lessons yes or no

Lessons are very helpful. Take lessons from anyone you can find that is available frequently, is easy for you to get along with and, most importantly, someone who knows the game inside and out and also knows how to teach. Good luck. (Mark Wilson, Scott Lee and Joe Villapando fill the bill for me)
 
mvp said:
Ive considerd taking lessons, but i feel most advertised are priced way to high, And are most instructors A players, I feel a instructor should run rack after rack, I dont want to play better than my coach. Im I WRONG?
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With that attitude, NO. Don't waste your money.
 
I disagree with the idea that the instructor doesnt have to play good to be a good instructor. If he cant make a certain shot why would he teach it.Ive had pros look at something in a stack and tell me how to hit it and I would swear it wouldnt go but it did.Now if Im the instructor I wouldnt have been able to teach that shot. All instructors better play real good
 
I don't think the instructor necessarily has to play better than you. I took lessons for a while and what I learned was the science behind the game. An instructor should understand the science behind the game and he makes you understand the game you are playing. When I took lessons this lead to being able to control the cue ball a lot better.

You might already play pretty well and you might get decent position etc, but you might be doing this strictly from feel and not really have an understanding of what is going on. I think there is a certain amount of natural talent required to play but if you have that and you learn the science behind the game your game will improve at a faster pace.

Even Tiger Woods has a coach although at the moment Tiger might be a bad example, lol
 
thank you

im gonna try a lesson from a peoria local, if it goes well I may be able to justify a better instructor. To some of the people i may have offended im sorry! but some were right if i dont respect the instructor i would be wasting time and money. but i do agree that a instructor should have at least reached or exceeded the level the student is trying to get to.
 
Hmmm

mvp said:
im gonna try a lesson from a peoria local, if it goes well I may be able to justify a better instructor. To some of the people i may have offended im sorry! but some were right if i dont respect the instructor i would be wasting time and money. but i do agree that a instructor should have at least reached or exceeded the level the student is trying to get to.
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Again, you are very wrong headed in your approach. Remember the guy who mentioned Joe Paterno.... if you kid was a high school QB and Joe offered up his services to get your kid to the next level, you would say. "Sorry Joe, but I"m looking for somebody that can actually throw the ball 60 yards threw a tire in a 40mph wind" Really???

As a former HS baseball coach, I was pretty good player, but relied on speed and defensive skills, and thus never hit a homerun over the fence in my whole freakin career at any time or at any level. But I can teach a kid the best way to hit for power and hit the gaps, and hopefully hit some over the fence. Never told anyone I never did though,,, made no difference. Learned all about Russia from a teacher who never left the states.. go figure.

So it appears you are a novice player with intermediate thinking that will prevent you from ever obtaining expert status. Stop listening to yourself for a few minutes and listen to the good players on here who are telling you it doesn't matter about the skills of the instructor but the knowledge they have obtained. Feel free to totally disagree......you have with everyone else thus far.
 
Lessons yes or no

I contacted Mr. Shuffett and am hoping we can work something out, I have no doubt he can improve my game even beyond the best I ever played.
 
ChicagoRJ said:
Again, you are very wrong headed in your approach. Remember the guy who mentioned Joe Paterno.... if you kid was a high school QB and Joe offered up his services to get your kid to the next level, you would say. "Sorry Joe, but I"m looking for somebody that can actually throw the ball 60 yards threw a tire in a 40mph wind" Really???

As a former HS baseball coach, I was pretty good player, but relied on speed and defensive skills, and thus never hit a homerun over the fence in my whole freakin career at any time or at any level. But I can teach a kid the best way to hit for power and hit the gaps, and hopefully hit some over the fence. Never told anyone I never did though,,, made no difference. Learned all about Russia from a teacher who never left the states.. go figure.

So it appears you are a novice player with intermediate thinking that will prevent you from ever obtaining expert status. Stop listening to yourself for a few minutes and listen to the good players on here who are telling you it doesn't matter about the skills of the instructor but the knowledge they have obtained. Feel free to totally disagree......you have with everyone else thus far.
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The difference is that a moderately high level of pool can be attained regardless of physical capacity because it is mostly a mental game. If an aspiring instructor can't or couldn't reach a decent level of play, it probably means they don't know enough to get there, meaning they can't teach someone how to get there. This isn't to say that they have to be a former world champ or anything, but they should at least be fairly advanced or had a time when they were fairly advanced.
 
mvp said:
Ive considerd taking lessons, but i feel most advertised are priced way to high, And are most instructors A players, I feel a instructor should run rack after rack, I dont want to play better than my coach. Im I WRONG?
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i don't think that's necessary. i expect an instructor to have been able to, at one point in time, run multiple racks. but not really anymore though.

if your wallet can stand it you should take a few lessons. if nothing else it'll help you get your mechanics off to the right start.

can't build a house on sand. get yourself a solid foundation before you continue working on your game
 
Some guys love to go into extrems here...

I really don t think that someone, who has absolutley no talent or even never ran out an 8-ball game would goin to be a *professional* instructor.

Also i know that i am personally(for example) able to master each shot (perhaps some exceptions :p)- i have a guy here who played the euro-tour, and he is a hell of a shooter. Absolutley A+ Player- but just 9 and 10 ball. He also is able to shoot easily 100er runs in straight-pool..but not consitantly. this guy often told me that he usualy should take some straight-pool lessons....bc he knows that he s just shooting balls without any plan. But he s too lazy to learn :p
He s often kidding me, bc longer ago he often lost some bucks against me (just *some* ^^) and asking me to play a bit *grin*-but he knows for sure i would never play him anymore. A better choice would be to spend the money :p
He also says for himself, that he can show some things for sure- but to correct someones technis etc he has no clue. Also in his opinion he thinks the most difficult part is, to transfer it to ANY person. So to explain it to everyone-and noone is equal :) Also in my opinion the hardest part-and the most interesting!
 
To truly hone your stroke you need a team of instructors/coaches.

I suggest McCready and Bustamente:grin:
 
mvp said:
Ive considerd taking lessons, but i feel most advertised are priced way to high, And are most instructors A players, I feel a instructor should run rack after rack, I dont want to play better than my coach. Im I WRONG?
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You are not wrong.....your opinion is your opinion, and to an extent, I think you have some solid logic....

Although I think that you have something else to consider....neither Hank Haney nor Butch Harmon were ever better than Tiger, even when he was a teenager.....but both are students of the game and have coached great players to the top.....

IMHO, I don't know that a great coach has to be able to run rack after rack....many coaches may not play all that often - a really good coach spends their time coaching, not playing.....granted, in my opinion, a good coach should be one that has a stroke and habits that are the same as they are teaching.....ie, they believe in thier coaching habits enough to copy them......but there are some players who run rack after rack that would very likely NOT make a good coach....

Find someone who comes recommended as a good coach based on their teaching methods, not thier level of play.....also, remember that often changes recommended by a coach require commitment and work.....many times, you will get worse before you get better because you are making a change....good luck....
 
Without reading a single response I agree with the OP. I'm not saying you can't learn from someone you play better than but it is just harder. I personally would rather get a lesson from a world beater or someone who has a game I look up to and respect. Also like the guys who have heart and have spent time in the grease. Just an opinion though.
 
If a teacher can impart knowledge to you on how to get better then there is no need for him to be a great player. Maybe he knows what to do but has poor vision or the stroke doesn't come to him naturally. He could still teach if he understands what it is your doing wrong.
My opinion is video yourself and have someone you respect analyze what your doing wrong in your fundamentals.Then hire a teacher to show you how to correct it.
 
book collector said:
I contacted Mr. Shuffett and am hoping we can work something out, I have no doubt he can improve my game even beyond the best I ever played.
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From experience, I can promise that you'll be glad you went to Stan.. He is an excellent instructor and plays real sporty too! FWIW
 
mvp said:
Ive considerd taking lessons, but i feel most advertised are priced way to high, And are most instructors A players, I feel a instructor should run rack after rack, I dont want to play better than my coach. Im I WRONG?
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As in any field, music, golf, pool, etc. being a great player does not necessarily equate to being a good teacher. In fact, in music, in has been my experience that most great musicians make mediocre teachers.

It is often true that people with the natural skills do make Chopin come alive or run a 6 pack in nine ball have difficulty imparting what they do to make this happen, as it is a natural gift in a lot of cases, hard to convey to someone else.

There are a number of great teachers out there, and they will cost you $50 to $100 an hour and it is the best investment you can make in your game. I have taken lessons from Scott Lee, George Michaels, and Dave Piona (bless his soul) and learned a lot from all of them. Taking lessons is the only thing that moved my game up a level.
 
tom mcgonagle said:
I charge $35 per lesson if you also purchase my book, RIGHT ON CUE, for the one time cost of $15.

I teach, everything I do, as far as fundamentals go. Then I work on your break. After that I go over all the different type shots. Then I work on your strategies playing the different type games.

I'm not a certified instructor. I'm not knocking them, I'm just not one of them.

I've played at every level in the game. I was three time New England Champion in the eighties and I played and beat some world champions. I feel I have the credentials to teach.

The reason I don't charge a lot is, I'm retired and I don't make a living teaching. If I did, I would have to charge more. Money spent learning more about the game, is money well spent.

Take lessons, avoid years of frustration.

__________________________________

http://tommcgonaglerightoncue.com
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You also just recently won a NATIONAL TITLE IN POCKET BILLIARDS, if I am not mistaken.
 
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