I have played basketball since I was 7. My shooting form did not change much because I did what I was used to. Sure I held my finish more on shots as I got better but for the most part my mechanics were unchanged. I didn't have a chicken wing shooting arm by any means but I wasn't perpendicular either.
Various teachers, videos, and books have told me to form my stroke a certain way. As a result I constantly think about it. However, the other day I just tried to let my body do what felt comfortable and drew a correlation. What I found was that the most comfortable thing for me was my wrist and elbow in nearly the same positions as my basketball for except turned down obviously. This is similar to how my stroke was when I first started playing, when all I worried about was making the shot.
Reverting to this gave me a ton of confidence Monday night and just felt right. My stroke felt much "lighter" and more effortless than it had in a long time. My cue speed was much quicker and my cuing felt more precise. In other words I let my muscle memory take over with a sport I played for 12 years and used that in combination with what I have learned playing pool over the last year and a half. The results included SIGNIFICANT improvements in cue ball control. I probably played some of the best one pocket I have played in a while too =]
I wonder how many other pool players can apply past experience in other sports to their pool games? I know golf shares some concepts as well.
Various teachers, videos, and books have told me to form my stroke a certain way. As a result I constantly think about it. However, the other day I just tried to let my body do what felt comfortable and drew a correlation. What I found was that the most comfortable thing for me was my wrist and elbow in nearly the same positions as my basketball for except turned down obviously. This is similar to how my stroke was when I first started playing, when all I worried about was making the shot.
Reverting to this gave me a ton of confidence Monday night and just felt right. My stroke felt much "lighter" and more effortless than it had in a long time. My cue speed was much quicker and my cuing felt more precise. In other words I let my muscle memory take over with a sport I played for 12 years and used that in combination with what I have learned playing pool over the last year and a half. The results included SIGNIFICANT improvements in cue ball control. I probably played some of the best one pocket I have played in a while too =]
I wonder how many other pool players can apply past experience in other sports to their pool games? I know golf shares some concepts as well.