One guy I know likes to tell *everyone* exactly how to shoot. Exactly how their fingers should be placed, exactly how long their bridge should be, etc. (micro-managing). His "students" get worse in their playing, not better. He is forcing his methods on other people whether or not they want it. He gets irritated with me because I refuse to listen to his advice. (I get my advice here thank you - and what you guys have to say, many times is quite different from what he has to say.)
I on the other hand don't tell anyone else how to shoot unless they ask, then I tell them the general idea or theory behind something, then let them let them figure it out for themselves, try different things, and do what works best for them. If they want to know how I learned how to make certain shots, I share my drills with them and explain how the drills or practice helped me and why, then let them alone and don't say another word. (I'd rather play than instruct.) Many players don't take the time to practice, so the way I look at it, if they want to improve, they have all the information they need, if they don't want to improve, I have not wasted much of my time on them.
About 6 months ago, there was a player who anyone could beat at pool. I spent about 15 minutes with him and gave him some drills to practice. Then explained the general idea behind the drills - practice what you are not good at, etc. and practice those shots a lot. So I saw him playing pool (8-ball) the other night and he had left his opponent (a very good player) with 7 balls on the table! I said "Holy cow! You've been practicing! You've been practicing those drills I gave you?" He said "Yup! Everyday..."
Another player I was playing with about 8 months ago had a combo shot as his only shot. He said "I'm not good at these shots!". He then proceeded to miss his shot. After we finished the game, I said "Would you like to practice combo shots?" He said "yes". So I just kept lining up combo shots for him while he shot them. At first easy can't miss combo shots. He of course made these shots. I then said "You are good at these shots. Why do you say you are bad at them?" He shrugged. Then I lined up the shots so they were more and more difficult and he made many of them. I think we spent about 15 minutes on this. I kept telling him how good he was at making those shots. Just a few days ago I was playing him and he made a combo shot. I said "good shot". He said "Aren't you sorry you taught me how to shoot those shots?" I just smiled. (I didn't teach him anything! I just got it into his mind that he was good at making these shots...)
I on the other hand don't tell anyone else how to shoot unless they ask, then I tell them the general idea or theory behind something, then let them let them figure it out for themselves, try different things, and do what works best for them. If they want to know how I learned how to make certain shots, I share my drills with them and explain how the drills or practice helped me and why, then let them alone and don't say another word. (I'd rather play than instruct.) Many players don't take the time to practice, so the way I look at it, if they want to improve, they have all the information they need, if they don't want to improve, I have not wasted much of my time on them.
About 6 months ago, there was a player who anyone could beat at pool. I spent about 15 minutes with him and gave him some drills to practice. Then explained the general idea behind the drills - practice what you are not good at, etc. and practice those shots a lot. So I saw him playing pool (8-ball) the other night and he had left his opponent (a very good player) with 7 balls on the table! I said "Holy cow! You've been practicing! You've been practicing those drills I gave you?" He said "Yup! Everyday..."
Another player I was playing with about 8 months ago had a combo shot as his only shot. He said "I'm not good at these shots!". He then proceeded to miss his shot. After we finished the game, I said "Would you like to practice combo shots?" He said "yes". So I just kept lining up combo shots for him while he shot them. At first easy can't miss combo shots. He of course made these shots. I then said "You are good at these shots. Why do you say you are bad at them?" He shrugged. Then I lined up the shots so they were more and more difficult and he made many of them. I think we spent about 15 minutes on this. I kept telling him how good he was at making those shots. Just a few days ago I was playing him and he made a combo shot. I said "good shot". He said "Aren't you sorry you taught me how to shoot those shots?" I just smiled. (I didn't teach him anything! I just got it into his mind that he was good at making these shots...)