Drills and practice for beginners

Roy Steffensen

Roy Steffensen

locksmith
Silver Member
My daughter (aged 9) just got her first cue, and is eager to practice with me every now and then.

What are the best drills, set-ups, advice for letting her enjoy the game and make progress?

I have been practicing some easy one rail kick shots with her, just so she learns to play center of the cueball and understand angles.

Also practiced speed, by playing "the lag", "half the lag" and "1,5 the speed of lag".

The last drill is to put one ball close to the center pocket, and make her pocket it and roll cueball near another objectball close to a pocket.

Of course, she thinks this is boring after a few minutes, and then I let her shoot some balls.

I have never been teaching total beginners before, and that young, so I have absolutely no idea what to do.

Any help is much appreciated
 
You are doing the right thing by making the game available to your daughter. The critical factor determining her future with pool depends upon whether pool holds a "hook" for her. For me, the hook was bottom english. The fact that the CB could be made to back up fascinated me from the first time I saw the phenomenon occur, and I spent the following two or three years pursuing and acquiring the stroke and knowledge necessary to accomplish this magical skill. The rest of my life has been an attempt to control it. Along the way, I have also acquired many related skills.
 
Roy Steffensen said:
.... I have never been teaching total beginners before, and that young, so I have absolutely no idea what to do.

Any help is much appreciated
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Here is an outline of a clinic I teach that can be used for complete beginners. This will give you an idea of topics to cover.


Keep it simple and fun. Set the student up for success on whatever the drill is. Maybe include some trick shots.
 
Stephen Hendry has a simple challenging task. From the head spot hit the cueball to the foot rail and have it come straight back to strike the cue tip again. I guess cross table might be a better starter for a beginner. I like to go cross table and keep hitting it each time it returns. Like dribbling a basket ball.
 
gregcantrall said:
Stephen Hendry has a simple challenging task. From the head spot hit the cueball to the foot rail and have it come straight back to strike the cue tip again. I guess cross table might be a better starter for a beginner. I like to go cross table and keep hitting it each time it returns. Like dribbling a basket ball.
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That is a very old drill. At snooker it's called "over the spots". There are many useful extensions. I like to use a stripe for the cue ball (or a training ball) so the stripe indicates immediately whether the ball was struck in the center. That's described in the clinic handout linked above.
 
I think you should just let her do her thing and have fun. Play games with her and let her watch you pocket balls. Show her how you do it for yourself but don't teach her. Give her the opportunity to come to you and ask for help or you'll wind up chasing her away. As for what to do, again, don't get too hung up on perfect fundamentals. Give her opportunities for lots of little victories, like pocketing easy shots. You have to get her to be curious or she'll lose interest.
 
I would just expand on what Fran said. You know your child best to fine tune it but in general (mostly softball baseball and soccer for me) when coaching kids that young it’s completely about presentation and making it all into a game. That’s easy if she is competitive. Pick one skill , say striking center ball. Compete to see who comes closest to staying on line off the rail. Make it a handicapped competition so you still have to shoot well. No matter what we played (lots of darts for a while) if she managed to win she would confirm multiple times, You were trying right? I actually beat you right? Of course she knew the answer that I’d never let her win but that was the most important thing to her was that I had tried and not given her a win. Sneak in a couple “drill” games then play what she wants to play. Play banks while she makes anything that goes if it makes it more fun for her. Just my two cents to make everything a game based only on my limited non pool teaching experience lol.
 
Roy Steffensen said:
My daughter (aged 9) just got her first cue, and is eager to practice with me every now and then.

What are the best drills, set-ups, advice for letting her enjoy the game and make progress?

I have been practicing some easy one rail kick shots with her, just so she learns to play center of the cueball and understand angles.

Also practiced speed, by playing "the lag", "half the lag" and "1,5 the speed of lag".

The last drill is to put one ball close to the center pocket, and make her pocket it and roll cueball near another objectball close to a pocket.

Of course, she thinks this is boring after a few minutes, and then I let her shoot some balls.

I have never been teaching total beginners before, and that young, so I have absolutely no idea what to do.

Any help is much appreciated
Click to expand...

I think those are a great start, don't show her how to draw the cueball for at least a year, or you will lose her. lol
I have watched so many people trying to learn on their own and getting lessons and they are practicing too far above their actual ability level. I like the kicking part though , it teaches the student how even a little off center affects the cueball angles , also speed . I suggest a mixture of some easy pocketing drills . 10 minutes. speed control maybe make a paper circle and see if she can get the cueball on it after making the shot {I wish I had done this when I first started.} another 10 minutes, half ball, quarter ball, and 1/8 ball hits , show what they look like all over the table. In between each part, play games with her and try your hardest, for 20 minutes or so, that way , you have fun together, shes learning , and you spend an hour and a half together, better do it when shes 9 , if you wait till shes 14, some goofy boy you can't stand will be involved. If she really takes off, which many of them do , I recommend Joe Tuckers drills to everyone. I would have been a much much better player if I had his material when I was younger.
 
Toxictom said:
I'd have her practice stroking into a pop bottle. Pretty basic and she'd learn something quick.
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Not sure if this works with a 'youngling', but it was one of the first things I was shown to practice for stroke consistency. I was at the local billiards store recently and saw a device for sale that was basically the same thing, except a plastic tube. Wish I thought of that.
 
Pocket Change said:
Not sure if this works with a 'youngling', but it was one of the first things I was shown to practice for stroke consistency. I was at the local billiards store recently and saw a device for sale that was basically the same thing, except a plastic tube. Wish I thought of that.
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I think there are better techniques to teach a straight, accurate stroke to beginners that involve a cue ball.
 
book collector said:
I think those are a great start, don't show her how to draw the cueball for at least a year, or you will lose her. lol
I have watched so many people trying to learn on their own and getting lessons and they are practicing too far above their actual ability level....
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There is a kind of drill called "progressive practice" that automatically adjusts to the student's skill level.

As for holding off on draw, I disagree strongly. As soon as a student has a stroke accurate and strong enough to send the cue ball three lengths of the table (over the spots), they are ready to learn about spinning the ball. Spinning the ball is fun.
 
I was hoping that was someone’s opinion other than mine. I admittedly have no clue but to me that falls under the awesome things that motivate people to learn category. Shown correctly in the beginning seems like a preferable start than a lot of people have
 
Bob Jewett said:
There is a kind of drill called "progressive practice" that automatically adjusts to the student's skill level.

As for holding off on draw, I disagree strongly. As soon as a student has a stroke accurate and strong enough to send the cue ball three lengths of the table (over the spots), they are ready to learn about spinning the ball. Spinning the ball is fun.
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When you disagree strongly, does that mean your smart watch beeped because your blood pressure went over 70, or the veins in your forehead nearly burst, and you started searching for your SWD street sweeper? Just curious.[/QUOTE]
 
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Walter Lindrum
What was Walter Lindrum famous for?


images

Lindrum is often considered to be the greatest player ever seen in the sport of billiards,
Walter started with Just 1 ball. For an incredible long time. So I would favor challenges that are fun and use just one ball.
 
FranCrimi said:
I think you should just let her do her thing and have fun. Play games with her and let her watch you pocket balls. Show her how you do it for yourself but don't teach her. Give her the opportunity to come to you and ask for help or you'll wind up chasing her away. As for what to do, again, don't get too hung up on perfect fundamentals. Give her opportunities for lots of little victories, like pocketing easy shots. You have to get her to be curious or she'll lose interest.
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I agree 100%. When my daughter was 8 or 9 she had to have her own cue, case and accessories. She picked out a little Dufferin cue with the picture of an 8 ball on it and a 1x1 pink case and she was ready to go to the hall with dad.
At home I showed her how to get in a comfortable stance and hit the CB in the middle. I would setup ‘dead’ combination shots so no matter how bad she hit the lead ball the ball frozen to it would still go in the hole. She was having fun.
I would take her to the hall early on Sunday, to dodge the riff raff, and play 8 ball. She was allowed two attempts on each shot after she moved the OB a little closer to the hole. The bartender would give her a free 7-up, and all who were there would cheer when she won. She actually became pretty good.
About a year later that phase was over and she never touched her cue again, I still have the little Dufferin and pink case.
I remember early on trying to teach her a little more but she would get that distant look in her eyes and just wanted to make some balls
 
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gregcantrall said:
Walter Lindrum
What was Walter Lindrum famous for? ...
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His father forced him to change hands. Probably beat him when his attention lagged, like the Hoppes. I suspect that is not what the OP has in mind. Both boys eventually supported their families. A hundred years ago that model worked.
 
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