I was going to wait a couple weeks before I posted a review of my lesson with Scott Lee, but the results have been so apparent to myself and those I play with and against that I just had to get it out. Warning, this is going to long.
For the first 2.5 months of this year, I've been struggling. It's not so much that I've played bad; I just haven't been able to count on my shots being there when I need them. Some days I was able to run out from anywhere and the next day I couldn't toss out 5 balls with BIH and run out with any consistency. I finally got frustrated enough last week to do something serious about it.
Last Friday I noticed that Scott Lee lived in Battle Creek Michigan, I live near Detroit Michigan. After reading through many of his posts here on AZ, I decided to contact him about getting some lessons.
Scott was able to come out the very next day and work with me. I liked the fact that he didn't start off by kicking my ass several times to demonstrate how much better he was at the game. Instead he had me shot a few shots that he video recorded.
The video analysis of my fundamentals was extremely complete, pointing out several very small and not so small things I was not even aware I was doing. He also discussed in great detail why my mistakes were detrimental to playing good consistent pool and how we were going to correct them.
Then we got down to the work of fixing my stroke and giving me a very specific preshot routine that I could always count on. I've read many instructions/descriptions and I've seen many videos of pendulum strokes, I thought I had it down pretty well. All I can say is, until someone actually makes you aware of exactly how the stroke is supposed to feel, it's very difficult to reproduce. A good pendulum stroke feels very odd at first, but after a few hundred shots, starts to feel natural.
We finished up by going over several drills including a speed control drill that has already improved my position play way above what I used to feel was my best game.
Ok, now onto the results. Scott suggested that I not try out all this new material in competition until I've had a few weeks to practice and let it all sink in. However, since none of my teams were really in danger of losing a position and we didn't have much chance of moving up either, I decided to just jump in and try it. I think that because of all the changes I've tried making in my stroke, stance, aiming techniques, etc... on my own for the last couple months; I was able to incorporate Scotts teachings very quickly. My week has gone like this:
Tuesday: I finally got a chance to practice for 7 hours on my table. Then I went to the pool hall to play in the toughest league I play in. It's a 2 man league and we each play 8 games, 4 against each opponent. They played very tough because it was position night and they were trying to climb over us. I won 5 out of 8 games and they each broke and ran a rack on me, so I really only lost 1 game where I got to shoot. Not bad for just 7 hours of practice with a new stroke and preshot.
Wednesday: This is a very weak league that many people want me kicked off of because they say it's no fun to lose to me. I ran out 2 racks from my opponents break and could have broke and ran another, but I was playing the girl, so I ran to the 8 and gave her BIH a couple times so she could make some balls.
Thursday: This is a much stronger league then Wednesday, but not as tough as Tuesday. I broke and ran 1 rack and ran out my first time at the table 3 other times. Overall, I won 7 out of 8 games.
This was the first time in the 12 week long league that I felt like I shot well all 3 nights.
I'll just call this next list, "things I?ve noticed most"
1. Long straight shots. These shots used to be either on or off on any given day. Now I don't even think about them. Out of the 30 or 40 of them that I've shot at in games or practice this week, I think I've missed about 5. That right there shows me how much straighter and more consistent my stoke has already become.
2. I hardly ever walk away from the table anymore wondering why I missed a shot.
3. Banks - I've never been good at bank shots, even supposedly easy banks. Now I'm not only making most of the ones I'm forced to try, I'm even deliberately playing position to set up an easy bank rather then trying to play a very difficult position for a cut shot.
4. Cut shots - I've always been pretty good at cuts. Now I'm just more consistent and I'm playing better position off of them.
5. Position play in general is much improved over my old game. I'm able to get much more specific when I decide I want to get a certain angle on my next object ball. It's because of this that I've been able to get out so consistently this week.
6. Breaks - My brake is another area of my game that has always been hit or miss. Now when I break 8 ball racks, I'm spreading the balls out all over the table every time and the cue ball is usually sitting right in the center of the table unless it gets hit by another ball. I'm still working on making a ball more consistently, but I'm making one at least as often as I did before the lesson.
7. 14.1 - last night, while warming up, I was playing a little 14.1 starting out with a full break of the balls. I had no trouble getting into the second rack most of the time and I just wasn't missing the easy shots because of lack of concentration like I used to. As long as I stuck with my preshot routine, I didn't miss the easy shots and rarely had to shot at tougher shots.
8. I simply don't have to concentrate as hard to make balls. This frees up my mind to concentrate on better speed control which leads to better position play, which leads to easier run outs.
9. Less miscues on extream English or draw shots.
To sum everything up, Scott Lee is a fantastic instructor. He doesn't just tell you what to do; he explains why doing it that way will lead to more consistent play. By helping me fix my stroke and giving me a consistent preshot routine, I feel like I can meet or exceed all the goals I've set for myself this year sooner then I thought possible.
Thanks Scott, when you get back in town, you might get a couple calls from some friends of mine.
For the first 2.5 months of this year, I've been struggling. It's not so much that I've played bad; I just haven't been able to count on my shots being there when I need them. Some days I was able to run out from anywhere and the next day I couldn't toss out 5 balls with BIH and run out with any consistency. I finally got frustrated enough last week to do something serious about it.
Last Friday I noticed that Scott Lee lived in Battle Creek Michigan, I live near Detroit Michigan. After reading through many of his posts here on AZ, I decided to contact him about getting some lessons.
Scott was able to come out the very next day and work with me. I liked the fact that he didn't start off by kicking my ass several times to demonstrate how much better he was at the game. Instead he had me shot a few shots that he video recorded.
The video analysis of my fundamentals was extremely complete, pointing out several very small and not so small things I was not even aware I was doing. He also discussed in great detail why my mistakes were detrimental to playing good consistent pool and how we were going to correct them.
Then we got down to the work of fixing my stroke and giving me a very specific preshot routine that I could always count on. I've read many instructions/descriptions and I've seen many videos of pendulum strokes, I thought I had it down pretty well. All I can say is, until someone actually makes you aware of exactly how the stroke is supposed to feel, it's very difficult to reproduce. A good pendulum stroke feels very odd at first, but after a few hundred shots, starts to feel natural.
We finished up by going over several drills including a speed control drill that has already improved my position play way above what I used to feel was my best game.
Ok, now onto the results. Scott suggested that I not try out all this new material in competition until I've had a few weeks to practice and let it all sink in. However, since none of my teams were really in danger of losing a position and we didn't have much chance of moving up either, I decided to just jump in and try it. I think that because of all the changes I've tried making in my stroke, stance, aiming techniques, etc... on my own for the last couple months; I was able to incorporate Scotts teachings very quickly. My week has gone like this:
Tuesday: I finally got a chance to practice for 7 hours on my table. Then I went to the pool hall to play in the toughest league I play in. It's a 2 man league and we each play 8 games, 4 against each opponent. They played very tough because it was position night and they were trying to climb over us. I won 5 out of 8 games and they each broke and ran a rack on me, so I really only lost 1 game where I got to shoot. Not bad for just 7 hours of practice with a new stroke and preshot.
Wednesday: This is a very weak league that many people want me kicked off of because they say it's no fun to lose to me. I ran out 2 racks from my opponents break and could have broke and ran another, but I was playing the girl, so I ran to the 8 and gave her BIH a couple times so she could make some balls.
Thursday: This is a much stronger league then Wednesday, but not as tough as Tuesday. I broke and ran 1 rack and ran out my first time at the table 3 other times. Overall, I won 7 out of 8 games.
This was the first time in the 12 week long league that I felt like I shot well all 3 nights.
I'll just call this next list, "things I?ve noticed most"
1. Long straight shots. These shots used to be either on or off on any given day. Now I don't even think about them. Out of the 30 or 40 of them that I've shot at in games or practice this week, I think I've missed about 5. That right there shows me how much straighter and more consistent my stoke has already become.
2. I hardly ever walk away from the table anymore wondering why I missed a shot.
3. Banks - I've never been good at bank shots, even supposedly easy banks. Now I'm not only making most of the ones I'm forced to try, I'm even deliberately playing position to set up an easy bank rather then trying to play a very difficult position for a cut shot.
4. Cut shots - I've always been pretty good at cuts. Now I'm just more consistent and I'm playing better position off of them.
5. Position play in general is much improved over my old game. I'm able to get much more specific when I decide I want to get a certain angle on my next object ball. It's because of this that I've been able to get out so consistently this week.
6. Breaks - My brake is another area of my game that has always been hit or miss. Now when I break 8 ball racks, I'm spreading the balls out all over the table every time and the cue ball is usually sitting right in the center of the table unless it gets hit by another ball. I'm still working on making a ball more consistently, but I'm making one at least as often as I did before the lesson.
7. 14.1 - last night, while warming up, I was playing a little 14.1 starting out with a full break of the balls. I had no trouble getting into the second rack most of the time and I just wasn't missing the easy shots because of lack of concentration like I used to. As long as I stuck with my preshot routine, I didn't miss the easy shots and rarely had to shot at tougher shots.
8. I simply don't have to concentrate as hard to make balls. This frees up my mind to concentrate on better speed control which leads to better position play, which leads to easier run outs.
9. Less miscues on extream English or draw shots.
To sum everything up, Scott Lee is a fantastic instructor. He doesn't just tell you what to do; he explains why doing it that way will lead to more consistent play. By helping me fix my stroke and giving me a consistent preshot routine, I feel like I can meet or exceed all the goals I've set for myself this year sooner then I thought possible.
Thanks Scott, when you get back in town, you might get a couple calls from some friends of mine.
Last edited:
