pro players are they the best instructors?

L

lastdimetaker

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I buy a lot of instructional material and find that imo the most useful material does not come from the pro player. I am not saying that a dvd or book from a pro is not good educational material. I am saying that do not underestimate a professional instructor. Whats your thoughts.

You can not teach pool you can only learn it.. a wise humble man told me that ..
 
my 2 cents
very simply put
to play well you need a fundamentally sound stroke to be consistent
and you need knowledge of shot making /patterns/strategy/kicks/banking etc
an instructor is probably strongest at teaching fundamentals
and a pro is probably strongest at teaching the rest
not saying either one cant teach both
 
"able to do" is not the same as "able to teach someone else to do"

There's a reason that teachers go to school to learn how to teach.
 
its not very different than other sports. Some professional players are able to be coaches, teachers, etc and some aren't. just being able to play at a high level doesn't mean you can pass along to others in an understandable way how you do it.
 
Knowing, doing and teaching are 3 completely separate things. Some pros have all 3, several do not.

Learning to teach in multiple ways so to best reach your student is a very difficult thing. Not everyone processes information the same way. I wish I was better at teaching, unfortunately I only know a few ways to get my point across. Good teachers can always find a way to help you "get it". And they are rare.
 
I know people who play great but don't know how to teach.


I also know people that don't play good but they know how to teach.


You don't need to be a great player to know how to teach.



I'm not even sure what a pro pool player is. :)
Most of the pool players I see look all the same.:eek:
 
I have to say that being able to do something does not translate into being able to teach it. Some of the brightest minds in any profession are not able to pass that knowledge on to someone else. In many cases it's because they don't consciously know the mechanics of why they do something, it's feel and that's very hard to teach.

Even in university, the smartest researchers are usually poor teachers. They can know their field inside and out but not have the ability to pass the knowledge on.
 
That "wise and humble man," was correct 'The Game is the Teacher'

lastdimetaker said:
I buy a lot of instructional material and find that imo the most useful material does not come from the pro player. I am not saying that a dvd or book from a pro is not good educational material. I am saying that do not underestimate a professional instructor. Whats your thoughts.

You can not teach pool you can only learn it.. a wise humble man told me that ..
Click to expand...

That "wise and humble man," was correct 'The Game is the Teacher'

CLICK PIC
 
I think the more advanced you are... the more advanced your instructor needs to be if you want to go any further.

An instructor can't teach you what he doesn't know, doesn't matter how good he is at teaching. And there may be some a few things that a pro knows that the instructor doesn't. They might be concrete specific things like a kicking system... or just fuzzy touchy-feely things like a visualization trick or unorthodox use of spin to help make certain difficult shots easier.

Being one doesn't mean you won't be the other. A few instructors play at pro speed (on this forum, probably Geno) and some pros (Joe Tucker, Max Eberle) have a very good reputation for their teaching ability.
 
J-Flo said:
ok now lets get back to the original topic. Yes or No and why.
Click to expand...

Playing Pro = Someone who at some time put in 10 hours a day to play and drill for years

Pro Teacher = Someone with a very high commitment of time to teach pool and think about how to teach pool better and better

Sometimes the two may intersect. Whenever signing up for a pool lesson, ask the teacher who he is taught at what levels of the game and how his students have improved.
 
We've kept it "covered" for many years, and it's a sense of relief {for us} to reveal

BilliardsAbout said:
Playing Pro = Someone who at some time put in 10 hours a day to play and drill for years

Pro Teacher = Someone with a very high commitment of time to teach pool and think about how to teach pool better and better

Sometimes the two may intersect. Whenever signing up for a pool lesson, ask the teacher who he is taught at what levels of the game and how his students have improved.
Click to expand...

You have a very good point my friend and I agree this knowledge is far overdue for the pool community. We've kept it "covered" for many years, and it's a sense of relief {for us} to reveal after all of these years. 'The Game Should Always Be the Teacher'

click pic
 
Pro teachers

If you are talking about a beginner or itermediate player thats one thing.
If your talking about a pretty good player thats another. If the instructor
can't or never has run a hundred balls or strung racks together playing
8 and 9 ball, or played 1 pocket at a high level, what is he going to teach
a player that can or has. Shot selection, knowing where the balls will go
when you break a cluster and so on. If the instructor knows all this then
they should be able to do it. Knowing the correct way to play the rack
is what the pro's do so well. If you are a good player that wants to learn
and become a great which would you choose.
jack
 
jackpot said:
If you are talking about a beginner or itermediate player thats one thing.
If your talking about a pretty good player thats another. If the instructor
can't or never has run a hundred balls or strung racks together playing
8 and 9 ball, or played 1 pocket at a high level, what is he going to teach
a player that can or has. Shot selection, knowing where the balls will go
when you break a cluster and so on. If the instructor knows all this then
they should be able to do it. Knowing the correct way to play the rack
is what the pro's do so well. If you are a good player that wants to learn
and become a great which would you choose.
jack
Click to expand...

how many people do you know that can run 100 balls and still would pay money for an instructor?
 
EasyEJL said:
how many people do you know that can run 100 balls and still would pay money for an instructor?
Click to expand...
Tiger woods is best golfer in the world and he still has 2 coaches, Allison fisher takes lessons not sure if she can run 100 balls or not but i think it says alot about her.
 
If you knew the same stuff I know you would play like me, plane and simple.

jackpot said:
If you are talking about a beginner or itermediate player thats one thing.
If your talking about a pretty good player thats another. If the instructor
can't or never has run a hundred balls or strung racks together playing
8 and 9 ball, or played 1 pocket at a high level, what is he going to teach
a player that can or has. Shot selection, knowing where the balls will go
when you break a cluster and so on. If the instructor knows all this then
they should be able to do it. Knowing the correct way to play the rack
is what the pro's do so well. If you are a good player that wants to learn
and become a great which would you choose.
jack
Click to expand...

well said....pool's an easier game than golf and there's no physical requirements to run 100s or racks playing rotation. If you knew the same stuff I know you could play like me, plane and simple. 'The Game is the Teacher'
 
CJ Wiley said:
well said....pool's an easier game than golf and there's no physical requirements to run 100s or racks playing rotation. If you knew the same stuff I know you could play like me, plane and simple. 'The Game is the Teacher'
Click to expand...

While I agree 100% that it's not even close comparing the pysical requirements between golf vs pool....I would have to 100% disagree with your second statement:

"If you knew the same stuff I know you could play like me, plane and simple"

Knowing things and being able to do them on the table are two totally different things. Someone could be the smartest person in the world, and you could teach them everything you know to which they could spout back/recite/explain etc to perfection...BUT they still can't do it on the table.
 
jackpot...You apparently missed the thread by Stevie Moore (a top pro player), who mentioned SPECIFICALLY that relearning better fundamentals was what took him to where he is now...and that if he had learned these things 20 years ago, it would have a made a huge difference in the time it took him to progress. He knew all the shots...he knew all the strategy...what he didn't know was how inconsistent his stroke was. Once he found that out (from lessons with Stan), and learned how to correct his errors, his game immediately went to a higher level.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

jackpot said:
If you are talking about a beginner or itermediate player thats one thing.
If your talking about a pretty good player thats another. If the instructor
can't or never has run a hundred balls or strung racks together playing
8 and 9 ball, or played 1 pocket at a high level, what is he going to teach
a player that can or has. Shot selection, knowing where the balls will go
when you break a cluster and so on. If the instructor knows all this then
they should be able to do it. Knowing the correct way to play the rack
is what the pro's do so well. If you are a good player that wants to learn
and become a great which would you choose.
jack
Click to expand...
 
Maybe I'll run a contest and give someone this opportunity for FREE.

Spimp13 said:
While I agree 100% that it's not even close comparing the pysical requirements between golf vs pool....I would have to 100% disagree with your second statement:

"If you knew the same stuff I know you could play like me, plane and simple"

Knowing things and being able to do them on the table are two totally different things. Someone could be the smartest person in the world, and you could teach them everything you know to which they could spout back/recite/explain etc to perfection...BUT they still can't do it on the table.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree, however, I said "if" you knew the same stuff.....the teaching is the challenging part. I would be willing to do an experiment, I'll take a volunteer and raise their game up 50% in 3 weeks.

Maybe I'll run a contest and give someone this opportunity for FREE. hmmm, who should I select and how should I select them?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top