I personally know a master instructor who is a 535. He doesn’t practice what he preaches. His own fundamentals are terrible and I always feel a bit bad for the people he says he coaches.
* Your Pro Pool Clinic with Tom Kennedy, Matt Sherman *
- Thread starter BilliardsAbout
- Start date
do you feel bad for the people he coaches because he gives them bad information or because he doesnt follow his own advice and is a poor role model?
I got banned from the aiming forum because of my response to being called a jihadists. Mods said “ well you didn’t have to respond, you could have just let it go”.
Yea and they could have just enforced there rules and stopped all the bullshit years ago.
i would feel bad for them too for that reason
There's something really wrong with this picture but I can't quite figure it out. Hmmm...
You know as well as I do that it's a double standard. It's like a referee in boxing in on the fix.
I guess the good thing about it is there are over 4,000 members on the FB forum which means 4,000 that could
have and should have been here posting regularly if it hadn't have been for the mods doing or not doing what their
own rules dictated.
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You have a strange way of apologizing to me.
You have accused me of lying constantly, continually and have suggested I should get banned from AZ. Recently, I told AZ friends I enjoy teaching and lecturing on a variety of subjects, including James Bond. Then I provided literally 100 professional references in Bond and spying and you still refused to stop, though in a moment on Google you would have found, this, one of my books:
Or this book, also by me:
And much more about my lectures, events and travels for James Bond.
But! Instead of a simple apology, you doubled down on your lies. This week, I said I take a multidisciplinary approach to teaching, and also teach vocal music. You are still calling me a liar and a fraud. So I recorded a unique video for you last night, which obviously you’ve not actually watched, otherwise, you would humbly apologize to me and to everyone here at AZ. Here it is:
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Sounds good to me. I'm the OP and wanted to discuss my newest offering in pool teaching, but over and over (and over) a few bad apples are on this thread attacking my teaching (they've not had my lessons) and character.
Thank you for asking. In the Pro Pool Clinic intensive, an average student will increase two points in APA handicap (they will win many of their matches in the weeks after the clinic) and those who buckle down and apply themselves could do even more.
That really wasn't directed at you Matt, more of a tongue-in-cheek general observation.
I do have one additional comment here. And please believe me, I'm really not trying to pick sides on this one, just trying offer some perspective for whatever it's worth.
Part of my personal hesitancy, along with just the general unknown playing competency piece, is what I at least perceive to be a lack of commitment and passion.
By that I mean, most professional golf instructors, even those that are just getting started have a genuine passion for the game. That's what they do. That's pretty much all that they do. They work at a golf course, in the pro shop, putting together tournaments, scrubbing down parts in the cart barn, And maybe giving a couple of lessons to beginners and kids for the first couple of years while they're getting established. Early mornings, late nights, 6+ days a week… Most of them complain that they spend so much time working around golf if they don't get as much time as they would like to actually play the game. When they do get the chance to play, they grab it.
I know that pool is a little different than golf, but still, by your own admission, you "have a life". You only pay pool, a couple of hours a month at most. You don't play in tournaments, and haven't really played even relatively seriously, regardless of level, in years. You're also passionate about James Bond, singing, and music. You have a real job, and a side hustle of some sort that are clearly important to you.
I'm just not feeling the passion and dedication to the game that I would expect out of a professional instructor.
Does that make sense? Again, not really trying to pick, just offering some perspective from the cheap seats.
By the way, TK is a blast. I think we're playing in a tournament together in a few weeks if I remember right. He's one guy that brightens up the room just by walking into it!
Not a hint or trace of stage fright! Can definitely sing better than I can! Entertainment is a good adjunct to teaching and training and lightens things up.
No offense taken, none at all.That really wasn't directed at you Matt, more of a tongue-in-cheek general observation.
I do have one additional comment here. And please believe me, I'm really not trying to pick sides on this one, just trying offer some perspective for whatever it's worth.
Part of my personal hesitancy, along with just the general unknown playing competency piece, is what I at least perceive to be a lack of commitment and passion.
By that I mean, most professional golf instructors, even those that are just getting started have a genuine passion for the game. That's what they do. That's pretty much all that they do. They work at a golf course, in the pro shop, putting together tournaments, scrubbing down parts in the cart barn, And maybe giving a couple of lessons to beginners and kids for the first couple of years while they're getting established. Early mornings, late nights, 6+ days a week… Most of them complain that they spend so much time working around golf if they don't get as much time as they would like to actually play the game. When they do get the chance to play, they grab it.
I know that pool is a little different than golf, but still, by your own admission, you "have a life". You only pay pool, a couple of hours a month at most. You don't play in tournaments, and haven't really played even relatively seriously, regardless of level, in years. You're also passionate about James Bond, singing, and music. You have a real job, and a side hustle of some sort that are clearly important to you.
I'm just not feeling the passion and dedication to the game that I would expect out of a professional instructor.
Does that make sense? Again, not really trying to pick, just offering some perspective from the cheap seats.
By the way, TK is a blast. I think we're playing in a tournament together in a few weeks if I remember right. He's one guy that brightens up the room just by walking into it!
I've not once (that I can recall) ever said at AZ that I am a full time pool instructor or a professional pool instructor. In fact, I've been adamant not to be certified by governing bodies because my teaching is unorthodox, and for other reasons.
I have had a variety of students of all levels from rank beginner (do I hit the cue ball with the blue chalk end or the rubber end?) to pro. And I certainly claim that my students improve quickly, even VERY quickly.
Maybe think of me instead as someone who used to be more involved than I am now. I have organized, refereed, played in and run leagues, coached individuals and teams to nationals, taught billiards courses at a university (beginners' classes and intermediate classes), brought individual students from "C" level and "B" level to competing admirably in pro tournaments, etc. (but if I boast too much, the trolls will reappear) and my PYSP book was published by Cengage Thompson as the sole text ever published as a collegiate billiards course textbook.
But again, I do hear you, loud and clear. I'm not a pool pro and never wanted to be--or if I wanted to be I've never done what TK did, playing and running pool drills 60 hours a week for months on end!
But I do think about pool concepts, deeply, very often. I finished the diagrams and text for a patent on a billiards invention and pursued it with developers, helped other friends with their inventions and promotions, and one of my proudest achievements--ever, it still means so much to me--was when Mike Massey said some of my trick shots were new to him, concepts he'd not seen anywhere before.
So perhaps you will allow me to challenge you with a question? There are a lot of golf and etc. teachers who do all you've said and are still not good teachers. Would you truly judge my book by its (flimsy) cover?
You're a real piece of work. You can't even take a compliment. I along with many others have questioned many of your claims because they seem quite outrageous at times, like almost always. When asked to post a video of all things -- you playing pool -- you can't do it for a variety of reasons. Then the singing opportunity comes along and wam-bam all of a sudden you can post videos. Interesting. I won't hold my breath on the pool videos.
Anyway, I finally have you figured out. You are a theater/drama type, who's quite creative to an extent. You enjoy performing, and all the world's your oyster. This explains your pool instructing. Make big boisterous proclamations that can't be backed up. Turn it all into The Sherman Show.
Now that I have you pegged, enjoy what's left of your thread.
Very true, TK is a great person
Which pool tournament are you talking about. I know we are on opposite coasts but it would be nice to say hi if we ever play in the same tournament
After reading just a little on this thread it's obvious that AZBilliards hasn't changed much over the last couple of years. I'm not sure why the Mods simply don't eliminate the ones who have a past history of confrontation, insulting, twisting threads, hijacking threads, and making a complete nuisance of themselves.
I guess it's time for another hiatus.
I guess it's time for another hiatus.
Maybe not completely, but if I were in the market for an instructor (I'm not) I would certainly want to see some playing ability and do a lot of due diligence in talking with people he's instructed and/or even observe a lesson.
Even then, it would be to compare his credentials against others that may or may not suit me better.
I'm also not so good that I'm afraid to say that if I'm going to pay somebody to teach me, they should probably be quite a bit better than I am. At my level, if they aren't, they're probably lacking in some of the same skills and fundamentals that I am.
Interestingly, I recognize that instruction in either pool or golf isn't going to do me much good.
Not because I'm that good, simply because I hate to practice. I'm just not gonna do it. I love to play golf and I love to play pool. But I don't practice.
That's why I doubt that I'll ever play above a 600ish level in pool and never get below a 5 or 6 handicap in golf. With quality instruction and dedicated practice I might be able to do better than that in both. I'm just not willing to put in that kind of effort for the results.
I welcome debate on any aspect of pool. AZ is excellent for discussing and debating actual pool facts, for example, when you said people see only a little of my teaching, I posted here at https://forums.azbilliards.com/thre...nedy-matt-sherman.553972/page-14#post-7563564 an 825-word clinic sample, and when asked directly for comment twice, you ignored the actual teaching. You know, facts that are open to debate.
Why? Because instead of debate, you do what all trolls do, making arguments from silence . . . "Here's the teaching we're not seeing, here's the videos I've demanded but not received," an argument the other person can never win.
So, I will post new pool video soon due to your nasty "request". As you know, after moaning about it for weeks you managed to find one of the teaching videos I posted in 2008, you know, FIFTEEN YEARS before you moaned that I'm a "video-less enigma".
But I will decline to post new pool video until after you respond appropriately to the video I did record for you here, by your request. You asked for this video:
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Thank you for your thoughtful comments. I'm not a fan of banning people, but certainly when I start a thread about my own teaching clinic I'm interested in others' viewpoints or even debates--I teach unorthodox methods and am happy to defend them. Instead, some (not all) make sleazy insinuations, and quelle surprise, when challenged with facts, they cut and run.
Sounds good.
I guess I'm spoiled because people read my books or articles and then inquire about lessons without watching me play or getting further references.
But you are offering a challenge! I bet I can help your game. Happy to help! Again, NOT fishing for paid lessons. I do pro bono often (I have a teens pool clinic this Saturday free of charge down near Orlando) and am offering free lessons.
that was a great post david.....
(i had to delete some of it so the part i bolded would show)the best part to me is you accept your level of play based on the amount of time and effort you are willing to devote to it
yet
STILL ENJOY PLAYING .......
p.s.
how can you not enjoy playing with that Nitti cue of yours.....
