I just attended Cue U
Cue U located in Rockford, Illinois. It is about an hour or so west of O'Hare airport in Chicago. See
http://www.cue-u.com/ I'd be happy to answer any specific questions folks might have, but here's my review...
It is run by Bob Radford, a voting member of BCA, and one of 11 BCA certified Master Instructors, and a nationally ranked referee. However, you learn all that by reading the website, as Bob and his instructors are quite low-key and don't spend time tooting their own horns - they focus on you and your game, and are very positive and supporting in their approach.
The classroom has about a dozen 9’ tables, all in pristine condition, as if new cloth were put on the day before, and the table re-leveled. You couldn’t possibly have complaints about the equipment. The class I attended had a total of 6 students, and had 6 instructors, so you are always getting personal observation from an instructor.
There are multiple levels of courses, I took course #1. I’ve been playing for 5 years, and I’m an SL5 in APA 8-ball, so it’s not like I am a beginner. In the DM Holiday Tournament held here on the AZ forum, I was about in the middle of the pack with a score in the high 400’s – a “developing pro.” However, I’ve also sort of hit a plateau, and haven’t really been able to move beyond this stage for the past year or more. So, I attended in hopes of learning what I need to do to become more consistent. Course #1, which they recommended, is their lowest level course, primarily devoted to proper technique, a solid foundation, which meant, at least for me, a significant number of small changes – too many for me to assimilate in one weekend! In effect, they break down your aim, approach, stance, stroke and follow through, keeping what’s good, and throwing out the rest. They have a definite point-of-view as to what proper technique is and is not; this contained some surprises for me… for example, I had been taught to use a closed (loop) bridge. They teach an open bridge – with this reasoning: the old masters, like Mosconi, who advocated a loop bridge, by and large came from a billiards background with heavier balls, more English, less precision in aim. However, the new masters, and best shooters are coming from a snooker background – smaller balls / more precision in aiming – and they all use an open bridge (watch Allison for example). The open bridge simply allows better vision across the top of the cue, better aim, better shot, more precise control of the cueball. They strongly advocate doing the same things every time to develop consistent results.
There is about a 50/50 split between “blackboard” sessions, taking notes, and time spent on the table, doing exercises so that you experience how their approach will feel and work for you. You are videotaped doing many of the exercises, then your tape is reviewed and critiqued in the blackboard sessions. This is an excellent feature, I think, as you just cannot beat seeing what you actually do – sometimes it isn’t what you think you are doing. Also, there is a fair amount of applied physics, learning why things work – for example why its harder to be precise when using draw (amazing self demonstration with a special cueball - even if you like using draw, you cannot help but be convinced by this one).
In this course, there are no strategy sessions, no trick shots, kicks, no banks, no trick shots, and no watching the instructors show off, either. In fact, it’s a rare moment when an instructor takes even one shot. It’s pretty business-like. There is a fair amount of time spent on mental preparation, attitude, and self-confidence.
I liken it to batting practice for baseball. If you are really a beginner, you obviously need it. If you are already well-schooled, then you probably need some diagnosis from time to time, and a minor correction or alteration (even the pros have hitting coaches) to get back on track. In my case, I wish I’d taken this course four or five years ago; it’s easier to set good habits to start than to break your bad ones later. So, now I’ve got a notebook full of things to work on; I’m going to try to assimilate them into my game one at a time until I finish the checklist I have in my course notebook (partial list: open bridge, shorter bridge, longer pause, finish fully, stay down longer…)
I don’t recommend taking this course the week before you have to play for the league championship, or a tournament – you’re going to be a bit mixed up between your old habits and the ones you know you should have, and this will leave you thinking about technique and not the match – and like Yogi says, “you can’t think and hit at the same time.”
In my case, I think the $$$ was better spent here than learning by playing for money. If you are really a strong pro-caliber player, like the guy on this thread w/ 20 years experience, then you’ll either find this too basic or an excellent refresher, depending upon your attitude. There are however, two more advanced courses beyond this one which might be more suited to you – and you should discuss this with Bob, of course. He also does one-on-one coaching with professional players.
Of interest, but having nothing to do with the school itself… On another floor of the building, Bob also maintains an incredible collection of about 30 restored antique pool tables, dating back into the early 1800’s. They all look brand new. Spectacular.
