Back Foot and Relation to the Shot Line

[BeiberLvr]

One common piece of advice I get on most videos I post here is that I'm crowding the shot line. I've tried and tried to fix this with the tips I get, but never seem to get it right.

I'm starting to wonder if maybe I have just misunderstood the proper way of constructing a good stance. I always thought you should have your back foot AND cue on the shot line. However, look at some of these screen caps

It appears to me that their cue is on the shot line (RED LINE), but as right handed players, there back foot is to the left of that line (GREEN LINE). Like always when I have these ideas I go straight to the kitchen table, and use the grout line on the floor as my shot line. I got down into my stance. Putting my head, shoulder, elbow, grip and bridge hand over that line. But this time I put my back foot a little to the left. It felt good, and I seemed to have more range of motion in my shooting arm.

So please tell me, have I been going about the stance all wrong for all these years, and just now discovered the right way to do it?

 

[Allen Brown]

I'm gonna follow this one. Those are some good catches on foot placement.

 

[Joules]

touch your toes

Try to bend over and touch your toes with straight legs.

How far did you get? When i first tried it I came up about 10 inches short. Read something and realized that you are supposed to push your hips back while you are bending over. Your hips will actually move back around 8 inches or more depending on anatomy. This helps keeps your center of gravity over the middle of your feet. Upper body is in front hips are behind. And magically you will be able to get a lot closer to your toes.

I think if their bodies weren't blocking their feet you would see that their right toes are a lot closer to being on the shot line then you think.

Looking at your foot placement while you are lined up on the shot line is difficult. A string with a small weight (think paper clips) tied and hanging off the end of your cue will give you a better idea of where all the relationships are without parallax and other things screwing with our perception.

My foot was a couple inches right of the shot line before i used the plumb bob and got my toes back on it - I only do it that way because that's what the books say to do. I also keep my back leg straight which makes my hamstring really tight after 2 hours playing by myself on concrete floors. I don't like the straight leg but i'm making a 3 month honest effort to do it.

Sorry for a wall of text that doesn't even answer the question - get some pictures from behind so their body isn't blocking toes

 

[FranCrimi]

You need to see the back foot of the players in those photos. I believe they are much closer to the shot line than you think.

Remember the back leg is angled out from the body in an "A" shape.

But yes, there are players who place their back foot inside the shot line. It's doable, but it also depends on the placement of the other foot. It can also a bit of a strain.

Remember, both feet must be placed well in order to be balanced, and to have sufficient swing room, not just the back foot.

The front foot placement is particularly important with a cross dominant eye. Face the cue a bit more so you can allow for the cue to be placed under the inside eye.