Lessons or no

W

wbweld0

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am going to the BCA Nationals in Vegas in May and was wanting some input on whether I should try to get lessons now or wait until I come back...I do not want to totally mess my game up before I go to the tournament. I am a 7 in APA, a 9 in BCA and a pretty decently strong B player. My question is Should I get lessons now or wait...so that I do not totally screw up my game trying too many different things?

Also the guy that I emailed about lessons (that hasn't emailed me back) is Darren Wood from Indiana...anybody know him or his teaching ability? He is a BCA instructor. There is a poster here by the name of dwood (I think) may be the same guy...if so that would be great.
 
I would suggest you wait until your return. Depending on the changes that are made in your stroke etc it will take you a few weeks to get comfortable with them.

I have only had a couple players in the years I have taught pick up changes inside of a week or two.
 
wbweld0 said:
I am going to the BCA Nationals in Vegas in May and was wanting some input on whether I should try to get lessons now or wait until I come back...I do not want to totally mess my game up before I go to the tournament. I am a 7 in APA, a 9 in BCA and a pretty decently strong B player. My question is Should I get lessons now or wait...so that I do not totally screw up my game trying too many different things?

Also the guy that I emailed about lessons (that hasn't emailed me back) is Darren Wood from Indiana...anybody know him or his teaching ability? He is a BCA instructor. There is a poster here by the name of dwood (I think) may be the same guy...if so that would be great.
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Weld-man,
You are speaking of "Woody_968". I know he has studied under some of the best instructors in the world (and I think his BCA instructors' work was done under the tutelage of Jerry Briesath). Maybe you e-mailed the wrong guy; Woody would have responded promptly - he's a solid citizen.

If you are thinking of a major stroke overhaul, then after BCA might be best. If you are looking for strategy and physics tips, then now's the time. You should talk it over with your potential instructor.
 
Williebetmore said:
Weld-man,
You are speaking of "Woody_968". I know he has studied under some of the best instructors in the world (and I think his BCA instructors' work was done under the tutelage of Jerry Briesath). Maybe you e-mailed the wrong guy; Woody would have responded promptly - he's a solid citizen.

If you are thinking of a major stroke overhaul, then after BCA might be best. If you are looking for strategy and physics tips, then now's the time. You should talk it over with your potential instructor.
Click to expand...
Yes...thanks that is correct that is his name. His email dwood@something. I will try to speak with him...thanks a bunch.
 
Raodwarior said:
I would suggest you wait until your return. Depending on the changes that are made in your stroke etc it will take you a few weeks to get comfortable with them.

I have only had a couple players in the years I have taught pick up changes inside of a week or two.
Click to expand...

The above is very good advice.

Over the years, I have noticed that every time I have pursued advances in my playing ability there is an attendant period of "acclimatization" during which my game experiences a downturn. This is a temporary situation which eventually resolves itself, at which point my game goes up higher than before the training.

There will be plenty of time for you to take lessons ( and for the lessons to "take"), after the Nationals.
 
wbweld0 said:
Yes...thanks that is correct that is his name. His email dwood@something. I will try to speak with him...thanks a bunch.
Click to expand...

Weld-man,
To repeat an oft-posted position of mine; I am a BIG fan of BCA instruction AND instruction from professional players. I see these as complementary forms of instruction.

The BCA instructors can put you on the easiest path towards a repeatable, precise, pressure-resistant stroke (but as the other posters point out, probably shouldn't do it the week before your BCA tournament). The playing professional can give you insight into competition, advanced shots, strategy, gambling, weighing your options in competition.

Here is what you DON'T want: last year I lost the championship match in my straight pool league to finish second (after 20 matches, I fell just a few balls short of winning the league; one of my big lifetime goals). A few weeks later I was fortunate to have a day of lessons with Grady Mathews. He showed me some very interesting straight pool safeties that I had never seen before. UNFORTUNATELY, one of them was for the EXACT situation I had experienced at the very end of my championship match. If I had known that safety 3 weeks earlier I would have almost certainly won the match. Talk about a day late and a dollar short!!!!! This year 2 professionals joined our league, so my chances of winning the league have taken a severe drop.

During this year's league hardly a week ever went by where I didn't win a game with help of a strategy from the mind of Grady Mathews or Danny DiLiberto (or one of the 2 local pro's that took me under their wings a few years back). I'll look at the table and say, "Ahhh, I know this shot" or " Ahh, that's the shot Grady showed me," it is a tremendously satisfying feeling, it brings order out of chaos.

I've only been playing for 4 years, but I have (and have read and studied) almost every book on pool, I have a huge Accu-Stats library (also watched and studied); but I can say that I would never have advanced so far as quickly without good professional instruction in both stroke mechanics and the theory of the game.
 
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Taking lessons now might hurt your performance at the Nationals. June would be a great time to start working with Woody....SPF-randyg
 
Yup, its me :)

As I mentioned in my pm, sorry I missed your email. I have not been online for several days and had 100 spam messages that I weeded through and I didnt see yours so I may have deleated it. I feel terrible about that.

I also agree with what several here have said, if we have to make major changes in stroke or setup, then I would want to wait until after the tournament. But if you have time to practice regularly (even one or two hours a day can help, and is sometimes better than long sessions) some small tweaking may be just what you need to get your top performance at just the right time.

It sounds like your a decent player already so a lesson with some specific drills to work on and maybe some physics knowledge might be the best way to go. That way were arent giving you anything to think about while shooting the shot, but just increasing your knowledge and honing what skills you already have.

If you want to get together before let me know and Ill make arrangements to do it as soon as we can.

Woody
 
I think Woody and Willie, hit it right on the head, as to what to do.

And personally when i go into a bigger $ tournament, i tend to just practice on certain shots or safties i should know. And i will go and practice with the best players i can find, and just play for TT or cheap sets so i dont end up broke, cuz they are AA to open rated players.

Also, just doing some simple shot drills using every kinda english possible, helps too. Which for me i find more useful than just breaking and trying to run out. Only because, like Willie, said,, when you get that certain shot, you can go ohhhhhh now i know how to play this one.

Plus from the sounds of it, you can probably run a good amount of balls when given the chance, and probably just need the fine tuning stuff that a BCA intructor or high level player can give.

dave
 
You can take them but there is the risk you're thinking of. There may be some suttle things that won't mess you up although. It's a coin toss.

Guess I'd have to assess how sound I am fundamentally or better ask your coach this question. If there's a lot of things he wants to work on then put it off.
 
I am not educated on this, and don't have any personal experiences, but I would think that someone correcting any types of "flaws" in stroke, stance, etc. would take some work to recover your confidence in your game.

Not that it would not be well worth the improvement, just that it may take some time.

I would hate to go to any high level tournament without the utmost confidence in my abilities, even when I don't have any base for my confidence, if that makes sense.
 
I think if you would explain your situation to the instructor (that you are going to the BCA tournament) he could base his instructions toward that goal. Rather than a complete overhaul, or major change, he could offer minor changes and tips to get you through the tournament.

Jake
 
Instruction ...

If you are a high B player, then you should be able to quickly assimmilate
any information your instructor has for you, especially if his instruction is to help you out for Nationals. A few critical tips on strategy and shots could
make the difference between winning or losing in Vegas.

I would take a few lessons geared for Nationals, and follow-up with future
instruction after you are back from Nationals with feedback about how it went, and problem areas you encountered.

Nationals is a GOOD TEST of your true skills on a big stage. I woiuld suggest
keeping a record of each match, whether you won or not, and a few notes of why won it or why you lost it.
 
wbweld0 said:
I am going to the BCA Nationals in Vegas in May and was wanting some input on whether I should try to get lessons now or wait until I come back....
Click to expand...

Things you shouldn't do 1 month before playing in a major amateur pool tournament:


  • Go through a divorce
  • Get arrested for having sex outside a pool hall
  • Change cues
  • Change jobs
  • Change your shooting style

If I had a vote, I'd tell you to wait until you get back home.

Fred
 
Cornerman said:
Things you shouldn't do 1 month before playing in a major amateur pool tournament:


  • Go through a divorce
  • Get arrested for having sex outside a pool hall
  • Change cues
  • Change jobs
  • Change your shooting style


Fred
Click to expand...

Cornerman-man,
Okay, let's have the details. Did you do all of these the same year, or did you spread it out over several events?
 
To late for May.


It really gets me how people think that a few weeks of lessons is all it takes. Not that I can teach pool. I taught dance. People would come in thinking they could learn to dance in 4 or 5 lessons. Maybe 4 or 5 lessons per week for 5 or 6 years. Well that is a slight exageration, but it takes time.

If your planning on taking lessons, plan on taking lessons for a year at least. One per week, every week. With practice in-between the lessons. Then you are going to come away from those lesson a lot better.
 
Cornerman said:
Things you shouldn't do 1 month before playing in a major amateur pool tournament:


  • Go through a divorce
  • Get arrested for having sex outside a pool hall
  • Change cues
  • Change jobs
  • Change your shooting style

If I had a vote, I'd tell you to wait until you get back home.

Fred
Click to expand...
That's good advice right there...and funny.

My team played your team twice last year in Reno at the ACS Nationals...we were the team that completely put you all out of the tournament, which was BS because you all played us that quickly twice. I played first on the team...sure you don't remember though.

So how are you doing? We will be at the BCA Nationals, I will probably see you there.
 
wbweld0 said:
That's good advice right there...and funny.

My team played your team twice last year in Reno at the ACS Nationals...we were the team that completely put you all out of the tournament, which was BS because you all played us that quickly twice. I played first on the team...sure you don't remember though.

So how are you doing? We will be at the BCA Nationals, I will probably see you there.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's right. And your team was absolutely top notch from 1 to 5.

It is odd how quickly two teams (or players) can play each other twice. You'd think that we made it high in the money or something. But I believe that's how the nationals brackets work. It's like a mini tournament to go on to the final tournament.

Fred
 
On this one, I will go against the overwhelming tide of my esteemed colleagues. A pool lesson does not have to re-invent your stroke/game and take weeks or months to help improve your game. A good pool lesson by an observant teacher can bring simple obvious and easy to correct errors to your attention and can be corrected almost immediately. This is especially true of someone who plays at your speed. You already know how to play rather well and a little buffing and polish on your game could bring you good fortune in the upcoming tournament.

Jerry Briesath did that for me this past Derby City Classic and it helped a great deal.

Good luck,
JoeyA



wbweld0 said:
I am going to the BCA Nationals in Vegas in May and was wanting some input on whether I should try to get lessons now or wait until I come back...I do not want to totally mess my game up before I go to the tournament. I am a 7 in APA, a 9 in BCA and a pretty decently strong B player. My question is Should I get lessons now or wait...so that I do not totally screw up my game trying too many different things?

Also the guy that I emailed about lessons (that hasn't emailed me back) is Darren Wood from Indiana...anybody know him or his teaching ability? He is a BCA instructor. There is a poster here by the name of dwood (I think) may be the same guy...if so that would be great.
Click to expand...
 
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