My Daily Practice - Monday, Tue, Wed, etc...

B

bill190

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Someone asked what my drills were for each day. I thought I would stick it in a separate thread since it is so long. Here it is...

Monday - Long Shots
- Stroke practice.
- Bank stroke practice.
- Break Practice - As many rails as possible.

- Speed Practice

Length Speed
1 Very slow
2 Slow
3 Medium
4 Fast
4+ Very fast

-Combination Accuracy - Vary distance of balls
- Cue ball corner, object ball opposite "kitty" corner. Move object
ball closer to cue ball after every few shots.
- Cue ball corner, object ball opposite long rail corner. Move object
ball closer to cue ball after every few shots.
- Cue ball corner frozen to rail, object ball opposite long rail corner
frozen to rail. Move object ball closer to cue ball after every few
shots.
- Long cut shots.
- Line up row of balls between each center pocket. Shoot in with draw.
- Freeze object ball to far rail near pocket and cut in.
- 4 shots Left handed.
- 4 shots with mechanical bridge.
- Zone Pool

Tuesday - Position
- Stroke practice.
- Bank stroke practice.
- Break Practice - As many rails as possible.

- Zone Pool - Entire deck
- Mississippi nine ball.
- Expand your limits.
- Object ball center of table, cut into side pocket with left, right,
center.
- Semi-circle around side pocket.
- Circle of balls, cue ball in center.


Wednesday - Bank, Kick & Jump Shots
- Stroke practice.
- Bank stroke practice.
- Break Practice - As many rails as possible.

- Long bank shots.
- Short bank shots.
- Long kick shots.
- Short kick shots.
- Short kick shots 2 (See below).
- Cross bank shots into opposite side pocket.
- Two rail bank shots into corner pocket.
- Jump shots - Long.
- Jump shots - Short.
- Line up row of balls from foot center diamond to center of table.
Bank into side pockets and foot corner pockets.
- Line up alternating rows of balls from side pockets to foot corner
pockets. Place them about a balls width from the long rails. Bank into
side and foot corner pockets. Ball-in-hand.
- Zone Pool
- Bank 9-ball - every shot must be a bank.
- Kick shot 9-ball, every shot must be a kick shot.
- 2 rail kick shot 9-ball, every shot must be a 2 rail kick shot.


Thursday - Carom, Cluster, Combo Shots, & Scratch Shots
- Stroke practice.
- Bank stroke practice.
- Break Practice - As many rails as possible.

- Carom practice - stun shot 90 deg.- ball center of table - hit 1/4,
1/2, 3/4.
- Carom practice - follow shot 30 deg.- ball center of table - hit 1/4,
1/2, 3/4.
- Carom eight-ball, switch cue ball with #1 ball, carom all shots off
of cue ball.
- Double shot combo, object balls near pockets. Move balls further away
from pockets after a few shots.
- Object ball frozen to rail combination shots. Shoot object ball into
another frozen object ball.
- Cluster shots. Two object balls frozen - Line between balls points to
pocket. Shoot 45 deg.
- Cue ball and object ball frozen to rail pointing toward long corner
pocket - hit CB into rail.
- Scratch shot practice. Make cue ball scratch. See below.
- Zone Pool
- Scratch Shots - try to scratch


Friday - Cut shots
- Stroke practice.
- Bank stroke practice.
- Break Practice - As many rails as possible.

- Long cut shots - Switch sides.
- Short cut shots - Switch sides.
- Object ball short rail center diamond - two balls away from rail. 1st
cue ball position nearest long rail diamond. Shoot from each long rail
diamond working further back.
- Object ball head spot. Shoot cue ball from L rail 3rd diamond to L
rail 7th diamond, then kitchen 1 through 3rd short rail diamonds. (All
CB's one diamond away from rail.)
- Cut shots into side pockets.
- Cut shots - Object ball near cue ball - Long, short shots.
- Cut shots - Line up row of dots across table.
- Short rail cut shots into opposite corner pocket. Cue ball near
opposite short rail corner.
- Frozen object ball cut shots.
- 30 deg. Rule 1/4 to 3/4 hit (non-stun) dir. of CB to new dir. of CB =
fingers spread.
- 90 deg. rule - must be stun shot. If hitting combo, must be fast shot
or short distance for 90.
- Frozen cue ball cut shots.
- Zone Pool


Saturday - Straight & Masse' shots
- Stroke practice.
- Bank stroke practice.
- Break Practice - As many rails as possible.

- Follow, stop, draw along long rail - Alternate sides.
- Long follow shot practice - closed bridge - stop cue ball; 1 diamond,
2, 3, etc.
- Long straight shots.
- Short straight shots.
- Frozen cue ball straight shots.
- Frozen object ball straight shots.
- Cue ball and object ball frozen to long rail opposite sides of side
pocket. (Rail side English, English hugs rail.)
- Masse' shots - Long - Add balls to side pocket to make curve more
difficult.
- Masse' shots - Short - Add balls to center to make curve more
difficult.
- Cue ball frozen to another ball straight shots. Aim level first, then
bring cue stick straight up.
- Cheat the pocket straight shots.
- Two balls in front of pocket. Shoot cue ball with draw to make both
balls.
- Eight-ball - stop object ball before pocket.
- Zone Pool


Sunday - Frozen balls & Break Shots
- Stroke practice.
- Bank stroke practice.
- Break Practice - As many rails as possible.

- Cue ball frozen to object ball long shots, move object ball closer to
cue ball after every few shots.
- Cue ball frozen to object ball short shots, move object ball closer
to cue ball after every few shots.
- Cue ball frozen to rail long shots, use longest bridge possible,
level cue.
- Cue ball frozen to rail short shots.
- Closed bridge cue ball frozen to rail shots long/short.
- Frozen object ball combination shots.
- Object balls and cue ball frozen to rails game, ball-in-hand.
- Zone Pool
- VCR on, 9-ball breaks, get cue ball to bounce back to same spot.
 
Thanks for taking the time. I looked it over quickly. Will print it and look at it closer.

Jim "preacherman"
 
how long do you practice each day, time of day? Do you do it all in one session or break it up?

Thanks
 
TheBook said:
how long do you practice each day, time of day? Do you do it all in one session or break it up?
Click to expand...

Well I'll tell you, a lot of the stuff on my list is the shots I am having trouble with or the most frustrating shots. (The things I need to practice or at one time I needed to practice.)

Now the frozen balls practice (taking all 15 balls and freezing them to the rails and trying to shoot them in)... The first time I tried this, I had about 1/2 hour of it and I was excessively frustrated and finished for the day! I only got in about 1/3 of the balls during this time.

Now having practiced this once a week for 8 months or so, I can shoot all 15 balls in - in 5 minutes. And it is not frustrating any more, it is fun.

So in answer to your question, if it is something new which I am practicing, it will be frustrating and I will get tired quickly. So maybe only a half hour, then try again in a week for that particular group of shots.

As of now, most of the stuff above is old hat, so I will usually complete the entire practice [for that day] in an hour or two. I take breaks every 15 minutes or so. Then I may play pool for the rest of the evening or do something else like bike riding.

BTW, I am by no means good at all of the above. Some shots take me many attempts before I can make a pocket. But I have found that I get better and better after several months of once a week practice of a particular shot.

I practice in the afternoons/evenings.
 
bill190 said:
Well I'll tell you, a lot of the stuff on my list is the shots I am having trouble with or the most frustrating shots. (The things I need to practice or at one time I needed to practice.)

Now the frozen balls practice (taking all 15 balls and freezing them to the rails and trying to shoot them in)... The first time I tried this, I had about 1/2 hour of it and I was excessively frustrated and finished for the day! I only got in about 1/3 of the balls during this time.

Now having practiced this once a week for 8 months or so, I can shoot all 15 balls in - in 5 minutes. And it is not frustrating any more, it is fun.

So in answer to your question, if it is something new which I am practicing, it will be frustrating and I will get tired quickly. So maybe only a half hour, then try again in a week for that particular group of shots.

As of now, most of the stuff above is old hat, so I will usually complete the entire practice [for that day] in an hour or two. I take breaks every 15 minutes or so. Then I may play pool for the rest of the evening or do something else like bike riding.

BTW, I am by no means good at all of the above. Some shots take me many attempts before I can make a pocket. But I have found that I get better and better after several months of once a week practice of a particular shot.

I practice in the afternoons/evenings.
Click to expand...

Bill, you're a man with a plan, and it's a great plan. The way you practice ensures that no skill or feature gets overlooked and ensures that you'll be a well-rounded player.
 
Bill,
Very informative. As an avid student of kinesiology, medicine, and learning theory though I wonder if this would be a good regimen for someone trying to improve. It would seem a good regimen for maintaining a certain skill level; but less than ideal if your goal (like mine) is to add new skills, or improve on current skill level. The reason I say this is that to develop muscle memory ideally, you need repetitions that are closer together than 1 week, and farther apart than 4 hours. That is why (in any sport), new skills should be practiced daily (and ideally twice daily, separated by more than 4 hours) for at least 4 or 5 days for the muscle memory to develop. While I am sure your schedule will still lead to improvement, it sure wouldn't be quick enough for me.

I also am on a rather intensive improvement regimen, and I am always surprised by how long the new skills take to develop (even when practiced daily) compared to new skills in other sports. For such a seemingly simple game (biomechanically speaking) it is amazing to me that a long straight shot or a cut shot with radical English should take so long to master (weeks and months) - I don't remember new skills being that difficult in other sports.

No criticism intended, just an observation (most people are probably not as fanatical about timesaving techniques as I am - maybe megalomania is not such a great personality trait).
 
Williebetmore said:
...The reason I say this is that to develop muscle memory ideally, you need repetitions that are closer together than 1 week, and farther apart than 4 hours...
Click to expand...

Yes I agree. You may notice that I practice a few drills every day like...

- Stroke practice. (Shoot balls directly into pockets without cue ball)
- Bank stroke practice. (Bank balls without cue ball.)
- Break Practice - As many rails as possible. (Remove balls from table and shoot only cue ball at far center diamond, try to get to come straight back and as many rails as possible - Speed + Accuracy).

But the problem is there are just too many different shots to practice them all in one day!

What I have done in the past if I am having trouble with a specific shot is to work *only* on that shot every day. Then I get better at that shot much more quickly than with the once a week thing.

But I also improve slowly with the once a week practice. Keep in mind that I also may play pool for 6 hours after my practice, so I'm shooting a variety of shots every few days.

The thing my daily practice helps me with the most is shots which seldom come up in a game. For example, I may only shoot 3 draw shots in an entire evening of play, but during practice, I only shoot draw shots again and again.

I'm always working on and revising my practice, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
I made a sign to place on my wall by my pool table which says...

"To develop muscle memory, new skills should be practiced twice daily, separated by more than 4 hours for at least 4 or 5 days."

This is certaintly something to think about and something which will utilize my limited time to maximum benefit. (I like to be efficient with my time as well.)

The amount of brain power on this board never ceases to amaze me!

Thanks...
 
I'd add some flavors to your kicking practice. Make sure all of the following kicks are covered in your kicking drills:

-one rail to hit right half of an object ball (then left side)
-one rail kicks with running english
-one rail kics with center ball
-one rail kicks with reverse english
-high speed one rail kicks (and then lower speed)
-one rail kicks requiring masse
-two rail (long rail first) kicks to hit right half of an object ball (then left side)
-two rail (long rail first) kicks with running english
-two rail (long rail first) kicks with center ball
-two rail (long rail first) kicks with reverse english
-high speed two rail (long rail first) kicks (and then low speed)
-two rail (short rail first) kicks to hit right half of an object ball (then left side)
-two rail (short rail first) kicks with running english
-two rail (short rail first) kicks with center ball
-two rail (short rail first) kicks with reverse english
-high speed two rail (short rail first) kicks (and then low speed)
-two rail rail kicks requiring masse
-three rail kicks (long short long) to hit right half of object ball (then left side)
-three rail kicks (long short long) with running english
-three rail kicks (long short long) with center ball
-three rail kicks (long short long)with reverse english
-high speed three rail (long short long) kicks (and then low speed)
-three rail kicks (short long short) requiring masse
-three rail kick (short long short) to hit right half of object ball (then left side)
-three rail kicks (short long short) with running english
-three rail kicks (short long short) with center ball
-three rail kicks (short long short)with reverse english
-high speed three rail (short long short) kicks (and then low speed)
-three rail kicks (short long short) requiring masse
-one, two, and multi rail kicks with draw
-cue ball positioning off of one rail kicks
-cue ball positioning off of multi-rail kicks
-object ball positioning off of one rail kicks
-object ball positioning off of multi-rail kicks

OK, that's enough!
 
Last edited:
bill190 said:
"To develop muscle memory, new skills should be practiced twice daily, separated by more than 4 hours for at least 4 or 5 days."

...
Click to expand...

Not that it matters, but I neglected to mention that when new motor skills are taught, they start to fade measurably from memory within 24 hours. I always find it is a good idea to start practicing a new skill within 24 hours of a lesson. I'm not planning on starting SJM's kicking drills anytime soon. It's not that they wouldn't be valuable, but if I forget they exist, then they won't remind me how little I know (confirmed straight pool addict who resents having to learn kicks and power breaks).
 
Williebetmore said:
...I'm not planning on starting SJM's kicking drills anytime soon...
Click to expand...

I thought I was doing good just to hit the object ball with a kick shot!

Anyway I think I will add just the following to my practice. I've never tried some of these shots, so it will be interesting to see what happens. (I added the follow kick shot BTW...) I'll place stickers on the table for cue ball and object ball so each shot will be the same except for the different cue ball hit...

-one rail to hit right half of an object ball (then left side)
-one rail kicks with running english
-one rail kicks with center ball
-one rail kicks with reverse english
-one rail kicks with draw
-one rail kicks with follow
-high speed one rail kicks (and then lower speed)
-one rail kicks requiring masse
 
Williebetmore said:
Bill,
Very informative. As an avid student of kinesiology, medicine, and learning theory though I wonder if this would be a good regimen for someone trying to improve. It would seem a good regimen for maintaining a certain skill level; but less than ideal if your goal (like mine) is to add new skills, or improve on current skill level. The reason I say this is that to develop muscle memory ideally, you need repetitions that are closer together than 1 week, and farther apart than 4 hours. That is why (in any sport), new skills should be practiced daily (and ideally twice daily, separated by more than 4 hours) for at least 4 or 5 days for the muscle memory to develop. While I am sure your schedule will still lead to improvement, it sure wouldn't be quick enough for me.

I also am on a rather intensive improvement regimen, and I am always surprised by how long the new skills take to develop (even when practiced daily) compared to new skills in other sports. For such a seemingly simple game (biomechanically speaking) it is amazing to me that a long straight shot or a cut shot with radical English should take so long to master (weeks and months) - I don't remember new skills being that difficult in other sports.

No criticism intended, just an observation (most people are probably not as fanatical about timesaving techniques as I am - maybe megalomania is not such a great personality trait).
Click to expand...
Willie, I know this is an old thread but, I did a search for it trying to find sjm's post about different kicking skills (I do not have a choice but to practice them since, against my will, I play 9 ball these days almost exclusively) and came across your post (or rediscovered it, if you will) about muscle memory development. Very interesting...

However, I'd like to raise a question just as a matter of conjecture on my part: How much of learning new skills is biomechanical memory and how much of it is intellectual memory? What I'm trying to establish here is, are banks, for instance, biomechanically very different from kicks, or long straight ins for that matter?

It seems to me muscle memory plays a very big role on certain skills, such as speed control, power breaks (I know, yuck) and the different strokes that one must play pool with (including masses and, yuck, jump shots). Also, all fundamentals, etc. But, essentially, all other shots and skills (be they safeties, combinations, or two rail position routes) require the same muscle memory, and that is, stroking the cueball in a premeditated line of aim.

All else regarding pool, seems to me, is actually intellectual memory (patterns, shot selection, etc.) rather than muscle memory. Even aiming appears to be intellectual in nature. When we refer to "feel", we are essentially talking about the memory of having played a similar shot, at a similar angle, over and over again.

Am I completely off the mark here? In gymnastics (just one whacky example) I think the issue of biomechanical memory figures way more prominently than in pool. Therefore a training method like the one you describe is a must. *There* muscle memory is almost everything. Furthermore, gymnastics is obviously much more complex, biomechanically speaking. In pool, however, it appears pattern recognition is just as important as muscle memory is.

Your comments or any others will be appreciated. Cheers!
 
lewdo26 said:
How much of learning new skills is biomechanical memory and how much of it is intellectual memory? What I'm trying to establish here is, are banks, for instance, biomechanically very different from kicks, or long straight ins for that matter?

It seems to me muscle memory plays a very big role on certain skills, such as speed control, power breaks (I know, yuck) and the different strokes that one must play pool with (including masses and, yuck, jump shots). Also, all fundamentals, etc. But, essentially, all other shots and skills (be they safeties, combinations, or two rail position routes) require the same muscle memory, and that is, stroking the cueball in a premeditated line of aim.
!
Click to expand...

Lewdo,
It is a complicated issue (not to be patronizing, but neuroanatomy is a bitch), one that is probably best discussed over a few beers at the next tournament we are both attending (probably only of interest to science geeks like me).

To address your specific issue of banks; I would say that the muscle memory for banks is unquestionably different than the muscle memory for regular shots (even though the physical act of stroking the cue ball will be the same - your brain will be doing a completely different activity during the bank, an activity that will determine which "muscle memory" you use as you stroke).

To simplify: the term muscle memory is commonly used to denote activities that can be performed without conscious thought of each of the individual movements in a sequence. This is accomplished through a "loop" between the individual muscles sending messages to the spinal cord, through intermediate fibers to the ascending nerve fibers in the spinal cord, to the cerebellum in the brainstem where all of the input is coordinated, then back down the spinal cord to all the individual muscles that are involved in the sequence in the specific order necessary for completion of the sequence. Your cerebral cortex (center of the higher brain functions) basically tells the cerebellum which muscle memory sequences to choose. The cerebral cortex can also interfere with the sequence AT ANY POINT in the "loop" during the sequence (often with disastrous consequences).

For your specific question: to accomplish a bank shot, the muscle memory will be based on your vision of the layout, your conscious mental assessment of what to do, your conscious mental assessment of past results in similar situations, and your subconcious "feel" of the proper shot and result as you are down on the ball. All of this will be sent to the cerebellum where it will be packaged into the final stroke. All of the resulting nervous impulses and muscular contractions will be affected by the amount of adrenaline in your system and will have to be adjusted for, either consciously or subconciously. All of this will be totally different nervous system activity than a straight in shot, so quit reading this useless thread and get your ass to the practice table and build some good muscle memory.
 
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