Efren Reyes Coaches/Teaches AND is a Champion at Selecting Students

CJ Wiley

CJ Wiley

ESPN WORLD OPEN CHAMPION
Gold Member
Silver Member
There's people that actually believe Efren can't teach or coach pocket billiards. Not only is he a "master instuctor," he's also a CHAMPION at selection.;)

When you're the World's Best All Around Player in the history of the sport you can be as selective as you want about your students. I have friends that he's personally instructed and if you ask Efren "why did you work with them?" he would smile and say "Just Lucky!" :groucho: "I've personally learned many advanced techniques by playing, watching and asking Efren questions over the years." - CJ Wiley

EFREN REYES - GOOD INSTUCTOR?.....OR THE BEST INSTUCTOR???
 
Last edited:
I met him for the first time when he was in NJ he was being crowded and such and He taught me tricks for having perfect banking to make contact. Im no professional at it yet but I have jumped once this year and I play everyday I can kick out of almost any safe I get put in because of him. He seemed so modest and just loved talking to people that were there. I do believe he is a great man as well as pool player.

Hope my 2 cents arent offensive.
 
I ask Efren, "what's your key to playing consistenly," and he said "No Spin"

jmf041 said:
I met him for the first time when he was in NJ he was being crowded and such and He taught me tricks for having perfect banking to make contact. Im no professional at it yet but I have jumped once this year and I play everyday I can kick out of almost any safe I get put in because of him. He seemed so modest and just loved talking to people that were there. I do believe he is a great man as well as pool player.

Hope my 2 cents arent offensive.
Click to expand...

Your "2 cents" means a lot. Many people don't know the extent of Efren's generousity. Even 25 years ago he supported MANY people in the Philipines. I would say the number, but it would sound exaggerated and it's not my place to disclose that information. My point is he's MUCH more than just a great Champion at Billiards.

I played Bustemante when he first came over in L.A. and was interested in how they played their style and why it was so effective. I ask Efren, "what's your key to playing consistenly," and he said "No Spin"....I already knew how challenging it was to use left and right "spin," with any regularity and play perfect (because of humidity, cloth conditions, deviance calculations). Omaha John used to tell me to "float the cue ball" instead of spinning it, and the only way to do that is with a "Touch" of inside.

This is when I started to "Real Eyes" that what I had been told (by Omaha John, Weldon, Mike L.), the "Touch of Inside" was a powerful technique. I had been using it for years, however, I didn't understand that I wasn't using it enough to maximize the "pocket zone." For 3 weeks I made myself play JUST using the "Touch" and "downloaded" it into my game. 'The Game is the Teacher'
 
And yet the beauty of Efren's game and yours is that you can come with the spin when you really need it.

I once played a friend for a friendly bet who didn't believe that I could beat him with NO sidespin. I played only top and bottom or center ball and beat him easily. I told him that people get so wrapped up in spinning the ball they forget (or never learn) what they can do with speed.

Watching the match between you and Miz it's clear that you don't use any more than you have to. You move the ball using the natural path and great speed control rather than to spin it into position. It's a joy to watch and remind me that I don't need to use the juice so much.
 
Efren is not only my favourite pool personality but sport personality in general. Always smiling. I wish I had that attribute, not just in pool!

I travelled to America a few years ago just to watch him take part in a tourney. Afterwards he was in a pool hall near by with just crowds of people watching him pull off some trickshots and he was having a laugh and a joke with the crowds. He pulled some guys and women out of the crowd and taught them a few tricks. Very few people would go out of their way to get involved to that level with their fans. I'd hate to think how many drinks he got bought for him that night!
 
Ironically, what make Efren so great is his ability to pocket balls using any kind of spin he wants on the cueball.
 
JB Cases said:
And yet the beauty of Efren's game and yours is that you can come with the spin when you really need it.

I once played a friend for a friendly bet who didn't believe that I could beat him with NO sidespin. I played only top and bottom or center ball and beat him easily. I told him that people get so wrapped up in spinning the ball they forget (or never learn) what they can do with speed.

Watching the match between you and Miz it's clear that you don't use any more than you have to. You move the ball using the natural path and great speed control rather than to spin it into position. It's a joy to watch and remind me that I don't need to use the juice so much.
Click to expand...

only if you consistemtly get the correct angle can you do that
imo
 
The Game is just more reliable and easier to calculate using no "side spin.

bbb said:
only if you consistently get the correct angle can you do that
imo
Click to expand...

That's where we'll have to agree to disagree. We can do anything with no spin as most people can do with spin, with the exception of curving the cue ball or changing the angle after going to a rail.

Until you practice for 3 hours using only low, center, high {with a Touch of Inside} it will be nearly impossible to relate to creating any angle with "No Spin."

Let me be also clear that we can all use extreme "English" if we need to, it's just more reliable and easier to calculate using no "side spin."

Playing at the highest levels means "making it simple" and removing variables like speeds, spins, and "throw deviations." It's best to develop ONE consistent shot that you can rely on and hit it as much as possible. That means hitting the cue ball at a very reliable speed as well.

Watch videos of Buddy Hall in his prime and you he will appear to have the same delivery on nearly every shot. He does what I'm saying in a masterful way, and that's why he is one of history's greatest.

You will see that similarity in most of the greatest players concerning consistent speed, spin, and position angles. 'The Game is the Teacher'
 
bbb said:
only if you consistently get the correct angle can you do that
imo
Click to expand...

No actually with speed and only center ball, follow and draw you can make the cue ball go to most places on the table. try it sometimes and you might be surprised at just how much you can really do without sidespin. Of course there are always some shots where the natural path isn't there and you have to use spin but as I said for most shots you can find a way to move the cue ball into place using speed instead of side spin.

Guess I am going to have to do a video.....nah that's sacrilegious of me to post a video of me teaching anything in pool in a thread about Efren. :-)

But honestly, sometimes I will practice for up to an hour shooting with no side spin just to refocus on speed control. It really teaches you how to float the ball as CJ puts it and how to force the ball when needed.
 
Rubyron said:
Ironically, what make Efren so great is his ability to pocket balls using any kind of spin he wants on the cueball.
Click to expand...

:-) there is no one thing that makes Efren great. He is the whole package. To me IF I had to pick one thing that I think makes him great it would be that he truly seems to LOVE the game on a deep deep deep level as evidenced by his claim to love to adopt the fluke shots made by low level players and practice them until he can do them on purpose.

I don't know anyone who loves the game so much that they will do that with the absolute intention of being able to use those shots in game situations. Watching Efren he consistently comes with shots that other players don't play and I honestly believe it's because they either can't see that path OR if they do see it they don't know how to play it.
 
Great players make the game look easy because they're getting the right angle on every shot, playing pocket speed, using the vertical plane of the cue ball rather than horizontal :)
 
weakfingers said:
Great players make the game look easy because they're getting the right angle on every shot, playing pocket speed, using the vertical plane of the cue ball rather than horizontal :)
Click to expand...

Not all of them, Earl recommends you spin every ball in with outside english unless otherwise needed.
 
Rubyron said:
Not all of them, Earl recommends you spin every ball in with outside english unless otherwise needed.
Click to expand...

I was going to take a lesson from Earl here in NYC and a friend took one first and called me to say I should pass...Earl spins everything...I play vertical axis 90% of the time..He said I would have to change my entire approach due to the amount of spin Earl likes...


R
 
JB Cases said:
:-) there is no one thing that makes Efren great. He is the whole package. To me IF I had to pick one thing that I think makes him great it would be that he truly seems to LOVE the game on a deep deep deep level as evidenced by his claim to love to adopt the fluke shots made by low level players and practice them until he can do them on purpose.
Click to expand...

Agree, Efren's love of the game is second to none. After all these years, he's still like the proverbial kid in the candy store - impossible to get him away from the table. True, even he's got his (rare) moments of visible exhaustion when he's at odds with himself or just plain feeling his age, but one will never witness him looking tired of the game itself. That, in itself, is unbeatable.

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
 
JB Cases said:
No actually with speed and only center ball, follow and draw you can make the cue ball go to most places on the table. try it sometimes and you might be surprised at just how much you can really do without sidespin. Of course there are always some shots where the natural path isn't there and you have to use spin but as I said for most shots you can find a way to move the cue ball into place using speed instead of side spin.

Guess I am going to have to do a video.....nah that's sacrilegious of me to post a video of me teaching anything in pool in a thread about Efren. :-)

But honestly, sometimes I will practice for up to an hour shooting with no side spin just to refocus on speed control. It really teaches you how to float the ball as CJ puts it and how to force the ball when needed.
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree!! When someone showed me this years and years ago now my jaw hit the floor. My 9 ball game went up greatly staying on the vertical axis. It's funny how some people refuse to believe it works just as they refuse to believe any aiming system works for some people and not for others.
 
It keeps us in stroke to hit the ball more firmly.

weakfingers said:
Great players make the game look easy because they're getting the right angle on every shot, playing pocket speed, using the vertical plane of the cue ball rather than horizontal :)
Click to expand...

I doubt if you see many great players play "pocket speed," especially playing rotation games. The patterns are generally challenging enough to move the cue ball around quite a bit. It keeps us in stroke to hit the ball more firmly.

And getting the "right angle" on "every shot" is much tougher that it sounds. ;)
 
Whenever I start out with ball in hand, I always make sure that first shot is taken without spin.

For me, this makes it easier to stay on the natural path. As long as my speed is good, I can usually get through a whole rack without using any spin.

I also use a quadrant based system for my patterns that personally makes it easier for me to run out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top