How have you developed such a great break shot?

sharpshooter said:

Hello Louis,

Thanks again for your time and all the great feedback you have given us. I happened to see a video of you playing and was fascinated with how smooth and effortless you are at breaking the balls and the incredible action you get with what looks like minimal effort. Do you have any secrets you can share about your break and what you have done over the years to improve it. I also noticed how your stick happens to follow thru upward and to your left as you finish the stroke (almost as if you are swiping thru the cue ball). Is this a technique you have discovered that allows greater speed and power and do you put any english on the shot? Take care and thanks again Louis!

Click to expand...

Hi sharpshooter,

The break shot is all about the timing of your stroke. You don't have to hit the balls hard to get a good break. You just need to make sure that you know exactly when your tip is going to hit the cue ball. At high speeds this is easier said than done.

As with all shots, I recommend that you practice shooting at easier speeds and work your way up and add power as you go.

As far as my break, my crazy follow through is just how my body wants to move. I don't really swipe the ball. I have a good 6 to 8 inch straight follow through before my cue comes up and over to the left. I just feel comfortable doing it that way.

If I was going to start from scratch and emulate somebody's break, I would watch Shane Van Boening for awhile. It's my opinion that he has the best break today. If you watch closely, he doesn't really hit the balls that hard. He's just very precise and his timing is dead on most of the time.

sharpshooter said:

Thanks, I will definitely check out Shane's break for some additional pointers. So then one of the keys is to strike that cueball as dead center as possible or do you like to put a little low english for draw. Also, do you recommend a longer bridge for the break and do you like getting your whole body into the stroke. I would imagine properly transmitting your weight from back to forward is one of the keys in the timing of the shot.

Click to expand...

I would say that center ball would be the best place to start. Draw and follow just take too much of the energy off the cue ball to get the typical desired break. I may put a hair of outside spin if dead center is not working. It's a very small amount though and I don't have a theory behind it. I just feel that small changes can make a big difference in the break at times.

Moving your body through the break shot is important. You'll get more power with less effort when you use your whole body rather than just your arm.

About bridge distance. I personally don't use a shorter or longer bridge distance when I break. It's the same as when I shoot a normal shot. I do already have a pretty long stroke so maybe that does help. I think that players need to try things out to see what works best for them.

One thing that I do that may go unnoticed is that I use a down angle of maybe 15 to 20 degrees, rather than break with a level stroke. This allows the cue ball to jump back easier for me without crushing the balls with all that I have.

Take care and let me know if you have any other questions.