick. You're back is bent instead of bending at the waist and keeping your back straight. You look like you bend both knees instead of keeping your back leg straight. And you're gripping the cue with a whole fist, which means you have to loosen the grip at the end of your stroke to follow through on the stroke or you are stopping your stroke prematurely because you can not bend your wrist.

If you have trouble with a certain type of shot all the time, it is because of what I mentioned above, and what was said about lining up the shot and steipping into it is also true.
 
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