PSR ala Appleton......
- Thread starter garczar
- Start date
That's an excellent video. Very similar to what I do, or try to do. I find when I'm doing repetitious drills, I tend to get lazy on my pre-shot routine. Then guess what happens... I end up missing.Good little video here. I'm sure the 'no systems i use ghostball' comment will light-up the aiming geeks.
Here is something I kind of added on my own... When down on the shot, and I am aiming, I am looking at the pocket with my peripheral vision. Instead of two dimensional, I'm three dimensional so to speak.
Try it once. While you're looking at the object ball, try to see the pocket without actually looking at it. You may be actually doing this without realizing it.
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Seems like SightRight (which looks like a great product) would demand 'ghost ball' aiming for 'consistent' aiming.
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"I've been playing the game a long time. I've tried all different ways of standing and lining up the shot".
That's why he is world class. He kept trying to perfect his game and wasn't satisfied until he got there. One of my favorite players to watch because I also use the open bridge most of the time.
That's why he is world class. He kept trying to perfect his game and wasn't satisfied until he got there. One of my favorite players to watch because I also use the open bridge most of the time.
Good presentation. There are lots of other points that could be made about the pre-shot routine (PSR), such as chalking and staying down, but getting your body on the right line and stable is the main thing and as Darren said, many get it wrong.
This is precisely why I don't do a lot of drills. Only drill I really do before anything else is straight in shots to get my cueing nice and straight/checking my mechanics out and I practice the break (if you call it a drill)
I will break and try to run out or play safeties as if I'm playing another opponent. I find, with drills if you do the same shot over and over or something similar to the same shot over and over it doesn't represent what your pre shot routine would be like if you were in a match versus doing a drill. If you're shooting in 10-20 straight in shots by the time you hit the 20th shot there is no way you shooting that the same way as if it came up in a match at one point. Your pre shot routine at the 20th shot will be so lazy, quick and dialed in. Where as if its a tournament/something on the line you may chalk an extra second or too or walk around table or take a deep breath. Drills just don't recreate tournament/match play for me very well.
If I focus on playing a rack like as if I was playing someone else, I find it much more realistic, representing match play. Also makes you come up with shots right away, on your first try, no retrying or getting 20 shots at it lol.
I'm not totally against drills just find doing the same thing over and over does not help certain other aspects of the game like your pre shot routine during drills versus match play.
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I think this is a major problem with drills that are too repetitive. You let the basics slip while trying to get through faster.
Progress Practice drills are designed so every shot is at least a little different than the previous one which helps some but still leaves the temptation to cut corners. At least the shots are quite challenging so full PSR is more likely than for other types of drill/exercise.
I think "easy" drills are only useful if the player really works on doing each shot perfectly. It's hard to maintain that kind of concentration/attitude.
Exactly the problem I'm having. I guess you can consider it mental training. You have to absolutely force yourself to do every little step. Once you get the Mind trained to do it every time no matter what the situation, your game will be much improved. I'm not there yet.
Willie mosconi said concentration suffers after about 20 shots. During his practice sessions, he would take about 20 shots and then take a break. But those 20 shots were at 110% full concentration
A friend of mine concentrated on every shot. He never just knocked a ball around the table. There was a plan every time tip touched cue ball. I think he could have done well on the pro tour but he had a day job that made a lot more than he would have there. He practiced but I never saw him play an easy shot or take it easy in practice.
boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
Good video. Remember (note to my self also) that pool isn't nearly as hard as we make it. Fun da mentals. There is only one perfect shot. That always occurs when you are comfortable. Not comfortable as in kicking up the feet in the lazy boy... Comfortable in that it feels not just right, but perfect. It may (and often does) take a lot of work to get your fundamentals to the point of them being comfortable, but once you're there, it's your baseline for everything.
It's pretty binary. It feels right or it doesn't. I wish I missed every shot that didn't feel right, I got lazy etc. Unfortunately that doesn't always happen and that's how unwanted stuff creeps into your game. I think any serious player should try to tune up their fundamentals for a few hours at least once a month. The longer you go between tune ups, the more potential you have to drift.
That said, there is a huge difference between practice and competition. In competition you have to trust the work you have done and offload it from your mind. If I ever figure out how to do that successfully all the time I'll write a book!
Perfect fundamentals means you are calibrated to that exact shot at the table. Getting a good instructor for a monthly fundamental tune up would be ideal. It's a real bastard trying to DIY. It's possible but geesh.
It's pretty binary. It feels right or it doesn't. I wish I missed every shot that didn't feel right, I got lazy etc. Unfortunately that doesn't always happen and that's how unwanted stuff creeps into your game. I think any serious player should try to tune up their fundamentals for a few hours at least once a month. The longer you go between tune ups, the more potential you have to drift.
That said, there is a huge difference between practice and competition. In competition you have to trust the work you have done and offload it from your mind. If I ever figure out how to do that successfully all the time I'll write a book!
Perfect fundamentals means you are calibrated to that exact shot at the table. Getting a good instructor for a monthly fundamental tune up would be ideal. It's a real bastard trying to DIY. It's possible but geesh.
I like the “consider it mental training “. When I shoot the same shot 100 times (has never happened) I get sloppy as hell. When a committed pro does, he’s grinding, not dogging
tomatoshooter
Well-known member
One thing I've found with some repetitive drills is they help me understand the nuances of the shot. By setting the cue ball and object ball in very similar places, I get a better understanding of how speed and spin will control the path of the cue ball and I can keep trying a little more or less of this and that. I'm not going to get that as quickly with more variation. Once I have a certain arrangement dialed in, I can learn to apply what I've learned to a range of shots.
I just recently realized how much I was taking my concentration for granted and believing that I was using enough concentration, that the shot was simple and I had automated it like driving a car and shifting gears. I realized I was probably about 60% concentrated and just by making an extra effort to FOCUS! and not just pay attention I saw a substantial improvement. I think a good pre shot routine helps channel the mind away from other thoughts but I struggle to shut everything out and narrow my entire universe to two balls, a stick, and a smooth, straight stroke.
Some days, though, it's like there's a hologram projecting the ghost ball and a laser shining out of my cue I can see going dead center. I'm barely even down on the shot, no practice strokes, just POW! plop POW! plop. That must be what Earl feels like.
About a decade ago, Darren was supposedly using, or at least endorsing, an aiming system developed by Ekkhard Schneider-Lombard ("Ekkes") called the SEE-System. I wonder what became of that connection.... I'm sure the 'no systems i use ghostball' comment will light-up the aiming geeks.
As I recall that system, it used the shadows under the object ball to provide a target, or something like that. Ekkes was around AZB for a couple of years around 2011. Looking on his YouTube channel, he hadn't posted anything for five years and then put up a video three weeks ago.
Some will find his "hide the pocket" curtain on his featured video of some interest.
His version is more impressive than those that I've seen before since he does multiple shots without seeming to place either the CB or the OB in preset locations. The shots seem to be much more random.