Stance and Stroke analysis

[SpeedyPete84]

Hello all,

This is the first time I've posted a video of myself shooting. I've recently adjusted my stance and stroke to closely resemble a snooker stance/stroke. I asked my girlfriend to record me shooting a few straight in shots from a side angle so that you can see the footwork and arm/head movements. I just shot center or slightly below center ball, relatively straight in shots to the corner pocket (4", if it matters).

I'm hoping an instructor will have a look and give me what feedback you can from the limited footage. My girlfriend only recorded around a minute and it wasn't 100% what I had in mind, but close.

Here's the link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0nHpd_toUCddnZ4RjFoclRpTlk/edit?usp=sharing
And Another brief clip (just drawing the cue ball a little)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0nHpd_toUCdbmZlS1NnUzhDVDQ/edit?usp=sharing

I noticed, in reviewing the video, that I lift my head slightly as the joint of the cue crosses my chin area. Not sure why that's happening, but I'll work on keeping perfectly still going forward.

Aside from the slight chin movement, and ignoring the fact that I'm more or less drilling the ball into the pocket at speed, what do you see that needs to be improved?

Thanks in advance for looking!

 

[Tony_in_MD]

You are moving your head up because your chin is right on the cue, as you do your back swing the cue raises up a bit, and your head follows. Try positioning your head a few inches above the cue so start, so it will not have to move up.

Two things for you to consider, set your tip up a bit closer to the cueball (about .25 inch) which will move your back hand up a bit. I think it a little to far back from perpendicular.

The other is on your draw shots try to hit lower on the cueball so you don't have to pound the ball as hard.

 

[RWOJO]

Try to relax and smoothen out your stroke a little. It looks rigid and jerky. Stay relaxed and let the weight of the cue do the work.

Make sure you grip the cue loosely all the way through the shot.

 

[SpeedyPete84]

You are moving your head up because your chin is right on the cue, as you do your back swing the cue raises up a bit, and your head follows. Try positioning your head a few inches above the cue so start, so it will not have to move up.

Two things for you to consider, set your tip up a bit closer to the cueball (about .25 inch) which will move your back hand up a bit. I think it a little to far back from perpendicular.

The other is on your draw shots try to hit lower on the cueball so you don't have to pound the ball as hard.

Thank you, Tony! I'll give that a try. As far as the draw stroke is concerned, I typically do shoot about a tip lower than shown. I'm not sure why I chose to do it that was when I was being taped. I think I was trying to maintain the same speed of stroke, but draw the ball just a little bit. But I'll definitely bear your advice in mind as I practice.

 

[SpeedyPete84]

Try to relax and smoothen out your stroke a little. It looks rigid and jerky. Stay relaxed and let the weight of the cue do the work.

Make sure you grip the cue loosely all the way through the shot.

I'll give that a try. Perhaps I'll post a video when I'm shooting the ball medium/slow speed as a comparison. I don't often have to hit the ball that hard. I think I was doing it largely because I figured a hard shot into a tight pocket would amplify any stroke imperfections.

I believe I was gripping the cue fairly loosely, as you can see my hand open up and then I snap the wrist as I contact the cue ball. But you may be seeing something that I'm choosing not to see, so I'll keep an open mind and give it a go.

I'll see if I can smooth out the cue action.

Thanks!

 

[FranCrimi]

Pete, you obviously love the game very much. Suggestion: if you're going to put that kind of time into your game, then you should get used to moving the balls around with your hand and not your cue stick. I realize that involves stretching out on to the table and is a little inconvenient, but it would be the first step in the necessary self-discipline that you're going to need to get better at this game.

Patience and attention to detail are necessary for getting better.

You're just shooting shots. Pick a spot to play position with the cue ball and then at least you can see if you meet your goal. Your form looks pretty good but since I'm just judging you shooting that one shot over and over, I'd say that an expert would be using a lot less energy than you use. Why the massive stroke to hit a cue ball that's pretty close to the object ball?

 

[rrick33]

Perhaps it's just my perspective and the fact that you only show a side view but it seems to me that you have a slightly longer bridge length than would be efficient for the type of shots you were executing. It's possible that you've become accustomed to that length but it may be adding a greater margin for error. It also seems that the approach forces you to grip the butt end of the cue.

Also, on the second clip you had a noticeably longer pause between your back swing and your forward stroke as opposed to the first examples. It's difficult to know how prevalent this rhythmic variant is within your stroke but I would spend some time working on your timing to build some consistency in your stroke delivery.

 

[SpeedyPete84]

Pete, you obviously love the game very much. Suggestion: if you're going to put that kind of time into your game, then you should get used to moving the balls around with your hand and not your cue stick. I realize that involves stretching out on to the table and is a little inconvenient, but it would be the first step in the necessary self-discipline that you're going to need to get better at this game.

Patience and attention to detail are necessary for getting better.

You're just shooting shots. Pick a spot to play position with the cue ball and then at least you can see if you meet your goal. Your form looks pretty good but since I'm just judging you shooting that one shot over and over, I'd say that an expert would be using a lot less energy than you use. Why the massive stroke to hit a cue ball that's pretty close to the object ball?

Hi Fran,

I appreciate you taking the time to give me your feedback.

I typically run rotational or pattern drills and tap the table where I would like to leave the cue ball before I shoot my shot, when practicing. This video was just shooting a simple shot several times so that if there were inconsistencies in my form, they would be more evident, as opposed to shooting different shots from different angles (which I thought would make it harder to assess the form I was using). My thinking on this may have been flawed.

And you're absolutely right that the big stroke I put on the ball was not necessary; my thinking was that if there were a flaw in the stroke itself, then it would be more apparent/amplified by shooting the ball with power. I assumed, maybe wrongly, that if I were cueing poorly that I would be rattling the ball, as I was firing it full speed into a very small pocket. I could easily (and should) shoot that shot with a lot (LOT LOT) less speed, as it's really just a center ball stop.

I will definitely keep your advice in mind when I head back to the table this afternoon. If I can find a better way of filming myself, I will try posting another video of actually running balls in rotation so you can look at the other aspects of my game and get a better overall picture of what I can do and where I need more work.

And again, thanks for taking the time to give me your advice!

 

[SpeedyPete84]

Perhaps it's just my perspective and the fact that you only show a side view but it seems to me that you have a slightly longer bridge length than would be efficient for the type of shots you were executing. It's possible that you've become accustomed to that length but it may be adding a greater margin for error. It also seems that the approach forces you to grip the butt end of the cue.

Also, on the second clip you had a noticeably longer pause between your back swing and your forward stroke as opposed to the first examples. It's difficult to know how prevalent this rhythmic variant is within your stroke but I would spend some time working on your timing to build some consistency in your stroke delivery.

Thank you for pointing that out! I didn't notice the difference in timing until you mentioned it. That's an area I'll definitely try to improve.

As far as the bridge length, that's how I've always shot, but I would agree that it gives a larger margin for error. It just feels awkward for me to be toooo too much closer to the ball. I'm a fairly tall guy, so I guess I'm just used to gripping the back of my cue. I have a Balance Rite extension that I sometimes play with, but I have been opting to shoot without it lately.

Anyway, good food for thought and I appreciate you giving me your feedback!

 

[Island Drive]

I watched both vids, you appear to have your upper body weight slightly forward.

 

[Scott Lee]

SpeedyPete84...You're shooting too hard! Your bridge is long, but matches up with your forearm being perpendicular when you strike the CB. You also seem have a pretty good pendulum swing, with no elbow drop. What I noticed on your draw shot is that you jerk the cue backwards after hitting the CB...definitely a no no. The bridge hand gets the cue out of the way, not the grip hand.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com