Some Great Advice to For Practicing

[LastTwo]

A top player out here on the west coast told me that when I am practicing my shotmaking, especially shots I have trouble with, he gave me some advice that I think realy makes good sense and it pays off almost double out of whatever you learn during practice. He told me that no matter what kind of shot that you need to work on, don't just practice making balls. He said to never just try to pocket the ball. Always, even during drills where you shoot just straight in shots, pick a spot to play position for and try to get there. Here is the reason why he explained: If you get in the mind set for just pocketing the ball when you practice, that mind set is going to be dominant over your position/pattern play mindset. Whatever you focus on of recent is going to be your dominant focus in a match. For example, if I just focus on shotmaking during practice and not even think about playing position even for an imaginary ball, then lets say that when I play a match, my mind set will be focused on making the ball 75% and my position/pattern play will be of %25 primary focus, when in fact, it should be even at 50/50. He said that no matter what, you must always, always associate shotmaking with where the cueball is going, even if you are shooting at the money ball at hill-hill. Find an easy path for the cueball after making the money ball to play shape for an imaginary ball. He told me just to do this, and keep doing it, keep doing it, keep doing it until you're blue in the face, and then keep doing it some more until it becomes burned into your style of play naturally. So basically, never work on just one, even though you only need to work on just one. Always associate shotmaking with position play, even when you just wanna practice straight in shots.

It makes alot of sense, because how many times have you focused solely on making the shot and you screw up relatively simple position, or you focus entirely on position and you miss a routine shot. I think that's great advice, what about all of you?

 

[Jaden]

Personally I think....

A top player out here on the west coast told me that when I am practicing my shotmaking, especially shots I have trouble with, he gave me some advice that I think realy makes good sense and it pays off almost double out of whatever you learn during practice. He told me that no matter what kind of shot that you need to work on, don't just practice making balls. He said to never just try to pocket the ball. Always, even during drills where you shoot just straight in shots, pick a spot to play position for and try to get there. Here is the reason why he explained: If you get in the mind set for just pocketing the ball when you practice, that mind set is going to be dominant over your position/pattern play mindset. Whatever you focus on of recent is going to be your dominant focus in a match. For example, if I just focus on shotmaking during practice and not even think about playing position even for an imaginary ball, then lets say that when I play a match, my mind set will be focused on making the ball 75% and my position/pattern play will be of %25 primary focus, when in fact, it should be even at 50/50. He said that no matter what, you must always, always associate shotmaking with where the cueball is going, even if you are shooting at the money ball at hill-hill. Find an easy path for the cueball after making the money ball to play shape for an imaginary ball. He told me just to do this, and keep doing it, keep doing it, keep doing it until you're blue in the face, and then keep doing it some more until it becomes burned into your style of play naturally. So basically, never work on just one, even though you only need to work on just one. Always associate shotmaking with position play, even when you just wanna practice straight in shots.

It makes alot of sense, because how many times have you focused solely on making the shot and you screw up relatively simple position, or you focus entirely on position and you miss a routine shot. I think that's great advice, what about all of you?

I personally think that you should be aware of everything that is happening. YOu should know exactly where the OB is going, exactly where the CB is going and how far it's going to when it does. You should also know if it's going to hit any other balls. If you see a shot angle, you should immediately know if there is a chance of scratching or hooking yourself.

You should know how the spin you put on the ball to get it where you want it is going to affect the angle that the CB follows and if that NEW angle has a chance of scratching or hooking you. All of those things should be considered when planning the shots.

 

[Colin Colenso]

Good advice!

I know I have made this mistake in practicing too much for the pot with no plan for where I want the CB.

This is a good reminder and I will adjust my practice as a result.

 

[chefjeff]

Chef Jeff sez: EVERY shot, which means only THIS shot ('cuz no other shot exist except as memory of the past or hope for the future) deserves your whole recipe.

Colin, that beer seems to have fattened you up a little!

Jeff Livingston

 

[DougT]

great advice

Makes tons of sense.
Funny how I have developed different drills for working on specific types of shots, and another drill for working on position play.
That is a very good piece of advice, thanks for sharing it

 

[rackmsuckr]

This does make sense, because if you are practicing 50-50, sometimes it is so hard to make the money ball because you are just trying to cinch it. If you think of trying to get shape on imaginary ball, another part of your brain takes over and then you don't dog it. How many times have we missed a relatively easy 9ball because our mind and the pressure took over? If we had given ourselves a little task while on the 9, it would have given us something else to focus on besides the pressure, especially if that's the way you practice.