Shoulder alignment

[kitkats]

I've recently come back to playing having not done it much since I was a teenager (I'm now 49).

I can't find it now but I'm pretty sure I saw a Barton Snooker video where he demonstrated how his back shoulder is not visible from a camera that is on the line / point of aim. He clearly showed the difference between when the shoulder was slightly out to the side and when it was tucked back behind his head. I assume it was on, or at least closer to, the line of aim, when it was not visible.

Today I put a mirror in front of me and cued up, and my shoulder sticks out a bit. If I twist my shoulders and torso to get it behind me, a few things happen:
1. It hurts (a bit)
2. I have to twist my neck back the other way, so I can still be looking down the line, which also hurts a little bit.
3. The cue ends up a little tighter to my chest
4. Everything feels slightly more in line and straight

So I'm assuming that this shoulder on the line is a good thing, if you can do it comfortably? Right now, it's too much of a strain for me to play like that, it would just not be enjoyable.

Has anyone else noticed this, and found that over time, with regular practice, the body adapts and becomes more able to twist into the ideal pose?

I don't want to get into bad habits. I'm not sure whether to just forget about this for now and assume my ability to twist will improve, or whether to consciously push myself to twist that little bit more than is comfortable. Or even if there are exercises off the table I could do to improve my flexibility.

[kitkats]

I found the video I was remembering and I guess he answers my question: I need to keep trying to twist a bit more and push myself towards getting my shoulder behind my head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m1Xv-DX7z8&t=1s

While I was trying to find this I came across something interesting which is this overhead shot from another video on the same subject:

https://youtu.be/DTv0zIl6RLQ?t=401

You can see that his shoulder is rotated well back but it's still not literally over the line of aim. When you think about it, it's pretty obvious that it's impossible to have your shoulder literally behind your head, it's always going to be out to the side a bit. That's reassuring to me, anyway.

[Siz]

I think that people obsess too much about how their body is configured.

here are two reasons I say this.

1. If you look at expert players, now and in the past, there is quite a wide variation. Examples that immediately come to mind include Ray Reardon, Stephen Hendry, Jamie Cope, Joe Swail - all very different in terms of their upper back / shoulder / back arm. All of these were expert players, regularly knocking in century breaks. So there is no reason for a 20- or 30-break player to worry too much about where their body parts are in relation to the balls, as this will not be what is holding them back.
   .
2. A key to playing well is to focus 100% on what you are trying to get the balls to do. If you are thinking about how your body is positioned / moving etc, you cannot get this 100% focus. Think about what you are doing, not on how you are doing it.

In time your body will find the optimum configuration naturally. But there is one important tip: you stand behind the cb and make your shot selection. Then you must start aiming / rehearsing as you stand behind the shot, as you walk into the shot, and as you get down. This will get your body - and crucially your eyes - in the correct position. Too many people only start aiming / rehearsing the shot once they are down, with their bridge hand on the table.

[kitkats]

I think that people obsess too much about how their body is configured.
….

Yeah, fair enough. I can't realistically be in moderate pain and discomfort on every shot because it's not fun and the distraction and tiredness would lead to misses. So for the time being all I can do is practice more and more. At the weekend I did some straight cueing drills which showed that I have a slight bias. If I play the cue ball off the cushion it tends to come back to the right, if I screw back it comes left. If I focus more intently it's reduced and I can get to perfect straightness, but my 'default', more casual action is not straight, or perhaps it is but has unintentional sidespin. I need to do more work to get to the bottom of it.

[vmax]

At the weekend I did some straight cueing drills which showed that I have a slight bias. If I play the cue ball off the cushion it tends to come back to the right, if I screw back it comes left. If I focus more intently it's reduced and I can get to perfect straightness, but my 'default', more casual action is not straight, or perhaps it is but has unintentional sidespin. I need to do more work to get to the bottom of it.

You could be cueing across the line because your stance is a little bit out rather than not cueing straight. If the butt of the cue isn't on the line of aim then that's what's happening, alter the position of your feet slightly and see if it makes a difference, if worse then adjust the other way, if better then you're on the right track..
Also what are you looking at when playing these drills ? you should have a target to look at rather than just aimlessly playing to the cushion and expecting the cue ball to come back in a straight line. Place a block of chalk on the cushion rail and aim at that, make sure you're looking at the chalk on the strike, it will make a difference.