Need advice on my game.

hoosier_cues

hoosier_cues

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I was involved in a serious truck crash. It has left me with some permanant damage and most likely dibilitating effects. Most of the damage was to my back. I can no longer bend over as far. I have always played with my chin just above the cue. This is longer possible. Also my bridge hand suffred tendon and legiment damage. I have a lot of trouble forming a solid bridge.

I need to some suggestions....

First question. Do you think I should get a shaft built with a larger diameter and stiff as possible to offset not having a stable bridge hand.

Second and most important. Do I pretty much change my stance and how address shots? My stance feels very uncomfortable. I have tried standing different but have not found anything that feels right. So the question is do I find a stance that is comfortable and possibly give up a little performance or do i go for what has the best results.

I know most of this probably does'nt make any since but it is really hard. I been playing about 20 years and now everything has changed. I am pretty early in my recovery so maybe things will improve. In the short term I have to get some things figured out or I feel I may never play again.

Anybody that made it to the end of this rubish I appreciate it:rolleyes:
 
God bless you man! God bless you.

Sure you're gonna be able to play again, and maybe better than ever!

Emmitt Blankenship was a champion long ago who was in a trolley car accident and lost his arm. He only became the best one handed player in the world!

Cecil "The Serpent" Tugwell was another great right handed player who suffered major damage to his right wrist and could no longer grip a cue. He learned to play left handed and became nearly as good as The Left Duke.

There are many more such stories. "Three Fingered" Ronnie Sypher, "Little Hand" Lewis Bramlett and Ernest "The One Armed Bandit" Morgan. These were all very good players who had a serious handicap.

And then there is Aaron "Ironsides" Aragon, perhaps the best wheelchair bound player who ever lived. He was in an auto accident at age 18 that left him paralyzed from the waist down. He MADE himself into a top player, and competed for years alongside the best able bodied players. He has wins over a who's who of top players. Woe be the man who felt sorry for Aaron. He would kick your butt!

You can do it man. Just take it a little bit at a time. I've seen good players who played standing nearly erect. Fatty was one of them. Pool will be your best therapy right now. As your game improves, so will you!

My brother went to school at Purdue. He was killed in an automobile race in 1972. There is an award in his honor every year to the top student in the Sciences Department. It is called the Dr. Bruce S. Helfert Memorial Award. Check it out. It's quite an honor to win this.

Good luck and good shooting! I'll see you at Derby City in 2009. :)
 
jay helfert said:
God bless you man! God bless you.

Sure you're gonna be able to play again, and maybe better than ever!

Emmitt Blankenship was a champion long ago who was in a trolley car accident and lost his arm. He only became the best one handed player in the world!

Cecil "The Serpent" Tugwell was another great right handed player who suffered major damage to his right wrist and could no longer grip a cue. He learned to play left handed and became nearly as good as The Left Duke.

There are many more such stories. "Three Fingered" Ronnie Sypher, "Little Hand" Lewis Bramlett and Ernest "The One Armed Bandit" Morgan. These were all very good players who had a serious handicap.

And then there is Aaron "Ironsides" Aragon, perhaps the best wheelchair bound player who ever lived. He was in an auto accident at age 18 that left him paralyzed from the waist down. He MADE himself into a top player, and competed for years alongside the best able bodied players. He has wins over a who's who of top players. Woe be the man who felt sorry for Aaron. He would kick your butt!

You can do it man. Just take it a little bit at a time. I've seen good players who played standing nearly erect. Fatty was one of them. Pool will be your best therapy right now. As your game improves, so will you!

My brother went to school at Purdue. He was killed in an automobile race in 1972. There is an award in his honor every year to the top student in the Sciences Department. It is called the Dr. Bruce S. Helfert Memorial Award. Check it out. It's quite an honor to win this.

Good luck and good shooting! I'll see you at Derby City in 2009. :)
Click to expand...

What Jay said! You can DO IT!

Regards,
Jim
 
Thank you Jay! I really needed that. I know to many I am being selfish(already got one PM stating that). I know I am lucky that things could be worst. I am not looking for petty just solutions. So any insight would be great. Thanks again Jay. Hope to see you at the Derby!
 
jay helfert said:
My brother went to school at Purdue. He was killed in an automobile race in 1972. There is an award in his honor every year to the top student in the Sciences Department. It is called the Dr. Bruce S. Helfert Memorial Award. Check it out. It's quite an honor to win this.
Click to expand...
I have heard of that award. It is a big deal in these parts every year.
 
hoosier_cues said:
Thank you Jay! I really needed that. I know to many I am being selfish(already got one PM stating that). I know I am lucky that things could be worst. I am not looking for petty just solutions. So any insight would be great. Thanks again Jay. Hope to see you at the Derby!
Click to expand...

Selfish? I don't get it. Whoever sent that PM is an idiot.

Good luck to you.
 
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A kid back in Ireland called Paul Johnston played at my club and was a regular 100 break hitter(snooker). He broke his neck in a car crash and went from having one of those typical chin on the cue snooker stances to playing with a neck and shoulder brace. He had this thing on I guess for about a year but he loved the game and never stopped playing. About 2 or 3 years after he took of the brace he won the North West of Ireland Snooker Championships playing with his head about 2 feet off the cue. I actually think he got better. Just look at this as a new way to learn the game and a slightly tougher ghost that you will no doubt beat.
 
HC,

A lot of players played pretty good with an upright stance. Wimpy, Mosconi, Moore, Crane, Fatty, to name a few.

Some feel (myself included) that it's easier to see tangent lines and execute which can result in more precise position play with a more upright stance. In view of this maybe focusing more on straight pool, 1P or bar table pool may be a satisfying, viable option.

Give it time and focus on your strengths while recognizing and not letting your weakness's get exploited. IE: if making those tough THIN cuts at distance are harder because you can't see the "edge" from an upright position go to plan "B".... play safe,etc.

Good luck, hang in and Happy New Year, adam
 
I don't think you'll be able to perform well over the long haul if you aren't comfortable with your stance, so IMHO, the first step would be to find a stance that fits the way you're body currently works and bends, that's comfortable to you now and start re-learning. (assuming you don't think your bending ability is going to come back)

I wouldn't worry too much about your bridge hand. I think you'll probably find a few creative ways of forming a bridge that's stable enough without stressing the damaged tendons/ligaments. The hand and fingers are really versatile that way. I slashed the wrist of my bridge hand a few yrs ago while hanging a framed print on the wall, the glass split and guillotined my wrist. I had some nerve damage and my hand just felt different. My bridge changed and I had to build some confidence in the new bridge but after a while I was fine with it. My hand's healed now though.

Way back when, I went to college with a guy who had a short arm with just a partial hand (from birth) , kind of like a stub. We were able to teach him to shoot pretty decently and he was able to bridge just fine with the stub.

Serge
 
ribdoner said:
HC,

A lot of players played pretty good with an upright stance. Wimpy, Mosconi, Moore, Crane, Fatty, to name a few.

Some feel (myself included) that it's easier to see tangent lines and execute which can result in more precise position play with a more upright stance. In view of this maybe focusing more on straight pool, 1P or bar table pool may be a satisfying, viable option.

Give it time and focus on your strengths while recognizing and not letting your weakness's get exploited. IE: if making those tough THIN cuts at distance are harder because you can't see the "edge" from an upright position go to plan "B".... play safe,etc.

Good luck, hang in and Happy New Year, adam
Click to expand...
I have noticed with the upright stance that you do see some things better. The main problem I have incountered is that I am putting 1/3 of a tip of left english on every shot. I can not see this. It looks like I am hitting center ball to me. I think it has to do with my elbow being in a different position than before.
 
hoosier_cues said:
I have noticed with the upright stance that you do see some things better. The main problem I have incountered is that I am putting 1/3 of a tip of left english on every shot. I can not see this. It looks like I am hitting center ball to me. I think it has to do with my elbow being in a different position than before.
Click to expand...


STROKE DRILLS!;)

If something physical will KEEP your elbow in a different position you can still compensate as long as your stroke is repeatable.
 
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hoosier_cues said:
I was involved in a serious truck crash. It has left me with some permanant damage and most likely dibilitating effects. Most of the damage was to my back. I can no longer bend over as far. I have always played with my chin just above the cue. This is longer possible. Also my bridge hand suffred tendon and legiment damage. I have a lot of trouble forming a solid bridge.

I need to some suggestions....

First question. Do you think I should get a shaft built with a larger diameter and stiff as possible to offset not having a stable bridge hand.

Second and most important. Do I pretty much change my stance and how address shots? My stance feels very uncomfortable. I have tried standing different but have not found anything that feels right. So the question is do I find a stance that is comfortable and possibly give up a little performance or do i go for what has the best results.

I know most of this probably does'nt make any since but it is really hard. I been playing about 20 years and now everything has changed. I am pretty early in my recovery so maybe things will improve. In the short term I have to get some things figured out or I feel I may never play again.

Anybody that made it to the end of this rubish I appreciate it:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Hey, a lot of us stand a little higher than in our younger days. As your recovery progresses, I bet you more and more comfortable with your stance and machanics.

Anyway, God Bless, and have fun. Rmember my favoorite prayer, "God give me patience and give it to me now".
 
hoosier_cues said:
I have heard of that award. It is a big deal in these parts every year.
Click to expand...

My brother was a fine man. I should be half the man he was. When he died, he had just been accepted to the Astronaut training program in Houston. Bruce was a graduate of the Purdue School of Engineering, one of the finest in the world. He then applied for and was accepted at the University of Florida School Of Medicine. Go figure.

After graduation, he was immediately conscripted into the Armed Forces. All physicians had a mandatory two year hitch back then. He went into the Air Force as a Captain, and was stationed at Osan AFB in Korea. While there he provided free medical care (and more) to a nearby orphanage.

While he was away, I worked on our race car, a highly modified 1965 Corvette. We raced and won at Riverside and Ontario after he returned. Our third race was in Phoenix where Bruce had his fatal accident. He was 29.
 
stance and position

hoosier_cues said:
I have noticed with the upright stance that you do see some things better. The main problem I have incountered is that I am putting 1/3 of a tip of left english on every shot. I can not see this. It looks like I am hitting center ball to me. I think it has to do with my elbow being in a different position than before.
Click to expand...

I would bet that your stance and position of your head is the reason for the 1/3 tip of english, nothing to do with stroke or bridge. I'm sending you a PM with a suggestion that might help.

Hu
 
Overcoming obstacles

You can do it. When I was in High School, sophmore, I visited my brother in Topeka. He was going to Law School, and I went out to find a money game.
I hooked up with a guy called 'Leo the Lion'. His left arm was amputated at the elbow, but he had worn a U at the end, and used it for bridging his cue, and the guy shot good.

Also, in Vegas one year, there was a guy shooting on a team that had 1 arm and 1 leg. He had 3 homemade tools to help him shoot, and he would run the 8 ball table in 1 or 2 trips to the table. We had a 2nd team from our bar that had a member with 1 arm. I came home, my Mom (sewing part) and I made the 3 tools for Sonny, and presented them to him along with a certificate for being the most improved player in the league. It was a moving and rewarding experience.

If you can, get some videos of Cowboy Jimmy Moore and Luthor Lassiter
playing Pool. They both stood rather upright, but were tremendous players.
 
If you have a home table, consider raising it up so that the playing surface is at about 34". This is not regulation, but is a much easier height for someone with back problems.

You can also reduce a lot of stress on your back by flexing your knees. This may not be the "perfect" pool stance, but it takes the tension out of your hamstrings and may make it easier for you to get down lower.

Try using a bridge head (off the stick) held in your bridging hand or on a short stick.

Keep playing sessions short at first.

Good luck in your recovery.
 
Thanks for all the great suggestions. ShootingArts I am going to get the stuff today and try that out. Sounds like a really good idea.
 
jay helfert said:
My brother was a fine man. I should be half the man he was. When he died, he had just been accepted to the Astronaut training program in Houston. Bruce was a graduate of the Purdue School of Engineering, one of the finest in the world. He then applied for and was accepted at the University of Florida School Of Medicine. Go figure.

After graduation, he was immediately conscripted into the Armed Forces. All physicians had a mandatory two year hitch back then. He went into the Air Force as a Captain, and was stationed at Osan AFB in Korea. While there he provided free medical care (and more) to a nearby orphanage.

While he was away, I worked on our race car, a highly modified 1965 Corvette. We raced and won at Riverside and Ontario after he returned. Our third race was in Phoenix where Bruce had his fatal accident. He was 29.
Click to expand...
Neil Armstrong was here along with three other Apollo Astronauts. They announced the receipant of your late brothers award. One of the Astronauts was saying that he served with your brother in the Air Force. I am trying to locate the story in our newspaper and CBS affiliate. Wish I could remember more about it.
 
jay helfert said:
God bless you man! God bless you.

Sure you're gonna be able to play again, and maybe better than ever!

Emmitt Blankenship was a champion long ago who was in a trolley car accident and lost his arm. He only became the best one handed player in the world!

Cecil "The Serpent" Tugwell was another great right handed player who suffered major damage to his right wrist and could no longer grip a cue. He learned to play left handed and became nearly as good as The Left Duke.

There are many more such stories. "Three Fingered" Ronnie Sypher, "Little Hand" Lewis Bramlett and Ernest "The One Armed Bandit" Morgan. These were all very good players who had a serious handicap.

And then there is Aaron "Ironsides" Aragon, perhaps the best wheelchair bound player who ever lived. He was in an auto accident at age 18 that left him paralyzed from the waist down. He MADE himself into a top player, and competed for years alongside the best able bodied players. He has wins over a who's who of top players. Woe be the man who felt sorry for Aaron. He would kick your butt!

You can do it man. Just take it a little bit at a time. I've seen good players who played standing nearly erect. Fatty was one of them. Pool will be your best therapy right now. As your game improves, so will you!

My brother went to school at Purdue. He was killed in an automobile race in 1972. There is an award in his honor every year to the top student in the Sciences Department. It is called the Dr. Bruce S. Helfert Memorial Award. Check it out. It's quite an honor to win this.

Good luck and good shooting! I'll see you at Derby City in 2009. :)
Click to expand...

I don't really have any advice other than maybe try an open bridge since it might be easier. Not to hijack the thread, but I think I ran into one of those one armed guys if they were around about 40 years ago. I thought it would be easy money, and it was...for him.
 
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hoosier_cues said:
Neil Armstrong was here along with three other Apollo Astronauts. They announced the receipant of your late brothers award. One of the Astronauts was saying that he served with your brother in the Air Force. I am trying to locate the story in our newspaper and CBS affiliate. Wish I could remember more about it.
Click to expand...

I'd love to see this story. Bruce had done his residency in Houston at Ben Taub Medical Center and studied under Dr. Michael Debakey. While there he visited the NASA Space Center and met many of the Apollo Astronauts. He was inspired to be part of this team. And he would have been.
 
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