Stroke Training Device

D

denzilla171

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I built this stroke training device awhile ago. Pretty handy for a beginning player, an instructor, or maybe even an experienced player with some kind of persistent stroke flaw. Basically it holds the cue so it can only travel along a straight line, so the player can train their arm what it feels like to stay on that line throughout the stroke. I liked to set it up with a distant cue ball to also get my vision center coordinated with the stroke and stance.

Anyways, it's served its purpose for me, so I thought I'd offer it up to anyone else who might get something out of it. Cost me about $40 in materials, plus a couple hours to build, will sell it for $20 obo, plus something for shipping...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zrcp4qf39k&feature=youtu.be
 
Ive got some stroke trainers for ya...... ;):thumbup:

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I have the cue track, i ordered one while i was in Iraq years ago and it kept my stroke in a groove to where when i was able to shoot pool i was able to shoot really strong even tho i was only able to play every few weeks.

I have tried the Soda bottle routine as well but you still have sideways movement when you stroke, the cue track you have no play at all from side to side but very smooth while stroking.
 
The Youtube device looks intriguing. CueTrack is superior--I've demo'ed it at shows. It does amazing work.

The problem with a Coke bottle is that the rail interferes with a purely level stroke on most shots. The pool stroke moves straight ahead but also downward.
 
I found that a chalk line perpendicular to the short rail works the best for me.

I put a hole reinforcement centered on that line about 2 diamonds from the end.

Place the CB on it and then line up to shoot the CB center hit to the far rail.

This helps to see if your cue is on the line, and you are at center ball. If not get up and readjust so as you approach and come down on the ball you are always in line. This helps practice getting on the shot properly.

Then take a few practice strokes and shoot the ball to the end rail and back along that line. You cue should still be on that line at the end of the stroke and the CB should come back along that line. If not analyze what is wrong.

Your grip too loose, too tight, body not in line, hitting the CB off center, jumping up, bad bridge, twisting your wrist, and etc.

All that comes into a great stroke instead of swinging your arm back and forth.

🎱
 
TheBook said:
I found that a chalk line perpendicular to the short rail works the best for me.

I put a hole reinforcement centered on that line about 2 diamonds from the end.

Place the CB on it and then line up to shoot the CB center hit to the far rail.

This helps to see if your cue is on the line, and you are at center ball. If not get up and readjust so as you approach and come down on the ball you are always in line. This helps practice getting on the shot properly.

Then take a few practice strokes and shoot the ball to the end rail and back along that line. You cue should still be on that line at the end of the stroke and the CB should come back along that line. If not analyze what is wrong.

Your grip too loose, too tight, body not in line, hitting the CB off center, jumping up, bad bridge, twisting your wrist, and etc.

All that comes into a great stroke instead of swinging your arm back and forth.

🎱
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I pretty much place the CB on the head-spot hit the CB to the foot-spot rail and see if the CB comes back and hits the tip. I spend about 6 mins doing this before my practice session.
 
Anybody got a CueTrack for sale... I think they went out of business.

I think the constraint of a straight line stroke, created by this tool can actually have some effect. I'd like to try one....
 
2 paperback books.

You can adjust the gap as tight as you want. No problem with the cue naturally arcing down.


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My students bought every CueTrack I had. It's four pounds, the maximum weight you can put on the cloth without harming the cloth. There are pros who take up to 200 strokes a day in those things. Very, very wonderful.
 
BilliardsAbout said:
My students bought every CueTrack I had. It's four pounds, the maximum weight you can put on the cloth without harming the cloth. There are pros who take up to 200 strokes a day in those things. Very, very wonderful.
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What if she weighs more than 4 pounds. How the heck do I train my stroke?
 
AtLarge said:
Dennis, what is the distance between your vertical boards? Why do you need the pipe (doesn't seem like smooth boards would harm the cue)?
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The gap between the boards is 1-3/8 of an inch. The pipe is needed because the cue has a taper so if the boards were actually flush with the cue it wouldn't be able to move forward at all, and moving backwards it could wiggle all over the place.

I made the gap just a bit wider than the pipe itself, then used sticky paper labels inside the gap to tighten it up. There is still a whisker of side-to-side play that I wasn't able to eradicate without making the cue stick and move the device - but its a hell of a lot tighter than a coke bottle or a couple of books, lol.

I was thinking of trying again but using some felt to set the final tolerance, something with a bit more 'slidy-ness' that would also hug the pipe. Also adding a bit more mass would help.

I think the CueTrack gets around this issue by the relatively small contact points on the round guide pipes, as opposed to long boards, but alas, that is beyond my engineering capabilities. It was impossible to find one of those things so I made my own with Hill-billy technology...
 
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denzilla171 said:
The gap between the boards is 1-3/8 of an inch. The pipe is needed because the cue has a taper so if the boards were actually flush with the cue it wouldn't be able to move forward at all, and moving backwards it could wiggle all over the place. ...
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OK, I understand, but I thought a couple parallel boards might work well enough. Or even just a couple vertical dowels slightly farther apart than the diameter of the butt a couple inches above the grip hand. Or maybe a couple dowels for the tip end and a couple more for the butt. Or, maybe some golf tees upside down; didn't Joe Tucker use those somehow? Or, maybe just practice stroking on the rail on the line where the cloth meets the wood. Or, lots of other things.

Thanks for showing us an easy-to-make training device. Should be useful.
 
AtLarge said:
OK, I understand, but I thought a couple parallel boards might work well enough. Or even just a couple vertical dowels slightly farther apart than the diameter of the butt a couple inches above the grip hand. Or maybe a couple dowels for the tip end and a couple more for the butt. Or, maybe some golf tees upside down; didn't Joe Tucker use those somehow? Or, maybe just practice stroking on the rail on the line where the cloth meets the wood. Or, lots of other things.

Thanks for showing us an easy-to-make training device. Should be useful.
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There are several things you could do, but the beauty of something like this is that it limits the stroke from going side to side. That is actually one of my issues I am working on right now.

Practice stroking down an imaginary line, using Buddy Hall stroke trainer, a bottle, the Q+, a mirror or even 2 upside down golf tees (I've done them all) simply shows you that you are doing something wrong. Something like this will actually prevent you from doing it thus and will hopefully give you that muscle memory training that you need.
 
Slow down your backswing...............

Yeah,
The great thing about practicing your stroke on the rail on the line where the cloth meets the wood is that you can see your stroke wobble or not and you can vary the speed of your stroke without harming your cue. Your stroke straightness might change when you increase the speed of your stroke but you can see it wobble quite easily on the rail.

Tip explanation: (Lay your shaft on the rail, on top of the that line where the cloth meets the wood and have half of your tip on the cloth and half of your tip on the wood and then practice stroking. Don't forget to practice a shooting sequence of stroking, not just moving the cue stick back and forth, although that is helpful as well.)

JoeyA

AtLarge said:
Or, maybe just practice stroking on the rail on the line where the cloth meets the wood. Or, lots of other things.

Thanks for showing us an easy-to-make training device. Should be useful.
Click to expand...
 
What's wrong with the "long rail". stand at the short rail, put your bridge hand on the long rail so that your cue is even with the "line". The line would be the top of the rubber that meets with the wood rail.

It's very easy to see. One side has cloth, the other is wood. Keep your bridge hand on it, and watch how it tracks the "line". what is stopping it from staying on the straight line, then figure it out be dong different stuff.

Try it, the price is right.
 
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