Young lady w perception/aiming error
- Thread starter Bigkahuna
- Start date
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I think I am going to have her move her head to the right so the chin is more over the stick intead of dominant eye and see if that makes any improvement. I tried this myself and it was pretty hard for me to miss although it looked weird. The times I did miss I was too far left so maybe this is it. Just trying to isolate this one issue for now. I have never seen anyone this far off consistently missing.
It sounds like you've checked her stroke for center CB hitting, so it's not a squirt issue. Easy way to check is hitting straight at a rail and noting any tendencies for english to turn the CB off the rail.
So it seems an aim perception error. I have a tendency to be aiming further right than I think I am. Hence overcutting to the left and undercutting to the right. It takes some hard focusing practice and careful positioning of my head and eyes to get my perception to where it should be.
Here's something to try. It's a drill that the best english billiard's player in history, Walter Lindrum, learned as his 2nd step. He'd do this for hours a day.
Place an OB near or on a rail. Set up the CB perpendicular to it and hit the OB so it bounces back into the CB sending it straight back. As you get better increase the distance. It lets you know very quickly if you are online and the person can hit many shots in a small time, without the distraction of potting.
As for eye and head position, while playing this shot, have her experiment with her eyes at different lateral positions and different heights until she finds a position where her perception matches the execution more consistantly.
I find getting lower can increase perception problems, so see if a higher sighting position helps.
Colin
So it seems an aim perception error. I have a tendency to be aiming further right than I think I am. Hence overcutting to the left and undercutting to the right. It takes some hard focusing practice and careful positioning of my head and eyes to get my perception to where it should be.
Here's something to try. It's a drill that the best english billiard's player in history, Walter Lindrum, learned as his 2nd step. He'd do this for hours a day.
Place an OB near or on a rail. Set up the CB perpendicular to it and hit the OB so it bounces back into the CB sending it straight back. As you get better increase the distance. It lets you know very quickly if you are online and the person can hit many shots in a small time, without the distraction of potting.
As for eye and head position, while playing this shot, have her experiment with her eyes at different lateral positions and different heights until she finds a position where her perception matches the execution more consistantly.
I find getting lower can increase perception problems, so see if a higher sighting position helps.
Colin
Jude Rosenstock said:
Teaching basic fundamentals is a given and of course there is no arguement over putting in the time.
My main point here is that as a good instructor , you always 'hope' they make the connections on their own but you have to be aware of when they aren't and be open to trying different methods till you find one that they 'can' see thru thier own eyes and eventually make that connection.
Sometime instructors have to be as much a student as the pupil.
RRfireblade said:Teaching basic fundamentals is a given and of course there is no arguement over putting in the time.
My main point here is that as a good instructor , you always 'hope' they make the connections on their own but you have to be aware of when they aren't and be open to trying different methods till you find one that they 'can' see thru thier own eyes and eventually make that connection.
Sometime instructors have to be as much a student as the pupil.
Yeah, I don't think you get what I'm saying. Getting from s/l 2 to s/l 3 is COMPLETELY on the student. I'm sorry but s/l 2 is basically someone who does not even look comfortable holding a cue. The only cure for this is to play. Advising her to see Joe Tucker or any good instructor would be the same as taking a child learning how to ride a bike to see Lance Armstrong. I mean, c'mon. At least she's not going to bruise when she messes up.
Like others have suggested, I think it's a matter of her putting in some time at the table. With an error like you say she's having, I think I would implement this shot. Put the object ball on the foot rail (touching the rail) 6 inches from the pocket. Put the cue ball 1/2 diamond in length back from the object ball, again touching the foot rail. Have her shoot the ball in 5 to 10 times, and then switch sides so she's shooting in the other pocket (and the rail is on the other side of the balls). Having the cueball on the rail should give her instant feedback on her aiming.
I don't know about you but if I stand directly in front of someone I can easily tell where they are aiming and going to hit the object ball. With beginners I just stand in front of them and use my hand (extended like you are going to shake hands with someone else) to indicate which way they need change the cue to aim at the cue ball and object ball properly. And, when they have the cue lined up properly then my hand is pointed directly at the tip of their cue (from behind the object ball). They shoot and the ball falls in the pocket. When they see the positive results they start liking the feedback.
Keep this up for a while and they eventually get the feel of how to aim properly. And, then if and when they fall off the wagon, just repeat the exercise to get them back on track. Or, when you are seated and they are shooting towards you, just shake your head when you can see that they are not aiming properly and nod when they are.
Beyond that, once you get their aiming adjusted properly, it's just a matter of fundamentals and practice. Not unlike someone with a rifle and a scope that's not sighted in properly wondering why they keep hitting the wrong spot on the target again and again and not the bullseye.
Keep this up for a while and they eventually get the feel of how to aim properly. And, then if and when they fall off the wagon, just repeat the exercise to get them back on track. Or, when you are seated and they are shooting towards you, just shake your head when you can see that they are not aiming properly and nod when they are.
Beyond that, once you get their aiming adjusted properly, it's just a matter of fundamentals and practice. Not unlike someone with a rifle and a scope that's not sighted in properly wondering why they keep hitting the wrong spot on the target again and again and not the bullseye.
WoodyJ said:
Exactly, I wouldn't want to learn to shoot a rifle with a scope not sighted correctly. I hope I can help her with this as she is getting frustrated.
I think the first step is to prove to her she is not pointing the stick where she thinks she is. So, I am thinking of taking a bar cue putting a thumb tack about where the joint would be and then attaching a string to it. Tell her to point her stick at a target then show her how far off she is with the string. From there we will try different head positions.
This has been an interest topic for me as I have seen other people who just seem so far off on the aim maybe this is one more thing to isolate and work on.
Jude Rosenstock said:
In our last league finals (tri County) , SL2s were running racks. We may have a handicap problem tho.
