I recently saw Scott Lee had posted that he was planning a northeast/New England run so I set it up with him to meet me yesterday at my house for what I figured would be maybe a couple of hours tops, because, to be honest, my game was already so very close to perfect. :grin: 
:grin:
So about five-and-a-half hours into the lesson
, it seemed that there was enough video evidence showing there just may be a couple of things I can work on. 
Okay, switching to serious:
Scott had me take seven shots while being video taped and then we got comfortable and for the next couple of hours, he replayed the shots on his monitor, dissecting each one, alternating between real time and 30 frames per second.
There were some things that Scott said I deserved an A++ for like my head staying rock steady through the entire shots, and how close my tip always comes to whitey at every set position. However, the video also revealed some defects like the dreaded elbow drop, which was happening very close to when tip meets whitey, so close that it may not have mattered, but with the ability to break it down to 30 frames per second, we saw that on many of the shots, sure enough, it was happening just before impact - so it did matter.
I have always been a big fan of logic and I will tell you that the SPF approach is chock full of logical, meaningful, and accurate analyses along with a good method on how to correct any problems encountered and how to reinforce it by way of drills. The drills, btw, appear to be well thought out and based on what is enjoyable and rewarding for the player which should, hopefully, stimulate regular use.
There is emphasis placed on the fact that no "one size fits all". Reinforcing this, in a brilliant (and logical) way, is that a template is designed for the student over the course of the lesson that feels very much like you're being fitted for a custom suit. This 'tailor made' template left me knowing exactly how far I typically set up my bridge hand from whitey (and should continue to), how far my perfect backswing travel is, how far the cue tip should travel forward after striking the cue ball (the finish) and where my rear hand ends up and how my knuckles are oriented. Also, that while it doesn’t matter how many times we slide the cue through our fingers while settling in for a shot (aiming) it does matter how many times after settling in that we slide the cue through our bridge (the warm up) before pulling the trigger. All of these things are what we need to do consistently, on every shot, as part of our routine. There's more to it but this is the general idea. Bottom line, good form, good habits, and consistency are the name of the game.
To me, nothing seemed even remotely gimmicky about the SPF approach. Scott acknowledged what I was doing right and documented it. He took what I was doing wrong, showed me how to correct it, and documented it.
What makes for a good teacher?
I never met Scott before yesterday and have only interacted with him occasionally here on az. When he, his lovely wife, and their dog, Barkley, rolled in the drive, it felt to me like old friends were dropping by to say hello.
After we got all of the gear inside and everyone was settled, Scott and I took a few minutes to get to know each other. As many of you are already aware, he is extremely personable, knowledgeable on many topics, and has a great sense of humor. :smile:
Once we descended to the pool room, it was all business. I, and I’m sure many of you, have known people in our lives who were vastly talented and knowledgeable but they weren’t good teachers. For whatever reasons they have difficulty imparting what they know to others. Scott, on the other hand, is immensely capable of not only imparting the knowledge he possesses, but doing it in a way that is fun and, much more importantly, memorable. Without taking a single written note, I have in my head, pretty much all we discussed about my stroke. And not to worry, he left the video, as well as my template and all that we covered, with me in a binder.
Anyone wanting to improve their game, regardless of skill level, should strongly consider taking a lesson with Scott. The quest to find your accurate and repeatable stroke doesn’t have to be mind-numbing or complex.
I want to give a shout out to another SPF instructor, my pal, Rufus (dr9ball), with whom I met for a night of fun at Sandcastle Billiards in NJ a couple of months ago. Even though we just met up for some fun, toward the end of the night Rufus had me take a few shots as he filmed me on his Apple phone. We went for a late night bite at a diner down the road and reviewed it and he noticed a hiccup at the finish of my stroke. Rufus, you were all over that one. And sorry for not sending you some additional video of me shooting as you had requested. As Scott can verify, my beautiful new video recorder is still sitting on the tripod collecting dust.
Scott, it was a real pleasure to have you and your family at my home. I look forward to when we may next meet up.
Best,
Brian kc
:grin:So about five-and-a-half hours into the lesson
, it seemed that there was enough video evidence showing there just may be a couple of things I can work on. Okay, switching to serious:
Scott had me take seven shots while being video taped and then we got comfortable and for the next couple of hours, he replayed the shots on his monitor, dissecting each one, alternating between real time and 30 frames per second.
There were some things that Scott said I deserved an A++ for like my head staying rock steady through the entire shots, and how close my tip always comes to whitey at every set position. However, the video also revealed some defects like the dreaded elbow drop, which was happening very close to when tip meets whitey, so close that it may not have mattered, but with the ability to break it down to 30 frames per second, we saw that on many of the shots, sure enough, it was happening just before impact - so it did matter.
I have always been a big fan of logic and I will tell you that the SPF approach is chock full of logical, meaningful, and accurate analyses along with a good method on how to correct any problems encountered and how to reinforce it by way of drills. The drills, btw, appear to be well thought out and based on what is enjoyable and rewarding for the player which should, hopefully, stimulate regular use.
There is emphasis placed on the fact that no "one size fits all". Reinforcing this, in a brilliant (and logical) way, is that a template is designed for the student over the course of the lesson that feels very much like you're being fitted for a custom suit. This 'tailor made' template left me knowing exactly how far I typically set up my bridge hand from whitey (and should continue to), how far my perfect backswing travel is, how far the cue tip should travel forward after striking the cue ball (the finish) and where my rear hand ends up and how my knuckles are oriented. Also, that while it doesn’t matter how many times we slide the cue through our fingers while settling in for a shot (aiming) it does matter how many times after settling in that we slide the cue through our bridge (the warm up) before pulling the trigger. All of these things are what we need to do consistently, on every shot, as part of our routine. There's more to it but this is the general idea. Bottom line, good form, good habits, and consistency are the name of the game.
To me, nothing seemed even remotely gimmicky about the SPF approach. Scott acknowledged what I was doing right and documented it. He took what I was doing wrong, showed me how to correct it, and documented it.
What makes for a good teacher?
I never met Scott before yesterday and have only interacted with him occasionally here on az. When he, his lovely wife, and their dog, Barkley, rolled in the drive, it felt to me like old friends were dropping by to say hello.
After we got all of the gear inside and everyone was settled, Scott and I took a few minutes to get to know each other. As many of you are already aware, he is extremely personable, knowledgeable on many topics, and has a great sense of humor. :smile:
Once we descended to the pool room, it was all business. I, and I’m sure many of you, have known people in our lives who were vastly talented and knowledgeable but they weren’t good teachers. For whatever reasons they have difficulty imparting what they know to others. Scott, on the other hand, is immensely capable of not only imparting the knowledge he possesses, but doing it in a way that is fun and, much more importantly, memorable. Without taking a single written note, I have in my head, pretty much all we discussed about my stroke. And not to worry, he left the video, as well as my template and all that we covered, with me in a binder.
Anyone wanting to improve their game, regardless of skill level, should strongly consider taking a lesson with Scott. The quest to find your accurate and repeatable stroke doesn’t have to be mind-numbing or complex.
I want to give a shout out to another SPF instructor, my pal, Rufus (dr9ball), with whom I met for a night of fun at Sandcastle Billiards in NJ a couple of months ago. Even though we just met up for some fun, toward the end of the night Rufus had me take a few shots as he filmed me on his Apple phone. We went for a late night bite at a diner down the road and reviewed it and he noticed a hiccup at the finish of my stroke. Rufus, you were all over that one. And sorry for not sending you some additional video of me shooting as you had requested. As Scott can verify, my beautiful new video recorder is still sitting on the tripod collecting dust.
Scott, it was a real pleasure to have you and your family at my home. I look forward to when we may next meet up.
Best,
Brian kc
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