I was in the pool hall Saturday night and I learned something. One of our local players, just a phenom of a player, was in there real late and was apparently giving lessons to another guy but in the form of drills. Now I've played just about every fricken major sport there is at an organized level and every practice session that we had there were drills to improve on basic skills. We did these drills so they would be second nature to us during the match. Now I've been playing pool seriously for about 3 years, with a ten year hiatus between year one and two and have never seen anyone do drill practice before. I assume that I have been living under a rock. My training usually is a couple racks of straight pool and a couple of ghost 8-ball and I'm done. I can only assume that is why I am as good as I am and not as good as he is. With that being said, what drills you you guys out there use to practice? I want to build a steady practice routine to improve on my basic skills.
Training Drills: I'm an idiot!
- Thread starter Buddha Jones
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I make much more progress when working on drills first. Then working on shooting some against the ghost or 14.1 etc.. I find that if I miss a shot or position when practicing, I shoot it over and over until I understand what I did wrong. I use many books for practice drills, Black Belt billiards, the Pro Book, Capelle series and many more.
There are a few good practice shots on http://www.barenada.com/poolworkout.shtml as well.. Check it out if you wish..
Peace
There are a few good practice shots on http://www.barenada.com/poolworkout.shtml as well.. Check it out if you wish..
Peace
Buddha Jones This is the way I look at it. This is one of my quotes that i liked the best and is on the first page of my Instruction Manual for my school.
" As with everything, maturity comes with knowledge and experience, structured practice makes perfect and consistency spawns success. All things do come to those who put in the effort and hard work! "
" As with everything, maturity comes with knowledge and experience, structured practice makes perfect and consistency spawns success. All things do come to those who put in the effort and hard work! "
the story or analogy, that I like to tell students & beginners about drills & practice is this >>>
a little boy ask the practicing professional Pool Player, "Mr., why do you shoot the same shot, over & over"? "Because", said the Pro, "that shot comes up in every game".
Just about every sport, every musical instrument & some industrial application has drills to accomplish, that tend enforce the magical performances by the players or workers.
The wannabees never work, they only PLAY....
Professionals in many arenas, still take lessons & do drills, they cannot afford to put in a half-assed performance.
a little boy ask the practicing professional Pool Player, "Mr., why do you shoot the same shot, over & over"? "Because", said the Pro, "that shot comes up in every game".
Just about every sport, every musical instrument & some industrial application has drills to accomplish, that tend enforce the magical performances by the players or workers.
The wannabees never work, they only PLAY....
Professionals in many arenas, still take lessons & do drills, they cannot afford to put in a half-assed performance.
90% of my table time is spent practicing straight in shots - some with stop, others with follow, and still others with a slight amount of left or right follow. I do this drill a couple hundred times daily and it's only under those practice conditions that I truly learn the subtleties of cue and cue ball control.
Get yourself a copy of a book entitled THE PRO BOOK by Bob Henning. It'll give you not only drills but direction also. The book is well worth the price.
Get yourself a copy of a book entitled THE PRO BOOK by Bob Henning. It'll give you not only drills but direction also. The book is well worth the price.
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One of the Better (IMO) workout books.
"Black Belt Billiards"
http://members.aol.com/blkbeltbilliards/index.html
"Black Belt Billiards"
http://members.aol.com/blkbeltbilliards/index.html
Way back when I started out, some 30 years ago, I was a real practice nut! I set up a certain shot and shot 2 racks right handed and one rack left handed...using just one certain spin...high right/ then low right/then high left/ etc.
I would shoot all of my "practice shots" (about 30 of them) every day /...using just the "spin of the day". The next day I used a different spin and shot those same set up practice shots. Then after a day of shooting my practice shots using just that one spin , I played straight pool using just that same spin...
what a nut!!!
I learned to play pretty good in just a few years, and I think because of those practice skills, I have been able to adapt my abilities easily to snooker and to 3cushion.
I feel that now I am quite competative in most games.
note***it is very difficult for most players to practice anywhere near this much..
Even if you can only practice a few racks each day, it is still better than playing for 6 hours one day a week.
Remember, you are training your brain and your muscles.
I would shoot all of my "practice shots" (about 30 of them) every day /...using just the "spin of the day". The next day I used a different spin and shot those same set up practice shots. Then after a day of shooting my practice shots using just that one spin , I played straight pool using just that same spin...
what a nut!!!
I learned to play pretty good in just a few years, and I think because of those practice skills, I have been able to adapt my abilities easily to snooker and to 3cushion.
I feel that now I am quite competative in most games.
note***it is very difficult for most players to practice anywhere near this much..
Even if you can only practice a few racks each day, it is still better than playing for 6 hours one day a week.
Remember, you are training your brain and your muscles.
Well if i had time to practice which i don't which prolly explain why i don't do as good in this sport as i should but when i have the time i play rotation for a couple of games then basically just practice my weak point/shot. I practice cut/straight shot/draw/english....pretty much everything....after that i just thrown the balls in and starts to shoot...sometimes i practice on a snooker table...helps with the accuracy.
I think another reason drills are a huge help is that they develop and refine "muscle memory", and the confidence of being able to shoot a shot correctly because you've shot it thousands of times before.
C.J. Wiley gets my nod for the most memorable practice quote. He said, "An amateur will practice until he can do it right... A pro will practice until he can't do it wrong."
Good luck!
C.J. Wiley gets my nod for the most memorable practice quote. He said, "An amateur will practice until he can do it right... A pro will practice until he can't do it wrong."
Good luck!