Aiming Wing Shots for Maximum Consistency

CJ Wiley

CJ Wiley

ESPN WORLD OPEN CHAMPION
Gold Member
Silver Member
Most players have seen someone like Earl Strickland or myself doing "Wing Shots" - this is when we roll the object ball down table and shoot the cue ball into it, pocketing the ball as it's moving.

Does anyone know how we aim Wing Shot? Players argue over how to make a stationary object ball, but what about aiming at ones that are moving, is there a special technique?

Earl and I both shoot these shots behind our backs consistently - Does anyone know how we aim these shots? What system do you think we use to make them 10 times in a row?

553700_502071366485571_1440093523_n.jpg
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUtd7YisQ-c



Let me see...................Hmmm.... you roll the ball down the table .The path it takes should pretty much be the same on every roll.Then we shoot it rite when it reaches certain part of the table to make it more consistently .Aiming at the edge of the ball.

:thumbup::thumbup:

Oh sh!t the secrets out.:p
 
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8pack said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUtd7YisQ-c



Let me see...................Hmmm.... you roll the ball down the table .The path it takes should pretty much be the same on every roll.Then we shoot it rite when it reaches certain part of the table to make it more consistently .Aiming at the edge of the ball.

:thumbup::thumbup:

Oh sh!t the secrets out.:p
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I don't think anyone can use the same path every time, but that's a good guess.
 
The "Nike" system? Don't think about how, just do it!

I have won lots of dough with regular size balls on a snooker table getting 3 to 1 on the money on this shot. This is probably my favorite prop bet. With the right setup they are always eager to jack the bet. They think they have the nuts and that is when you miraculously sink about four or five in a row. Quick and easy.
 
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Ha ha, Look at a young Gabe Owen spectating and he is surrounded by some Nike system advocates, maybe Tommy Adkisson.
 
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That would be my guess, do your best to hit a half-ball when the angle is 30 degrees. The half-ball hit is probably the angle with the biggest margin of error too.
 
What about overcutting it a little bit? By the time the CB reaches the OB (traveling approximately the same speed with each shot), OB will form a bigger angle to the pocket.

Additionally I noticed all strokes are fast and firm, as here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUtd7YisQ-c I noticed all balls are shot off the center ( TOI? ). With that kind of stroke, I think Earl is creating a bigger pocket, allowing himself bigger margin of error.
 
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rubell said:
What about undercutting it a little bit? By the time the CB reaches the OB (traveling approximately the same speed with each shot), OB will form a bigger angle to the pocket.

Additionally I noticed all strokes are fast and firm, as here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUtd7YisQ-c I noticed all balls are shot off the center ( TOI? ). With that kind of stroke, I think Earl is creating a bigger pocket, allowing himself bigger margin of error.
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Quite the set of eyes you have if you can see exactly where he is hitting the cb especially at the angle the camera is at.
 
Analyzing the "aiming systems" to much will cause some very negative things to happen

mohrt said:
That would be my guess, do your best to hit a half-ball when the angle is 30 degrees. The half-ball hit is probably the angle with the biggest margin of error too.
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You are on the right track.....the process is to just look straight at the object ball and let your subconscious create the angle. It's amazing what our minds will do if we just "get out of our own way".

Analyzing the "aiming systems" to much will cause some very negative things to happen mentally....I know better and still have to defend myself against too much thought.

Playing pool is easier than driving a car...much easier, but you do have to learn the proper fundamentals first, much like learning the break, accelerator, the shifting, the steering, parallel parking, etc. - then you should do it naturally and unconsciously as much as possible......aiming is about FEEL, for the pocket and the connection of the two balls, and how the object ball connects to the pocket.....this is what I teach. 'The Game is my Teacher'
 
CJ Wiley said:
You are on the right track.....the process is to just look straight at the object ball and let your subconscious create the angle. It's amazing what our minds will do if we just "get out of our own way".

Analyzing the "aiming systems" to much will cause some very negative things to happen mentally....I know better and still have to defend myself against too much thought.

Playing pool is easier than driving a car...much easier, but you do have to learn the proper fundamentals first, much like learning the break, accelerator, the shifting, the steering, parallel parking, etc. - then you should do it naturally and unconsciously as much as possible......aiming is about FEEL, for the pocket and the connection of the two balls, and how the object ball connects to the pocket.....this is what I teach. 'The Game is my Teacher'
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"Just do it"

It doesn't matter where you roll the ball on that shot or how far you let it roll within reason, whether it is a full ball hit or a thin cut makes no difference in how I aim it because I don't aim it.

It is all about trust and allowing your body to perform without interference from your conscious mind.

And you are spot on, aiming regular shots and consistantly pocketing shot after shot uses the same concept. Someone can aim and become somewhat proficient in pocketing balls but to achieve the level of ball pocketing required to compete is a process that relies heavily on the subconscious without any conscious interference during the shot.

The conscious mind is used to decide what to do, meaning what pocket you are going to pocket the on in, where you will play shape etc., after you have analyzed the shot it is time to perform and that is a subconscious act.
 
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(((Satori))) said:
The conscious mind is used to decide what to do, meaning what pocket you are going to pocket the on in, where you will play shape etc., after you have analyzed the shot it is time to perform and that is a subconscious act.
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Those are all things you should be doing before you get down on the shot. Aiming or lining up the shot also falls into that category. Now if you're getting down on the shot, and then moving around or adjusting, you're probably doing something wrong lol.
 
BeiberLvr said:
Those are all things you should be doing before you get down on the shot. Aiming or lining up the shot also falls into that category. Now if you're getting down on the shot, and then moving around or adjusting, you're probably doing something wrong lol.
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Correct, and technically I will consciously line up to the shot also but there is a lot of trust in what I do and the harder you try to get the aiming right the harder it is to do. Pocketing balls is easy when you allow it to naturally happen.
 
I've never cared about doing wing shots, they are nothing more than trick shots that ave very little to do with shot making in a pool game. I have never had to shoot at a moving ball ever in any game.

It nothing more than a way to show off something that has very little to do with shot making.
 
duckie said:
I've never cared about doing wing shots, they are nothing more than trick shots that ave very little to do with shot making in a pool game. I have never had to shoot at a moving ball ever in any game.

It nothing more than a way to show off something that has very little to do with shot making.
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Well....no. They're a lot more than trick shots--- they're trick shots that require real execution.

Wait a minute... can't you use your Cranfield arrow for wing shots???
 
Today when I was practicing I thought I'd try a wing shot. Holding both balls in my left hand, I rolled one and dropped the other and fired. Would you believe I nailed it on my first attempt? I was shocked. I tried again 3 or 4 more times and didn't even come close to the pocket. Chalk it up to pure luck.
 
.to this day it's one of the most challenging "trick shots" I have made first try

(((Satori))) said:
Correct, and technically I will consciously line up to the shot also but there is a lot of trust in what I do and the harder you try to get the aiming right the harder it is to do. Pocketing balls is easy when you allow it to naturally happen.
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Yes, there's very few things better than practicing Wing Shots to build up your subconscious ability to pocket balls. There's no time to think so you must TRUST your "higher pool power" to make the shots.

I like putting a rack on the table, then rolling a ball down table, putting the cue behind my back, jumping OVER the rack and make the moving ball. I shot this shot in an exhibition one time and made it on the FIRST TRY.....I immediately heard a crash and looked over to find a red faced college student on the floor sheepishly smiling....he had been leaning over on a stool to see the shot and it must have shocked him, causing him to lose his balance.

The whole room burst into laughter and the guy got up, unhurt and joined in.....to this day it's one of the most challenging "trick shots" I have ever made on the first try.

'The Game is the Teacher'
 
CJ Wiley said:
Yes, there's very few things better than practicing Wing Shots to build up your subconscious ability to pocket balls. There's no time to think so you must TRUST your "higher pool power" to make the shots.

I like putting a rack on the table, then rolling a ball down table, putting the cue behind my back, jumping OVER the rack and make the moving ball. I shot this shot in an exhibition one time and made it on the FIRST TRY.....I immediately heard a crash and looked over to find a red faced college student on the floor sheepishly smiling....he had been leaning over on a stool to see the shot and it must have shocked him, causing him to lose his balance.

The whole room burst into laughter and the guy got up, unhurt and joined in.....to this day it's one of the most challenging "trick shots" I have ever made on the first try.

'The Game is the Teacher'
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Back in my 20s I was out drinking with my best buddy Billy and we got in a fight over a girl. Billy ended up with the girl and I ended up getting supremely drunk and wrecking my car. The next day, Billy came by to discuss the matter of the girl, and the car, and we ended up shaking hands and drinking a bunch more and getting very wasted. I was still pissed at him, though, so I started challenging him at stuff. Arm wrestling (he won), beer chugging (I won), foot race (I think we both lost that one), and so on.

At one point I picked up a good size rock, drained my can of beer and bet him $20 he could toss it in the air and I could hit it with the rock. He jumped all over that, so I got set and he threw it as high as he could. As it was leaving his hand I could suddenly see the entire shot, and exactly where the rock and the beer can would meet in the air. Just before the can hit the highest part of its arc I let fly with my best shot and just blasted the thing right out of the sky, almost exactly like I had envisioned it in my mind. I hit it so well that it folded back over the rock and they fell to the ground together.

He just stared at me for several seconds while I hid my utter shock at what I had just done. Then I looked him square in the eye and asked, "Double or nothing?" He wanted no part of that action anymore and just paid me the twenty, and I never told him that, even sober, I probably would have missed 50 in a row after that. But that one shot I could see ahead of time as clear as can be, and I remember it to this day as an example of what the mind can direct the body to do, even if it's something you've never even tried before.

I have experienced this phenomenon numerous times in my life in many other areas, including at the table. It is always a fleeting thing for me, but maybe some are better than others at this sort of thing. I feel that if we could only have complete control of this part of our minds, we might all be champions. I also feel that this is part of the reason why some of us (myself included) can shoot a lot better after we've been drinking. Our inhibitions are gone and we really start to believe in ourselves and our abilities. We just "do it", and we find out that it actually works.
 
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