Stroke Speed Drill
- Thread starter mr5994
- Start date
Yes, you're right. I thought it was something new.
Sorry we couldn't get together this summer but I had a full plate.
Mother drill #5 is my favorite drill
I'm sorry......but to this day i have no clue how on earth you can practice speed control without actually pocketing a ball....
Mike
I'm sorry......but to this day i have no clue how on earth you can practice speed control without actually pocketing a ball....
You control speed by controlling how fast you contract your bicep and the length of your back swing.
Learning to control how fast to contract your bicep is the hardest part of speed control to master. Learning to control the speed with the cue ball alone simplifies learning how to control your bicep confidently and accurately through a range of speeds. The cue ball is needed as a clear and objective indicator when practicing. Once you have this, you can accurately send the cue ball on it's way at the speed you intended.
The next step it to take into account collisions. The first being with the object ball and a rolling cue ball. You can learn how far the cue ball will travel after it collides at different hits (full, quarter ball, half ball, three quarters ball, and very thin).
Follow, draw, cushions, and English add more dimensions to speed control, as does the table conditions.
Trying to learn speed control in a jumbled mess of varying conditions makes it very difficult to understand what influences caused the result, and what adjustments may be needed. This will slow and confuse the learning process. Learning each dimension step by step will make it much easier and quicker to understand what speed to use when planning a shot, and to analyze what actually happened after the shot in order to make adjustments next time.
Sure. Here are 20 drills, many of which have to do with speed control. Once you understand the principles of those drills, this column will help you develop drills for your specific problems. And your time is best spent on areas that you have trouble with.
As far as learning speed control without pocketing a ball, here is one drill: line the object balls up along the head string. Starting at one end, hit a ball with your cue stick (not the cue ball) towards the other end of the table with as soft a shot as you can do. Hit the next one just a little harder, the next a little harder and so on. If you fail to hit a ball past all the others you have hit, you have to start over. You can't hit the far rail. Can you do all 15 balls?
Here is one at higher speed. Set the balls up as above. Hit the first one diamond distance within one diamond (not hard). Hit the second two diamonds distance within one diamond margin (harder). Hit each successive ball one diamond distance farther. If you do 15, put the balls back and start at 16 diamonds of travel.
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the first part is correct but the second is only partially true.....of course if you only have a half inch gap b/t CB/OB your backswing isn't going to be as great but it doesn't really control the speed by any means........the length of time that it takes your bicep to deliver the shot is what controls the speed....
for more information search the "more elbow dropping madness" thread and read the last few pages it will explain the short finish amoungst other things and this will become clear to you that back stroke has basically nothing to do with speed......i can stroke the CB with a half inch gap b/t it an the OB for the reasons explained in that thread I'm talking about....
for a better game,
-Grey Ghost-
Uh, what???
I'm sorry again, but when people start talking about stuff like this i think it is just nonsense. when instructors start talking about biceps, and right brain, left brain, how beneficial eye patterns are, etc, etc, they just completely lose me. you learn to be a good pool player by just doing it. i doubt very seriously that Earl and Nick and Johnny and Efren all focused on their biceps to get where they are today.
you want to learn speed control? dont worry about biceps, just set up 1 rail shots, 2 rail shots, 3 rail shots, and practice these speed shots 5,000 times and you will have it. something tells me thats what Earl and Nick and Johnny and Efren all did.
rolling balls down the table by themselves and trying to land them within a couple of diamonds is a complete and useless waste of time as far as i am concerned.
Mike
There are many ways to learn the different aspects of the game of pool. Sometimes, things that might appear useless to you on the surface are actually quite beneficial.
The methods we use to teach pool skills in our classes are extremely effective, but only if the student understands how they will help, or at least agree to try them and see the results. Open minds open doors.
Waxing a car, or painting a fence might seem useless to someone wanting to learn Karate........
Wax on...wax off!
Steve
Babble from the mouth of a babe. I thought this was an Q&A Instructors Forum?
SPF=randyg
This was the post by the originator:
"It seems that one of my biggest weaknesses is controlling the speed of the cue ball. When playing position for the next shot, I've got decent control over the path of the cue ball. But when pin-point position is required, I'll often over or under shoot where I intend the cue ball to stop. What are some of the best drills to improve cue ball speed control?"
notice he says "Pin-Point" and not general vicinity. what i told him was that he needs to set up shots and practice that "Pin-Point" accuracy 5,000 times as opposed to simply rolling a ball down the table and have it stop within a couple of diamonds - which is what he was basically told by some.
so, if my telling him that he just needs to practice hour after hour is babble then so be it. practicing like that is how you improve.
Mike
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The rate of acceleration and the length of time you accelerate before contact determine the the speed at contact.
The bicep controls the rate of acceleration. The length of your back swing controls how long you accelerate.
If your back swing is only 1/2 inch, there isn't much time to accelerate. This is great when you want to shoot softly. To increase speed, you would need to increase acceleration. To much acceleration can cause serious problems. Lengthening your back swing allows you to accelerate at safe rate for a longer period of time and avoid those problems.
Just because you get lost in the explanation doesn't make it nonsense.
How you learn something can make a huge difference in how well you learn it and how quickly you learn it. Leaning my rote is one approach, but it is a very slow approach.
The more you understand about a skill, the easier it is. Developing the skill step by step allows you to focus on an single aspect at a time. Progress come much, much quicker this way.
Just because you prefer to learn by rote, don't discount other methods of learning.
Yes, practice is how you improve.
The more you you understand how to perform it, and how to practice it, the easier and quicker the improvement will be.
If you don't understand it, and/or practice it incorrectly, you can limit your improvement or even create problems.
Shooting a shot a thousand times to learn it only works if you understand the shot and practice it correctly.
Hi there,
remembering that i once read a very good sentence-hope that i can translate it as good as possible- was also about *speed-control* and how important it is:
the intermediate pool-player (let me call it hobby-player) just shooting balls and waiting that perhaps abilities and skill will come alone as time goes by...
the good sporty and serious player gets it with serious training!
lg
Ingo
remembering that i once read a very good sentence-hope that i can translate it as good as possible- was also about *speed-control* and how important it is:
the intermediate pool-player (let me call it hobby-player) just shooting balls and waiting that perhaps abilities and skill will come alone as time goes by...
the good sporty and serious player gets it with serious training!
lg
Ingo
AMEN....SPF=randyg
serious training? here's my history on what i consider serious training. if posters/instructors think i havent put in serious training please explain to me why you feel that way.
1) Owned four (4) tables. Christmas of 2002 i shelled out the big $$$ for a brand new Gold Crown IV.
2) Lesson after lesson from Tom Rossman, Diana Minor, Mark Wilson, Scott Lee. still reread and relisten and rewatch those lessons. some parts i agree with, some i dont.
3) Training Aids - pocket reducers, Elephant Balls, Rempe training ball, instructional dvds such as Kinister & Bob Byrne, Buddy Hall cue guide, coke bottle, ghost ball aim trainer, Simpson's Stroke Groover, Tucker's 3rd eye trainer.
4) Attended professional tournaments in Vegas (BCA) and Peoria (WPBA).
5) Taped tons of matches on ESPN and still watch them. some are from the late 1990s.
6) Cue after cue. playing cues, jump cues, break cues. custom and production.
7) Hour after hour, day after day, week after week, year after year of practicing and playing.
8) Brand new simonis cloth on my GCIV many times - including this sunday.
9) Been insulted and banned from AZB forums. In turn did some insulting myself - but didnt really mean it, like today. Have expressed my thoughts on what i consider useless nonsense and worthless practice drills whilst realizing - somehow, someway - someone else might think its good practice.
I've gone from being a beginner to being able to - on a good day - run multiple racks of 9-ball. Will i get to that next level and be able to keep from losing 11-0 twice should i ever enter the U.S. Open? who knows.
If i havent put in the serious training then i dont know what else i need to do......
Mike
Mike,
You obviously take the game seriously and put your energy and resources into it. That's more than many do.
It would be helpful to know what material was covered in your lessons and what you agree with and don't agree with, and what you think is holding back your game.
You obviously take the game seriously and put your energy and resources into it. That's more than many do.
It would be helpful to know what material was covered in your lessons and what you agree with and don't agree with, and what you think is holding back your game.