I pay for lessons and charge for same. 
My current rate is a bargain at $50/hr.
My current rate is a bargain at $50/hr.What Do You Look For in a Pool Instructor
- Thread starter lfigueroa
- Start date
Drunk Act Kelly used to come to the South Hill Saloon on B tournament night. Would cruise in late .....around finals. And offer a one game for all the money. Staggering, of course.
Did you notice that Cliff Thorburn learned at every opportunity. Oh well.
I have been drinking and am feeling....all puffed up. Any takers?
It has been my observation that being a very good shooter does not often mean you can teach.
Most of the best players I have been around have no idea of the physics involved in a shot and why it works or doesn't. Or know what being in stroke is about mentally. To them it is just something that happens.
Dr. Dave is the best I know of at the physics and as far as I know does not study Psychology?
Psychology is an equally important part of learning to play, play well and win! I would love for Dr. Dave delve into that. He's smart enough but probably hasn't given a tremendous amount of thought to the human part of doing this stuff? Mostly just focuses on the Physics of what actually happens during a particular shot which is very amazing to say the least!.
It's a rare bird that can take a person who does not play and make a decent player out of them. The people who crave it and play like it's an addiction will probably be well respected shooters in time. Others may need to learn to appreciate that it's about testing out a plan, trying to solve a puzzle, learning to relax under pressure, Trying again and again to do better next time than you did the time before. It is not just hit a ball like this and it will do that. It's a mental and physical challenge. making a ball is just one part of a complex game.
I am near Vegas. Opmmm
by doing different games, also practice-games, safety-games etcone learns to find the best shot, the best solution for the specific task
this will transition into a wider range of choices available in a 'normal' game
onlookers would say its imagination, the player will say its recognition
Depends what they mean by, "long time".
"Cannot possibly" is a very limiting statement you've made.
In a typical one- to two-hour first lesson, my students increase their APA handicaps two points. They consistently tell me weeks after they've been winning all or nearly all their matches and were put up by league bosses two points. I frequently get a call or email a few weeks after even a first intensive lesson.
I've had a C player become a shortstop, his dream, after ten hourlong lessons, a week or two apart each. I've had players fly me in for a weekend to improve in local leagues but then quit their leagues to play in pro-ams, etc.
Because TK is a good friend and other reasons, we are adding a lot of "secret sauce" to this clinic and a player could well/easily go up from C to B or B to A. My speciality isn't "Let me change your grip, stance and stroke, now practice for six months two hours a day to improve," it's far more often "You have a great grip, stance and stroke," let me show you how to do those in a pro manner and you will become much stronger BEFORE THIS LESSON ENDS.
While I've had students tell me I have ideas that seem to come from outer space, I pledge that anyone's pocketing ability and position play will dramatically increase in a single lesson or money is returned.
There are some teachers who are very diligent and will not end the lesson until their student is significantly better. Unfortunately, in my (limited) experience most teachers make radical changes to a student's fundamentals than are pleased when they improve after two hours a day practice for six months.
I did make a very limiting statement and I stand by it because this was your proffer:
“I will make your game much better in a one-hour lesson. …my claim for the upcoming clinic is you will go up several handicap points/an entire letter ranking in a day, from "C" to "B" and so on:”
So look, before you come with the offer of a free lesson, here’s a counter: take a look at me shooting and tell me what you’d have me change that would make such a dramatic improvement:
It’s an old video and I feel I actually shoot better now but it’ll do for the purposes of this discussion. IOWs I will take my lesson here.
I await your evaluation with bait on my breath.
Lou Figueroa
All I know is that I'm sure glad I'm not a pool instructor posting on a pool forum to pool players. It's like being a leper
that has Covid and a brain of an imbecile with the acceptance and respect shown.
It's bad enough to be ostracized for taking lessons and touting it from a super instructor and player for a way of aiming because the seal of approval hasn't been given by the all-knowing ones of the forum since the inception of this site. The mere mentioning of his name and system are taboo with consequences if done. Now it's an all-out assault on anyone that teaches.
Where in the hell is Elon Musk to straighten things out when you need him?
that has Covid and a brain of an imbecile with the acceptance and respect shown.
It's bad enough to be ostracized for taking lessons and touting it from a super instructor and player for a way of aiming because the seal of approval hasn't been given by the all-knowing ones of the forum since the inception of this site. The mere mentioning of his name and system are taboo with consequences if done. Now it's an all-out assault on anyone that teaches.
Where in the hell is Elon Musk to straighten things out when you need him?
To the OP. They must be a ''good'' listener.
There's a certain type opposed to education and teachers.
You can see it daily in the news.
I skimmed the video and watched you hit about three shots, so I'm sure the adjustments you've already made include things like more immobility during the stroke/not standing up before you've barely followed through and etc. You look like you're rushing to catch the train home.
I don't do free lessons at AZ. I do them offline, where people can interact with me safely, comfortably. However, if you'd like to record a one-hour lesson with me on video--I can teach remotely, you can set up the recording, we can post a link to it here for all to see. I think that would quiet many of the trolls here at AZ. I'm not saying you're a troll, by the way, you are merely skeptical, skepticism is healthy.
But why anyone up to a pro level would refuse a free lesson is beyond me.
PS. Like I said, to go up an entire letter ranking will take your willingness to listen to my coaching and some eight hours of my time.
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This isn't a fair assessment. It's really only when instructors push a very specific remedy or product that they get any flak. Or now, we have instructors clearly pushing their lessons on here, so they should expect some questions and even skepticism. I think they are handling it just fine too. I mean, if you can't handle some minor pushback on a forum, maybe instructing isn't for you. Or just hangout in your social media echo chamber of choice and you can just delete anyone that questions you.
Clearly, not all instructors are created equal either. I remember in my early days of pool (late 1990's) we had a local room ower who was a BCA Certified instructor who literally couldn't run 5 balls. Anyone that's honest about pool instruction, knows these types are still out there. While I think we've come a long ways since those early days, pool instruction may just now be reaching its adolescence.
Thank you sincerely for your thoughtful and insightful comments.
I love studying pedagogy and communications.
"It's a rare bird that can take a person who does not play and make a decent player out of them."
I don't think among pool teachers (not friends helping in league) that is a rare bird. I had a student who then brought his wife to be my student and she literally didn't know whether to use the pretty blue end or the bumper end of the cue. She was also under 5' tall and had athritis issues and small hands. Within the year she was helpful in getting her team to nationals. But good teachers do stuff like this once in a while.
We shot a three-hour DVD of me to accompany my first pool book. It's licensed/copyrighted and cannot be posted. When I was with About.com I actually was disallowed from posting videos me also, long story.
I have written a script for videos/a new YouTube Channel for pool and hope to post it soon.
I'm a 7/9 APA and don't have a FargoRating but would probably be 600? I've not played much in the last decade, meaning I teach or play casually and at the most play a few hours here and there with pals.
So that's playing, if you're curious about my approach to teaching, why don't we spend an hour or two together? I know people think free lessons are trolling for paid lessons, but besides a lovely day job, I have multiple side gigs including leading tours for up to over 50 people overseas and so on... I just LIKE teaching. Maybe if I charged people $1000 for an hour lesson they'd flock to me. People can be strange!
The free lesson is on if you want it!
Last thing...
I guess one more thing I would want out of an instructor is proof that their successful students even exist. How can someone be a longtime instructor and not have more reviews accessible than that crappy hole-in-the-wall restaurant down the street does? It's 2023 for Pete's sake and I can't find any info on the old World Wide Web, and I even tried webcrawler and excite.
I guess one more thing I would want out of an instructor is proof that their successful students even exist. How can someone be a longtime instructor and not have more reviews accessible than that crappy hole-in-the-wall restaurant down the street does? It's 2023 for Pete's sake and I can't find any info on the old World Wide Web, and I even tried webcrawler and excite.
Your experience of people at AZ seeking free help for all kinds of pool questions, is different than people seeking paid coaching, as I've already said, people with good fundamentals who get frustrated and need simple fixes.
I've given sufficient examples above for the rest.
Speaking of people who evade simple questions, however, why won't you, Sparkle, take my offer of a free lesson?
Fair enough.
Honestly, you're just an enigma to me as you've been on here forever but yet I've never seen you play or read a firsthand account of your instruction. That's just strange as we are approaching 20 years! I just can't say this about any other instructor mentioned in this conversation. I'm sure I've picked up little things here and there from your contributions on here, so for that I thank you.
Maybe being an enigma isn't all bad.
I'm happy to give you references if you'd like to talk with transformed students.
You may have missed that I'm currently advertising another group clinic of mine, with Tom Kennedy co-teaching. He backs my teaching as sound, others include Mike Massey, Steve Lillis, Ken Tewksbury, Dom Esposito, etc., pros and teachers.