Helping rank beginners

hobokenapa

hobokenapa

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Can anyone suggest some useful exercises or practice routines I can use for rank beginners? I decided I wanted to give some more time back to my wonderful pool community, and so I been giving free lessons once or twice a week to total novices up to APA SL3 players in my APA League that want to learn. My aim is to keep it fun and entertaining for them, as well as helping them to learn the basics. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks! :)
 
Hi, I haven't posted much, mainly cause I'm one of the newbies you're referring to. The best thing I've learned was how to use english properly. I still haven't mastered it, but even knowing the basics( Like not letting the cue ball follow the ob into the pocket, and keeping the ball on the rail the length of the table)
 
Good advice

Neil said:
I'm glad you want to 'give some back'. Kudos to you. The first thing they should learn is how to stand and stroke the cue. Anything else wouldn't be worth it because they would have no consistency. Then teach them how to stop the cueball, and why it stops. What generally happens on an angled stop shot. Then they will have some semblance of positioning the cueball. Set up straight in stop shots. Also hitting the cueball to the rail and back to their tip.
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I would agree with Neil that you really should explain WHY you are trying to teach them specific shot mechanics. Such as, why they should learn to shoot straight. Often you will hear "try to do this" or "shoot the shot this way" without any explanation as to why. Most people learn faster and more effectively when they can visualize or understand what is happening. If the student understands 'what' and 'why' then they will trust in your advice much more. IMHO. :D
 
This simple drill helps many areas such as speed control, simple follow and simple draw among other things.

Take all 15 balls and place them in a straight line about 6 inches apart down the center of the table, with the 2 end balls on the end rails center diamonds. Take BIH on the first shot only and start anywhere you want. Shoot all the balls in any order and any pocket without touching another ball with the cb, hitting rails is fine.
 
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Neil said:
I'm glad you want to 'give some back'. Kudos to you. The first thing they should learn is how to stand and stroke the cue. Anything else wouldn't be worth it because they would have no consistency. Then teach them how to stop the cueball, and why it stops. What generally happens on an angled stop shot. Then they will have some semblance of positioning the cueball. Set up straight in stop shots. Also hitting the cueball to the rail and back to their tip.
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Thanks for the tips. I am a firm believer in the straight shot, and I always start with this. As Jack Nicholas once said "if you can't aim the gun correctly, you are never gonna hit the target". I have been using a strip ball for the up and down shot (and making sure it doesn't wobble). When they get it right, and the stripe doesn't wobble, their face lights up! I make sure they are cueing straight and we work on the simple straight in shot. A few people have asked me "Why does the cue ball stop sometimes?" so that brings in the whole understanding of what is going on angle.

I use the ghost ball for angled shots, then take it away when they are about to shoot. I also tried lining up the stripes on a ball to the pocket to simulate a ghost ball and this actually worked very well. The student just aims in between the two stripes on a ball.

Can you please expand more on the stance? What stance should a beginner employ and why?
 
Something that helped me in lessons was to put an OB on the spot and line up the CB so the shot is straight into the corner pocket.

By looking to see if the CB follows straight through or draws straight back a little helps to see if the person is lined up straight and shooting straight. If the CB wanders left or right, then you can pinpoint where things are off.

As the person progresses, line up corner to coner across the table and repeat.

Helped me iron out my stroke and stance quite a bit.
 
99 Criticle Shots In Pool.

Follow that book or better yet have them all buy the book and then go through it step by step...

I don't think you can find a more natural progression to learning pool and the various shots.
 
BRKNRUN said:
99 Criticle Shots In Pool.

Follow that book or better yet have them all buy the book and then go through it step by step...

I don't think you can find a more natural progression to learning pool and the various shots.
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Great book but most of the shots are WAY too advanced for the "rank beginners who are the subject of the thread.

IMHO, Mosconi's Winning Pocket Billiards is one of the best Pool 101 books out there...is short...and would provide the total beginner with a connection to one of the greats of all time.

Regards,
Jim
 
hobokenapa said:
Can anyone suggest some useful exercises or practice routines I can use for rank beginners? I decided I wanted to give some more time back to my wonderful pool community, and so I been giving free lessons once or twice a week to total novices up to APA SL3 players in my APA League that want to learn. My aim is to keep it fun and entertaining for them, as well as helping them to learn the basics. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks! :)
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As mentioned in another post, Mosconi's Winning Pocket Billiards may well be the best reference for you and your students as to what should be learned and taught from ground zero.

I would also add that you should tell your students that if you catch them intentionally applying english (side) on any of their first 2,000 shots that you will beat them severely!! (-:

There are MANY, MANY things for raw beginners to learn before any attempt is made to impart english

Great idea to use a vertical stripe to show whether they hit on the vertical center or not.

Regards,
Jim
 
I've taught newbys in pool, golf, Karate and bowling!....the thing that works for me is keeping it fun. No lectures, nothing but having a good time while they learn the game through fun practice games.

In pool teaching I would set up shots like playing holes of golf. Start with easy shots, then progress to shots they can't make so they have to figure it out or ask you whats up. I used to have these shots on little cards and flip through them as they progress. When a shot is tough....have a mini session on how and why to shoot it, or what might be holding them back....then back to the fun of shooting balls in the hole.

I think if too much emphasis is on "why" and not on "fun" they might lose interest IMO.....
 
hobokenapa said:
Can anyone suggest some useful exercises or practice routines I can use for rank beginners? I decided I wanted to give some more time back to my wonderful pool community, and so I been giving free lessons once or twice a week to total novices up to APA SL3 players in my APA League that want to learn. My aim is to keep it fun and entertaining for them, as well as helping them to learn the basics. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks! :)
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I would suggest you purchase a couple of copies of Billiard Congress of America's "How to Play Pool Right" DVD, by BCA Master Instructor Jerry Briesath. The DVD is great, and loan it out to your students, and make they work the drills.

Or sell them to the serious student for your cost. Jerry's DVD is just great IMO.
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For a real, true beginner, especially one that didn't play ball-and-stick sports early in life, I like to keep it REALLY simple at first. Show them the most basic parts of stance (which foot is forward, which is back) and stroke (bridge hand stays still, grip hand stays loose) and then shoot balls into the pockets without the cueball. You can play any game (8ball, 9ball, 14.1, etc.) this way. You might think they will run out every time, but they won't. They will discover the need for different bridges and practice shot selection.

This gets them started with basic mechanics and allows them to learn (most of) the rules of the popular games. It also is fun and low pressure. Most importantly, it allows the new player to see success immediately. I think it is very helpful to find ways for learners to succeed as they learn in any arena.
 
This is a simple drill to get the shooter used to the angles involved. The object ball is in fact the cueball in this diagram. The one ball is lined up straight in with seven balls on each side. If you keep the numbered balls in order the shooter can keep track what angle gives them the most trouble and so on.

CueTable Help

 
IMO the best, absolute BEST thing beginners can do is buy Byrnes two videos.

For actually giving instructions live, I think follow the dvd's guidelines, pretty much sequentially as they are presented, and you can't go wrong.


There is no need here, what so ever to reinvent the wheel. Byrnes did an outstanding job with these video's and DVDs in terms of both content and quality of presentation. No other video presentation comes close for beginners.
 
I've had luck with day 1 beginners by telling them that first they 1st need to learn get the cue ball to go where they want - get the cue ball to go where they are aiming.

So practice with just the cue ball on the table. Get the cue ball to hit the far center diamond again and again. (Work on stroke - leave the tip of your cue pointing at where you were aiming after shooting - not up in air to left/right!)

Then teach them to hit the cue ball in the center. Hit the far center diamond and get the cue ball to come straight back.

Next is a winning strategy for 8-ball and day 1 beginners. Don't bang the heck out of the ball! Shoot each ball softly so it gets closer to the pocket. Then the next time it will be an easy shot! Also you may get lucky and block the pocket. If a pocket is blocked, shoot that ball last! (Leave it there to cause your opponent trouble...)
 
MightyX I'd say....single repeatable shot that gives you instant feedback on your stroke...
 
Thanks guys, some great feedback here. For the absolute rank beginners, I've definitely found 'fun' is the way to go at first. If they get the bug for the game, and really want to improve, then I can move things up a level just slightly.

One of the SL3 players I gave a lesson to won her first APA 9-ball match of the season last week, and seeked me out at the pool hall to thank me for how much the time spent with me helped her. Nothing like seeing someone beaming back at you, and so enthuisiastic about the game!
 
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