Professional
Billiard Instruction
By
LARRY GILES
BCA Certified Instructor
Monk Master Instructor and Associate of The Monk Billiard Academy
There
is a difference between “playing pool” and “practicing” pool. Many times I’ve had friends say, “Let’s get together
and practice for an upcoming tournament”.
I’ve had to decline as their idea of “practice” means shooting balls in
a fun game. Not even a pressure match
or a serious competition but alternating turns at the table making balls for no
apparent reason. One of the first
things you must do to improve your game is divide your time into four areas.
- Play
Time
- Instructional
Time
- Practice
Time
- Match
Time
PLAY
TIME - We get together with our friends to knock around a few balls, play in
our weekly leagues, or just pick up a cue to run rack after rack of balls for
no apparent reason other than it is fun.
This is really “play time”. We
need play time for several reasons. First and foremost, it is one of the
greatest enjoyments we get from the game.
It is relaxing, fun, and can be challenging. Making balls, walking around the table impressing ourselves with
our skill, prowess, and shotmaking skills, and sharing the fellowship of the
game are just a few of the reasons we play the game. You will see some improvement in your shotmaking over time with “Play
Time” alone but you will never reach those higher levels of play or increase
your Skill Level any significant amount without working on the other three
areas. You must become a student of the
game to reach the higher levels of play.
INSTRUCTIONAL TIME - This is one of the most difficult areas for
many to understand.
Learning to play pool well is like learning to do math. It starts out with the basics like adding,
subtracting, multiplying, and then dividing.
In Pool, this is Stroke Mechanics, - SET – PAUSE – FINISH - FREZE. It is mastering ANGLE – SPEED – and SPIN and
the Mastering The Stop Shot. It is
learning an aiming system to cut and make balls consistently and under
pressure. It is learning a speed gauge for speed control and it’s establishing
a pre-shot routine, rhythm, and cadence to develop consistent play. Like in
math, your proficiency and skill depends on how well you learn the basics. If
you never learn your multiplication tables, you will never learn to do
division, or to do other higher level math, like algebra, trig, and
Calculus. In pool, you must learn the
basics. Not just learn them but learn
them to perfection. Consistently,
unconsciously, and without thought. All
your future lessons in pool will build on and require these fundamentals and a
structure for learning has to be established.
Many hours of learning about billiards is spent, not on the table making
shots, but in a classroom, understanding the concept, gaining knowledge from reading,
watching films, and studying all that is written. For many years, very little was written about playing pool and
the tips and tricks used by the great players.
The only way to learn and gain knowledge was to learn first hand from
one of the greats who had the knowledge.
There was very little sharing of this information and even less of it in
print as pool was a hustler’s game. The
more people that knew how to play really well and understood the game, the less
money the good hustlers could make hustling.
Now, many books and videos are out that have all the information you
need to become a great player. We now have several monthly Billiard Magazines
with articles from many accomplished instructors and of course the internet,
for sharing this wealth of information.
It is often difficult in some books and writings to distinguish between
what is accurate and what is not. There
are sometimes many theories as to why things happen the way they do. With the help of and an instructor or coach,
you will learn the right things to practice, and the right way to test the
theories using sound scientific principles. By establishing a solid base, you
will buid a platform of understanding to learn from.
PRACTICE TIME - We have often
heard that "Practice makes Perfect!" - This is an untrue statement.
"Only PERFECT Practice will make Perfect!" The first thing we must
understand about Practice vs Play is; We practice in the conscious mind and we
play in the unconscious mind. When we perform a task over and over again over a
long period of time, this task becomes automatic. We do it from memory without
having to think about the movement. We call this Muscle Memory. If we
continually practice a bad habit, we will only get better at the bad habit and
it will become second nature to us. When we are ready to perform, we will do it
without thinking about it working from the unconscious mind. We will get better
at doing it but we will never do it correctly no matter how many times we
practice it incorrectly. We have learned that there are many techniques to
learning a skill. Some of them are specific to types of activity being learned,
but many are generally accepted learning methods. For instance: To learn a
specific movement or behavior and make it a habit. You must do the following:
§
Isolate – We must
isolate the specific movement(s) we are trying to learn.
§
Concentrate – We must
concentrate in our conscious mind on performing the movement is a perfect
manner, exactly the way we want it remembered.
§
Exaggerate - We must exaggerate the movement so that our
minds clearly distinguish exactly how the movement is to occur.
§
Repeat – We must
repeat the movement a thousand times or more making it an unconscious habit.
We must learn specific practice drills, systems, and techniques such as progressive drills, and exercises to perfect specific skills. Practice can sometimes be boring, but it is a must to improve to the higher levels.
MATCH TIME - Any one that has ever competed in a higher-level tournament, or attempted to perform in a stress situation, knows there is a tremendous difference between how we react and function when under pressure or stress. When under stress, our blood pressure and pulse rate rises. Our bodies sense the intensity and seriousness and our "Fight or Flight Syndrome" kicks in. Our brain realizes the need for additional concentration and that it may need increased power or strength to survive. Adrenaline is produced and increased blood supply is sent to our major muscle groups for increased strength. This diminishes our "fine" motor skills, which are not needed in a survival situation. Try this test. Place 5 pennies on the table in a close area but none touching. Place a small cup on the table approx one foot away. You have 20 seconds to pick up all five pennies, one at a time and place them one at a time in the cup. It is imperative that you do not bobble or drop any of the pennies, and especially, do not miss the cup. Now try the same exercise but you only have 5 seconds to complete all 5. Notice that even though you have time, the increased pressure of the time will cause you to bobble, drop, or fumble the coins. The more times you attempt this, the easier it will become as you become familiar with the exercise and become more relaxed in the movement. Playing matches for stakes, whether it is prizes, money, trophies, titles, bragging rights, etc, is important. It is a measure of your true performance under pressure. As long as the stakes are of importance to you, it will create pressure. Experience playing under pressure is what is necessary to measure your true skill as a pool player and how we really keep score.
For easy reference, I have divided the study of Billiards into three areas of importance.
§ Stroke Mechanics
§ Game Knowledge
§ The Mental Game
Many instructors are experts in a specific area of instruction. It is important to know who best teaches what area. For example: In the area of Stroke Mechanics, Randy Goettlicher, better known as "The Stroke Doctor" at the Cue Tech Master Academy in Dallas Texas, is the best in the business. Randy has set the standards for the BCA Academies and helped to establish the curriculum for the BCA. Randy also Certified Allison Fischer, Karen Corr, and Gerda Hoeffsteder as BCA Instructors teaching stroke mechanics the Cue-Tech way. I might add that the Stroke Mechanics he teaches were devised from the study of many of the great pro players and greats, especially the stroke of Allison Fischer. Randy also specializes in teaching Speed Control, Eye Patterns, and Shot Routine (Mental Preparation). I also consider these as areas of Stroke Mechanics as they are dependent on your stroke and all are practiced in the conscious mind but performed in the unconscious mind. They then become second nature to us and we perform them "without thinking". If you are thinking about Stroke Mechanics during a match, it is a distraction from the game and interferes with your focus.
The area of Game Knowledge is a very broad area. It includes a multitude of systems, specialty shots, shot selection, banking and kicking, as well as situational play. It includes specific games such as 9 Ball, One Pocket, 8 Ball, Rotation, Bank Pool, 14.1, and 3 Cushion Billiards. Each area of study will have many experts, including many of the top pro players. Each will have tips and tricks they've discovered that makes performing a specific task easier and more consistent. Some of the specialists in these areas I've found:
Banking
and Kicking - "Dr. Cue" Tom Rossman
The
2-7-2 System - "The Monk" Tim Miller
The
Mental Game – “The Monk” Tim Miller
The
Clock System - "The Rifleman" Buddy Hall
Shot
Selection and Strategy - Allison Fischer
One
Pocket - Grady Matthews and Jeremy Jones
Trick
Shots - Charles Darling and "Dr Cue" Tom Rossman
Kisses
and Caroms - Corey Duel
May
All The Rolls Go Your Way!
NOTES:
DrG’s School of Pool
2457A
S. Hiawassee Rd. Suite 328
Orlando,
FL 32835
(407)-446-1333
**Develop
a Perfect “Stroke” with Video Stroke Analysis**
SET
- PAUSE - FINISH - FREEZE
**Master
the 4 Strokes of Pool **
“52
Billion shots on a pool table and only 4 ways to shoot them”
**Develop your Shot Routine and Mental Game**
Isolate -
Concentrate - Exaggerate - Repeat
**Master 8 Ball using the ABC Method**
8 Ball is a
Chess Match until we turn it into a Shootout....The only reason to leave the
table is to either make the eight ball or play safe!"
From Beginner to the Pro Player
Take your game to the next level.
Ages 10-80 –
Children Welcome
Private Lessons by the hour
Lesson Packages (2nd Person No Charge)
Group Lessons and Workshops
Trick Shot Exhibitions
FREE Initial
Consultation
Call for an
Appointment
Please Visit our Website at WWW.FLAPA.COM