Break building in matchplay versus practice

[ace man]

Hello practice champions!

Hear my story...a bit long, sorry.

I started to practice snooker almost daily about 45 days or so ago. Prior to that I never really practiced snooker. Sometimes I did practice routines already mentioned here, sometimes official player ability tests (PAT), while at times I did try the line-up too.

I tried the line-up for 2 hours at a time 5 days in a row. My highest line-up results were 76, 83, 83, 86, 97 and a 134. 134 was actually a total 36 ball clearence. My arm was trembling like mad when I was at 95 about to shoot a pink ball. Made it (yelled out loud) and then cleared the table like it was nothing. Amazing feeling despite the fact that line-up is about 10 times easier than a real game. Some people post line-up results in 'Highest breaks' thread. I'd never do that.
Of course I scored plenty of pathetic 8s and 16s.

I also tried to scatter the reds all around with colours on their spots, but with none too close to the cushion. I could manage best of 66, but usually broke down on 40 or 32. Also had plenty of breaks of 1 and 8 to be honest.

In an actual frame game I usually break down on about 30 or even 20.

Here's what I found however. No matter what I was doing, this drill or that or an actual frame, even a tournament match...I was almost always making the same error. It had nothing to do with my obsession with reaching certaing numbers or pressure...
The pressure only magnified my obvious weaknesses.

The hardest thing for me is potting when cueball is close to the cushion and more acute angles into the middle pocket. Those are two main showstoppers for me. I also have a problem with simple top spins. Stun and screw shots are far easier for me.

One thing that I have against me is my bad background. At the age of 25 I started with american pool. Fun game, but not quite like snooker. Unfortunately there was nothing else where I live, no snooker to speak of. But now things have changed somewhat and I'm starting with snooker seriously at age of 33...finally!!!
I try very hard, but I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to fix some bad habits in cue action and preshot routine that I carried over from pool. They creep in from time to time and there's nothing I can do but hope that with more practice time they might eventually disappear.

[Terry Davidson]

aceman:

I would recommend you try and get together with a good coach although looking at your residence I realize that might be hard.

The second option would be to do some video on-line coaching or else recording yourself and sending a DVD for analysis to a qualified coach. This can be done on-line with Wayne Griffiths at the Matchroom or else Nic Barrow at TheSnookerGym.com or even myself, although my broadband link is not all that good as I live in the country and am on wireless.

The third option would be to review all the coaching strings in here on TSF and get some good advice that way.

The fourth option would be to buy or borrow a couple of good books on snooker technique. I'd recommend Joe Davis, Frank Callan, Terry Griffiths, Clive Everton or a book by any other recognized player/coach. You can supplement what you read in the book by asking questions here in the coaching string and you should get responses from myself and a couple of other good coaches who are on TSF.

Cheers,
Terry
(certified IBSF Master Coach and certified TerryGriffithsMatchroom Senior Coach)

[ace man]

Terry, thanks for the advice.

For now our coach/mentor in the club will film me and some other players and send that material to world class coaches. Sessions with WSA coaches are also a possibility.

Cheers!

[northerner]

If you can make 40 then you can make back-to-back forties which is 80. The only snag comes in your mind. Therefore play every colour as if you're on a break of one, and every red like it's the first. It simply doesn't matter. Don't get over-careful when there's a chance to make a big break. Play the balls. If you're near your highest, throw in a couple of exhibition positional shots - you'll probably hit them better than if you're trying too hard not to mess things up. You'll find yourself nonchalantly missing balls at ever-increasing totals.

Alternatively, as things improve, focus on clearing the table without thinking at all about the points involved. Focus purely on the balls.

[cantpotforshíte]

I couldn't agree more with Northener. All you must think about is the pot that you are about to take on and the exact position of the cueball that you want (the one that makes the following shot easiest), and how to get the cueball to that position.
If you playing against somebody, make sure that they count for you so that you don't have to ... the brain can only think of a few things at once.
So that's it - picture the shot, get down and do it.
I still reckon that (and I'm repeating myself here) that most breaks fail because the player hasn't seen the whole shot before they get down.
See it before you get down, as you get down, and also on the pause at end of your final backswing. It only takes a split second.
If instead you find yourself thinking about sausages and onion gravy, the barmaid, your highest break, or wondering what that halfwit on the next table is up to, get up and go through it again.

[northerner]

Visualizing the whole shot is good/essential. It's just so hard to get up when you haven't got it clear because when it's not clear it's because you're not thinking about what you're doing and hence you also forget to get up.

Other error is wishful thinking: you play the pot with the angle you'd like to have to get the position and hope it will still go in. It won't.