Head movement

[jchance]

So I didn't play much pool over the holiday season but have been practising hard this week for a French national tournament coming up on Saturday.

Have been playing below par of late and having a few issues with an old bad habit of mine - HEAD MOVEMENT.

I've been told about this basic fundamental for ages but for some reason can't 100% shake it off and it invariably comes back after a while.Was hitting the balls around this evening and getting a bit frustrated at the shots I was missing.

Then on one shot I said to myself "keep your head still" i.e. I actually muttered it under my breath, not just in my head. In went the ball, nice and smooth to the heart of the pocket and good shape.

I thought to myself 'that worked good, let's try again'. So repeated again and again with good results. I was playing the ghost and ran 4 or 5 racks in a row, which is above par for me. I was hitting the 1 much better on the break too with good cb control.

I was pretty surprised how repeating those few words to myself before each shot had such an instant impact. It was one of those 'eureka' moments I love in pool where you make a small tweak to your technique and all of a sudden you are in the zone and feel like you won't miss.

All of that to ask whether many of you are conscious of having trouble with head movement? How do you go about trying to avoid/stop it? I'd be particularly interested to know what any instructors here have to say.

It's not like I don't know that I have to keep my head still when shooting, but I still don't do it consistently enough. I would have thought that after several years playing pool, it would have become more automatic for me but that hasn't been the case yet.

This psychological stimulus of saying the words 'keep your head still' before shooting seemed to have a good effect, so I'm going to try it out at least as a temporary trial this weekend in competition. My opponent might think I'm crazy talking to myself, but if it helps me play better, then it sure will be worth it!

As for a long term solution, let's see how it works out in the next week or two!

 

[Neil]

So I didn't play much pool over the holiday season but have been practising hard this week for a French national tournament coming up on Saturday.

Have been playing below par of late and having a few issues with an old bad habit of mine - HEAD MOVEMENT.

I've been told about this basic fundamental for ages but for some reason can't 100% shake it off and it invariably comes back after a while.Was hitting the balls around this evening and getting a bit frustrated at the shots I was missing.

Then on one shot I said to myself "keep your head still" i.e. I actually muttered it under my breath, not just in my head. In went the ball, nice and smooth to the heart of the pocket and good shape.

I thought to myself 'that worked good, let's try again'. So repeated again and again with good results. I was playing the ghost and ran 4 or 5 racks in a row, which is above par for me. I was hitting the 1 much better on the break too with good cb control.

I was pretty surprised how repeating those few words to myself before each shot had such an instant impact. It was one of those 'eureka' moments I love in pool where you make a small tweak to your technique and all of a sudden you are in the zone and feel like you won't miss.

All of that to ask whether many of you are conscious of having trouble with head movement? How do you go about trying to avoid/stop it? I'd be particularly interested to know what any instructors here have to say.

It's not like I don't know that I have to keep my head still when shooting, but I still don't do it consistently enough. I would have thought that after several years playing pool, it would have become more automatic for me but that hasn't been the case yet.

This psychological stimulus of saying the words 'keep your head still' before shooting seemed to have a good effect, so I'm going to try it out at least as a temporary trial this weekend in competition. My opponent might think I'm crazy talking to myself, but if it helps me play better, then it sure will be worth it!

As for a long term solution, let's see how it works out in the next week or two!

If you keep telling yourself to keep it still for 30 days of playing, it should become habit to keep it still.

 

[Pidge]

When do you talk to your self? As you pull back? Before you get down? As you're in the address position?

I've heard of some snooker players saying things in their head like a key word to time their cue action. One uses the word 'strawberries' lol. Never heard of anyone telling them selves to focus on something out loud though. If its working then don't stop.
I would seriously consider getting to the bottom of why your head moves though. At least then if it creeps back in to your game you can practise on a specific thing to prevent it.

 

[ENGLISH!]

Sometimes if head movement happens on an inconsistent basis it can be the subconscious mind trying to save a misaligned shot. An observer may say you missed because you jumped up or you moved your head.

Maybe. Maybe not. It may just be that your subconscious mind knew that you were off & it was trying to save an already bad shot.

If it is a consistent, every shot thing then tha only thing I could relate it to is looking to see if the ball is going to go into the pocket.

It's a putting fault putting in golf.

The fix is to LISTEN & not look for the ball going into the hole or the pocket.

Try, in practice, staying still with your eyes looking at the OB or CB area which ever you look at last & just LISTEN for the ball hitting or dropping into the pocket.

You might want to spend a day hitting every shot at pocket speed so that you must stay down with eyes fixed longer before hearing the ball drop.

Good luck with finding your solution.

If the talking to yourself is working just keep doing it & maybe then try saying it to yourself instead of out loud.

Best 2 Ya,
Rick

 

[jchance]

When do you talk to your self? As you pull back? Before you get down? As you're in the address position?

I've heard of some snooker players saying things in their head like a key word to time their cue action. One uses the word 'strawberries' lol. Never heard of anyone telling them selves to focus on something out loud though. If its working then don't stop.
I would seriously consider getting to the bottom of why your head moves though. At least then if it creeps back in to your game you can practise on a specific thing to prevent it.

Hi Pidge,

I was just saying the words when I got down on the shot and first started addressing the shot. I have also heard of players using an acronym to remind them of certain key fundamentals.

I agree it would be good to get to the root cause of the head movement problem to try and stop it. It feels like it's a psychological thing, it's like I am in a hurry to get up, maybe prematurely anticipating the end of the shot before actually going through the proper routine to the end.

 

[Scaramouche]

Have someone stand beside you with a cue just above your head.
You will pound the lesson into your thick skull.

 

[Drop The Rock]

If you have ever hit your self in the chin with your cue on the final stroke or your stroke forces you to pick up in order to finish all the way then that's your problem. I wear a pretty heavy chain bracelet on my left hand that keeps focused on staying down on a shot. So on top of talking to yourself for that purpose maybe try to find something tangible to remind you.