1) We all have varied experiences . . .
1. No doubt
There's a guy in my league, a 4 and has been - a loooooonnnnnggg time. His stance is, well, let's call it wide. His legs are splayed out at about 60-degree angle.
With talent and good guidance, things can happen in a hurry. My own journey went from ran 3 racks in my pool playing life to ghost-killer A player in about 18months... started with studying for a motor-learning exam when I had an epiphany that the motor system I was studying was ideal for the pool stroke. So I applied the rules of the system to my pool stroke and immediately saw my cue moving differently. Literally got a great stroke overnight. I then spent the winter break playing a ton of pool every day so let's say about 200 hours at the table over the course of the month and in the following month I beat the 8ball ghost 5-0. I still didn't really know how to play...that's what the rest of the 18 months were for, but it can certainly happen in a hurry.
Some people are just uncoachable. One of the greatest natural athletes I've ever had the pleasure to work with as a track coach was like this. He couldn't play team sports because of his attitude towards teammates and being a bad team player so was relegated to solo T&F.
The ones I was talking about all had parents or family members who were at least A players. They had played in juniors or strong amateur leagues since age 12. All had strong drive and self belief. All hit a big jump around 16-17.
, I've read a lot of first hand accounts of how they've all helped players. Still I don't care for the infomercial / click-bait type marketing, and most of them mentioned don't do that, but there are some and others that do. It's not even necessary. Tin Man doesn't do that, and he's got players lining up to work with him, but they know they're going to have to work.I love it. The ah-ha moments and the 'holy shit that actually works like a charm' moments are very sweet. But to see a guy go from sub average to a monster on the table and just watch the fruits of their labor in action is pretty special indeed, knowing I had some role to play in expediting his process to get there (guys like this WILL get there anyway). I'm sure I will be watching this player destroy guys he thought were forever out of reach for him not too long from now.
So I take it you won't be signing up for the Florida clinic.Look -- there are clearly great instructors in the pool world. I give credit to the ones that have a long list of testimonials behind them. Demetrius Jalatis, Stan Shuffet, Bob Jewett, and Dr Dave, Alex Lely, our own Fran Crimi, and even this Beeler guy
This thread has made me realize this: If this game was easy, most of us would have moved on years ago. We don't want it to be easy! So if you're an instructor and you pretend that the game is easy -- you're not for me, and I wouldn't steer anyone I know into your direction.
Pool is hard. Life can be harder.
This isn't one lesson from me, the Pro Pool Clinic on July 29 is 8 hour lessons in one session.
I ask students about their aim target. I see a lot of APA 6s and so on who cheat the pocket based on the approach side of the cut. I explain the true pocket center is between the points of the pocket, they say "really?" and I show how a rolling ball from any angle is most likely to sink via true center, and BOOM, they're an APA 7 or 8. Five-minute discussion and we hit a few balls to demonstrate, together.
I hear you. I do. But why do people pay enormous sums for top coaching in other sports like tennis, golf or etc.? Because a good teacher can get you there fairly quickly.Look -- there are clearly great instructors in the pool world. I give credit to the ones that have a long list of testimonials behind them. Demetrius Jalatis, Stan Shuffet, Bob Jewett, and Dr Dave, Alex Lely, our own Fran Crimi, and even this Beeler guy
This thread has made me realize this: If this game was easy, most of us would have moved on years ago. We don't want it to be easy! So if you're an instructor and you pretend that the game is easy -- you're not for me, and I wouldn't steer anyone I know into your direction.
Pool is hard. Life can be
Look -- there are clearly great instructors in the pool world. I give credit to the ones that have a long list of testimonials behind them. Demetrius Jalatis, Stan Shuffet, Bob Jewett, and Dr Dave, Alex Lely, our own Fran Crimi, and even this Beeler guy
This thread has made me realize this: If this game was easy, most of us would have moved on years ago. We don't want it to be easy! So if you're an instructor and you pretend that the game is easy -- you're not for me, and I wouldn't steer anyone I know into your direction.
Pool is hard. Life can be harder.
And yet AGAIN I'm offering you a free lesson, after which you can post a 500-word article at AZ telling the world I'm a fraud . . . or get what you're likely missing from your own game, skill and consistency.
I agree you can put people in a good position and they instantly play better.This isn't one lesson from me, the Pro Pool Clinic on July 29 is 8 hour lessons in one session.
Think of the shortstop or A players you know. Did they take many years to get there? And they got there with little teaching, just playing. So when you build into a student with a good knowledge base to begin . . . may I give an example or two? I enjoy this subject much.
A lot of players have a lovely stance, aim and stroke, but a big "tip gap" as Dr. Dave coined it--their cue tip is far from the cue ball at address. My thought is early in their playing days they fouled the cue ball with practice strokes and stayed far back with a tip gap--this is where instruction comes in. Just like a kid learning baseball may be frightened of the pitch until they're coached to cover the plate with authority, big tip gappers need to be coached to get in there with their whole body from the feet to "cover that cue ball" and their percentage goes up., WAY up. Five-, maybe ten-minute lesson and BOOM.
Here's another simple example, whenever I teach aim, even if you want to keep using ghost ball
My JOY in teaching is MANY players A, B and C have LOVELY fundamentals and need some basic tweaks. It's FUN to see someone practically with tears in their eyes hitting great draw shots or learning a pro aim system and so on. For most students, they come to a lessons with me or someone like me because they've been an APA whatever number for DECADES.
My other joy is never saying "everyone in the world bicep/tricep" or "everyone pause on the backswing a while" or "everyone take their pinky finger off the cue" and a lot of students have paid a lot of money for those kinds of things. It's simply taking players (most of the students who can afford me are older with a good income although I do some pro bono lessons) who've played for 20-40 years and doing a few tweaks and BOOM.
So, an hour or two with me, you probably won't see me again for years, because you've gone up two handicap points. Ten hours of lessons for the committed. Yes, I've had students--now friends--come to me as C or B and leave playing in tournaments seeded with pros and loving it.
Although I've had tens of thousands read my articles and books, we're talking 1 of every couple of students who commit, an hour of lessons weekly or biweekly, practice between, ten lessons including skipped weeks means half a year. Not a short time to become great when guided.
Final thought, take a free lesson from me in person or online, or come to the Florida clinic at a discount. Not a Sparkle discount, mind you, but a discount. LIVE and LEARN!
Again, if anyone reads this whole post without their eyes glazing over I do have some swampland for sale, very cheap.This isn't one lesson from me, the Pro Pool Clinic on July 29 is 8 hour lessons in one session.
Think of the shortstop or A players you know. Did they take many years to get there? And they got there with little teaching, just playing. So when you build into a student with a good knowledge base to begin . . . may I give an example or two? I enjoy this subject much.
A lot of players have a lovely stance, aim and stroke, but a big "tip gap" as Dr. Dave coined it--their cue tip is far from the cue ball at address. My thought is early in their playing days they fouled the cue ball with practice strokes and stayed far back with a tip gap--this is where instruction comes in. Just like a kid learning baseball may be frightened of the pitch until they're coached to cover the plate with authority, big tip gappers need to be coached to get in there with their whole body from the feet to "cover that cue ball" and their percentage goes up., WAY up. Five-, maybe ten-minute lesson and BOOM.
Here's another simple example, whenever I teach aim, even if you want to keep using ghost ball
My JOY in teaching is MANY players A, B and C have LOVELY fundamentals and need some basic tweaks. It's FUN to see someone practically with tears in their eyes hitting great draw shots or learning a pro aim system and so on. For most students, they come to a lessons with me or someone like me because they've been an APA whatever number for DECADES.
My other joy is never saying "everyone in the world bicep/tricep" or "everyone pause on the backswing a while" or "everyone take their pinky finger off the cue" and a lot of students have paid a lot of money for those kinds of things. It's simply taking players (most of the students who can afford me are older with a good income although I do some pro bono lessons) who've played for 20-40 years and doing a few tweaks and BOOM.
So, an hour or two with me, you probably won't see me again for years, because you've gone up two handicap points. Ten hours of lessons for the committed. Yes, I've had students--now friends--come to me as C or B and leave playing in tournaments seeded with pros and loving it.
Although I've had tens of thousands read my articles and books, we're talking 1 of every couple of students who commit, an hour of lessons weekly or biweekly, practice between, ten lessons including skipped weeks means half a year. Not a short time to become great when guided.
Final thought, take a free lesson from me in person or online, or come to the Florida clinic at a discount. Not a Sparkle discount, mind you, but a discount. LIVE and LEARN!
That is a good start for some lessons you won't soon forget.
