IBSF World Amateur Championships

[itsnoteasy]

Twice a day Terry! Careful, you don't want to spoil her lol. The grip is a killer ,affects so much, timing, cue ball reaction, hitting the cue ball where you aim, tiny clutching as you call it can change so much.

[j6uk]

Yes gripping can be a killer, it can stop you from drawing and shooting from the hip come showdown, and especially under pressure..
I found i was more consistent when hitting the white from the elbow, leaving the 'so called grip' as neutral as possible, just eye of the hand and open an close the back few fingers to complete the shot.

Twice a day Terry! Careful, you don't want to spoil her lol. The grip is a killer ,affects so much, timing, cue ball reaction, hitting the cue ball where you aim, tiny clutching as you call it can change so much.

[itsnoteasy]

Can not agree more J6 I am still trying to get this right especially with power shots , I now dial them back less power more correct technique equals more reaction, well for me anyway , centre line aiming and what you describe above is cueing in a nutshell for me.

[the montrealer]

J6uk

Talk to the missus twice a day but on here once a day.

As for what I did to play a lot better it was really a few things combined, however the most important was really concentrating on accelerating through the cueball (I have the very bad habit of stopping the cue early). I achieved this by relaxing the grip (a lot) and always trying to hit the object ball with the tip.

In addition I was staying very still on the shot and leaving my cue extended at the end of the delivery. If I did this consistently I believe I would be a better player so I'll be working on these hard over the next year.

Terry

Congratulations Terry you did pretty good and got out of your group.

Cheers Leonard

[ace man]

Congratulations Terry! Great achievement.

There's just one thing that I don't understand. Top players from this Masters division are mostly below 50, some barely over 40 years old and are former pros. I don't think that the age limit of 40 is fair at all.

[Terry Davidson]

aceman:

I agree with you. The fellow who beat me (Jamie Bodle) is an ex-pro and also looked to be just over 40yrs old but not certain of his age.

From my own point of view it would be nice to have a 'Senior' category with over 55yrs as I do find it very hard to compete with the likes of Jamie, Darren Morgan, Glen Wilkinson and even the Thai guy who won it who are all in their 40's.

No complaints though, I had a great time and I'm happy to have made it out of my group at my age.

Terry

[j6uk]

they should do: old farts 'which i think is quite catchy' 40-59 then, the really old farts 60-100

Congratulations Terry! Great achievement.

There's just one thing that I don't understand. Top players from this Masters division are mostly below 50, some barely over 40 years old and are former pros. I don't think that the age limit of 40 is fair at all.

[buddfridgeman]

Good luck Terry..hope you play well.

Well...I've been asked to represent Canada at the World Championships in Latvia Nov 27 to Dec 8 and have happily accepted. I just hope I can play a little better this year.

With my budget in mind I will be posting another 'cue sale' string in the hopes I can sell off some of these really nice cues I've picked up lately. (All cues are at my specs of about 18.3oz, 58", 9.4mm, 28.5mm and most have 2 extensions).

I have a brand new 1pc ash TW, 1pc maple James Butters, an older ash H&O 3/4-butt (which is 56") but it's definitely an original, one 1pc ash Andy Travis brand new, a really good Green Baize 3/4-butt maple which was modified by MW with his joint and refinished by him along with several others which I hope I can sell and build up my snooker account so I can enjoy the trip to Latvia.

Terry

[Byrom]

they should do: old farts 'which i think is quite catchy' 40-59 then, the really old farts 60-100

I would have been happy just getting out the door never mind out my group

Have to say it is quite an inspiration to see someone enjoying their snooker and still tweaking their game and pushing themselves to compete at this level so late in life or in ill health like Fred. I gave up trying or wanting to improve a while ago n just roll with it now. Happy to take the rough with the smooth.

Dont think I will be doing it so late in life -hope so - but doubt it - Yet for many there is life after 60 you know J6UK.

[lesedwards]

I would have been happy just getting out the door never mind out my group

Have to say it is quite an inspiration to see someone enjoying their snooker and still tweaking their game and pushing themselves to compete at this level so late in life or in ill health like Fred. I gave up trying or wanting to improve a while ago n just roll with it now. Happy to take the rough with the smooth.

Dont think I will be doing it so late in life -hope so - but doubt it - Yet for many there is life after 60 you know J6UK.

After watching this video I feel much better. There is hope for me yet. I turn the big 50 next week and keep my practice up daily by spending 2 hours on my table every night. I also now have two coaches, Terry Davidson and Cliff Thorburn. Terry I have now implemented a rear pause into my stroke along with a much longer back swing which I have found it forces me to go through on the cue ball instead of Jabbing at it. This not something that Cliff even talked about but something you and I talked about it in the spring.

[j6uk]

well as an old fart myself, i do believe i'll still be producing in my really old farting years 'if the ticker holds out'. I'm even preparing for it..
As a junior i was bashed up regular by the old guard.
First time i played one of my regular sparing mates, we played a best of three 'im thinking he aint gonna pot a ball', he shuffled around and broke off, i went for a naughty one and opened the reds, joesy went 56,30. Next i tightened up, he went long red 80. Shook my hand, we both chuckled, i opened the squeaky door for him and he shuffled back to the bar for a pint of spitfire, on me..

Dont think I will be doing it so late in life -hope so - but doubt it - Yet for many there is life after 60 you know J6UK.

[Terry Davidson]

Les:

I too have finally come to the realization that in order to improve (or indeed just keep up whatever standard I have now) I MUST incorporate a longer backswing, a defined rear pause and also start the delivery slow and build up the acceleration (greatly helped by a longer backswing).

I have just bought a brand new training device from Nic Barrow which tracks the tip of the cue in distance over time and it shows EXACTLY what the cue is doing as far as rhythm and timing and shows if you have a preliminary pause, how many and how long the feathers, front pause and how long, backswing speed and duration, rear pause and how long and then delivery and how abrupt it is and what length the follow through is and if you stay still at the end of the shot. You can even see the time of strike on the track.

When I tried it in Latvia it showed me my backswing was way too short and too fast, my delivery acceleration started too abruptly and also I wasn't staying down at the end of the delivery. I just downloaded the software last night and I will be getting this device set up on my spare laptop and since our next ranking tournament isn't until Jan 18th if you come up for a lesson we can put you on it and we can see exactly what you're doing as far as your timing and rhythm go.

Terry

[the montrealer]

HI Terry you did pretty good getting out of your group

Cheers Leonard

[lesedwards]

HI Terry you did pretty good getting out of your group

Cheers Leonard

I agree, I followed the whole tournament very closely and there where a lot of good players there.

[Terry Davidson]

Meeting the #2 seed in the last 32 was a bit of a downer however I deserved it as I was seeded very low and I could expect to meet a strong player early in the knock-out stages. I didn't realize just how important it is at the World Champs to come out of your group as high as possible in the frame win-loss figure as that effects your seeding. If I go to Bangalore next year that will be my target.

So the target is to win enough matches to qualify first and then not lose any frames if you can do that. I'm not unhappy with the method they use as I think it's pretty fair to all players.

Terry