Over the past several months, there have been numerous posts and threads comparing and contrasting Snooker to American pool. The far from unanimous consensus seems to be that:
Snooker relies much more on cueing fundamentals than pool, and in general, pool players (especially those of the American variety) do not have the mastery of these fundamentals required to compete successfully at snooker at the highest levels.
Without going into a debate over the validity of this statement, I'd like to know (especially from snooker players) exactly which cueing fundamentals are deficient in American pool players?
The following is a short list of some fundamental cueing flaws:
Commentary inserted in-line with each bullet item below.
- elbow drop/rise during stroke
Not necessarily an issue, because many snooker players implement an elbow drop during stroke. In fact, some -- like Chris Melling -- has what's called a "scissor stroke" whereby the elbow drops on the pull-back of the cue, and then rises as the cue is delivered, ending with the elbow dropping again on the follow-through. (This movement comes from years of exaggerated attention to detail in keeping the cue level and delivered straight, like a solenoid or hydraulic piston.)
- abrupt swing transition
This is a big problem with pool players -- the lack of a smooth transition from backward pull-back to forward stroke. Or, shall we say, the transition doesn't match what the player is doing during his feather strokes (practice strokes) -- the player will pull back and <snap!> immediately try to move the cue in the opposite direction. Just like when piloting a ship with variable pitch propellers, you traveling at Flank 3 speed, and you suddenly slam it into Flank 3 Reverse (what's called a "crash back"). The transition is not going to be smooth by any means, and yaw will be introduced into the delivery.
- incomplete follow through resulting in deceleration or a poke stroke
For pool players, yes. This is from the player being tentative / fearful, and sometimes gets ingrained even when the player is experienced.
- excessive follow through
Rare, but yes, it does happen, when someone's trying to exaggerate the movement.
Oh heck yes. See this all the time, even amongst players who think they don't steer.
- body/head/bridge arm movement during stroke
All the time.
- too long/short back swing length
Related to poke stroke. Yes.
- excessive or insufficient cue speed
We all do that -- even snooker players. Overrunning position or coming up short happens all the time. Especially to those of us -- irrespective of pool or snooker -- who can't play all the time, and only can afford one or two days a week.
- not maintaining a level cue
Yes, there are many pool players who believe a good draw stroke is achieved by elevating the butt of the cue and striking downwards on the cue ball (works, but accuracy is drastically reduced). And, because of stance issues, the player may not realize how "unlevel" his/her cue is.
All the time.
- inconsistent/inexact aiming
Yes. I relate this to a combination of lack of pre-shot routine, bad or inconsistent eye patterns (both below), as well as lack of attention to alignment to the shot line before even getting into a stance.
- lack of pre-shot routine
Yep, all the time, especially among the amateur ranks.
- bad or inconsistent eye-patterns
Ditto (as with "lack of pre-shot routine" above).
So, what are the most significant technique flaws of American pool players vs. the world's snooker champions? (and if you don't agree these are flaws, that's ok too)
The biggest problem, IMHO, is the inherent resistance to any kind of structured form of instruction -- whether that be by instructor, class, regimented stick-to-it-ness to a book or DVD, or what-have-you. In pool, "learning" has always been a "roll your own" endeavor. Think back to when you first learned how to play pool -- someone put a stick in your hand and said, "hold it like this, put it on your bridge hand like this, and shove it into the cue ball." That's basically what most pool players attribute their "training" to. They may pick up some books or DVDs in the future, or even take lessons from a pro, but those are always point-purpose lessons. I.e. the player is looking for that specific "something" -- that "magic bullet" to immediately play better. The golden pill. The magic elixir. The wizard's trick. Everything in pool is about that holy grail.
Compare that to snooker, or to pool in Europe or Asia, and what do you find? Much, MUCH more regimented instruction and structured syllabus, and less reliance or searches for that "magic pill."
That's why you're seeing European players ruling the roost lately when it comes to tournaments, Mosconi Cup, etc.
And unless something is done to change this "roll your own" training mindset of the U.S. pool players, it's only going to get worse.
-Sean
