My first progress video; feedback and advice is welcome

If he wants good feedback, why the hell is he here? He has a top player as his mentor. This player placed top 10 in the Turning stone a few times, then disappeared for 15 years, then placed high again in recent tournament. AND, this guys is a teacher, not just a player. So he's got a guy he can learn all he needs to learn from.

Yet, he comes here asking for AZ advice? Keep your head down. Don't draw every shot. Don't hit so hard. And then makes them all bullet points!!! ??? Are you for real, this isn't stuff his mentor can tell him?

And at the same time he is starting threads of the most contraversial topics every other day?

The only logical explanation is he is doing this on purpose to get a rise out of AZ. That, is the definition of a troll.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=troll

"troll - One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument"
 
It’s unfortunate that so many of you think I am ill-intentioned.

It is great indeed to have Sylvain available to help me, but it is also interesting to have the opinion of others.

When you want to learn a subject thoroughly, do you get all of your information from a single source?

I think I very much could rely only on Sylvain, but I also think I can learn from some opinions on here.

It is easy enough to validate those advices with Sylvain after.
 
When I opened the pool room I had, I had an opportunity to see kids come in that never played but were in the room lots of hours. I don't know if it was 3 months or 6 months but I can tell you that youth, desire, practice and determination can get you to the level of play I am watching in the video. Stroke and all.

I'm not too sure about the glove though .... is it possible to wear a glove in only 3 months. :rolleyes:

I will admit not reading many of his posts, but the ones I have read seem respectful. It never ceases to amaze me how some of you jump to conclusions so quickly.

You people talk like he's Mosconi ... I didn't see him make 20% of the long shots he shot.


BTW ... Sam, I think thats a lot of practice strokes on the long shots. Try to break that number of practice strokes in half if you can. Initially, pause at the CB and after the last practice stroke pause again, then, just backstroke and shoot through the CB.

No more cue movement other than the shot. The pause at the end will also help you IMO. Also, try to envision the entire shot before you get down to shoot it, including where the CB will end up. That will also help with confidence. :thumbup:
 
Everybody has got their own idea of what you should work on in the beginning. I think you have been doing a lot of things right, but there are some minor- and a few not so minor flaws. If your coach is indeed a champion, then he'll be aware of those things, but his priorities at this stage may be other aspects of your game.

I'd like to say that your coach has done a good job aligning your body, and your stroke is impressively straight for playing such a short time. I'd listen to whatever your coach says at this point and ignore all others (except this last sentence). If you post a video in 3 months and are still doing the same things wrong, then I'll say something. I wish you good luck.
 
The whole glove deal has no time frame. Why are people saying he's played longer because he wears a glove? Just a few years ago people were laughed at and called beginners for wearing a glove. Now since SVB is wearing one everyone tho is you have to be world class to wear one.

I wore one back in 2000 when I started playing. I was a hack back then.
 
SamLambert said:
It’s unfortunate that so many of you think I am ill-intentioned.

It is great indeed to have Sylvain available to help me, but it is also interesting to have the opinion of others.

When you want to learn a subject thoroughly, do you get all of your information from a single source?

I think I very much could rely only on Sylvain, but I also think I can learn from some opinions on here.

It is easy enough to validate those advices with Sylvain after.
Click to expand...

Sam, you don't need anybody's opinions here... That is if you truly have unlimited access to a pro. Playing as much as you can AND as much of that with Sylvain is ALL the knowledge you will need, for now.... The first thing you need to do is, get the *%#! off these forums and spend more time at the table!!
 
Allen Brown said:
The whole glove deal has no time frame. Why are people saying he's played longer because he wears a glove? Just a few years ago people were laughed at and called beginners for wearing a glove. Now since SVB is wearing one everyone tho is you have to be world class to wear one.

I wore one back in 2000 when I started playing. I was a hack back then.
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You were THAT guy?? LOL...;):)
 
I have not viewed the entire video you posted, or read through every post. I have one question. Why did you switch to a phenolic tipped cue for the breakshot @8:38?

You are practicing straight pool, not breaking a rack in rotation.
 
Learn the exact angle the cue ball will take off the rail. Example is the first shot when you ran into a ball and were left with a bank. Learn what English to apply to make the cue ball go exactly where you want it to off the rail. You game will improve greatly if you figure that out.

Ray Martin's 99 shots has a page devoted to it.
 
(((Satori))) said:
Curious



What are your goals for this month?
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I really want to straighten out my fundamentals/stance, mostly the first few points of my list a few replies back e.g. Stop dropping the shoulder, stop moving my head, etc

I am already working on this as we speak and already I can see that this will help a lot, I seem to hit shots “cleaner” i.e. no unintentional sidespin, cueball goes more where I aim
 
SamLambert said:
I really want to straighten out my fundamentals/stance, mostly the first few points of my list a few replies back e.g. Stop dropping the shoulder, stop moving my head, etc

I am already working on this as we speak and already I can see that this will help a lot, I seem to hit shots “cleaner” i.e. no unintentional sidespin, cueball goes more where I aim
Click to expand...

I think that is a great place to start, excellent. I recommend finding a way to measure your progress such as a good stroke drill and set a measurable goal in this area. For instance, to be able to do ________ drill successfully at least 8 out of 10 times. Start with a drill that gives you trouble right now. Your stroke isnt bad but there are still drills that you can do to improve it that require great precision.


Btw, @ 3 months you have really gone all out. You even have a cue extension.;)
 
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Pleinairrider said:
I would say try to be a bit more relax. Btw, that's a sweet pool hall you play at!
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I found body language a bit stiff too...but shit, 3 months!

And I am not sure what happened ( actually, I am. Wife walked by in very low cut shirt and stopped to pet the tiny puppies. I was distracted.)

Focus!

But really, what happened when there were only 3 balls left on the table in the first rack? You were about to shoot a straight-ish (1?) ball, then I saw boobies and looked bac to find your cb on the end rail and the 2 remaining ob at other end of table.
Whatsupwidat?
 
Allen Brown said:
The whole glove deal has no time frame. Why are people saying he's played longer because he wears a glove? Just a few years ago people were laughed at and called beginners for wearing a glove. Now since SVB is wearing one everyone tho is you have to be world class to wear one.

I wore one back in 2000 when I started playing. I was a hack back then.
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Exactly what I thought! Anyone could put a glove on the first day they started playing.

Now me .... I started wearing high heels when I played 9 ball cause I'm too short to jump. But let me tell you ..... that shit isn't learned overnight. You gotta screw up a lot of jump shots before you come up with the high heel move.

I'da got away with it too cause I always wore a long skirt. I think the mini skirt got me .... or the mustache ... anyway, I gotta go .... my feet are killing me. :speechless::thud::speechless::shakehead:
 
SamLambert said:
I really want to straighten out my fundamentals/stance, mostly the first few points of my list a few replies back e.g. Stop dropping the shoulder, stop moving my head, etc

I am already working on this as we speak and already I can see that this will help a lot, I seem to hit shots “cleaner” i.e. no unintentional sidespin, cueball goes more where I aim
Click to expand...

A good way to study this is to video a side shot of just yourself shooting the same shot several times, like 20+. What this will do for you is let you see how consistent your set up is. If you film yourself playing, while its good info to watch.... you are seeing too many angles etc at this point in your development. Focus on nailing down a set preshot routine or 'shooting system' first (this include alignment, stepping into the shot, dropping into your stance, stroking and finishing the shot). The multiple repetitions of the same shot taped at the same angle makes quick comparison of any deviations in your routine stick out like a sore thumb.
 
SamLambert said:
I think I could beat the 4 ball ghost right now! Do I take ball in hand after breaking? Also, I’m guessing that I spot pocketed balls on the break? Where do I put the 2nd ball if I pocket 2 on the break?
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Just play the fast simple rookie version of the ghost - balls pocketed on the break stay down - ball in hand after the break - even if u scratch !

If u find the 9-ball ghost is too easy to beat - then start spotting ur potted break balls & penalising for scratching on the break :-D

I'm keen to see ur 4-ball ghost video - race to ???

Cheers.
 
(((Satori))) said:
Btw, @ 3 months you have really gone all out. You even have a cue extension.;)
Click to expand...

Hahah! I tend to do with a lot of things! Sometimes it ends up being wasted money too.

I started with a Poison cue, but quickly got seduced by the Sport2 from Predator after seeing a friend at the pool hall with one. So I bought the same cue with the extension. Very useful and works very well!



mamics said:
I'm keen to see ur 4-ball ghost video - race to ???
Click to expand...

Will probably be a race to 9, maybe up to 20 or something like that if I feel like going on longer!
 
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