had a great lesson today from a established pro instructor

J

judochoke

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
had my first lesson today from CALVIN COKER today at Danny Ks. Calvin is out of orange country, Southern California. I have watched his videos, and knew that he does free lessons at west states billiards in Fullerton. so I hit him up and we met today. to say things went well would be a understatement.

he started me off by watching me hit a few balls, and started correcting flaws in my form and bridge. my backstroke was uneven, my draw stroke was too far away from the cue ball, ect. it was correcting that I needed. he answered all of my questions I had about this shot, about that shot, it was outstanding.

we spent the whole hour on the table, no talking or lectureing, we both were shooting balls, with him showing me and letting me shoot and shoot until I got it right.

I wanted 9 ball help, so the last part we did 9 ball runouts. it was great info. turns out when I tried to explain my runout pattern to him, I was completely doing it wrong, going the hard way instead of the easy path.

(now I know why all of the better players on this forum recommend taking lessons from a pro.)

I will see him for three more lessons in the upcoming weeks. can't say enough good things about CALVIN COKER.:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
sjm

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
Good for you. Once you find an instructor with whom you are very comfortable, you are way ahead of the game. Keep an open mind and stay the course nd you'll continue to gain from the experience.

Thanks for sharing.
 
GoldCrown

GoldCrown

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
judochoke said:
(now I know why all of the better players on this forum recommend taking lessons from a pro.)

I will see him for three more lessons in the upcoming weeks. can't say enough good things about CALVIN COKER.:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Click to expand...

You did yourself a great service. Pool is not easy. Difficult to learn things on our own(my story). As you improve the love of the game keeps growing. Keep learning and enjoying. There is no finish line.
 
jokrswylde

jokrswylde

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
How did you find him? What I mean, is there an instructor database somewhere, or is it primarily word of mouth. I would love to take some lessons, but have no idea if there are any instructors in my area...guess I could call the poolhall about a house pro??
 
J

judochoke

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I gave him something, and it wasn’t food or a drink. I gave him cold hard cash. ��

I knew that Calvin was in the area, so it was word of mouth and just giving him a try. We just clicked from the start and it was all instruction. Which was what I wanted.

I figured that I spent 5000 on a diamond table, 1000 on two cues, 300 on balls, 500 for two pool chairs, I could afford 75 bucks to find a good coach. And I got lucky.
 
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D

DecentShot

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
judochoke said:
had my first lesson today from CALVIN COKER today at Danny Ks. Calvin is out of orange country, Southern California. I have watched his videos, and knew that he does free lessons at west states billiards in Fullerton. so I hit him up and we met today. to say things went well would be a understatement.

he started me off by watching me hit a few balls, and started correcting flaws in my form and bridge. my backstroke was uneven, my draw stroke was too far away from the cue ball, ect. it was correcting that I needed. he answered all of my questions I had about this shot, about that shot, it was outstanding.

we spent the whole hour on the table, no talking or lectureing, we both were shooting balls, with him showing me and letting me shoot and shoot until I got it right.

I wanted 9 ball help, so the last part we did 9 ball runouts. it was great info. turns out when I tried to explain my runout pattern to him, I was completely doing it wrong, going the hard way instead of the easy path.

(now I know why all of the better players on this forum recommend taking lessons from a pro.)

I will see him for three more lessons in the upcoming weeks. can't say enough good things about CALVIN COKER.:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Click to expand...

He's my closest best instructor. Is it wrong to want to play someone before you allow them to give you lessons? Its a nice place, but I wouldn't want to play on the furniture grade stuff at Danny K's.
 
pocket

pocket

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Calvin is a pro, knows his craft. Highly recommend him and the $15 1.5 hour group classes he gives at Danny K’s on Thursday’s.
 
couldnthinkof01

couldnthinkof01

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
judochoke said:
had my first lesson today from CALVIN COKER today at Danny Ks. Calvin is out of orange country, Southern California. I have watched his videos, and knew that he does free lessons at west states billiards in Fullerton. so I hit him up and we met today. to say things went well would be a understatement.

he started me off by watching me hit a few balls, and started correcting flaws in my form and bridge. my backstroke was uneven, my draw stroke was too far away from the cue ball, ect. it was correcting that I needed. he answered all of my questions I had about this shot, about that shot, it was outstanding.

we spent the whole hour on the table, no talking or lectureing, we both were shooting balls, with him showing me and letting me shoot and shoot until I got it right.

I wanted 9 ball help, so the last part we did 9 ball runouts. it was great info. turns out when I tried to explain my runout pattern to him, I was completely doing it wrong, going the hard way instead of the easy path.

(now I know why all of the better players on this forum recommend taking lessons from a pro.)

I will see him for three more lessons in the upcoming weeks. can't say enough good things about CALVIN COKER.:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Click to expand...

You seem like one of the ones who will "make it".
With your dedication to improvement I have no
doubt in the future you will be a high B to A player, or better.

I'm going to assume by your screen name and the
pictures of you and Wanderlei that you made it to
some level of judo and powerlifiting?

If you dont mind me asking, how have these experiences helped you in becoming a better pool player?
 
B

bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
judochoke said:
I gave him something, and it wasn’t food or a drink. I gave him cold hard cash. ��

I knew that Calvin was in the area, so it was word of mouth and just giving him a try. We just clicked from the start and it was all instruction. Which was what I wanted.

I figured that I spent 5000 on a diamond table, 1000 on two cues, 300 on balls, 500 for two pool chairs, I could afford 75 bucks to find a good coach. And I got lucky.
Click to expand...
Cash is king
Good for you to recognize a great teacher and reward him.....:thumbup:
 
S

Scott Lee

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Congratulations Judochoke! It's always great when student and teacher connect, on a level of comfort that's almost "understood". :thumbup: I know you have struggled for quite a bit of time, and long ago I recommended finding a professional instructor, who uses video analysis. There are two parts to learning how to play pool...behind the CB, and in front of the CB. You just experienced learning in front of the CB, and you enjoyed it a lot. Now, go get some video analysis and learn behind the CB. Generally, students who learn behind the CB first, and then in front of the CB, have a higher performance level overall, and it stays with them longer...in some cases, forever! When you do get video analysis, make sure the instructor teaches you a personal eye pattern (PEP), and methods to ingrain them into your process.

Scott Lee
Director, The SPF National Pool School Tour
 
Chopdoc

Chopdoc

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
GoldCrown said:
You did yourself a great service. Pool is not easy.
Click to expand...


Pool?

Easy as falling off a log. :D

Good pool?

Moderately difficult. ;)

Great pool?

Extremely difficult and time consuming to learn.

Once learned, relatively easy in some regards. The really great players aren't so far apart in performance level as those below them.

It's an interesting game and an even more interesting sport.

I am thrilled to see a member get something so valuable. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

.
 
J

judochoke

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
yes I got my black belt in judo at age 42, after lots of work and time. and I was a california powerlifting champion years ago. I still hit the gym 5 days a week, lifting heavy weights. did any of my past sports help me in my pool journey? not really, I just clicked the first day I got my table, and I have not looked back. so I guess I do have a strong drive to improve that I carried over from my younger days.

but pool is a little mans game. lol. little skinny guys with little skinny fingers:cool::cool:

if I ever do find a genie in a bottle, the first thing I will ask him is for skinny fingers, and the ability to bend down far enough to rub my chin on the cue like alission fisher does.

so at 5-11 and 265 pounds, its not easy to get down. actually my new coach said what the hell was that when I tried to hit my first long shot durning our lesson. he said I needed to see both balls, and I could not see both balls with my head 2 feet from the cue.

so now I spread out a little more, and can get about 4 inchs above my cue, and im seeing both balls much better. but nothing will solve my fat sausage fingers. I just have to live with them. :angry::angry::angry::angry::angry:
 
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