Can you do this?

FastMikie

FastMikie

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
About 18 months ago, my instructor challenged me with this exercise for getting precision position.
I call it The Sorto String, in his honor (Tony Sorto).

(see attached photo for the setup)

Line up balls 1-9 from center of foot rail to foot spot, evenly spaced (9' table).
Starting with ball in hand, run all nine balls into the corner pocket,
but you must hit the foot rail on every shot,
and must NOT hit any other rail, or any other ball.

It took me a good while to get the hang of it, and I finally got it this past September.
I felt that I was getting close, so I turned the camcorder on for this video.
(Quicktime .mov format, 1.1mb)

Looks easy enough, but it isn't. Can you do it?
 

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Well done Fast Mikie!
Certainly takes some good positional control under those rules.

Are you allowed to pot into either corner pocket?
 
Looks pretty tough. Seemingly, even a minor error in speed can be the end of your chances. Take a deep bow if you can do this drill with any regularity.

PS The bicycle in the picture is a nice touch!
 
Colin Colenso said:
Well done Fast Mikie!
Certainly takes some good positional control under those rules.

Are you allowed to pot into either corner pocket?
Click to expand...

Nope! No banking, either. Only shooting forward into the corner pocket.
Challenging!
 
sjm said:
Looks pretty tough. Seemingly, even a minor error in speed can be the end of your chances. Take a deep bow if you can do this drill with any regularity.

PS The bicycle in the picture is a nice touch!
Click to expand...

Regarding "regularity"... I've done this about 5 times through the 9-ball. Got two times on video. Once my instructor saw that I could get through the 9, he added the 10 thru 15, at right angles to the string, off the 9, connecting to the right side rail. After a couple of tries, I got to the 11 ball, but haven't tried again to get all the way to the 15.

Regarding the bike... it's a 1950 Schwinn Black Phantom, restored. What a truck. Heavy, no gears. Not a daily driver!
 
FastMikie said:
About 18 months ago, my instructor challenged me with this exercise for getting precision position.
I call it The Sorto String, in his honor (Tony Sorto).

(see attached photo for the setup)

Line up balls 1-9 from center of foot rail to foot spot, evenly spaced (9' table).
Starting with ball in hand, run all nine balls into the corner pocket,
but you must hit the foot rail on every shot,
and must NOT hit any other rail, or any other ball.

It took me a good while to get the hang of it, and I finally got it this past September.
I felt that I was getting close, so I turned the camcorder on for this video.
(Quicktime .mov format, 1.1mb)

Looks easy enough, but it isn't. Can you do it?
Click to expand...


Hey Mike,

This is actually a fairly common drill in the Northeast. Probably deriving from straight-pool enthusiasts. A tougher variation of this drill is the L-drill. This is identical to the one you have set-up only, there is a row of balls not only lined up from the foot-rail to the foot-spot but from the foot-spot to the side-rail as well forming an "L" shape. In this drill, there are no rules on hitting a rail. In fact, it's probably best to stay close to your work.
 
Another drill

was setup like this one only the balls touching, ball in hand first shot only,
and bankiing balls into the side pockiet 1 rail. You have to draw the cue
for position for the next ball. When you can bank all of them, and get
the proper position for each without touching the cue, you are doing
pretty good.
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
Hey Mike,

This is actually a fairly common drill in the Northeast. Probably deriving from straight-pool enthusiasts. A tougher variation of this drill is the L-drill. This is identical to the one you have set-up only, there is a row of balls not only lined up from the foot-rail to the foot-spot but from the foot-spot to the side-rail as well forming an "L" shape. In this drill, there are no rules on hitting a rail. In fact, it's probably best to stay close to your work.
Click to expand...

The L drill I use which I think Jude is talking about puts a ball on the foot spot then 7 ball going to the foot rail and 7 to the side rail. I find it much more difficult to start from the side rail ball than starting from the foot rail ball. Jude?
 
CaptainJR said:
The L drill I use which I think Jude is talking about puts a ball on the foot spot then 7 ball going to the foot rail and 7 to the side rail. I find it much more difficult to start from the side rail ball than starting from the foot rail ball. Jude?
Click to expand...


I agree with that sentiment but that's probably got more to do with reach more than anything else. When working near the foot-rail, you're directly over your work. Once you move to the side-rail, you're reaching.
 
1/2 the L

Yep, like others I recognize this as the dreaded L drill (or half of it). Nice video - I especially like the post game commentary! :D
 
Yes, but can you do it?

Thanks for the good feedback, guys.

Yes, this drill has been around for a while, but I didn't know what it was called, so I named it after my instructor who showed it to me.

Soooo... have you guys ever really DONE this drill? I mean actually run all 9 balls according to the rules above? My instructor says he has shown this challenge to a ton of people but never seen anyone ever actually DO it successfully. So the question still stands:

Can you do it?
 
FastMikie said:
Thanks for the good feedback, guys.

Yes, this drill has been around for a while, but I didn't know what it was called, so I named it after my instructor who showed it to me.

Soooo... have you guys ever really DONE this drill? I mean actually run all 9 balls according to the rules above? My instructor says he has shown this challenge to a ton of people but never seen anyone ever actually DO it successfully. So the question still stands:

Can you do it?
Click to expand...

No, at least not in an hour of trying. I went out Tuesday and tried for an hour on a gold crown with medium pockets, and never got further than the 7th ball, trying them in order from rail to spot.

I did, however, successfully complete the L-drill on the first try of the afternoon, but I had to shoot the balls out of order. Is there a rule about order in the L-drill? What about which pockets are allowed?

-Andrew
 
I do a similar drill I call the T drill.

CueTable Help



Start out with the balls like this and go in order. For the first four balls you rebound only off the side rail of the side that they are on. For the last five you rebound only off of the back rail......

The nine should be there behind the eight, DAMN wei tablessss
 
FastMikie said:
you must hit the foot rail on every shot,
and must NOT hit any other rail, or any other ball.

Can you do it?
Click to expand...

By the rules given, I think this might be a little harder than the L-Drill. One rail shape limits your choices, nevertheless, it’s good practice for speed control.

Given enough time or tries, ….I think I can, I think I can.

Rick
 
Just a week or so ago I was sitting watching one of the young (21) players wasting time waiting on a match. He set up that drill and just rolled them all in never even the slightest bit out of line. I complemented him on it but I don’t think he took as much pride in it as I was impressed. I know it is tough I have tried it many times over the years.
 
FastMikie said:
Thanks for the good feedback, guys.

Yes, this drill has been around for a while, but I didn't know what it was called, so I named it after my instructor who showed it to me.

Soooo... have you guys ever really DONE this drill? I mean actually run all 9 balls according to the rules above? My instructor says he has shown this challenge to a ton of people but never seen anyone ever actually DO it successfully. So the question still stands:

Can you do it?
Click to expand...


OK, Now I've tried it. This is much more difficult than the regular L drill and I don't think you even have to have all those rules to make it more difficult. It gets very tough once I get to the balls above the foot spot.

So, to answer your question. Can I do it? I have only one answer and the answer is not 'NO'. It is 'Not yet':D :)
 
Good drill.

One of my favroite is from Burt Kinister's "The Short Game" tape. It's simular to this in that you have to run six balls, all comming off the rail.
 
Andrew Manning said:
No, at least not in an hour of trying. I went out Tuesday and tried for an hour on a gold crown with medium pockets, and never got further than the 7th ball, trying them in order from rail to spot.

I did, however, successfully complete the L-drill on the first try of the afternoon, but I had to shoot the balls out of order. Is there a rule about order in the L-drill? What about which pockets are allowed?

-Andrew
Click to expand...


The rules are very specific:
The balls must be run in sequence, 1 thru 9.
The cue ball must hit the foot rail on each shot, and no other rail, and only the object ball (no other ball).
All balls must be pocketed directly (no banks) into the same pocket, the corner pocket inside the angle.
 
FastMikie said:
The rules are very specific:
The balls must be run in sequence, 1 thru 9.
The cue ball must hit the foot rail on each shot, and no other rail, and only the object ball (no other ball).
All balls must be pocketed directly (no banks) into the same pocket, the corner pocket inside the angle.
Click to expand...


Wow Mike, you sure to edit fast. To answer your pre-editted question, yes I have executed this drill and feel confident I can do it within 3 tries.

Try this one if you think you're up for it. Do the same drill only NO rails. Have fun.
 
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