Assess Your Pool Instructor

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Sputnik

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There are several ways to run out the table. Others prefer to rely on the kind of release on the stroke to set up the cue ball, while others use as many rails as they see usable off natural angles. Others prefer to draw while others want the follow shot. Some will go for the combo while others will bank the pot. Many will go for the shot, and some will be defensive.

Come to think of it, pool is one common language that we speak, but there are many dialects within. No one approach is the only approach. And this is why it is such a beautiful game. The downside of it is that too many people quarrel over what they think should be. Problems begin when one insists that theirs is the only way.

As Efren "Bata" (one of the most prolific masters ever) humbly admits, he still learns new things in the game until now.

I feel that a student should assess his mentor according to how broad-minded the teaching approach is - among other things. Every instructor has his own style of teaching, but is the instructor willing to recognize other recipes? If the insistent instructors are correct, then all their students will be a world champions, wouldn't they?

I think that the student should also look at the skill level of the instructor's other students. Maybe also the end-product of their teachings - the achievements of his graduates. This will give the student an idea of how long he should stay with the instructor. There are many instructors who are very good only with beginners, while others maintain advanced-skilled students.

I do not believe that too many cooks can spoil the brew when it comes to pool instructions. All pool instructors know what they are talking about, but not all of them think alike. Many produce machines, while the best of them make thinkers out of their students.

There are a lot of instructors out there you can learn from for free. That is, if you will learn how to observe the good players while they play.
 
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Sputnick,

Good post!

I think most players feel that the only people that should instruct are the best players. I beg to differ with that. All you have to do is look at tennis. Some of the best coaches are the ones that communicate well and have good diagnostic skills. A really good player may not be a good coach because even though they know what to do, can they impart that to their students? If they can't, it doesn't matter how good of a player they are.
 
you can apply that too teaching anything though. I know alot of professors that have alot of knowledge and are really intelligent. but they don't know how to pass knowledge onto another person. or explain it in an easier fashion. They're smart guys but bad profs.
 
teaching is teaching, and this world is filled with really bad ones.

it is a gift to be able to communicate and to work with a student within his capabilities. this goes for all endeavors.

to be fair, not all good teachers are good for everyone. and pool seems to have more than its share of bad instructors. i think this is because there is no structure in the game. you learn from the school of hard knocks. and then you have some who tell you, "learn on your own like i did".

i've heard some really stupid things said by prominent pool "instructors", and i'm talking things that only require some common sense.

the best way to find you instructor is to know yourself to begin with.
 
Here is a way to look at it: You can only become as good as the best player in your poolhall. If you learn from a master, you can only become as good as the master. To become better than that you have to learn on your own.
 
Pro-player,

You have a right to your opinion but I respectfully disagree with you. I keep referring back to tennis players because like pool, it's not usually a team sport. Many of the top players have coaches that were not a good as the player they're coaching. Coaching requires skills that can be mutually exclusive from those required being a great player. A great player doesn't have to be able to communicate, diagnose or teach. A great player just has to be able to play great.
 
pro-player said:
Here is a way to look at it: You can only become as good as the best player in your poolhall. If you learn from a master, you can only become as good as the master. To become better than that you have to learn on your own.
Click to expand...

Makes sense to me. The instructor can only teach you what he knows. Once the student has absorbed everything the teacher knows then the student must move on to another teacher with more knowledge. When the student runs out of teachers then the student must learn on his own. He then becomes the master. Of course this person is one in a million. Maybe we can use this example as a proof of a God. LOL

Who taught the old time masters? Hoppe, Mosconi, Greanleaf?

Jake
 
Rickw said:
Pro-player,

You have a right to your opinion but I respectfully disagree with you. I keep referring back to tennis players because like pool, it's not usually a team sport. Many of the top players have coaches that were not a good as the player they're coaching. Coaching requires skills that can be mutually exclusive from those required being a great player. A great player doesn't have to be able to communicate, diagnose or teach. A great player just has to be able to play great.
Click to expand...

you don't have to refer to tennis to get to you point. in pool and snooker, the top coaches/instructors are not the best players around. coaching is different from playing.
 
I think there's a difference between an instructor and a coach.

An instructor should be able to do the things that he teaches. A coach should be able to maximize the game of the player.

But what should be the characteristics of a beginner to basic instructor? And an advanced instructor?
 
What about location?

Do you think the Instructor should come to your place to teach or is it better for you to go to the Instructor's facility to teach? Does it matter when you're looking for an instructor?

Zim
 
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