OK, today is the day I get my table recovered! As a result the last 4 days have been "jump shot days" here in the ol' pool lab. I've probably put in 8-10 hours of jumping balls!
There are a few advantageous to putting in this kind of bulk practice. One is that you realize quickly if you are using muscles you shouldn't be. I remember using the Break-Rak one time and my arms were sore in some spots the next day. That was a big clue that I was tensing muscles I really shouldn't be using. I wouldn't have noticed had I not put in 200 breaks. Similarly with my jumps I started to realize that I was putting way too much strain on my bridge hand.
But I also noticed I was struggling with some unintended spin. My cue ball would clear the obstacle, but then curve away on longer shots. So here is what I started doing. I put an object ball on the head spot, and the cue ball a foot behind it between the head spot and the end rail. Then I took dead aim at the opposite end rail and shot a jump shot with the goal of rebounding back up table and contacting the ball I was jumping over. Kind of like the 'lag to the end rail and back to your tip' drill, only over a ball.
It was eye opening. I couldn't hit the ball! My cue ball would sometimes arc so much it would hit the side rail, and if not it would spin a good diamond or two off course coming back up table. I was only hitting the ball 1/10 tries! At first I thought I could correct this by finding the right technique, so I fiddled around with my sighting, aiming my cue stick at the base of the cue ball and then lifting closer to center to try to keep it in the middle, etc. But after tinkering with a bunch of things I was still struggling.
So I went to brute force. Hit a million balls. I just jumped and jumped and jumped and told my brain to figure it out. Well, it must have, because by the end of day three I was jumping much, much better. I went from continuously guessing to hitting much more relaxed and accurate shots. I was pocketing straight shots with a controlled stop shot more and more often and had a good feel for the cut shots (making sure I was down on the table and didn't bounce over the target ball, overcutting it).
When I went back to my original 'jump to the end rail' drill I was stunned with my progress! I was able to hit 6/10 of those attempts, and more and more squarely! I was so thrilled. Jumps still are difficult for me, but I feel much better than I did before.
I share this both because it is a great test for jumping. Also though it speaks to the power of brute force. Sometimes we beat our heads against the wall for a long time trying something that doesn't work. But other times we can give up too quickly on something because we are looking for an easy way to make it happen. Pool is a tough game and sometimes we just have to put in some sweat and tears to make it come together.
Happy jumping!
There are a few advantageous to putting in this kind of bulk practice. One is that you realize quickly if you are using muscles you shouldn't be. I remember using the Break-Rak one time and my arms were sore in some spots the next day. That was a big clue that I was tensing muscles I really shouldn't be using. I wouldn't have noticed had I not put in 200 breaks. Similarly with my jumps I started to realize that I was putting way too much strain on my bridge hand.
But I also noticed I was struggling with some unintended spin. My cue ball would clear the obstacle, but then curve away on longer shots. So here is what I started doing. I put an object ball on the head spot, and the cue ball a foot behind it between the head spot and the end rail. Then I took dead aim at the opposite end rail and shot a jump shot with the goal of rebounding back up table and contacting the ball I was jumping over. Kind of like the 'lag to the end rail and back to your tip' drill, only over a ball.
It was eye opening. I couldn't hit the ball! My cue ball would sometimes arc so much it would hit the side rail, and if not it would spin a good diamond or two off course coming back up table. I was only hitting the ball 1/10 tries! At first I thought I could correct this by finding the right technique, so I fiddled around with my sighting, aiming my cue stick at the base of the cue ball and then lifting closer to center to try to keep it in the middle, etc. But after tinkering with a bunch of things I was still struggling.
So I went to brute force. Hit a million balls. I just jumped and jumped and jumped and told my brain to figure it out. Well, it must have, because by the end of day three I was jumping much, much better. I went from continuously guessing to hitting much more relaxed and accurate shots. I was pocketing straight shots with a controlled stop shot more and more often and had a good feel for the cut shots (making sure I was down on the table and didn't bounce over the target ball, overcutting it).
When I went back to my original 'jump to the end rail' drill I was stunned with my progress! I was able to hit 6/10 of those attempts, and more and more squarely! I was so thrilled. Jumps still are difficult for me, but I feel much better than I did before.
I share this both because it is a great test for jumping. Also though it speaks to the power of brute force. Sometimes we beat our heads against the wall for a long time trying something that doesn't work. But other times we can give up too quickly on something because we are looking for an easy way to make it happen. Pool is a tough game and sometimes we just have to put in some sweat and tears to make it come together.
Happy jumping!
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