Watch'n vs Do'n vs Coach'n

[Pangit]

I've learned TONS from watching better players play. But U have to be able to do it yourself.

With that said, the best coaches are normally cerebral bench players in whatever sport U want to choose? Passionate about the game, time to analyze things under hopefully a decent coaching staff, to borrow from FB/BB.

The Odd's are against a Star player make'n a good coach.

 

[macguy]

I've learned TONS from watching better players play. But U have to be able to do it yourself.

With that said, the best coaches are normally cerebral bench players in whatever sport U want to choose? Passionate about the game, time to analyze things under hopefully a decent coaching staff, to borrow from FB/BB.

The Odd's are against a Star player make'n a good coach.

That can be a double edged sword. For example I would hate to see a beginning player watch some of the pros who often use a bridge that is like 18" and think it is OK. You sometimes see the Philippine players bridge from the rail with the cue ball 2 feet away. It makes me cringe when I see that.

 

[quadrary]

That can be a double edged sword. For example I would hate to see a beginning player watch some of the pros who often use a bridge that is like 18" and think it is OK. You sometimes see the Philippine players bridge from the rail with the cue ball 2 feet away. It makes me cringe when I see that.

i think 18 inches is a little bit of an exageration on the follow through the joint would go through their bridge. I tend to use a somewhat lpng bridge but it generally falls in the 12 inch area if the table allows. Not saying im a pro just familiar with longer bridge lengths. Beyond 14 inches the tip will rise as the fat of the shaft passes into your bridge and you will always be hitting high on the cua ball.

 

[macguy]

i think 18 inches is a little bit of an exageration on the follow through the joint would go through their bridge. I tend to use a somewhat lpng bridge but it generally falls in the 12 inch area if the table allows. Not saying im a pro just familiar with longer bridge lengths. Beyond 14 inches the tip will rise as the fat of the shaft passes into your bridge and you will always be hitting high on the cua ball.

I have a piece of paper here on the desk that is 11" long. I am just imagining the cue ball that far away from my bridge and I don't think I could hardly make a ball with a bridge that long. How did you happen to begin playing with such a long bridge? Was it picked up from another player?

 

[KRJ]

hmmm

I've learned TONS from watching better players play. But U have to be able to do it yourself.

With that said, the best coaches are normally cerebral bench players in whatever sport U want to choose? Passionate about the game, time to analyze things under hopefully a decent coaching staff, to borrow from FB/BB.

The Odd's are against a Star player make'n a good coach.

Well, of course you are wrong. There are plenty of good coaches that were once great players, and there are plenty of great coaches that were once average players, and quite the mix in between. I can teach a kid how to have the proper swing to hit for power and thus hit more homeruns, even though I was a line drive hitter my whole life with NO homeruns. Just cause I couldn't do it doesn't it mean I can't tell someone else how.

 

[macguy]

Well, of course you are wrong. There are plenty of good coaches that were once great players, and there are plenty of great coaches that were once average players, and quite the mix in between. I can teach a kid how to have the proper swing to hit for power and thus hit more homeruns, even though I was a line drive hitter my whole life with NO homeruns. Just cause I couldn't do it doesn't it mean I can't tell someone else how.

The level of the student is also a factor. It does not take a Danny DiLiberto to get a beginner off on the right foot. Many pool rooms have instructors with a solid understanding of the game who can help players of average level avoid many of the pit falls that they often get into trying to learn on their own; often emulating players they respect who may not be the best examples.

 

[quadrary]

I have a piece of paper here on the desk that is 11" long. I am just imagining the cue ball that far away from my bridge and I don't think I could hardly make a ball with a bridge that long. How did you happen to begin playing with such a long bridge? Was it picked up from another player?

I am not real sure i started out with about an 8 inch bridge back when i was playing with my schon then switched over to predator shafts and gradually seem to have lengthened my bridge and it seems to have stabilized around 11 0r 12 inches. I tend to shoot 95 percent of my shots with a consistent speed and tend to move the cue ball with spin stun and drag and somehow wound up where it is at today. I dont endorse a long bridge length for everyone it just seems to work. I shoot with an extremely loose grip usually 2 fingers and my thumb and you can see air beteen the top of the cue and my palm if i want to move the cue forward after a table length hit but just a few inches i hit the same speed with just enough draw for the draw to end at or just before cotact with object ball which is a drag shot ih i want to go around 3 rails and all the way down table i hit med soft and spin the ball off the rail and watch it accelerate. Just the style of play ive become accustomed to and comforatable with. I should add that i shoot most of the time with a closed bridge and the cue almost touching my chin and feel that i se the shot better with a longer bridge.

 

[macguy]

I am not real sure i started out with about an 8 inch bridge back when i was playing with my schon then switched over to predator shafts and gradually seem to have lengthened my bridge and it seems to have stabilized around 11 0r 12 inches. I tend to shoot 95 percent of my shots with a consistent speed and tend to move the cue ball with spin stun and drag and somehow wound up where it is at today. I dont endorse a long bridge length for everyone it just seems to work. I shoot with an extremely loose grip usually 2 fingers and my thumb and you can see air beteen the top of the cue and my palm if i want to move the cue forward after a table length hit but just a few inches i hit the same speed with just enough draw for the draw to end at or just before cotact with object ball which is a drag shot ih i want to go around 3 rails and all the way down table i hit med soft and spin the ball off the rail and watch it accelerate. Just the style of play ive become accustomed to and comforatable with. I should add that i shoot most of the time with a closed bridge and the cue almost touching my chin and feel that i se the shot better with a longer bridge.

I think the game you play sometimes dictates how you play. I started playing straight pool and a lot of one pocket that Danny DiLiberto refers to as "close up games". You may do nothing but bump a ball 4" many times with no speed at all. Players of these games tend to have shorter bridges and not a long bolo stroke you see with some of the players use playing 9-ball. Not a fast rule though Lassiter had a bridge that must have been like 5" and was famous for his 9-ball.

I remember the first time I saw Bustamante play in Germany. When you were behind him he looked like he was not even going hit the cue ball with his stroke. His bridge was well over a foot and the cue went sideways and up and down, (hunt up some youtube's of him), yet here is a guy who is a superstar. That was my point in the original post, just because a great player does something does not make it right for other players, nor wrong if it works for you but can be very confusion for a beginner trying to learn the game. I once went with a player to match up with a guy they called "The Wing" He had a very side arm stroke. It was funny, he was a very good player and later on that night as the room got busy when you looked around almost every younger player had a side arm stroke. His influence be it good or bad was certainly evident.

 

[Island Drive]

I've learned TONS from watching better players play. But U have to be able to do it yourself.

With that said, the best coaches are normally cerebral bench players in whatever sport U want to choose? Passionate about the game, time to analyze things under hopefully a decent coaching staff, to borrow from FB/BB.

The Odd's are against a Star player make'n a good coach.

Once you understand ball collisions, squirt, deflection, humidity, clean balls vs dirty, natural shots, spin transfer and a few other PRINCIPLES of the game, your then able to better understand whats being said and why. Without that information, your mistakes will undermind you mental game, then you'll blame the wrong flaw in your game, and make matters worse by correcting an area of your game that was Already OK.
I call them ''storys'', I've heard MANY players say why they missed the shot, when they more appropriately Miss diagnosed the mistake made during the shot. When you do that, ''stick a fork in em'' as they say.

 

[quadrary]

I think the game you play sometimes dictates how you play. I started playing straight pool and a lot of one pocket that Danny DiLiberto refers to as "close up games". You may do nothing but bump a ball 4" many times with no speed at all. Players of these games tend to have shorter bridges and not a long bolo stroke you see with some of the players use playing 9-ball. Not a fast rule though Lassiter had a bridge that must have been like 5" and was famous for his 9-ball.

I remember the first time I saw Bustamante play in Germany. When you were behind him he looked like he was not even going hit the cue ball with his stroke. His bridge was well over a foot and the cue went sideways and up and down, (hunt up some youtube's of him), yet here is a guy who is a superstar. That was my point in the original post, just because a great player does something does not make it right for other players, nor wrong if it works for you but can be very confusion for a beginner trying to learn the game. I once went with a player to match up with a guy they called "The Wing" He had a very side arm stroke. It was funny, he was a very good player and later on that night as the room got busy when you looked around almost every younger player had a side arm stroke. His influence be it good or bad was certainly evident.

you may be right i am predominently an 8,9 and 10 ball player