Practice Drills

K

kbchan

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After watching the latest TAR podcast (great podcast this time around). They briefly talked about if they ran drills anymore or just shoot around to get ready for a match/tournament.

Which made me think about yesterday when I stopped into the local hall to practice a few drills in between my rotations. Even before I could put down the balls and my case down, the guy at the table next to me asked me if I wanted to play a few friendly games. I kindly replied "no thank you I am just gonna run a few drills and head back to work" Anyways, all I could remember was the look the he gave me when he replied, "okay" ... was a cross between :rolleyes: and/or as if I had herpes all over my lips. :grin: haha

Soooo.. my question is do any players beginner/immediate/advance run drills anymore? Or is it all learned by playing game after game? I don't think I have seen any players in my local hall run any drills of any sort.
 
I think most people feel doing drills in a public pool room is taboo...myself included, the problem is I bought a diamond for my house to cure this issue but I still don't do enough drills:smile:
 
I see folks doing drills at the hall. Generally off hours like lunch or mid-day. I do them sometimes, but would rather play. When I practice alone at the hall, mostly play Fargo or the 9-ball ghost; occasionally bowlliards. I just like to play!
 
or1pkt said:
I think most people feel doing drills in a public pool room is taboo...myself included, the problem is I bought a diamond for my house to cure this issue but I still don't do enough drills:smile:
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I agree that allot of people feel that way, but I don't think it's taboo. In fact, I will almost always do a short practice drill in a pool hall to get warmed up. Sometimes people are curious as to what I am doing, after I tell them they are usually over on another table trying it out.

I figure, if I am paying table time then it's my business as to what I am doing, not anyone else.
 
I'm a beginner, so 95 % of my practice is nothing but drills :) I do play only at home though. I never go to PH's or bars.

I would like to clarify though that I really enjoy drills. And to me they're sort of a game in themselves. Trying to complete a drill is a really fun challenge for me. I still can't complete any of them though ;)

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When I used to go the local pool hall, I would spend time practicing drills. Sometimes I would get asked to play and would politely decline, explaining that I was just practicing.

Anyway, I got away from drills. When I did, my game went into a slump (I was still playing every day...just playing the ghost). Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, started doing drills again and my game is coming back. Isn't where it was, but still better than I've been doing for the last couple of months.

My drills are fairly simple. I start by setting up a row of balls a across the table on the second diamond (usually 9 balls, as this leaves enough room between them so I'm not hitting the next ball when shooting my current shot). I shoot from the first or second diamond on the opposite end of the table. Sometimes I line the cue ball and the object ball up so every shot is a cut shot...other times I shoot them straight in. Then I'll work on spot shots and then problem shots. I just make sure I cut both ways to practice left and right cuts.

If I'm really feeling ambitions, I work on banks (which is definitely my weak point). Other times, I'll place balls on the rails at the diamonds and practice shooting down the rail from different positions on the table...or setting up on several diamonds on the rails and try to run out w/o having to take ball in hand. Doing this helps me "see" my shots better in a real game.

John
 
I run the IPAT 1 drills then 10 racks of Fargo if I'm not playing against someone else in a public pool hall.
 
i have never done a drill in my life.

if i have issues with a perticular shot, i might shoot it over an over...perhaps even revisiting it at a later date.

goodness...think of what i coulda been!
 
Black-Balled said:
i have never done a drill in my life.

if i have issues with a perticular shot, i might shoot it over an over...perhaps even revisiting it at a later date.

goodness...think of what i coulda been!
Click to expand...

I would think shooting the same shot over and over would qualify as a drill.
 
I generally play cribbage once my bank and stop shots are spot on.
 
Doing drills is a waste of time.... Unless you want to get better.
Some folks are happy where they are so they just play.
Others want to get better and want more from their game, so they practice.

Many people don't want you to get better.
So the choice is up to you.
Clearly there is a time to play and a time to work on your game.
 
For The past 36 Years

When I turned 26 years old, I ran into my mentor at a pool tournament. We sat and talked for awhile and afterwards, I changed my approach. Since that day, I have "never" gone into a pool hall and just racked balls and practiced by myself. For the past four decades...yipes...for the past 40 years, all I do is practice drills or actually play an opponent. I have a total of sixteen drills that I use, plus Target pool that I started playing on a 9" table...ugh....a lot harder on a 9' vs a 7' or 8' but playing Target pool is just like doing drills.

Why do I do this? Because the drills are like a report card and you know immediately whether you're faring well or struggling . After having done these drills thousands of times, your overall skills and expertise soars. One of the drills involves cutting a object ball (frozen & also not frozen) 7 ft down the rail of a 9' table and the cue ball is on the head spot directly facing the ball on the rail...practically head on....only give yourself 1-2 degress angle at the object ball. Is it hard...Oh yeah....can it be done? ...Absolutely....Most times consecutively pocketing a ball on that shot....5 times......most attempts (23)....attempts on average (1-3). But when you practice that seemingly impossible cue shot and get good at it, well, every cut shot just became easier.

Try setting up a stop shot with two pennies bordering the object ball on each side....back up on each attempt and see if you can get the cue ball to stop dead between the two pennies without ever rolling a bit past the pennies or ever touching them or drifting a little....sort of make the cue ball stop dead like it was on fly paper. See how manny diamonds you can shoot that shot and still maintain a stop dead stop shot.....mine is 8 diamonds on a 9' table.

Anyway, what it ultimately comes down to is to each their own....I enjoy drills because they serve as a report card.....you don't learn a whole lot from banging balls around by yourself. Practice with purpose and it becomes a more meaningful, rewarding experience. Whatever floats your boat is the expression that most comes to mind..
 
For The past 40 Years

When I turned 26 years old, I ran into my mentor at a pool tournament. We sat and talked for awhile and afterwards, I changed my approach. Since that day, I have "never" gone into a pool hall and just racked balls and practiced by myself. For the past four decades...yipes...for the past 40 years, all I do is practice drills or actually play an opponent. I have a total of sixteen drills that I use, plus Target pool that I started playing on a 9" table...ugh....a lot harder on a 9' vs a 7' or 8' but playing Target pool is just like doing drills.

Why do I do this? Because the drills are like a report card and you know immediately whether you're faring well or struggling . After having done these drills thousands of times, your overall skills and expertise soars. One of the drills involves cutting a object ball (frozen & also not frozen) 7 ft down the rail of a 9' table and the cue ball is on the head spot directly facing the ball on the rail...practically head on....only give yourself 1-2 degress angle at the object ball. Is it hard...Oh yeah....can it be done? ...Absolutely....Most times consecutively pocketing a ball on that shot....5 times......most attempts (23)....attempts on average (1-3). But when you practice that seemingly impossible cue shot and get good at it, well, every cut shot just became easier.

Try setting up a stop shot with two pennies bordering the object ball on each side....back up on each attempt and see if you can get the cue ball to stop dead between the two pennies without ever rolling a bit past the pennies or ever touching them or drifting a little....sort of make the cue ball stop dead like it was on fly paper. See how manny diamonds you can shoot that shot and still maintain a stop dead stop shot.....mine is 8 diamonds on a 9' table.

Anyway, what it ultimately comes down to is to each their own....I enjoy drills because they serve as a report card.....you don't learn a whole lot from banging balls around by yourself. Practice with purpose and it becomes a more meaningful, rewarding experience. Whatever floats your boat is the expression that most comes to mind..
 
I do drills at the local hall and could care less what someone might think. When they start paying for my table time, then they can have a say. I do perform drills, but not as often as I should. Drills are meant to be a measuring device. Every drill I do is measureable. I used to keep a log and could see exactly where my issues were, what I was doing well, and not so well.

Some folks think "oh God drills", but I don't do them long enough in one sitting to get bored. I have about 6 different ones, and may perform 3 of the six for maybe 10 minutes a piece in a day. Usually as soon as I get on the table.

I love playing the game, but the game is not much fun if you aren't pocketing balls and getting good shape. Drills help me to continue improving my pocketing skills as well as cue ball control for pulling shape which makes the game much more fun. Drills are like having a coach in golf. They can show you where your weaknesses and strengths lie. Putting in the short amount of time to do the drills sure makes the game a lot more fun as usually I'm pocketing balls and pulling shape. One thing for sure, drills aren't going to bring your game down.
 
I do drills regularly because its key to my own training regimen. Very few players I know do any drill work. And the ones that do dont ever keep a record of their efforts. I on other hand keep a record of how I perform on each drill that I choose to do. And when I come back around on my schedule to do the same drill again, I can see how I performed before and define a new goal for improvement when I do the drill now. When I do a drill I make a minimum of 25 recorded attempts on the drill. But never more than a 100 attempts during a given session.

I also regularly use the IPAT tests to test where my skills are at as a measurement of my progress.

I strongly believe that it is better to train in an organized manner and record my efforts, than it is to practice hapharzdly with no plan and no record of the effort made. One way teaches you how you are progressing, and the other doesn't do a damn thing to show you what you have achived.

Thus I train instead of practicing.
 
Drills are good, and if you have the discipline you should do them.

The guy's reaction may have been him thinking you were blowing him off... like maybe he thought you took one look at him and decided "looks sketchy, better make up an excuse not to play". So he felt a bit put off.
 
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