Just back from Shooters in Wayne, New Jersey where Thorsten Hohmann held a two day (total 14 hours) pool clinic. Though they were hoping for 20 students, only eight attended, including myself. With what was being taught, any more than eight guys would have been difficult to manage, IMO.
When he began on Saturday, Thorsten, or "Toasti" as he prefers to be called, shared an observation that he said was rather shocking to him. That, in large part, American pool players lack structure in their practice routines. He said he finds it commonplace for players here in "The States" to simply throw balls on the table and shoot them in. And that many players seldom go much further than that. So he posed a couple of fair questions about this: "What is their goal and how do they measure their progress?" He said he found this peculiar to the USA and that in most other countries, players routinely had structured drills and practice sessions that measures their progress.
What ensued at our get together was a barrage of purposeful drills designed to get you shooting straight(er), examining english, speed control, position play, reading patterns, thinning balls, and various combinations of all of the above. There were individual critiques, corrections, and group discussions.
Toasti shared some very important facts and considerations, specific to straight pool, 8,9, & 10 ball.
He also instructed on the importance of a good rack, how to read a rack, and related breaking tips.
I have to say that he packed in as much useful information in 14 hours as anyone could imagine. What also helped was that for the most part, the students were advanced in their knowledge of the game so we were able to get through the drills and related dicussions quickly. And, as one would expect from a German national, all of the training materials were meticulous and the flow of information was timely.
What became clear, also rather quickly, was that not only can Toasti play at an extremely high level, but he can teach very well, too. He made a number of references to how he admired his coach back in his hometown of Fulda, Germany, and that he looked forward to seeing him and working with him whenever he gets back there. A nice acknowledgement.
At the end of Saturday's session, I drove Thorsten to Montclair, NJ, (I was staying there with my gf) so he could catch a train to Manhattan. It turned out to be a bit of a fiasco finding the one station that still had NYC service on Saturday night. But that did allow us some extra time to cover subjects like his hometown where I had also spent some time, German beer which he had his first one ever just a few years ago, and the current Mosconi Cup action plus last year's team that he was a member of. Did you all know that, almost certainly, if Thorsten's recent "All Japan" win happened just a couple of weeks earlier, he would have been on today's winning Mosconi Cup Team? Timing is everything!
So, I worked a lot on my game and thoroughly enjoyed the time with Toasti. He is an extremely likeable and very nice young man.
Also, the staff over at Shooters are top notch and their just-recovered Brunswicks play real nice. :thumbup:
Now if you will excuse me, I have to work on some new drills. Man, my feet are sore...
Best,
Brian kc
P.S. Toasti is on his way to compete next at Turning Stone and I wish him the best of luck!
When he began on Saturday, Thorsten, or "Toasti" as he prefers to be called, shared an observation that he said was rather shocking to him. That, in large part, American pool players lack structure in their practice routines. He said he finds it commonplace for players here in "The States" to simply throw balls on the table and shoot them in. And that many players seldom go much further than that. So he posed a couple of fair questions about this: "What is their goal and how do they measure their progress?" He said he found this peculiar to the USA and that in most other countries, players routinely had structured drills and practice sessions that measures their progress.
What ensued at our get together was a barrage of purposeful drills designed to get you shooting straight(er), examining english, speed control, position play, reading patterns, thinning balls, and various combinations of all of the above. There were individual critiques, corrections, and group discussions.
Toasti shared some very important facts and considerations, specific to straight pool, 8,9, & 10 ball.
He also instructed on the importance of a good rack, how to read a rack, and related breaking tips.
I have to say that he packed in as much useful information in 14 hours as anyone could imagine. What also helped was that for the most part, the students were advanced in their knowledge of the game so we were able to get through the drills and related dicussions quickly. And, as one would expect from a German national, all of the training materials were meticulous and the flow of information was timely.
What became clear, also rather quickly, was that not only can Toasti play at an extremely high level, but he can teach very well, too. He made a number of references to how he admired his coach back in his hometown of Fulda, Germany, and that he looked forward to seeing him and working with him whenever he gets back there. A nice acknowledgement.
At the end of Saturday's session, I drove Thorsten to Montclair, NJ, (I was staying there with my gf) so he could catch a train to Manhattan. It turned out to be a bit of a fiasco finding the one station that still had NYC service on Saturday night. But that did allow us some extra time to cover subjects like his hometown where I had also spent some time, German beer which he had his first one ever just a few years ago, and the current Mosconi Cup action plus last year's team that he was a member of. Did you all know that, almost certainly, if Thorsten's recent "All Japan" win happened just a couple of weeks earlier, he would have been on today's winning Mosconi Cup Team? Timing is everything!
So, I worked a lot on my game and thoroughly enjoyed the time with Toasti. He is an extremely likeable and very nice young man.
Also, the staff over at Shooters are top notch and their just-recovered Brunswicks play real nice. :thumbup:
Now if you will excuse me, I have to work on some new drills. Man, my feet are sore...
Best,
Brian kc
P.S. Toasti is on his way to compete next at Turning Stone and I wish him the best of luck!
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