Lesson With Scott Lee : My experience

mthornto

mthornto

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I had a two hour lesson from Scott Lee Friday, 9/22 at my home. For those interested in lessons, here is my experience:

The lesson was at my home, scheduled for 8:00 pm. Scott arrived on time ready to go.

First off, he setup a Video camera to record the entire lesson. That’s right, the entire lesson. This is a great touch. I have had lessons from other instructors in the past, and inevitably there are details I forget. With the video that will not be a problem.

The lesson started with Scott telling me to shoot some balls while he watched. He seemed to be watching my stroke for flaws and to get a sense of my natural rhythm. I have spent a lot of time over the last year trying to build a solid, smooth stroke. I was very pleased to hear Scott tell me that I do have a good stroke. Through out the lesson, Scott would come back to my stroke and point out shots I would have trouble with were typically shots where I would not use my typical stroke. In each case, he helped me identify why I did not use my typical stroke and what I needed to do to correct this.

As the lesson progressed we quickly found a couple of areas that I needed a lot of work. Specifically, speed control and draw. In both of these areas Scott discussed what I could do to improve. For speed control he gave me a system and related drills I can work on to fine tune my game.

After the lesson, we hung out on my patio and enjoyed the evening.

If you are looking for lessons, I highly recommend Scott. Like a lot of instructors, he is professional and very knowledgeable. Where Scott stands out is in his ability to communicate the concepts very clearly. Also, of all the instructors I have worked with, he is by far the most personable.
 
I can totally back up your opinion of Scott. I took a personalized lesson over a year ago and thought that he was great. Very easy to work with, made me feel comfortable and a great communicator.

I would highly recommend him as well.

J. Koontz
 
Scott will be in SoCal the week of Sept. 27 thu Oct. 4th. Now's your chance......SPF=randyg
 
I gotta post a little something. Before mthornto's lesson, Scott was at my house and we played some pool.

We spent most of the time catching up with each other while he racked :D .

While it wasn't a lesson, he did make 2 comments in 3hrs to me that elevated my game a fair bit.

It just goes to show how important it is to have a professional instructor involved in your game if your are serious about getting better.

Thanks Scott
 
It's kind of funny, but I asked for and received a lesson from Scott for a lesson here in Chicago about a year and a half ago after I watched him teaching someone else while I was practicing at another table. Didn't know his name, where he was from, I thought he might be the local house teacher or something because of the video camera he was using. As it turns out, it was the best thing I ever did.

I still use the lag system and the 1,2 diamond draw drills from that lesson as part of my warmup routine. The only thing I may disagree with him on after all this time, and this is with all due respect in the world, was his approach (at that time) that no one ever needs to break harder than what he called a 9 on his lag/strength scale.

It pleasantly surprised me to see his name all over these forums a year later! I still have and go back to the video. What was great about having the video going is that you didn't need to try to remember every detail of the lesson. You could concentrate on the task at hand and think of your next question as the current one was being answered.

I've always been a big believer in lessons no matter what you are doing. I've been lucky and have had private lessons in music and golf the better part of my life and I have been a teacher myself in music. However I never had a video tape going. There were moments during the lesson with Scott that I thought he was just sort of giving a speech and I was thinking what does this have to do with me right now? However after looking at the tape over time, I realized that he was talking to me in the context of how the video would be useful later and it all made perfect sense.
 
mthornto said:
I had a two hour lesson from Scott Lee.....
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MT,
Thanks for the report. Sounds like a great experience. You will, of course, now have to spot me 50 balls when you finally make it over to Betmore's Basement.
 
I've had several lessons with Scott and even though I sometimes stubbornly cling to old bad habits, he is a heckuva teacher and a real good guy to boot.

And when he's teamed up with Randy G at Pool School, it's hard to beat that combination.
 
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Thanks everyone!

I had a great time working with Mike, Carl and young Adam Keith, last weekend, and I'm looking forward to getting out to CA to work with Randyg at the Riverside Pool School this coming weekend (we still have a couple of slots available!), as well as working with some other CA folks privately. Most of the folks who are here, really want to improve, and those are the most fun students to work with! Thanks to everyone for the nice comments!

See you on the tables!

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
Lessons with Scott Lee

I was hoping to get feedback about any advanced players who have had a lesson with Scott. I play at a 9 for APA 9-ball and and a 7 in 8-ball. I've never had a single lesson but am skeptical what a teacher can really improve upon. I've heard great things about Scott but wanted an advanced players perspective.

More of what I am looking for consist of concreting fundamentals, kick shots, kick safeties, spin shots, breaks, rail draw shots, jumping, and intermediate masse shots. Also, any advice with a 2 hour lesson versus an all day lesson. Thanks for your response.

I also wanted his expertise too see if I was ready to play on the tour.
 
Our sport needs more people like Scott.
I've recommended Scott to anyone I know who needs/wants lessons in SoCal.
As big as this part of the Calif. state is, there is not a great teacher here.
A lot of pool physicists though.
 
odshot68 said:
I was hoping to get feedback about any advanced players who have had a lesson with Scott. I play at a 9 for APA 9-ball and and a 7 in 8-ball. I've never had a single lesson but am skeptical what a teacher can really improve upon. I've heard great things about Scott but wanted an advanced players perspective.

More of what I am looking for consist of concreting fundamentals, kick shots, kick safeties, spin shots, breaks, rail draw shots, jumping, and intermediate masse shots. Also, any advice with a 2 hour lesson versus an all day lesson. Thanks for your response.

I also wanted his expertise too see if I was ready to play on the tour.
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Od,

I will say this. I have played with a lot of league players, and because of the nature of league systems, the top of the heap (i.e. 7's in 8 ball, 9s and 10s in 9 ball) are often far far beneath shortstop level players.

An instructor will simply allow you to attain your highest level of skill, allowing for the time and desire you have to improve. You are high enough in your league that you obviously have both desire and a good bit of time. That being said, if you are not running multiple racks quite often on a 9 footer, then there is room for improvement. Depending on where you want you game to be.

In my practicing days, i felt I was close to breaking through to the level where I was a threat to run multiple racks any time I stepped to the table. With some work on improving my break, I was easily capable of controlling a 7 game set. I did this without an instructor, but the process would have been SO much faster with a good instructor. My fundamentals were solid, but I was shooting some position shots the WRONG way. I would use inside follow instead of natural two rail angles. And I was still running out fairly consistently. An instructor would have corrected me, and probably improved my game a ball or two overnight.

Remember, just because yer getting out doesn't mean yer playing good.

Russ
 
odshot68 said:
More of what I am looking for consist of concreting fundamentals, kick shots, kick safeties, spin shots, breaks, rail draw shots, jumping, and intermediate masse shots. .
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You have answered your own question. You know there are areas where you feel you need improvement. You have a simple choice. Work through it yourself, or get someone to help you in these areas. One may take a lot less time than the other. Once you make the intelligent decision, the next question is who will you go to for help. Scott is an excellent choice!
Steve
 
I enjoyed my lesson with Scott a few years ago and still use his drills and so forth in my practice routine. He helped me in a lot of ways, and I had things to practice for months afterward. He taught me one little push-out speed stroke that I've used more times than you can imagine for soft safeties.

I agree that Scott is "the great communicator". What I also like about him is is he tailors his lesson to your game, seems to pick up quickly what you might use help with, and can also play a good game himself. I definitely recommend him to all players.

Chris
 
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odshot68 said:
I was hoping to get feedback about any advanced players who have had a lesson with Scott. I play at a 9 for APA 9-ball and and a 7 in 8-ball. I've never had a single lesson but am skeptical what a teacher can really improve upon. I've heard great things about Scott but wanted an advanced players perspective.

More of what I am looking for consist of concreting fundamentals, kick shots, kick safeties, spin shots, breaks, rail draw shots, jumping, and intermediate masse shots. Also, any advice with a 2 hour lesson versus an all day lesson. Thanks for your response.

I also wanted his expertise too see if I was ready to play on the tour.
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Your second paragraph is some of what an instructor brings to a lesson for a student to work with. We also bring an experience in observation and communication of those fundamentals and skillsets you mentioned, with the demonstrations and drills for a player to use in their improvement.

As to your first paragraph, I'm not aware of much that an instructor can improve on for a player. The player gets to do that for themself either after the lesson, or with some assistance during the lesson. What I improve on as an instructor are training methods, materials, and ideas -- most of which should be invisible to the student since the goal for them is improved play!


Carl
 
I also had a great experience. He's a good teacher. I enjoyed working with someone who clearly loves the sport.
 
We had a GREAT pool school in Riverside, CA!

The 3-day pool school I just finished, with Randyg, and several other guest instructors, went exceptionally well. All of the students got tremendous one-to-one instruction from all of of us. One student who posts here has already made tremendous improvement, and emailed us about playing last night, and using the information we had taught him just last weekend, to a great advantage, and winning the match! I had the opportunity to work with another AZ poster last night, in the L.A. area, and am now in Sacramento for three days, working with a very good player here, and headed to Phoenix for 3 days next weekend. Thanks again to all of our guest instructors, including Tom Seymour (Bay Area), Mark Whitehead (L.A.), and Randy Whitehead, who travelled from TX with Randyg. Our next road show pool school is at the end of October, in Charlotte, NC...followed by a 3-day school in Holland, MI November 8, 9, & 10. Anyone interested, or wanting more information, can email me at poolology@aol.com.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
Scott,
Sounds like a typical road show school. Everyone has a great time, and everyone is overwhelmed with the information that is presented.
Charlotte class is filled up, and the Expert class the weekend before that has about 7 or 8 students signed up as well. I'm looking forward to working with Randy, Cane, and several other instructors again. When are you planning another trip to the Southeast?
Steve
 
pooltchr said:
Scott,
Sounds like a typical road show school. Everyone has a great time, and everyone is overwhelmed with the information that is presented.
Charlotte class is filled up, and the Expert class the weekend before that has about 7 or 8 students signed up as well. I'm looking forward to working with Randy, Cane, and several other instructors again. When are you planning another trip to the Southeast?
Steve
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Boy, I hate to spread sour grapes, but...
Everytime I read about Randy's class, I can only think about the one I had in CT. It was a disappointment (and a year and a half ago) through no fault of Randy's. It was only through the force of Randy's personality and exceptional instructional ability that the class was worth the money, but I still feel I was denied the true value of his travelling pool school. I have all ready gone in to the details a year and half ago in emails exchanged with Randy, so I needn't expand on them here. I am happy for everybody who's class was more or less "perfect", but nevertheless it still tightens my jaws up (literally right now). I still get emails from the school through whose auspices Randy was operating about advanced classes and instructor classes and I want to reply with a real stinging email, but the guy was a nice guy just not that effective in my opinion so I don't. Maybe Randy had him under control in this year's trip to CT., I'd love to have people who attended the class this year post.
Had to *****, sorry.
BTW, I still strongly recommend Randy's travelling school, especially if your fortunate enough to get good co-instructors like Scott Lee.
 
odshot68 said:
I was hoping to get feedback about any advanced players who have had a lesson with Scott. I play at a 9 for APA 9-ball and and a 7 in 8-ball. I've never had a single lesson but am skeptical what a teacher can really improve upon. I've heard great things about Scott but wanted an advanced players perspective.

More of what I am looking for consist of concreting fundamentals, kick shots, kick safeties, spin shots, breaks, rail draw shots, jumping, and intermediate masse shots. Also, any advice with a 2 hour lesson versus an all day lesson. Thanks for your response.

I also wanted his expertise too see if I was ready to play on the tour.
Click to expand...

I've taken a lesson from Scott about two years ago...very helpful as it allowed me an objective look/see at my game...something that's very hard to do of oneself.

I told my league teammates about it and recommended they each take a lesson, too....maybe even get a team lesson to save a few bucks. Not one of them even considered it as an option. It's not worth the money, they said. Hmmmm. They'll drink $150 bucks a week in ethanol but won't INVEST that amount in a lesson that will generate lasting value an entire lifetime. I just don't understand that type of thinking.

Jeff Livingston
 
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