This is about a year late, but I wasn't sure until today if I should submit a review here or not. Not too much activity here on the instructor review forum, but I'm sick as a dog today, so not much more of importance is gonna get done. If no one reads it now, at least it's here for posterity.....
I'd lurked on this forum for a while before joining, so I had a pretty good idea of which teachers might fit my personality. I wanted someone who wasn't going to "tear me down and completely rebuild me". Christ, I'd just turned 60, it's not like I was gonna become the next Ginky or anything. Take this old rec bar banger and give him a good PSR and take a look at this stroke he's been abusing for over 40 years and iron out some of the wrinkles from it, and not try to turn it into Buddy Hall's stroke. After that, we'd see how it goes for future lessons. I'm a firm believer in sticking to one person as a primary instructor for a reasonable amount of time, so you need to be sure before you commit. Pool instruction is, after all, a buyer's market. If you don't like what you find, move on to someone else.
I also wanted to work with someone with an open and curious mind. Someone who could be firm but not mean-spirited. Playing ability was not as important as long experience, but in my case it was a given that they'd play better than me.
And one other thing I insisted upon: I did not want to be video taped and analyzed later. I wanted someone with sharp eyes that could instantly see what was out of whack and correct it on the fly.
I eventually decided to send Fran Crimi a PM with my needs. She responded quickly and professionally and said, yes, she would be willing to do that for me. So, we set up our first lesson together at Amsterdam Billiards... only a four-hour bus ride from Hell away. Lol
Now, I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive meeting Fran. She has a very strong and forceful online persona, and can get a wee bit testy when crossed. I'm the same way, so I anticipated the possibility of an impending train wreck. Still, I really liked the way she was able get her thoughts across on the forum, and her tenacity in getting to the heart of a player's problem rather than just saying, "Well, if you're ever in New York look me up and we'll schedule a lesson." In fact, I never once had seen her solicit anything. That's always a good sign that the teacher is committed to the art itself and not just looking for a steady paycheck.
Well, let me tell you, I got a good lesson in how different someone can come across in person compared to their online persona. In real life, Fran is a sweetheart. Where I feared she might bellow a plume of fire and singe off my remaining few strands, or tell me I needed to stop playing for two weeks and then quit, I found a tall, athletic, energetic woman who was instantly gracious, helpful, and friendly as all get out. But in a very professional way.
We had originally arranged our lesson at 11AM when Amsterdam opened their doors, but the damn King World bus my brainy son talked me into taking to save money (it's a hipster thang) arrived in NY at 11:15 - 45 minutes late. Then I had to almost run the mile plus from the bus stop to get there ASAP since she had previously informed me that she had limited time that afternoon and had an important luncheon date at 2PM. I called her and told her I was gonna be real late, and the only problem she had was that it might limit our time together.
I arrived covered in sweat in spite of it being a brutally cold February day. My glasses were fogged over from being so cold and going indoors, and I was packing a thirst so big it felt like the entire Mohave had blown into my mouth. Plus, I had to pee like a racehorse. No bathroom on the King World bus. She told me to relax, cool off, and got me a very welcome bottle of spring water. No push at all.
So, getting to the lesson itself, she had me screw my cue together and run some balls for a few minutes while she observed. After missing more shots than I was making (in my defense I was feeling pretty tight and tired from my sprint there) I asked what she thought of my stroke. "Your stroke is fine", she said. "Your alignment is off." Then she gave me a simple PSR that got me stepping into the shot with my feet in the right place. Immediately, everything just felt better. Now, I wasn't instantly making the balls go in the holes any better, but I hadn't gotten my eyes used to the new alignment. When the stance changes, everything changes, and you gotta practice until you adjust to it, but at least I wasn't trying to shoot from my navel anymore.
Then we worked on my bridge. I have very powerful arms, but apparently, not a very solid bridge. When she was satisfied, she asked if she could take a quick video of only my bridge hand as I shot. When I looked at it I finally realized that it don't matter how the stick gets moved, it's the way the stick moves through the shot. With my new bridge my stroke looked smooth, straight, and solid. If I dropped my elbow getting it through the ball I never did find out because all she taped was the part that matters.
Fran made several other comments along the way, but they were posed as innocent sounding questions, rather than saying, "No, that's not the way you should do that." For example, she asked if I always shot so fast. I thought about it and said that the players I like best always shot fast. Then she told me that a fast rhythm was fine and even desirable if it's natural, but the best players - even the fastest players - always pause at address before they take their final stroke. Major epiphany.
She also asked me if I always shot so hard. I figured, yeah, I'm a banger, that's what we do. She suggested that I practice at different stroke speeds and it might help with my position play. Well, yeah, of course. But posing it as a question rather than a direct criticism got the point across a lot better. This is a much more palatable way to learn rather than the autocratic approach of many highly regarded teachers.
We talked some more, and set up some long straight-ins (my nemesis, as they are for many), and that's when Phil Capelle showed up at the table. He was Fran's lunch date. Fran took a break for a bit to go freshen up and I got to have Phil watch me shoot some. Two instructors for the price of one!
Finally, it was time to wrap things up. I bought a copy of Phil's "Play Your Best Pool" from the display case and had Phil sign it. It's become my favorite book. Clear, logical, progressive, and pretty deep for a beginner's book. I highly recommend it.
As we were finishing, my son who lives in Brooklyn came to meet me there. Fran took the time to chat a bit with Nic and I about pool, but then she had to run. She promised me she would e-mail a point-by-point list of our lesson topics. They were waiting for me when I got home.
Later that evening I got a chance to try my new skills out with my son at a little dive bar near his place. He's not a bad player, not a runout artist, but better than me at any rate. Between the two of us we held the table until we got tired of it. I even B&R a rack of 8-ball, and ran out another one I got when the guy broke dry. I couldn't remember the last time that happened.
I haven't been able to connect with Fran since then, but I certainly intend to. This past year has been chock full of more building projects at our new place than my 62 year-old body could handle, but most of the work is done now. Through it all I've managed to put in about an hour a day on the average. Nowhere near as much as I'd hoped to, but improvements have been made, in no small part thanks to Fran's help. As soon as I feel completely solid with what she showed me I plan on taking another lesson with her to learn how to move snow where I want it to go. Right now it's three feet deep around my place and coming down hard as I write. It belongs at the other end of the table, with a nice angle to get good on the 5.
I'd lurked on this forum for a while before joining, so I had a pretty good idea of which teachers might fit my personality. I wanted someone who wasn't going to "tear me down and completely rebuild me". Christ, I'd just turned 60, it's not like I was gonna become the next Ginky or anything. Take this old rec bar banger and give him a good PSR and take a look at this stroke he's been abusing for over 40 years and iron out some of the wrinkles from it, and not try to turn it into Buddy Hall's stroke. After that, we'd see how it goes for future lessons. I'm a firm believer in sticking to one person as a primary instructor for a reasonable amount of time, so you need to be sure before you commit. Pool instruction is, after all, a buyer's market. If you don't like what you find, move on to someone else.
I also wanted to work with someone with an open and curious mind. Someone who could be firm but not mean-spirited. Playing ability was not as important as long experience, but in my case it was a given that they'd play better than me.
And one other thing I insisted upon: I did not want to be video taped and analyzed later. I wanted someone with sharp eyes that could instantly see what was out of whack and correct it on the fly. I eventually decided to send Fran Crimi a PM with my needs. She responded quickly and professionally and said, yes, she would be willing to do that for me. So, we set up our first lesson together at Amsterdam Billiards... only a four-hour bus ride from Hell away. Lol
Now, I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive meeting Fran. She has a very strong and forceful online persona, and can get a wee bit testy when crossed. I'm the same way, so I anticipated the possibility of an impending train wreck. Still, I really liked the way she was able get her thoughts across on the forum, and her tenacity in getting to the heart of a player's problem rather than just saying, "Well, if you're ever in New York look me up and we'll schedule a lesson." In fact, I never once had seen her solicit anything. That's always a good sign that the teacher is committed to the art itself and not just looking for a steady paycheck.
Well, let me tell you, I got a good lesson in how different someone can come across in person compared to their online persona. In real life, Fran is a sweetheart. Where I feared she might bellow a plume of fire and singe off my remaining few strands, or tell me I needed to stop playing for two weeks and then quit, I found a tall, athletic, energetic woman who was instantly gracious, helpful, and friendly as all get out. But in a very professional way.
We had originally arranged our lesson at 11AM when Amsterdam opened their doors, but the damn King World bus my brainy son talked me into taking to save money (it's a hipster thang) arrived in NY at 11:15 - 45 minutes late. Then I had to almost run the mile plus from the bus stop to get there ASAP since she had previously informed me that she had limited time that afternoon and had an important luncheon date at 2PM. I called her and told her I was gonna be real late, and the only problem she had was that it might limit our time together.
I arrived covered in sweat in spite of it being a brutally cold February day. My glasses were fogged over from being so cold and going indoors, and I was packing a thirst so big it felt like the entire Mohave had blown into my mouth. Plus, I had to pee like a racehorse. No bathroom on the King World bus. She told me to relax, cool off, and got me a very welcome bottle of spring water. No push at all.
So, getting to the lesson itself, she had me screw my cue together and run some balls for a few minutes while she observed. After missing more shots than I was making (in my defense I was feeling pretty tight and tired from my sprint there) I asked what she thought of my stroke. "Your stroke is fine", she said. "Your alignment is off." Then she gave me a simple PSR that got me stepping into the shot with my feet in the right place. Immediately, everything just felt better. Now, I wasn't instantly making the balls go in the holes any better, but I hadn't gotten my eyes used to the new alignment. When the stance changes, everything changes, and you gotta practice until you adjust to it, but at least I wasn't trying to shoot from my navel anymore.
Then we worked on my bridge. I have very powerful arms, but apparently, not a very solid bridge. When she was satisfied, she asked if she could take a quick video of only my bridge hand as I shot. When I looked at it I finally realized that it don't matter how the stick gets moved, it's the way the stick moves through the shot. With my new bridge my stroke looked smooth, straight, and solid. If I dropped my elbow getting it through the ball I never did find out because all she taped was the part that matters.
Fran made several other comments along the way, but they were posed as innocent sounding questions, rather than saying, "No, that's not the way you should do that." For example, she asked if I always shot so fast. I thought about it and said that the players I like best always shot fast. Then she told me that a fast rhythm was fine and even desirable if it's natural, but the best players - even the fastest players - always pause at address before they take their final stroke. Major epiphany.
She also asked me if I always shot so hard. I figured, yeah, I'm a banger, that's what we do. She suggested that I practice at different stroke speeds and it might help with my position play. Well, yeah, of course. But posing it as a question rather than a direct criticism got the point across a lot better. This is a much more palatable way to learn rather than the autocratic approach of many highly regarded teachers.
We talked some more, and set up some long straight-ins (my nemesis, as they are for many), and that's when Phil Capelle showed up at the table. He was Fran's lunch date. Fran took a break for a bit to go freshen up and I got to have Phil watch me shoot some. Two instructors for the price of one!
Finally, it was time to wrap things up. I bought a copy of Phil's "Play Your Best Pool" from the display case and had Phil sign it. It's become my favorite book. Clear, logical, progressive, and pretty deep for a beginner's book. I highly recommend it.
As we were finishing, my son who lives in Brooklyn came to meet me there. Fran took the time to chat a bit with Nic and I about pool, but then she had to run. She promised me she would e-mail a point-by-point list of our lesson topics. They were waiting for me when I got home.
Later that evening I got a chance to try my new skills out with my son at a little dive bar near his place. He's not a bad player, not a runout artist, but better than me at any rate. Between the two of us we held the table until we got tired of it. I even B&R a rack of 8-ball, and ran out another one I got when the guy broke dry. I couldn't remember the last time that happened.
I haven't been able to connect with Fran since then, but I certainly intend to. This past year has been chock full of more building projects at our new place than my 62 year-old body could handle, but most of the work is done now. Through it all I've managed to put in about an hour a day on the average. Nowhere near as much as I'd hoped to, but improvements have been made, in no small part thanks to Fran's help. As soon as I feel completely solid with what she showed me I plan on taking another lesson with her to learn how to move snow where I want it to go. Right now it's three feet deep around my place and coming down hard as I write. It belongs at the other end of the table, with a nice angle to get good on the 5.
