What Else Is There To Practice?

[DrCue'sProtege]

Ok, for all those instructors out there. Besides the following, what else is there a guy should be working on?

1) Mechanics (stance, bridge, stroke, elbow, etc)
2) Speed control shots (1-rail, 2-rail, 3-rail)
3) Routine Shots
4) Kicks
5) Banks/Combos
6) Safeties

What else is there? Sometimes i feel like i am not working on the right things even though i routinely practice numbers 1 thru 3 above. Sometimes I ask myself "Well, did i make any progress tonight on anything?"

Isnt this about all a player can really practice? If not, what else is there to work on?

Mike

 

[Banks]

Breaks (head ball, 2nd ball, etc)
Jump Shots
Break-outs (dynamics of a break-out - do you need to break out harder, nudge a ball, what happens to the spread)

I find I get bored quickly if I try drills, so I'll usually set up a rack and then work on particulars from there.. like going for whatever shots look the most uncomfortable/hardest. Keep challenging yourself and change things around a little.

 

[DrCue'sProtege]

Breaks (head ball, 2nd ball, etc)
Jump Shots
Break-outs (dynamics of a break-out - do you need to break out harder, nudge a ball, what happens to the spread)

I find I get bored quickly if I try drills, so I'll usually set up a rack and then work on particulars from there.. like going for whatever shots look the most uncomfortable/hardest. Keep challenging yourself and change things around a little.

Thats probably a good point. You can practice Tons of shots, but seemingly once you break open a rack all of a sudden you have a shot or a position play you havent practiced. breaking open racks does mix things up, and give you situations you normally dont practice.

Mike

 

[randyg]

Ok, for all those instructors out there. Besides the following, what else is there a guy should be working on?

1) Mechanics (stance, bridge, stroke, elbow, etc)
2) Speed control shots (1-rail, 2-rail, 3-rail)
3) Routine Shots
4) Kicks
5) Banks/Combos
6) Safeties

What else is there? Sometimes i feel like i am not working on the right things even though i routinely practice numbers 1 thru 3 above. Sometimes I ask myself "Well, did i make any progress tonight on anything?"

Isnt this about all a player can really practice? If not, what else is there to work on?

Mike

You forgot to mention your process. Also #1 is behind the cue ball. 2-3-4-5-6 are all in front of the cue ball. Sounds a little unbalanced.

See you soon,
randyg

 

[dr9ball]

An all too over looked area players need to develop is the mental game.

You can practice / develop this away from the table as well as on the table.

 

[Banks]

Thats probably a good point. You can practice Tons of shots, but seemingly once you break open a rack all of a sudden you have a shot or a position play you havent practiced. breaking open racks does mix things up, and give you situations you normally dont practice.

Mike

Exactly.. you can run drills until you're blue in the face, but half of the time those runs seem dependent on that one odd shot that makes you think, "if only I had made that stupid (whatever) shot". I'll take some time to practice certain shots I tend to miss more often, which now I'm much more comfortable with (back-angled long cuts, rail shots, etc). Don't be afraid to trust yourself when shooting.. the mind knows what it is doing, it's us that try to figure out why - just pay attention to *how* you make or miss shots, because you can't learn from what you don't know. Also, breaking racks lets you get some enjoyment out of your practice instead of doing mind-numbing drills (at least to me anyways). Oh, and one last piece of advice for if you're over-compensating for some shots.. make a mental note that you want to cut something a little more (or however you want to hit it), in some cases that'll be just enough to make up for the miss. Basically what I try to do is self-calibrate, so at some point your mind knows where you now need to be hitting so you can stop making intentional adjustments. Sorry for being a bit long-winded on this one.