Center Ball Alignment and Body Alignment Tip

Yes, good points and some nice discovery on your part. One thing I have found helpful to 'get on the line you see' is to place my right foot so the sightline crosses it at the same point with each stance set. For me, it is about mid-foot where the shotline bisects the foot. This position seems to promote a straight stroke as it consistantly matches up the stance with what my mind's eye has determined as the shotline.

HawaiianEye said:

I have had problems with my vision over the last several years and I had a detached retina in my right eye about 13 months ago, which has been repaired.

The vision problem, along with only playing one day a week, was causing me to miss a lot of shots that I would normally make instinctively.

After experimenting for a bit, I found one of the major reasons I was a "tad" off on a lot of shots.

I was aligning my cue into the shot using my right foot as a reference, stepping into the shot, and then aligning my vision over the cue. I don't ever recall conciously doing this years ago when I played well and played all the time, but now, with my bad vision and limited playing time, I was trying to be more calculated.

What was happening when I stepped into the shot was that I was tilting my head slightly to the right which was causing me to be slightly off center which would cause me to hit the object ball a bit off from where I thought I was aiming. My "aim" was correct, but I WASN'T SEEING what I thought I was seeing.

Now, I am finding true center on the cue ball and object ball while standing and then aligning the cue under my line of vision instead of aligning my vision over a "set" cue. I now use my left foot as a guide, parallel to the shot line, and step into the shot while keeping my head over the shot line. I adjust my body and right foot while keeping my left foot in place, along with my eyes. What has helped me has been to hold the cue in my left hand while finding the centers and then switching the cue to my right hand right before I bend over for the shot. This keeps me from "subconsiously" favoring my right hand and eye and tilting the cue off center a bit.

Vision problems suck, but I think I have figured out how to cure a bit of my problem until I get my eyes fixed. I wear glasses daily, but I use contact lenses once a week while playing pool. The contacts help a lot, but I have severe astigmatism which makes the contacts not sit properly on my eyes at times. They sometimes move a bit when I tilt my head and eyes and I have to wait a second or two for them to get back into place before I shoot. When they don't set properly, I have blurred and sometimes "double" vision (like a shadow) on the object ball.

Moral of the story:

If you don't have true center vision on the shot, you probably think you are aligned correctly on the shot, but you aren't. Keep your eyes on the line and move your other parts, if needed. Don't move your "eyes" once you have the shot figured out.

Some people will say this needs to be moved to the "Aiming Forum", but this isn't about "aiming". IT IS ABOUT SEEING THE SHOT CORRECTLY.

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Good post. I've seen very few, if any, good players that had their head tilted when sighting/aligning over their cue at address. Having your head turned slightly to where one eye is closer to the CB than the other is common for right handed players who are left eye dominant (Willie Mosconi) or visa versa, but their heads are generally still oriented straight up and down.

Right hand player with no lens in my right eye. Technically blind in my right eye.

I've had my routine set for many years. Many people step into the shot, I step back from the shot.

I find the contact point on the OB while thinking on the shot- leave, speed, etc. When I set up on the shot, I set the cue down behind center of CB with the cue in my bridge left hand aimed at the OB,while standing. My left foot is in place for my stance. Then I drop back my right foot and get down on the shot. I set my body up to the cue when I get down on the shot.

I know it's backwards, but setting my bridge and left foot down first helps my vision on the shot.

The concept is applicable in other areas as well. The idea is to bring the cue to the vision center. The movement forces the eye to track it in space and 3D clues tell us its true location. It’s how we can reach out and touch or grab something accurately. You also described the issue that happens when you bring the head and eyes to the cue. SightRight is a product of Riley cues. It’s an imbedded aid in the cue. When viewed from above through a window, a narrow white line is seen. That line exists on two levels, the near level is higher than the farther one. If viewed from the side the height difference is seen and the line now looks like a lightning bolt. The aid simply gets the 3D element of alignment back to the player. Your solution is much more elegant. Del Hill, a premier snooker coach, a coach’s coach used the same idea for taking the stance.

When explaining alignment he talked about the upper body mainly. The cueing arm, the bridge and the chin/head are the usual points that are talked about. Del says the chest is also a contact point. He says to align the three, just as you described. Then he says to move the chest to the aligned cue not the other way around. I see SVB doing this. When the cue brushes against the side of the chest, the bridge vee and chest create a wall making the cue run straight. The cue needs to be aligned first, then the chest to it. Much like how the perceptual center needs to be oriented to the line, with the foot in place. The cue is now superimposed on the target line, vertically, if wanted and then head and cue are both lowered over the line. Find a video with CJ and you will definitely sense the one piece lowering. Alison Fisher describes it as falling into the shot. If at any point during the lowering the alignment is lost, get up and start over. Since I’m right handed I usually air stroke with my cue left of the target line. The sense I get of moving from left to right is that I am moving "over into" the shot. The head is aligned and my forearm rotates to face downwards with the cue in the bridge. With the cueing arm relaxed while air stroking, the relaxed arm brings my grip hand below the table edge. Bringing the cue across forces the hand to rise to clear the table in order to slot onto the target line. The motion is from down to up and across, then back down as the bridge finds the table. That is why my description is "over" into the shot. The "into" is a weight shift forward down the shot line. The "over" part also adjusts the cue butt high enough to clear the grip from table contact. The timing of chest to cue and grip hand clearance depend on the situation at the table. If a precise cueing angle is needed the cue should be set before the chest seals the angle.

This process is mine and for my vision. I had two eye operations before I started school. They left me with each eye working independently. By definition it means I don’t experience 3D normally. Besides that I test as left eye dominant eye. I don’t subscribe to that school though. I consider my vision aligned when I can look down the cue and line and feel that I am directly over and looking right down the line.

I am also right handed and left eye dominant. "sighting the center of the cue ball to the center of the object ball ( the points where each base of each ball touches the slate) WHILE STANDING - and Then lean into your shooting stance based on that line of centers- this was formally called the "Perkins Method " of alignment and Willie Mosconi was the most famous to align his stance using this method. It works great for me too- Once down on the shot- All of my aiming is done off this center ball alignment. Consistency using this method will result in more frequent and longer duration "dead stroke" accomplishment. It is one of the key reasons for Willie's consistent high runs with ball pocketing accuracy.

HawaiianEye said:

***
Vision problems suck, but I think I have figured out how to cure a bit of my problem until I get my eyes fixed. I wear glasses daily, but I use contact lenses once a week while playing pool. The contacts help a lot, but I have severe astigmatism which makes the contacts not sit properly on my eyes at times. They sometimes move a bit when I tilt my head and eyes and I have to wait a second or two for them to get back into place before I shoot. When they don't set properly, I have blurred and sometimes "double" vision (like a shadow) on the object ball.
***

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to make it short, rigid contact lenses could solve -or at least reduce a lot- the unstable vision issue you're suffering.
May be you'll need not spheric but toric or bi-toric rigid lenses, it depends of your cornea and ametropy , but it's only a minor technical issue.
they can seem less confortable at the beginning , but you'll gain a much more stable vision , and less problems ...

you should discut that with your optometrist and/or contact lenses adaptator...

Ps : i tried to PM you , but your box is full

not sure if this would be helpful for you with your eye issues
as something else to try
but this is a method i use to keep my vision center and head on the shot line
this is the first post in a thread i started in the ask the instructors section
.....
......
when you line up for the shot
put the cue stick up close to parallel ( not close to your face)to your face
you should now see 2 cue sticks and keep the image BETWEEN the two imaginary sticks
DO NOT MOVE YOUR HEAD AND COME STRAIGHT DOWN ON THAT LINE
that should keep you on your visual center
your comments agree or not are always appeciated
........
.........
here is a link to the thread
https://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=427338
....
by coming down on the shot line directly while stepping into the shot
my head stays on the line and my body adjusts

Your right, eye problems suck. Over the past 5 years i dropped from a good player to an average player that occassionally shot well. I thought it was my diabeties messing with my eyesite. As I am left eye dominate (or was), i always lined my shot up with my left eye. Go to find out earlier this year, my left eye is no longer correctable to see things sharply......ugh. So I had to readjust the way i line up and use both eyes vs one eye. Amazingly my game came back and my ranking climbed back to its proper rating and i was no longer deemed a sandbagger...lol.

I did try the one eye closed technique, but that did not work. Just looking at it centered and lining my left foot on the target line has helped.

.....................................

Y

HawaiianEye said:

If you don't have true center vision on the shot, you probably think you are aligned correctly on the shot, but you aren't. Keep your eyes on the line and move your other parts, if needed. Don't move your "eyes" once you have the shot figured out.

Some people will say this needs to be moved to the "Aiming Forum", but this isn't about "aiming". IT IS ABOUT SEEING THE SHOT CORRECTLY.

Click to expand...

Proper vision center alignment is the most important fundamental of pool.

Regards,
Dave

dr_dave said:

Proper vision center alignment is the most important fundamental of pool.

Click to expand...

FYI, the following article illustrates and explains the effects of not having the face square with the eyes level:

"Aim, Align, Sight - Part II: Visual Alignment" (BD, July, 2011)

Check it out,
Dave

HawaiianEye said:

I have had problems with my vision over the last several years and I had a detached retina in my right eye about 13 months ago, which has been repaired.

The vision problem, along with only playing one day a week, was causing me to miss a lot of shots that I would normally make instinctively.

After experimenting for a bit, I found one of the major reasons I was a "tad" off on a lot of shots.

I was aligning my cue into the shot using my right foot as a reference, stepping into the shot, and then aligning my vision over the cue. I don't ever recall conciously doing this years ago when I played well and played all the time, but now, with my bad vision and limited playing time, I was trying to be more calculated.

What was happening when I stepped into the shot was that I was tilting my head slightly to the right which was causing me to be slightly off center which would cause me to hit the object ball a bit off from where I thought I was aiming. My "aim" was correct, but I WASN'T SEEING what I thought I was seeing.

Now, I am finding true center on the cue ball and object ball while standing and then aligning the cue under my line of vision instead of aligning my vision over a "set" cue. I now use my left foot as a guide, parallel to the shot line, and step into the shot while keeping my head over the shot line. I adjust my body and right foot while keeping my left foot in place, along with my eyes. What has helped me has been to hold the cue in my left hand while finding the centers and then switching the cue to my right hand right before I bend over for the shot. This keeps me from "subconsiously" favoring my right hand and eye and tilting the cue off center a bit.

Vision problems suck, but I think I have figured out how to cure a bit of my problem until I get my eyes fixed. I wear glasses daily, but I use contact lenses once a week while playing pool. The contacts help a lot, but I have severe astigmatism which makes the contacts not sit properly on my eyes at times. They sometimes move a bit when I tilt my head and eyes and I have to wait a second or two for them to get back into place before I shoot. When they don't set properly, I have blurred and sometimes "double" vision (like a shadow) on the object ball.

Moral of the story:

If you don't have true center vision on the shot, you probably think you are aligned correctly on the shot, but you aren't. Keep your eyes on the line and move your other parts, if needed. Don't move your "eyes" once you have the shot figured out.

Some people will say this needs to be moved to the "Aiming Forum", but this isn't about "aiming". IT IS ABOUT SEEING THE SHOT CORRECTLY.

Click to expand...

Thought a lot about what you said as I practiced tonight.
Thanks, helped out.

HawaiianEye said:

I'm glad it helped somebody.

It gets frustrating when you miss balls that you think you have lined up correctly. Especially, when you hit it with a good stroke and you get position on the next ball.

I was doing some more experimenting today and I seem to have worked out a method that is giving me better results.

I think I could be hitting them a whole lot better if I played more than once a week. What you get used to in a day of playing kind of wears off before you get back to the table again.

Aloha.

Click to expand...

Very true!

Don't feel bad, it takes a very knowledgeable and talented player to play at a very high level with just one day a week on table.

Hell, I don't play at a very high level regardless of how many days/hours I put in.

Rake