no chalk-center ball teaching

measureman

measureman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I was at the pool room today and the house man who is a very good player was telling how he does/used to teach pool.With a fairly new player he would remove the chalk off their tip and not allow them to chalk up.
His theory was that they have to learn how to play using center ball only with a good stroke before they even consider english.
Interesting.
 
certainly its an interesting method.... quite like a sport driving instrunctor taking out the brake pads from the students car, so that they can truly learn how to take turns at the proper speed :thumbup:
 
I spend too much time making sure my students chalk on every shot. I would think this would create a bad habit that will need to be changed later. Why not teach everything right from the beginning?
 
measureman said:
I was at the pool room today and the house man who is a very good player was telling how he does/used to teach pool.With a fairly new player he would remove the chalk off their tip and not allow them to chalk up.
His theory was that they have to learn how to play using center ball only with a good stroke before they even consider english.
Interesting.
Click to expand...
Far too many advanced beginners have learned subconsciously that they must not hit the cue ball off-center because they never learned to chalk. Later it is hard to get them to spin the ball because their arms know to move the tip to the center of the ball to avoid a miscue.

I think a much better way to teach them is to show them early on what can be done with side spin but also show them all the problems with it.
 
Unfortunately this is not a reliable method for seeking center ball, you could hit off center all day and not miscue.
 
FranCrimi said:
Really? With no chalk on the tip?
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I'd say you can get at least half a tip without any danger of a miscue. At one point in my schooling I had to play with cues without tips, just like in the old days. You can spin the ball with those, too, but not very well.
 
Bob Jewett said:
I'd say you can get at least half a tip without any danger of a miscue. At one point in my schooling I had to play with cues without tips, just like in the old days. You can spin the ball with those, too, but not very well.
Click to expand...

That's pretty impressive. I've never tried it for a prolonged period of time. I usually would give up and stick to center ball after a few shots. That's when I started carrying my own chalk.
 
I've started teaching a six year old who has his own, brand new, cue. It's a 48" McDermott with a 10mm tip. It fits him well and he has room to grow with it.

What caught my attention was the tip being absolutely flat. I have never seen a new cue for sale that came with a flat tip. Not even a break cue. They've all be partially shaped. Did the manufacturer simply choose to not shape the tip, or is it meant to be used this way by the young player? I suspect the former, but...

Normally, we want a curve to the tip to improve the contact patch size and relative position to the axis of the cue. On the flip side, when shooting center, a flat tip is very forgiving. Was the tip left flat to be more forgiving to the young student? I realize the narrow tip doesn't provide much leeway.
 
Years ago, a very good player in my area played with a flat tip. I asked him about it and he explained to me that since he played center ball exclusively, this shape was the best for his game.

I had bought a McD two years ago, for a door prize at a pool league dinner and the tip on that cue was flat too. First I had seen that too.
 
Bob Jewett said:
I'd say you can get at least half a tip without any danger of a miscue. At one point in my schooling I had to play with cues without tips, just like in the old days. You can spin the ball with those, too, but not very well.
Click to expand...

Im doing this with many students.
Very helpful,!

Have built now also special shaft for this Kind of practice! Get a brandnew "White Diamond" Tip- don t chalk it. Here you need to hit the cueball centeraxis-- just a lil bit outside-and you re done ^^

A great *trainings aid*-especially for the type of player who re thinking hitting center axis is easy^^


Gesendet von meinem GT-P5110 mit Tapatalk 2
 
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I practice without chalking all the time. I even challenge people to gamble without chalk. It's just another arrow in the quiver in case you need it.
 
pooltchr said:
I spend too much time making sure my students chalk on every shot. I would think this would create a bad habit that will need to be changed later. Why not teach everything right from the beginning?
Click to expand...


I do the exact same thing for all my students. Of course, that doesn't mean they get into the habit - but at least they recall my words when they miscue.

The idea of removing chalk to teach center stroke would be an excellent idea for an advanced B or A player. I might even go so far as to burnish the tip to make an extraordinary emphasis on center ball.
 
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