ladder drill 9 ball

[oshua86]

I was just mostly kidding around with that post. If you want to get a average player and make him do drills for a year straight and then play a shortstop in a longer race of 8,9 or 10 ball, who you going to bet on? I also occasionally do drills.

Ohh well my bad, I didn't get you were mostly kidding. As far as getting the average player and a short stop I feel it's like comparing a pro pool player vs a trickshot master, you can't compared one with the other. We are here to play pool, and drills are one of the tools to get better at pool, nothing more than that, an average player would not be able to stack against a shortstop if the only thing he does is run drills for a year. Now if we take two shortstops of equal game and one just keeps doing what's he's been doing and the other just runs drills for a year that work on every aspect of the game, I would take the one that drilled the whole year. The same would apply for two average players.

Granted, drills alone are not gonna make you a great player on a multidimensional game like pool, but structured learning is a great tool to fast track that process.

 

[encore]

I don't think there is much skill difference in the top 50 pro players in the world. There defiantly is a difference in the mental part of the game.

 

[magicrat69210]

I'm a teacher. That's why I asked. Your typing while running out the door says a lot about who you are and what's important and not important to you.

i used to teach too. what does it say other than i was in a hurry and had more important things to do than worry about spelling and grammar?

 

[bbb]

I was just mostly kidding around with that post. If you want to get a average player and make him do drills for a year straight and then play a shortstop in a longer race of 8,9 or 10 ball, who you going to bet on? I also occasionally do drills.

i am not an instructor
BUT
a shortstop has already learned the skills the drills force you to be able to do OR NOT
plus a shortstop is seasoned to perform with pressure
not a good match up
but if you suck and want to get better

as you get better at the drills your skill level is improving
use that and compete and voila
you are ready
jnho
icbw

 

[BasementDweller]

I would like to see just one "pro" at running drills that gets "smoked" by any "good" players.

I find very interesting that you get any average player, or even some good B or A players and they all have trouble running a lot of drills. But you put a professional in the box and they are able to execute them correctly in short period of time.

Darren Appleton when asked a few days ago what was it that amateurs lack the most compared to pros he said that he never sees amateurs running drills, when most pros do.

I'm never going to understand the people that say they don't believe in drills when every single individual in the whole history of pool that has learned to play pool at a high level has done so by doing drills. They could be popular drills, self made ones, simple, complex, practice for short periods of time or hours at a time, but they are still drills.

I think your bolded statement above is only true provided you have a very broad definition of what a drill is. There are a lot of world class players that have stated they do not do drills and never have. Now, if you consider working on a specific shot that gives you trouble to be a drill, than maybe you're right.

 

[oshua86]

I think your bolded statement above is only true provided you have a very broad definition of what a drill is. There are a lot of world class players that have stated they do not do drills and never have. Now, if you consider working on a specific shot that gives you trouble to be a drill, than maybe you're right.

How broad does it have to be?
The Oxford dictionary defines drills in sports as "To instruct (someone) or learn something by means of repeated excercises or practice".

Some of these world class player that have mentioned they do not do drills they merely are referring that they do not do some or any of the common or "text book" drills, but when interviewed further they all have a specific set of shots, patterns or practiced shots they all revert to as a matter of warm up or when they are playing less than optimal.
The reason why I use this "broad" definition of drill as you may say it's because I see many people here in the forum a tons of people in the pool hall use it as an excuse "well such and such is a pro or world class player and he never does drills, they just only play all the time", in which case their progress in the game have stalled.

 

[BasementDweller]

How broad does it have to be?
The Oxford dictionary defines drills in sports as "To instruct (someone) or learn something by means of repeated excercises or practice".

Some of these world class player that have mentioned they do not do drills they merely are referring that they do not do some or any of the common or "text book" drills, but when interviewed further they all have a specific set of shots, patterns or practiced shots they all revert to as a matter of warm up or when they are playing less than optimal.
The reason why I use this "broad" definition of drill as you may say it's because I see many people here in the forum a tons of people in the pool hall use it as an excuse "well such and such is a pro or world class player and he never does drills, they just only play all the time", in which case their progress in the game have stalled.

I try to stay out of this forum since I'm not an instructor but every once in a while I can't help myself.

I guess when I think of doing drills, I'm thinking about setting up multiple balls in some sort of predetermined position and shooting them in. I think this is what most players think of when the topic of doing drills comes up. Setting up a particular shot that you are having trouble with and shooting it over and over again, isn't what I think of when doing drills. To me, that's just practicing a shot.

Maybe this is a distinction without a difference...I don't know.

I do agree with your overall thinking as far players looking down on practicing (whether it be drills or otherwise). The only caveat to this is the player that really practices at home and shows up to the poolroom to play (tournament or match up). I've even adopted this approach myself, when I have the chance to go out and play I don't get on the table to practice. I just play. You will never see me doing drills at the local pool hall. When I go in there, it's just to play. It's a different mindset. I like to leave that focused practice mode in my basement. It took me a while to figure this out.

 

[oshua86]

I try to stay out of this forum since I'm not an instructor but every once in a while I can't help myself.

I guess when I think of doing drills, I'm thinking about setting up multiple balls in some sort of predetermined position and shooting them in. I think this is what most players think of when the topic of doing drills comes up. Setting up a particular shot that you are having trouble with and shooting it over and over again, isn't what I think of when doing drills. To me, that's just practicing a shot.

Maybe this is a distinction without a difference...I don't know.

I do agree with your overall thinking as far players looking down on practicing (whether it be drills or otherwise). The only caveat to this is the player that really practices at home and shows up to the poolroom to play (tournament or match up). I've even adopted this approach myself, when I have the chance to go out and play I don't get on the table to practice. I just play. You will never see me doing drills at the local pool hall. When I go in there, it's just to play. It's a different mindset. I like to leave that focused practice mode in my basement. It took me a while to figure this out.

So if you are setting up just one shot and practicing that over and over until you have mastered that's just "practicing a shot" but if it's more than one ball at a time in a predetermined position stop becoming practicing a shot and it becomes a drill?

One example right of the top of my head is the "mother drills" taught by PBIA instructors, some are just one shot, some don't even required the use of an object ball just the cueball up and down the table but they still call them drills.

I particularly don't care what anyone calls it, the point really is that those that think that just play without any systematic training will get you at a high level of play, well.... Our lives aren't that long lol