body position when lining up the shot ...square vs angled

FranCrimi said:

Because some players prefer to step into their stance and other players prefer to drop into their stance. I like to view the shot from farther back from the table, so I look at the shot as I would look at anything --- facing it head-on. Then I begin a two step approach into my stance with my eyes on the line of the shot at all times. My first step is forward, approximately between my eyes --- I can feel it without looking down --- on an extension of the line of the shot. Then I place my second foot, again by feel, (but I know exactly where it is) without looking down. I don't like to look away from the line once I've locked into it. It's like any approach --- it takes time to learn how to coordinate it with the distance you need to stand from the shot to initially view it properly before you get down into your stance.

I think that starting out too close to the table without stepping back to take a look can give you a distorted view of the line of the shot.

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FranCrimi said:

Still square until I put my front foot down. My turn in is pretty much simultaneous with the placement of my front foot.

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Imac007 said:

Every answer here is a good one coming from personal perspectives and attempts to respond to the poster question directly. Sometimes though those are the things keeping us from getting better. Our perspectives can be what limit us. They get us asking questions that even with the answers won’t get us where we need to go in order to get the outcomes we want. This may be one of those moments.

When you learn to drive a car there is a lot competing for your attention. Physical controls such as pedals, shifters, levers, and a steering wheel, need our focus while gauges can answer information questions. Once moving though our attention moves outwards to the direction of movement and the road. We get looking over the hood at the immediate road and keeping the vehicle moving within the driving lane. As we gain experience we learn "horizon driving", our focus moves outwards to a long view allowing us to steer to a far target.

In pool the "over the hood" short sighted focus is called "ball bound." Lee Brett in The Art Of Pool, has a 5 part PSR. His first step he labels as "outside the box". That first step, Sighting/ Aiming, occurs outside the box. He defines the box as a three foot box extending around the table perimeter. Within the perspective of "ball bound", by moving the player away from the ball, means perspective can return to the line to the impact position, "horizon thinking."

So much emphasis, in modern coaching has been on accurate striking and center ball that the idea of lines has been lost. The local billiard academy founder has been trying out a new way of finding his aim line. It involves a pivot at one point. The pivot needs to be an air move, executed while standing up. Recently he was telling me that cuts to the left were working well but he was having an issue sometimes with right cuts. He is left handed. An immediate diagnosis was one of two possible. He was pivoting after getting down, not while up. The pivot on left cuts compared to a pre-pivot line moved the cue away from his body. Conversely the right cut pivots the butt towards the shooters body. The second possibility is lining up at a distance, cue ball to object ball, rather than the desired impact location. In essence the problem is the same, getting down on the wrong line.

Pool is a game of lines. When we get fixated on a ball or balls it has the potential to mess up shots. It also can lead to losing the line. So what should we do as players to get it right.

Take a page from Lee Brett’s book. Get back from the table when sighting and aiming. Find the final aim line pointing to impact position. Step on that line. Air aim with the cue while standing. Take your stance on the target line. Align the cueing arm and cue in a single piece running through the cue ball to impact. Lower the bridge and cue by going over into the shot led by the visual perspective of going straight forward and down the target line. In the process the left foot advances forward to shift the right hip out of the way of the vertical cueing plane moving itself into address position.

It’s easy for the stance to be a distraction. Focus needs to be on the line and delivering a straight cue. Stepping on the line is just a good place to start.

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Imac007 said:

My evaluation criteria determine my stance in each situation. That criteria, distance aiming, approach on cueing line, and delivery of cue down the line are the principles no matter the situation. Often the table dictates the stance. A shot requiring some reach can force the hips square to the rail. Having to adjust to avoid touching balls causes us to morph our bodies to align. Flexibility and adaptability are the keys. You need to decide what things are most important on a case by case basis.

I’m left eye dominant. Joe Davis was too. He looked at the line from the bridge hand, through the head and upper right arm and decided that worked. He had to bend over to lay them in a straight line running under his body. That has a natural alignment ring to it too. But most of us can’t lay out a fully extended bridge arm. A square stance to me would seem counter intuitive since the right eye more naturally positions over my right cueing arm line, not the left. However, my desire to cue beside my body, making it possible to straight cue using my upper chest as a guide was more important to me. That said getting my vision on line and keeping it there is primary.

There is an adage that people decide based on emotion and justify with logic. Could we be looking at and hearing justifications players tell themselves for what they do? Pick what you think is most important and in what order. Make a decision and stick to your choice, unless something comes along forcing you to change your priorities.

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