Final Aim Adjustments

[checkSide]

Hi Everyone.

I have started making small aim adjustments whilst down on the shot.
Literally micro-millimetre adjustments that make the difference between a pot and a knuckle.

Is this bad technique???

Cheers

[Terry Davidson]

Absolutely, and one of the worst things you can do. STAND BACK UP AND RE-SELECT YOUR LINE OF AIM.

Almost every player (including myself) makes little micro-adjustments to their aiming when down on the shot and not too many of us (me again) has the discipline to stand back up. I find myself doing this frequently and try and stop it but it's very HARD.

This is the main reason why pros miss those blind pocket cut-back shots all the time.

Terry

[Luke Hooper]

ive been doing this recently as well, i think this is a confidence issue, i happen to know thats the worst thing in the world to do but simply cant stop it...

if you find yourself trying to adjust, stand up and do it again like terry says..

[the priest]

Even Ronnie does it sometimes ive seen him get down on a half ball black realise hes not quite on line and shuffle everything over a touch. Also you will sometimes see him feather 5 or 6 times on a fine cut where the contact has to be precise. Of course it cant be good practice to do this on every shot you would give yourself a headache. But i think getting back up and starting again can get very destracting too as it takes you out of any rhythm you may have got going plus is awful to watch if its every other shot. So what to do? stand behind the shot look at the angle being careful to see the object balls line to the cleanest pot possible draw your eyes back along this line back to the object ball and through to where your white ball will have to strike it for the clean pot. lock your eyes on this spot and move them directly down this line as you aproach the shot. as your hand lands check your hitting dead centre white with your first 2 feathers then look back up to the ob, if it looks right pull back dead straight hopefully pause for a fraction and then deliver straight back through keeping your eyes locked on your target area. If however it looks a fraction thin or thick do another couple of feathers to shuffle slightly over then lock in and deliver.Only get back up if it looks miles out. Hope this helps.

[cally]

Yep ronnie might 'shuffle' now and then... but for us mere mortals i'd say it is a very bad habit to develop in your game, and you would more than likely start adjusting on most shots if you start that malarky, i'd say... NOT GOOD...:snooker:

Stick to the old 'get back up' and re-sight if you feel your not inline with the shot... :snooker:

Don't get me wrong i adjust myself at times because i can't be assed to get back up, but.......

[the priest]

your little smilie face player never gets back up either!

[The Doctor]

NO, NO, NO.
Bad practise indeed.
In my opinion a player has probably potted or missed the shot when he is behind the shot and starting his approach. If at any point he has a doubt then he should go back to the start of his drill and begin again.
The eyes can deceive a player when he is down on shot.
Again it is only my opinion but, the part of the technique when a player is down on the shot has very little if anything to do with lining up the shot.
This part is all to do with getting a feel for the shot and delivering the cue well and staying with the shot.
I used to as a player and when coaching players, do some blind hitting.
Sounds strange i know but it shows that by staying still and cueing well a player usually gets the pot or be close to the pot. It also makes you more aware of any movement on the shot and can help you identify any faults you might not have noticed otherwise. Give it a try.

[the priest]

Dont think feel.. you have it for a signature doc. So you are saying now dont listen to your sub conscious just keep doing the drill. What would you say to a rifle shooter? Dont aim mate just pick up your gun walk in get down an shoot. Ok great in a perfect world this should work but im sorry you have to feel the ball in sometimes. you have to fine tune down on the shot if your not in the zone. Having said this i played the other day with the best player in my area and he has a super smooth action never seeming to rush or take too long on any shot. So he is down on the shot going for the brown from by the middle pocket and i happen to be behind watchin close. the guy is aiming full ball an im thinking hey hes finally gonna miss. But what he did was pull the cue back dead straight an then as he paused at the back his whole shoulder back arm elbow etc swung across maybe half an inch (the movement was so smooth an natural that if you wasnt watchin close you would never have noticed it) and he potted that ball as clean as possible. This to me suggests that great players expecting to pot the ball anyway rely solely on their sub conscious to pot balls and under lines the need for locking onto the target as you pause because what you look at your body will do its best to hit.. if you let it.

[The Doctor]

I think you misunderstand. If you read what i said, then you will see that i do say Feeling the shot while down is very very important.
What i was replying to was making adjustments to your aim while down on the shot. Doing this will only result in more errors IMO(like you said your friend done with his shoulder and elbow).
All players should be trying to get into a drill and habit forming. Doing so will result in it becoming subconscious. Then you can totally rely on it.
I used the tying shoe laces example in another thread explaining how habits become 2nd nature and therefor become subconscious. You can only rely on it when it is reliable my friend.

[thelongbomber]

A friend once told me something years back about potting that I never forgot:

"Don't believe your eyes"

I think that applies most to shots you might consistenly under/over cut. I think all players get into habits and form patters as to what "looks right" on a shot, but once we get down, some players start making adjustments.

Part of the problem is that you are not down behind the aim of the shot, your cue isn't in line, or something mechanically is incorrect.

The other half of the problem is that your eyes might tell you something different once you are down and yet you believe it all looks correct when you are approaching the shot.

How to fix these problems?

1. Walk into the line of the shot, not just the cue ball.
2. Practice shots you consistenly miss and try to master them

[Terry Davidson]

You are all missing perhaps one of the most important step in this exercise and that is the last one.

Besides not adjusting the aim once you are down it is also VITALLY IMPORTANT to STAY DOWN at the end of the shot, keeping the body still and following the object ball with ONLY YOUR EYES.

This is not only great technique but it also gives your brain the feedback it needs to correct things if you have a particular kind of shot that you always over/undercut, like a cut-back black to a blind pocket

Terry

[Nic Barrow]

Ronnie Vs Mere Mortals

Even Ronnie does it sometimes ive seen him get down on a half ball black realise hes not quite on line and shuffle everything over a touch. Also you will sometimes see him feather 5 or 6 times on a fine cut where the contact has to be precise. Of course it cant be good practice to do this on every shot you would give yourself a headache. But i think getting back up and starting again can get very destracting too as it takes you out of any rhythm you may have got going plus is awful to watch if its every other shot. So what to do? stand behind the shot look at the angle being careful to see the object balls line to the cleanest pot possible draw your eyes back along this line back to the object ball and through to where your white ball will have to strike it for the clean pot. lock your eyes on this spot and move them directly down this line as you aproach the shot. as your hand lands check your hitting dead centre white with your first 2 feathers then look back up to the ob, if it looks right pull back dead straight hopefully pause for a fraction and then deliver straight back through keeping your eyes locked on your target area. If however it looks a fraction thin or thick do another couple of feathers to shuffle slightly over then lock in and deliver.Only get back up if it looks miles out. Hope this helps.

This is Ronnie we are talking about though - and he finds it considerably easier to pot balls than most!
As a protocol for most players - do your aiming when stood up.
When down, your cueing is for testing the cue is moving straight / physically rehearsing the strike you are going to play / removing tension from the arm.
Ignore this advice at your peril, as it will simply introduce unecessary variables into your game.
You want to reduce the reasons you miss balls, so that you can more easily identify what you should have done to pot a ball you missed.
Other variables are excess power, unecessary side spin, no clear plan for the cue ball destination / stike of the ball before you get down, not staying still after delivery, and playing shots that are not simple enough.
Remove all these variables and there will be less reasons for you to not pot.

[the priest]

No clear plan for the cue ball destination. That hits the nail on the head for me Nic.
The amount of times i have missed shots because the white balls final position was in the lap of the gods dear me.
If i have say a quarter ball red by the pink and im just running it in and up off the cush for a baulk colour ill almost never miss.
But give me the same angle but the white cant avoid a cluster of reds or use them to hold on a colour, i guess my pot percentage will at least half.
Some of my best snooker has been played while just focusing on the whites path to the next ball it feels like you are cheating when the balls keep going in.
Not much good as advice for a beginner i suppose but for a seasoned player perhaps bogged down with technique it maybe refreshing.

[the priest]

Oh by the way that fantastic record speed 147 ronnie did. Watch it again and watch him re adjust while down on his final green.

[The Doctor]

This is Ronnie we are talking about though - and he finds it considerably easier to pot balls than most!
As a protocol for most players - do your aiming when stood up.
When down, your cueing is for testing the cue is moving straight / physically rehearsing the strike you are going to play / removing tension from the arm.
Ignore this advice at your peril, as it will simply introduce unecessary variables into your game.
You want to reduce the reasons you miss balls, so that you can more easily identify what you should have done to pot a ball you missed.
Other variables are excess power, unecessary side spin, no clear plan for the cue ball destination / stike of the ball before you get down, not staying still after delivery, and playing shots that are not simple enough.
Remove all these variables and there will be less reasons for you to not pot.

Is this not exactly what I said.