Do Most "B" and up Players Need Drills?

Johnnyt

Johnnyt

Burn all jump cues
Silver Member
I knew/know many a top player over the years and none of them that I can remember did drills. The only drill a good player needs IMO are all the hardest shots FOR HIM. Another words they practice the shots they miss more than they should. They don't do drills that someone else made up because they were missing those too much...maybe you don't have a problem with THOSE shots.

Keep track of what you're missing playing in tournaments or when in action and practice those shots only. The rest of your pool time should be spent playing against someone or if at home run racks of the game you play most.

Then again, if you want to practice with time consuming, boring drills...have at it. Johnnyt
 
Agree that custom drills are good. The nice things with drills is that they give you an objective measure of performance. I know a lot of players that only measure their performance by w/l. In the long run that is a good indicator, sure, but not so much short term. I sometimes see people brag about how well they are playing, when it was obvious that they were lucky in short races...

If you find drills too boring, then you should not do them. Simply because merely going through the motions of doing a drill won't teach you anything. You got to try your hardest, and think about what you are doing wrong/right, otherwise you get no learning benefits, and might as well do something else.
 
Jack Hynes used to do this drill a lot where he would spot the balls in specific spots where some of the diamonds crossed and also in each jaw of the pockets and he would run them without hitting a rail or another ball, then respot and do it again. He said the most he did at that time was 300 and something in a row. He was better than a B player.
 
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I believe Allison Fisher was real big on drills when rising to the top of the snooker world and once she became a top player would visit drills when she was out of stroke
I would say that she's not alone ,, I would suspect most of the Euro's and Asians do as well and that could be why the so fundamentally sound


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The answer to your question, Johnny, is no they do not.
Drills are not required in order to become a good pool player, or even a great player, for that matter. For the record, I do not consider playing the ghost, or shooting cosmos a drill. :)
 
All of the top euro players do drill. Maybe that's why we can't keep up with them?
 
I am sad to say that I have not practiced Drills since 2007, when I won a good tournament.

Thanks to the OP, I will start doing my Drills, day in & day out.

That kind of practice & break shot practice will get me squared away.
 
One thing folks should know about me is that I am 72 years old. I am right handed. My right arm has some severe limitations in my stroke... 30% of my stroke is gone, because of an injury,in my younger years

However, as I still have some competitiveness about me, I think I shall begin my drills again & my break shot practice...
 
ceebee said:
One thing folks should know about me is that I am 72 years old. I am right handed. My right arm has some severe limitations in my stroke... 30% of my stroke is gone, because of an injury,in my younger years

However, as I still have some competitiveness about me, I think I shall begin my drills again & my break shot practice...
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Careful of too much breakshot practice at 72. That's what got my shoulder and back when I was as young as you. :) Johnnyt
 
cleary said:
All of the top euro players do drill. Maybe that's why we can't keep up with them?
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End Thread.

But before I go let me say. Pool is so advanced and so technical that at no level can any player "that would include you B" say that they have mastered it, If one spends any time looking at pro pool that should become obvious. They miss, but balls, under draw/over draw, under bank/over bank and so forth, all things that could of used a little more time on the "practice" side of things. Facts are facts, every single player has done drills at some point of X amount of time and since there are learning curves some stuck with it and others didn't but both guys met up playing against each other in the finals.

Long live drills.
 
7forlife said:
End Thread.

But before I go let me say. Pool is so advanced and so technical that at no level can any player "that would include you B" say that they have mastered it, If one spends any time looking at pro pool that should become obvious. They miss, but balls, under draw/over draw, under bank/over bank and so forth, all things that could of used a little more time on the "practice" side of things. Facts are facts, every single player has done drills at some point of X amount of time and since there are learning curves some stuck with it and others didn't but both guys met up playing against each other in the finals.

Long live drills.
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RE Start Thread. :p Johnnyt
 
Tramp Steamer said:
The answer to your question, Johnny, is no they do not.
Drills are not required in order to become a good pool player, or even a great player, for that matter. For the record, I do not consider playing the ghost, or shooting cosmos a drill. :)
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This statement is still correct.
 
Different people master routines in different ways. Some learn best with repetitive drills, while others do best with random circumstances.

However, this doesn't mean that everyone is doing it in the way that is best for them. The only solution is to change up your practice routine (repetitive vs. random) and experience what works for you. Don't be surprised if you get good (but different) results from each.
 
I watched a match last night between SVB & Ko. At one point, Shane had three solids lined up below the rack area. You might say he did a mini drill during a match.

Made me think about setting some up.
 
Tramp Steamer said:
The answer to your question, Johnny, is no they do not...Drills are not required in order to become a good pool player, or even a great player, for that matter. :)
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Agree 100% TS !..I know way more top player's, who never wasted their time on drills, than the few who did !..Drills are much like (ugh) practicing !..So what if you can fire them in for funsies ? ..It only really matters, if you are able to perform when the cash is on the line ! ;)...The key is,
to stay in action !..You'll learn much more about improving your play, (even if you make a bad game) ..than you will in two years of doing drills ! :sorry:
 
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SJDinPHX said:
Agree 100% TS !..I know way more top player's, who never wasted their time on drills, than the few who did !..Drills are much like (ugh) practicing !..So what if you can fire them in for funsies ? ..It only really matters, if you are able to perform when the cash is on the line ! ;)...The key is,
to stay in action !..You'll learn much more about improving your play, (even if you make a bad game) ..than you will in two years of doing drills ! :sorry:
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And this is why we only have one player in the entire country capable of competing on the international stage.
 
BeiberLvr said:
And this is why we only have one player in the entire country capable of competing on the international stage.
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We don't have more players going overseas because none have a 100% sponsorship like other countries players do. We have a dozen up and comers and a few read now. All they need is backing. Johnnyt
 
Wow, another trolling thread from the miserable. Folks, let this be a lesson that just because you're old, doesn't mean you're grown.
 
BeiberLvr said:
And this is why we only have one player in the entire country capable of competing on the international stage.
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This (not doing drills) is not the reason for our presumed lack of competitiveness with the players overseas. Hell, if drills worked I'd be doing them.
The real world of pool, Beiber, and Cleary, and all the rest of you, comes from the pool halls across America where our best players began their careers as youngsters. Not from the APA league at your nearest sports bar.
When you see a very good player practice you won't see him doing mindless drills. You'll see him shooting shots that may have given him problems in an earlier game, or he might simply be shooting cuts just to stay loose until his guy comes through the front door. If I walk into my pool room and see some kid over in the corner practicing a drill, I can almost bet that he would have a tough time beating the fellow who cleans out the crappers in the mornings.
A drill is something Scoot Lee is going to have some twenty-five year old insurance salesman do so he can get ready for next weeks action at the sports bar.
 
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