Help with my stance? Video analysis

B

bdorman

Dead money
Silver Member
Here's a real challenge for the AZ experts.

I've got arthritis in my neck that limits both the up/down and side-to-side motions. As you can see in the video, it causes two main problems:

1) In my stance I have to crouch down to see the CB due to the up/down limitation. Even when crouching down, if the OB is more than 5 feet away, I can't raise my head enough to see it clearly.

2) The side-to-side limitation keeps me from lining up my dominant eye (right eye ... thank God it's not the left!) directly over the cue resulting in parallax error. I line up my shot while standing and I don't change it once I'm down on the CB because the parallax error will always make the angle look wrong -- even when it's right.

All suggestions, opinions and comments are welcome!

Here's the youtube link (corrected): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydYr6mKyVQM
 
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I've corrected the youtube.com URL. Not sure where that one came from??? Sorry for the inconvenience.
 
I think you're on the right track with the adjustments you've tried. The higher stance will be a must, especially for the longer shots, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Eliminating the parallax sighting issue may be very difficult to resolve, if at all, since movement of your neck is very limited. The problem being your hips will be in the way when your eyes or on the shot line. Can you shoot a ball down the long string to the cushion and back to your tip? If you can, then you probably don't need to find another solution. If not, keep trying different positions for your feet, legs, and hips. You might find something that works for you.
 
I think someone like scott lee should look into finding techniques for these guys that have issues that love the game and want to keep playing. I see older guys in the league i play in that have similar issues. You can see they just love the game.
 
I'm not Scott Lee but you (bdorman) might want to try leaning more to the right to get your head more over your cue. Leaning won't require you to move your head, so it shouldn't put you in any additional discomfort. Just get into position with your feet and then lean a bit to the right. It shouldn't put you off-balance at all. In fact, you may find that you're more in balance than before. Give it a shot.
 
FranCrimi said:
I'm not Scott Lee but you (bdorman) might want to try leaning more to the right to get your head more over your cue. Leaning won't require you to move your head, so it shouldn't put you in any additional discomfort. Just get into position with your feet and then lean a bit to the right. It shouldn't put you off-balance at all. In fact, you may find that you're more in balance than before. Give it a shot.
Click to expand...

I just used scott lee as an example because he seems to keep his own name out there in the main forum often. I don't mean to give the impression he is the most knowledgeable instructor because i have no clue who is since i have no experience with any instructors. ;)
 
Hey - you look like me when you shoot. I've had limitations in low back flexion-rotation for a long time and your stance modifications are very similar to some adjustments I have made. I am not an instructor, and don't play all that well, but here are some suggestions:

1. Equipment: The other poster who suggested raising your table is spot on. My home table is at about 33" surface height. It helps a lot. 32-35" would be reasonable, perhaps more if you are tall. But more important is your eyewear. You need the kind of pool glasses with the sidepieces angled up so that you are looking through the lens centers. This will help compensate for your loss of neck extension that forces you to look over the lens center, and perhaps over the frames. You can buy these from a company in the UK, or if you are handy, fabricate your own sidepieces and nose bridge.

2. Stance: Try this - Stand square to the shot, insteps around 9" apart.Place the instep of your back foot on the shot line and move your front foot forward so that the heel of your front foot (this will be your left foot, since you shoot right) is even with the toe of your back foot. You should be able to keep your body square to the shot with your feet like this. Now let your knees bend. As you sink down, keep your feet planted, but let your knees and hips shift a little left-right so that your head comes down on the shot line, square to the shot.

3. Back hand: When you enter a "sit-down" type stance, you will need to move your back hand farther towards the butt of the stick than usual to maintain the 90 degree position.

4. Once you get your glasses issue fixed, there may be days when you can't get your eye position right. Try closing one eye.Use the one you can get directly on the shot line. This removes any parallax, but takes some practice and introduces some depth perception issues. But, there are times when it is the best solution.

NDT
 
bdorman...I watched your video a few times. You move the cue through the CB pretty well, and I like your finish. One thing that I can suggest, due to the restricted movement in your neck, is to kick your back leg way back in your stance. That will raise your stance up somewhat. Not everyone can be helped with physical limitations, but this works for many players. Hope it helps! :thumbup:

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
 
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