You can take lessons from the best pro ..

Rusty in Montana said:
I'd like to get to be coached by SVB , Earl Strickland and yes Nick Varner , if I could click my heals and get my wishes Frank McGown and Grady Mathews I sure miss Frank ha ha
None of these are in any special order .
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I took an all-day lesson with Grady once. It was a lot of fun and very informative.

The only other person I've ever taken a lesson from, other than George SanSouci whom I took lessons from simply by playing many times, is John Brumback.
 
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Generally speaking somebody at their peak as a competitor is a poor instructor. Different skill sets and attitudes required and few have both although many former top competitors become good instructors.

Probably the active player I would be most inclined to take a lesson from is Corey Deuel. Triple smart and always working the angles. Unfortunately I don't think he would reveal key information and his rates are pretty high best I recall.

Joe Tucker hasn't won anything major that I know of but I believe is a first class instructor and certainly one of the top thinking man's instructors.

My first choice would be Joe Villalpando. Better known as a road warrior than tournament player but he has walked the walk and he can talk, explains things well. He also has the patience of a saint and a well proven track record of producing champions.

There are probably eight or ten more people that I would consider taking lessons from. JoeyA is a protégé of Joe Villilpando and favors Jerry Breiseth as an instructor himself. I have watched Joey helping people on a local level enough to know he is a first class instructor too!

There is a fellow in this thread who had a lot to do with a ladies number one player. When it comes to instructors and excellent playing pro's who will take instruction fees we have an embarrassment of riches. Hard to go wrong with any of them with a reputation for communicating well.

Hu
 
I would love to work with Alex Lely. He is still a great player and I think he also can be a great teacher.
 
sjm said:
While I'm in no position to comment on his teaching skills, I think Nick is probably the most knowledgeable person in America on the subject of pool in the last 50 years. At times in his career, he was the best in the world in each of bank pool, one pocket, straight pool, nine ball and eight ball. His all-around knowledge is just mind-blowing.
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For all around pool knowledge Bob Jewett is the most knowledgeable person on earth and second place isn't even close. He is also at or near the top of the heap for knowledge on most of the individual particular subsets of pool information as well. But yes, for the specific subset of game strategy knowledge for various games and the like Varner is certainly near top of the heap if that is what one is seeking.
 
Corey Deuel might be of some help....
OP what part of the US are you located?
 
Danny DiLiberto would be my choice. I had a lesson from Jim Rempe and I'm ashamed to say I played pool for 25 years and did not know what he showed me. Bumped my game up a notch. Nick Varner is a real champion that earned his way to the top. Funny story..a friend of mine that plays pretty sporty was with a $ backer hitting rooms in NC. The backer shouts to the whole poolroom "Anybody in here want some 9 ball at $100 a rack?" The place grew silent and then a small voice from a booth said "I'll try you some." It was Nick Varner. (They didn't play)
 
Go with any of them that you can nail down.

I've had lessons with quite a few as I'm adding them up in my head. Each one taught me something, even Earl. He showed me a bridge that I still use today I've heard comments from good players about it when I use it.

Danny D was awesome. John Schmidt before he did his feat. I don't remember one thing from him, though, but I'm sure I used some lesson of his.

etc. Just do it as you can, is my advice. I'm a nobody, so take it with a grain of salt.


Jeff Livingston
 
There's different kinds of lessons. There's a kind of instruction that's given to a beginner, then instruction for more advanced players, and then you've got instructions involving gaming situations and how to play certain games.

I watched Mizerak give a one pocket lesson to a guy. It was great. It was not a bunch of if you're here do this or if you're there do that, it was a philosophy of the game.

How to evaluate balls, your side of the table, his side of the table and so on. He wasn't teaching the what to do but the how and why you were doing it so you could use the same evaluation on any shot. I guess that's the way you would expect a real teacher to teach, the student has to know why he's doing this.

I used to play with the Diliberto a lot not lessons just practice but they always seem to turn into lessons. There would always be points where I would do something and he quiz me on why I did it that way and then we would talk about it.

This was not to be critical just to maybe give me another perspective on the situation. He also would show me things that worked for a player of my skill level. In other words not necessarily what he would do, but what I should do.
 
Jeff I totally agree with you on the bridge that Earl suggests , I've also tried it and it works very well

My disclaimer is of those I mentioned are players I've met year's ago with the exception of Shane and Earl who I was fortunate enough to meet while they were doing a exhibition match in Billings .
not long ago .
I'm certain that there's a wealth of information among those folks who are regularly on here that I've not met and visited with in detail so no disrespect ment to any of them .
 
My hand was sore for over a week from that bridge. I remember Earl grabbing my thumb and forcing it up my third finger. Owe.

Now, it's natural for me.

Each pro has something a guy can use. Plus, what fun it is hanging with some of these guys. We're so lucky in pool to be able to do that.


Jeff Livingston
 
chefjeff said:
My hand was sore for over a week from that bridge. I remember Earl grabbing my thumb and forcing it up my third finger. Owe.

Now, it's natural for me.

Each pro has something a guy can use. Plus, what fun it is hanging with some of these guys. We're so lucky in pool to be able to do that.


Jeff Livingston
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I lot of players have never had a lesson but learn from watching. You pick it up through a sort of osmosis. You don't even know you are learning.

When you begin hanging in a place with good players, you become a good player yourself.
 
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