Hamb

Thunderball

Thunderball

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So I've been thinking about Neils preferred training aid.
Hit a million balls.
Basically, practice practice practice...play play play ect.
All other "systems", dvds, lessons ect. take a backseat to this simple, yet probably most effective approach to elevating ones game.
(Not putting words in Neils mouth I hope...just my interpretation)

But then I got to wondering...have I hit a million?

Started playing in my teens.I'm near 40 now. Really started playing pretty regular around 25 or so. I play ok...and some days pretty good...some days not so much. The regular ups and downs as we all know to well. But my best play now is much better then my best play ten years ago (hope that makes sense).

But over all those years....have I hit a million? An actual million balls? I have no idea lol.
No doubt its lots and lots and lots...but a million? That's a lot of pool shots...think about it. 1,000,000,000.

Is a million possible? Probable? Completely unrealistic?

So I ask...do you think have HAMB?
 
In a lifetime...sure. As part of a "practice regimen"? Doubtful. Think about it. If you dedicated yourself to nothing else...no job, no family, no life...and you played 100 racks/day (1500 balls)...how long would that take the average Joe? The best players on Earth struggle to play 50-60 racks in a day (in competition)...and that's 9 or 10-ball. Let's call it 8-10 hrs on average, as a minimum. Divide 1,000,000 by 1500, and you get somewhere between 2 and 3 years...doing NOTHING else but hitting balls. Does that necessarily mean that you will play really well? Nope. I've seen players who have played for 30-40 years, with the same bad habits that hinder their improvement.

Now, take someone who gets some good quality instruction, and spends the time necessary to ingrain the new knowledge. They don't have to "hit a million balls" to get better. In fact, that would be overkill, and counterproductive to real learning. The highest retention learning comes from short duration, high focus activity, with achievable goals and measurable results...which is how you build an accurate and repeatable stroke.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
lets say someone plays for 15 years. 15 x365= 5475 days. divide 1000000balls by 5475 days you get about 182.6 balls a day you need to hit. that comes out to just about 12 racks of 15 balls. just by your self, taking every shot. i play a lot. but i can't imagine going to the pool hall every day for 15 years and shooting at least 12 racks. i have a job, family, other interests. i may go on a given day and play for 8 hours mixing practice and competition. and maybe play 50 or 60 racks, but that's not hitting every ball. and then i may not go back for a few days and when i do it might just be to play my bca match and a few warm up games. in that case i may not hit a total of 20 balls, with players running out and it's 8 ball so to win that's all you need is 8.
a million is a lot of playing. and sure your eye will get sharp, and you'll make some shots over and over that get routine, but if you have stroke problems or play bad patterns and crap shape, two million won't fix that.
 
Neil, in didn't mean to infer that you meant "just hie em". I know better than that and I agree with your post 100%. Scotts too for that matter.

I was taking your HAMB approach it the literal sense...or at least it it had me wondering...how many freakin balls have I hit? Is it million?

Not bashing systems, lessons or advocating unfocused ball whacking.
 
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