Giving advice on shot speed

S

SlewFootLag

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I'm an APA team captain and oftentimes [during timeouts] have trouble giving team mates appropriate advice when speed is an integral factor, not that speed isn't important on all shots:wink:.

The 1(softest)-10(hardest) system rarely translates in the midst of a match (although 'lag speed' usually works when applicable).

So my question is...
Is it safe to say that a 30 degree cut will cause a CB energy loss of about 1/2 the speed after OB contact (with a center ball hit)? Same goes for a 15 degree cut yielding a CB energy loss of 3/4? If this is right, do ya'll think this is a good way address certain shots? How much will draw/follow impact energy loss? Also, I'm mostly talking about APA 4's and 5's... Too technical? Any other tips on managing speed issues during timeouts???
Thanks!
Dave
 
Honestly I would either choose to stick with the number method with their levels, or simply stick to describing the shot to them, where to hit and follow it with something like "hit it hard enough to come into this rail and roll out to around here for your shot on this ball".

A great little method for numbers speed control is to mark a players shaft with those little round sticky things you get from an office supply store or a craft store. Stick one just below the ferrule... And this is 10,stick one an inch from the v of their bridge when the tip is touching the cue ball and this is 1.divide the space between 10 and 1 equally to create a 1-10. Then they need to hit a 4 speed shot and they pull back to the fourth sticker above their v and fire.

It helps have a visual aid for developing speed control with weaker players and it also helps them cue and accelerate at a consistent speed... Quickening up the speed control learning curve.
 
OK, good idea. Also, maybe I'll get each of my team mates to show me their 1-5-10 speeds so I can adjust to each of their own "speeds" during timeouts so i'm not just imposing my 'speeds' onto them... I feel like a big part of giving timeouts is catering your advice to the specific player you're coaching, It seems to give them more confidence in their ability for the shot that you're suggesting. So maybe coaching them up prior is the best way.
 
It's been a long time since I had any exposure to physics but if the cue ball and object ball are the same weight then technically a 1/3 hit would only diminish 1/3 of the energy in the cue ball and a 1/2 ball hit would transfer 50% of the energy to the object ball and the cue ball would retain 50% of the energy.

The problem with speed is that these ratios are based on a sliding cue ball. If the cue ball has draw or top spin....the speed of the cue ball after contact is adjusted by the friction created through the added spin upon the fabric.
 
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SlewFootLag said:
OK, good idea. Also, maybe I'll get each of my team mates to show me their 1-5-10 speeds so I can adjust to each of their own "speeds" during timeouts so i'm not just imposing my 'speeds' onto them... I feel like a big part of giving timeouts is catering your advice to the specific player you're coaching, It seems to give them more confidence in their ability for the shot that you're suggesting. So maybe coaching them up prior is the best way.
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Preparation is better than trying to explain it in a timeout, definitely.

The problem with placing the stickers to cater to their 1234...etc shot speeds is that they're aren't up to a standard yet of having a firm grasp of shot speed so they will be all over the place and often you will find that a 6 shot pulls back just as far as their 8 shot. I would suggest spacing them evenly with 10 being a full backswing and a 1 being an inch backswing. Then space the in between stickers as evenly as possible.

They have to learn it from scratch... Granted, but they don't have much of an understanding on how to control speed methodically anyway. So they will be learning a new method, but they will be learning g it correctly if that makes sense.
 
Maybe try to communicate speed through table lengths? For example a lot of positional shots can be accomplished by using a lag speed (two table lengths), softer shots are going to be about half that (1 table length), a power shot maybe 4 table lengths. This is off the top of my head but it seems like an unambiguous universal approach to communicating cue speed. Using cue length is still dependent on the players physiology and quality of stroke.
 
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rrick33 said:
It's been a long time since I had any exposure to physics but if the cue ball and object ball are the same weight then technically a 1/3 hit would only diminish 1/3 of the energy in the cue ball and a 1/2 ball hit would transfer 50% of the energy to the object ball and the cue ball would retain 50% of the energy.

The problem with speed is that these ratios are based on a sliding cue ball. If the cue ball has draw or top spin....the speed of the cue ball after contact is adjusted by the friction created through the added spin upon the fabric.
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A half-ball hit with a rolling cue ball results in the cue ball and object ball going nearly the same distance (if neither hits a cushion). A 45-degree cut (roughly 1/4-ball) with a stun shot will get equal distance on the cue ball and object ball.

The initial velocities between cue ball and object ball are proportional to the sine and cosine of the cut angle. Those are equal for a 45-degree cut.
 
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