Being short can and for most is a big negative in pool. Before anyone says it, I know that Mosconi, Alex, and Nick Varner are/ were all short. These guys are/were world champions…I’m not talking about them. Alex can shoot with the opposite hand just about as well as anyone. I think Varner can too, and I’m not sure about Mosconi.
For us short players that are not from another world, it is harder to get to “A” and above. Short players are at a disadvantage reaching, jumping, and need to use the bridge often.
A few things I would suggest to new short players are. Learn to play with both hands. Play a few racks a day with the opposite hand in your practice routine. Practice playing racks only using the bridge, and work on pinpoint position…keeping in mind where you need the CB for a trade-off of reaching it w/o a bridge and being able to still make the next shot.
As far as jumping, I can’t give any advice on ways to get better for short players, as I’m not very good at jumping yet. One thing I can tell you, I stood on a 4” platform and tried jumping. I got 50% better in minutes. Out of all the really good jumpers I’d like to see them in slow motion where they strike the QB when jumping over a ball or two. I have a strong hunch that it is scooping. They still are very good to even jump that well that way…but it is a foul. Johnnyt
For us short players that are not from another world, it is harder to get to “A” and above. Short players are at a disadvantage reaching, jumping, and need to use the bridge often.
A few things I would suggest to new short players are. Learn to play with both hands. Play a few racks a day with the opposite hand in your practice routine. Practice playing racks only using the bridge, and work on pinpoint position…keeping in mind where you need the CB for a trade-off of reaching it w/o a bridge and being able to still make the next shot.
As far as jumping, I can’t give any advice on ways to get better for short players, as I’m not very good at jumping yet. One thing I can tell you, I stood on a 4” platform and tried jumping. I got 50% better in minutes. Out of all the really good jumpers I’d like to see them in slow motion where they strike the QB when jumping over a ball or two. I have a strong hunch that it is scooping. They still are very good to even jump that well that way…but it is a foul. Johnnyt