Sparkle, I've noticed a distinct timing to your posts, in a specific pattern. Are you perhaps incarcerated somewhere, with strictly limited access to the Internet?
What Do You Look For in a Pool Instructor
- Thread starter lfigueroa
- Start date
Yet another weak attempt at deflection (pun intended).
I took a look at some of the Bond stuff. Not bad but I dug up a couple links you didn't mention that help explain some of your personality quirks.
Stay tuned for that and also my analysis of your pool clinic which I'll put on the other thread. Little bump, get your ad back on the front page.
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Thank you again, payment will be forthcoming.
C’mon, man.
Joe? Joe? Is this really YOU? You are one sneaky guy to be hiding under the "Cornerman" name all of these years. Who knew you liked pool so much? (I still ain't voting for you. No way Jose, especially now since 1/3 of the male population is named Jose!)
On our crew we had Hose A and Hose B.
There was one job that had 4 Bob's.
Bob, Bob Bob, Bob Bob New Bob and the 4th got Robert.
Oh goodie, I need money to pay for some pool lessons. There's a cute little APA 6 down at the local room that may be able to teach an old dog like me a few tricks. Might help me get up...raise my Fargo I mean. Getting back to the Bond stuff let me share a couple links that might shed some light on how and why you may view the world just a bit differently than most.
https://www.mi6-hq.com/news/index.php?itemid=1820'
Seems you actually believe you're a secret agent out to save the world. Hey, someone has to do it, right? Everybody has to do something. My only question would be---What do the neighbors think about the surveillance directed at them? They okay with helping you become the next JB?
Then there's this https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/2005/10/07/a-bonding-experience/31462800007/
Maybe you need the spy cameras to keep an eye on your trinkets. Anyhow, now that I've seen those articles I feel a little better. It's now easier to understand why you make so many outlandish statements about pool teaching and techniques. You think life is one big movie where anything is possible and you'll prevail against insurmountable odds.
Save the world, improve a B to an A almost instantly, all in a days work for Bond, James Bond.
That's some pretty good psychoanalysis right there.
I see those articles are quite dated, but I will say for a guy to be that obsessed about something and still manage to keep a marriage and family together -- that says something positive about the guy. That was nearly 20 years ago, so hopefully things have held up in that department. I guess that's none of my business though...
That's at least something many obsessed pool players could learn from the Enigma.
Gahtadreem
Member
I’m working with Anthony Beeler on his Online Pool Academy. Price is reasonable and he’s an excellent instructor. Fundamentals are so important to any skill. I remember learning classical guitar and having to practice the rest stroke and free stroke over and over along with arpeggios, etc and really I just wanted to play music. Problem was I could play the music without mastering the rest stroke, free stroke, arpeggios, etc. Anthony is big on having sound fundamentals and you can send him videos, emails and he’s quick to answer. Good investment for anyone wanting to take their game to the next level.
Hi Lou, I'm a little late to the party and even though my name wasn't in your original post as quoting the names of talented instructors, I'd like to take a crack at analyzing your video.
112-Ball run is a seriously good run, so to find any weaknesses in it at all, it has to be compared with high level players' runs. I did see a few things.
Your ball pocketing skills are excellent. They'd have to be to run 112. But I couldn't always tell what your next shot was going to be and it started with the break shot. I didn't see you walk around and study the rack and the position of the break ball after you finished racking the balls. Knowing exactly where the cb is going to hit the rack is key in deciding how hard and with what spin you will use. Usually, the early rack goal is to clear the balls behind the rack on and near the bottom rail, so you can move back to the center for a second break.
Gene Nagy realized the significance of playing position off the break shot in a tournament when he kept jamming himself up, and even scratching, from not properly reading break shots, so he took a year off and practiced only break shots. Of course, he had a tendency to do things to an extreme, but what he learned from that was invaluable, and he ran over 400 with that knowledge.
He showed me a few things he figured out about when to draw out of a break shot and when to hit it flat and when to hit it with outside or inside, depending on which ball the cb was going to hit and what part of that ball it would hit. The angle of the shot was also significant. The more obtuse the angle, the safer you were from scratching, but the shot is more difficult to pocket, and the spread more unpredictable, so most players opt for a certain angle zone, which is where reading the rack becomes so important --- because things like scratching and getting stuck in the pack are real possibilities in that zone.
Each break shot creates it's own particular spread of the balls. For example: cb in the desired angle zone, hitting the top half of the third ball with a certain speed and spin, would result in a particular spread --- consistently. And through experience, Gene would play out the pattern, practically by rote. Where he was going was always clear. I could often see several shots ahead when he played.
I've seen this in other great players, like Mosconi and Barouty and Balsis and Schmidt.
I think it's nuances like these that can elevate a player from 100-ball runner to a 300-ball runner.
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I have had lessons from numerous individuals ranging from top name instructors you see on this website to Pros that do lessons on the side. I found 2 basic approaches:
instructor style #1 had a lesson script and nothing was going to get him "off script" including my level of play, strengths or weaknesses
instructor style #2 told me to shoot a few racks while he watched and then said "OK, here are a couple of things I'd like to work with you on today"
Personally, I found the second approach much more valuable
instructor style #1 had a lesson script and nothing was going to get him "off script" including my level of play, strengths or weaknesses
instructor style #2 told me to shoot a few racks while he watched and then said "OK, here are a couple of things I'd like to work with you on today"
Personally, I found the second approach much more valuable
My preference and we'll success with is, "Let's start over." Just heard Ronnie speaking of starting over.
Style #1 instructors will be reasonably helpful to beginners who have a lot of basic things to learn. It helps to have an outline for such students like this clinic outline but a one-on-one lesson should be tailored to the student. An instructor who sticks doggedly to a script is still learning.
Style #2 is much better for players who already know how to spin the ball (for example). I usually start a first session with specific shots rather than shooting random balls to more quickly uncover mechanics issues. Then working through racks will usually uncover specific kinds of shots to work on.
In my experience, most people seeking pool lessons are in the "don't know how to spin the ball yet" category. A significant fraction of those are at the "not sure what chalk is for" level. The good news for their instructors is that they are likely to play much better after one lesson.
WobblyStroke
Well-known member
Ye, because it IS much more valuable.
If you are going to pay an instructor for his time, you might as well have him spend that time addressing you and your issues rather than giving you some standard lesson plan that will help you in parts and just be useless rehashing of things you already knew in other parts.
Fran, thank you for your thoughtful analysis.
So a couple of things: you’re right, I don’t walk and look around unless it is a very tight fit on a particular shot. And mostly that’s because I’ve been playing for over 50 years and am pretty good at visualizing spatial relationships. However, you are correct in noting that I could benefit from focusing in on the precise rack contact point. I haven’t received any instruction on that point, and all the useful variables to consider, and it’s something I’ll pursue. Right about now I just go with past experience and hard won lessons.
I like to play 14.1, having been inspired watching Tugboat Whaley and Dorthy Wise play when I was a teenager and learning to play. You’re very lucky to have had a savant like Gene Nagy share his 14.1 knowledge. Nowadays I pretty much stick to 1pocket.
Anywhos, thanks for good thoughts.
Lou Figueroa
Thanks Lou. Dalton used to tell me about his admiration for Tugboat and how he was his inspiration to play also, and his first teacher. I think a lot of the things he showed me during our time together were probably from Tugboat.
As for your question to players --- What do you want from a teacher --- I can answer that, even though I'm a teacher, because I'm a player --- not some pansy player --- I mean a real player, who ground it out every day on a pool table and survived in the sub culture of pool rooms of NYC for a few decades, for better or for worse, experiencing both great and horrible advice from people with good intentions.
What I want from a teacher is someone who could step into my shoes and read my mind, just by watching me play. I don't care what they think is right or wrong for the universe or even for themselves. I want them to become me, understand my stumbling blocks, and help me fix my issues both physically and mentally. The two must go together. When I train instructors, I test them on their ability to read a player. This is key.
For example: You can't tell a rhythm player to take a longer pause at the end of his backstroke unless you want to kill both his game and his spirit. I've seen teachers do this. There are better solutions for those types of players. Sadly, most teachers are terrible at reading players. Some are born with the talent but for those who are not, a lot of it can be learned if the teacher is willing.
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I think you hit on the difference between an instructor and a coach.
The way I see it, an instructor is for beginners and intermediate players. Players who never had a proper stance or cue delivery.
A coach is for higher level and pro players, who don't need the changing of fundamentals. Maybe a polish.