Height

Muxy

Unleash The Fury
Silver Member
When I started playing pool around two years ago I was around the height of 5’8-9ish. While playing as I am a growing teenager I have sprouted to over 6’. I have found my chin-on-cue stance is not working anymore.

Could this be cause by my torso being elongated and therefore have to stand in more of an upright position. I tried a new stance where I would put my chin on the cue but then left my body 4-6” up putting myself into a comfortable stance. I was just wondering because I am growing will I have to make adjustments to my stance.
 
Muxy said:
When I started playing pool around two years ago I was around the height of 5’8-9ish. While playing as I am a growing teenager I have sprouted to over 6’. I have found my chin-on-cue stance is not working anymore.

Could this be cause by my torso being elongated and therefore have to stand in more of an upright position. I tried a new stance where I would put my chin on the cue but then left my body 4-6” up putting myself into a comfortable stance. I was just wondering because I am growing will I have to make adjustments to my stance.

I would imagine that adjustments need to be made as you grow. However I've been a lean mean coordinated 5'6" machine since I was a young teenager 30 years ago, so what do I know.

Dave
 
Muxy said:
When I started playing pool around two years ago I was around the height of 5’8-9ish. While playing as I am a growing teenager I have sprouted to over 6’. I have found my chin-on-cue stance is not working anymore.

Could this be cause by my torso being elongated and therefore have to stand in more of an upright position. I tried a new stance where I would put my chin on the cue but then left my body 4-6” up putting myself into a comfortable stance. I was just wondering because I am growing will I have to make adjustments to my stance.

Wow, after two years of shooting pool, you're already over six feet tall. Why, then, am I just 5'7" after playing the game for thirty six years?....... But seriously, Muxy, it might be a good idea to ask a qualified teaching pro to evauate whether you have made the right adjustments in your stance and setup, because there's a lot riding on it.
 
You can put your back leg, farther back. It will make you have a lower stance with out being to uncomfortable. (Something that I heard a house player tell a tall player one time.)

Mike
 
i'm 6ft, most shots i'm a few inches off the cue. only on table length shots am is my chin down on the cue.

play around with your stance. you'll find that you'll have a few stances that work for different shots.

VAP
 
Muxy said:
When I started playing pool around two years ago I was around the height of 5’8-9ish. While playing as I am a growing teenager I have sprouted to over 6’. I have found my chin-on-cue stance is not working anymore.

Could this be cause by my torso being elongated and therefore have to stand in more of an upright position. I tried a new stance where I would put my chin on the cue but then left my body 4-6” up putting myself into a comfortable stance. I was just wondering because I am growing will I have to make adjustments to my stance.


Muxy...is that WITH or WITHOUT shoes? :rolleyes: ;)

I would suggest starting ballet lessons for flexibility. Most importantly, always wear the pink tutu while you're practicing and playing. :eek:
 
1pRoscoe said:
Woohoo!!! I'm finally not the shortest one!!

<-- 5'9"


Not necessarily...the next category of measurements will be coming up later.
(Except we'll ALL be lying our asses off for that one) :D
 
I’m 6ft in the morning, …..slightly under that in the afternoon. Fortunately, I don’t play in the morning, so I’m not able to relate. I have noticed that age does play a factor in stance height though, the older you get the more upright one becomes.

D’maker should almost be vertical by now. (j/k – don’t word slap me)

Rick
 
I'm 6'5" and I've always had troubles with feet alignment and finding a steady stance. Well, I kind of compromised and my legs are both bent in a funny looking stance, but I can't help it, it feels solid. And I noticed that when I'm playing well, my chin is at least 5-7 inches above the cue. If I squeeze myself down near the cue, I get much more tense and can't shoot relaxed.
 
Last edited:
I'm 6' and now put my chin on the cue.

For most of my life, I didn't put my chin on the cue. Then about a year ago when I made about 5 major changes to my stance, one was putting my chin on my cue. The main reason was to help prevent miscues when drawing. After jacking myself in the chin about 20 times, I learned to not lift up my stick. Painful, but effective. Now I have the Kirk Douglas look. :)

So, the way I accomplished this change was to concentrate on sticking my stroking elbow higher up. As my body went down lower, I had to put the elbow up so the stick would stay the same level, if that makes sense.

Someone said as one ages the body wants to go more upright. Maybe, but for me, I went against that. With a lot of back problems as a young adult, I thought it would be painful to get down on the cue, but by bending my knees a little and sticking my elbow up, the problems never materialized. I also keep my pelvis tilted so as to keep the muscles in my lower back stretched not stressed.

Being tall has intimidation advantages and the women like it, too. You're fortunate.

Jeff Livingston
 
fundamentals

Muxy said:
When I started playing pool around two years ago I was around the height of 5’8-9ish. While playing as I am a growing teenager I have sprouted to over 6’. I have found my chin-on-cue stance is not working anymore.

Could this be cause by my torso being elongated and therefore have to stand in more of an upright position. I tried a new stance where I would put my chin on the cue but then left my body 4-6” up putting myself into a comfortable stance. I was just wondering because I am growing will I have to make adjustments to my stance.

Muxy,
I can completely relate...6'-2 3/4" and now growing sideways...not a pretty picture.
Consider your fundamentals...if you don't sorta know what your fundamentals are...take a look at my website...hittcues.com...under the transcendental pool section. I put this up as a primer and you may find it useful. Just my opinion...you be the judge.
I have a lot of experience in this area. You will have to make several adjustments based on your height, but every player has to make adjustments of some kind...sometimes it's difficult to distinguish between a slump and a fundamental problem...lots of times it is related.
If you plug in to the presentation, feel free to contact me with any questions.
 
hustlefinger said:
I have noticed that age does play a factor in stance height though, the older you get the more upright one becomes.

D’maker should almost be vertical by now. (j/k – don’t word slap me)

Rick


LOL...I like the term about word slapping. You're kinda right though...Jennifer Baretta refers to me as "Old School" because I'm more upright than the newer breed of young players. (although not bolt upright) But I was always like that because Luther Lassiter was my hero as I was growing up and I emulated his stance.
If I place my chin on the cue, my arm never feels loose and free to make a stroke and I get a lousy perspective on the table for speed, angles, and position play.
 
hustlefinger said:
...the older you get the more upright one becomes.

D’maker should almost be vertical by now. (j/k – don’t word slap me)

Rick

Better than being horizontal !

Dave

PS, did I say I'm 5'6" ? I meant 6'5" ... really ... this is the Internet right ? OK good. I'm very big, don't mess with me, especially you Roscoe :p
 
drivermaker said:
...Jennifer Baretta refers to me as "Old School" because I'm more upright than the newer breed of young players. (although not bolt upright) But I was always like that because Luther Lassiter was my hero as I was growing up and I emulated his stance.

I seam to remember you saying something about your more uprightness position in another post.

When I first started I was very low on the cue, now 20 some years later I’m 6 to 8 in. off the cue. I think low cueing probably has some accuracy advantages in slighting and hitting thin cuts. A slightly higher cueing may give a better overall perspective for CB paths and angles. And I agree about the arm swing too.

Rick
 
Muxy, I can definitely relate. I'm 6'4" and have degenerative bone disease. I used to get right down on the cue, but just can't do that anymore. When I was a teenager, there weren't many players that had their chin on their cue, so I was kind of unique. Of course, we're talking about an era when pteradactyls ruled the skies...

As I aged and got taller, I found I had to change my stance (and a lot of other things) to comfortably play pool. These days, I can comfortably play with my chin 4 or 5 inches above the cue. I have no trouble seeing my shot lines at that height above the cue and can pocket balls as well as I ever could, and actually, can pocket many shots better.

Here are the problems I had... Had to change my stance, as all of a sudden, my butt was higher than my head. Had to change my bridge length. Had to change my grip locations (longer arms). Had to change my alignment (just couldn't align the same tall as I could short).

Key is to get comfortable and find a stance, bridge length, head heighth, etc, that allows you to play without your body being strained. Every player is different. You can take 10 players all the same height and every one of them will have different compensations they make for their height. Experiment a little and you'll find what works best for you.

Later,
Bob
 
Muxy, I am 6-2 and in my adult life have always played with my chin from 6 to 12 inches above the cue on most shots. For some reason that I can't explain, but some aiming system may, I can see most cuts better standing straight up, aligning my body and the lowering it to shoot.

A few years ago, I saw some good "shotmakers" that had their chin on the cue and I started trying it. It seemed to work for some shots and not others (see VAP's post above). I now use a mix of heights and don't usually even think about it. When I bend over for the shot, my body just settles into the height that feels "right" for that shot.
 
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