Tom Simpson
Beat People With a Stick!
I began sending out these Tips of the Month to my students about six months ago. I'm making them available to AZ members too. Below is my July Tip. If you'd like to receive the previous Tips and future Tips, send me an email at Tom@PoolClinics.com. FYI, I rebuilt my website earlier this year: www.PoolClinics.com.
Break Harder, Stroke Straighter, Look Better at the Table
© National Billiard Academy 2016
Sounds too good to be true, especially in a brief Tip of the Month. But here it is. To the extent you can apply this tip to your body, your movements, your game, you’ll do better.
I once read about the fastest draw & shoot handgun shooter in the world. You couldn’t even see him move, he was so fast. He used a basic six-shooter while most of his competitors used exotic state-of-the-art equipment.
So this old cowboy was asked “How did you train to become so fast?” His reply was – and this is the big one – "I didn’t work on fast. I worked on smooth.”
There it is. Smooth. Yep, smooth. Smooth is fast because it has no extra wiggles going on, no extra muscles, no adjustments.
So if you want to break harder, work on smoothing every aspect of your break. How smoothly do you go down on the shot, how smoothly do your eyes move, how smooth is your backswing. Identify and eliminate anything that’s jerky. Soften whatever is hard.
Want to stroke straighter? Yeah I know, rhetorical question. Consider this. If your backswing is not straight, you are going to have to make corrections on the fly, during your hit stroke. Obviously, we want a straight backswing. Figure out how to take a slow, smooth backswing and let it coast to a natural stop. Smoothly accelerate forward. Enjoy watching the balls actually go where you believed you were sending them.
Is there any value to looking good at the table? Watch any pro athlete in any sport. They look good while they’re doing their moves. They look good because they are moving smoothly. Beautiful economy of motion. Efficient. Simple. No extra stuff. This is what we want as pool players.
Looking good at the table means you’re present, focused, smooth, confident. The better you look, the better you play. The better you play, the more confidence you feel. More confidence of course leads to more enjoyment and the more winning.
Try bringing smoooth into your body, your stroke, your game.
One of my all-time favorite pool quotes is “I’m betting on the guy with the oil in his elbow!” Let’s be that guy.
Break Harder, Stroke Straighter, Look Better at the Table
© National Billiard Academy 2016
Sounds too good to be true, especially in a brief Tip of the Month. But here it is. To the extent you can apply this tip to your body, your movements, your game, you’ll do better.
I once read about the fastest draw & shoot handgun shooter in the world. You couldn’t even see him move, he was so fast. He used a basic six-shooter while most of his competitors used exotic state-of-the-art equipment.
So this old cowboy was asked “How did you train to become so fast?” His reply was – and this is the big one – "I didn’t work on fast. I worked on smooth.”
There it is. Smooth. Yep, smooth. Smooth is fast because it has no extra wiggles going on, no extra muscles, no adjustments.
So if you want to break harder, work on smoothing every aspect of your break. How smoothly do you go down on the shot, how smoothly do your eyes move, how smooth is your backswing. Identify and eliminate anything that’s jerky. Soften whatever is hard.
Want to stroke straighter? Yeah I know, rhetorical question. Consider this. If your backswing is not straight, you are going to have to make corrections on the fly, during your hit stroke. Obviously, we want a straight backswing. Figure out how to take a slow, smooth backswing and let it coast to a natural stop. Smoothly accelerate forward. Enjoy watching the balls actually go where you believed you were sending them.
Is there any value to looking good at the table? Watch any pro athlete in any sport. They look good while they’re doing their moves. They look good because they are moving smoothly. Beautiful economy of motion. Efficient. Simple. No extra stuff. This is what we want as pool players.
Looking good at the table means you’re present, focused, smooth, confident. The better you look, the better you play. The better you play, the more confidence you feel. More confidence of course leads to more enjoyment and the more winning.
Try bringing smoooth into your body, your stroke, your game.
One of my all-time favorite pool quotes is “I’m betting on the guy with the oil in his elbow!” Let’s be that guy.
