Feet in line?

[nevets]

After reading advice on the forum (Terry and others), I have learnt that I should put my right foot on the line of aim before getting down on a shot. However, when I do this it doesn't feel comfortable as I get down so my right foot naturally shuffles into a comfortable position. Not much, but possibly enough to get it off the line I originally judged.

Is this okay or am I doing something wrong?

[iancafc]

i normally put i left forward instead of right that mite be better but i don't know

[nevets]

Yes, my left foot is furthest foward, but I understood that the right (back foot) is the one that should be placed on the line of shot.
(As a right-hander.)

[Neil Taperell]

Are you left handed or right handed ?

I'm left handed and was told that my left foot is placed in line with the white . This does not mean that you foot is straight . The centre of my left foot is in line with the white and believe me it has helped me doing this lately .

Good luck with your game . Terry will explain far better than me i'm sure .

[nevets]

Thanks Neil. I'm right-handed. I am lining the shot up through my right foot at an angle of about 45 degrees, but it's not the angle that I feel I need to change to be comfortable, it's the actual position of the foot. Not by very much, just a shuffle.
Yes, I was hoping Terry might read this!!

[CoachGavin]

It can be any part of your right foot - the toe, arch etc. Its important because it adjusts where your cue brushes your chest. If you miss pots the same way each time sometimes it could be that you need to adjust you stance position and to do this you can just slightly adjust which part of your right foot lines up with the shot. If you are shuffling your foot then I suggest you work out where your foot is AFTER you have shuffled it and then try and put it in this position as you walk in straight away. Then once you are doing this and not shuffling you can decide if you need to adjust your walk in to pot successfully. Hope this helps a little.

[nevets]

Thanks Gavin. I will have a look next practice (tomorrow). Reading your post I think the problem may be that I'm not walking into the shot properly in the first place, or not every time anyway. I think the foot is probably staying on line, but I'm not placing it the correct distance from the table.

Great advice, thank you.

[nrage]

Gavin is spot on. If you watch any Nic Barrow coaching videos you will see he is a big proponent of walking into the shot in the exact same manner each time. The reason for this, is that your brain will then recognise shots which are the same, as being the same and can re-use things it has learnt each time.

His recommended approach is to learn the distance from the white you need to stand (while aiming etc) prior to walking in, so that you can take 2 normal sized steps i.e. right foot then left foot (for a right hander) to walk into the correct position, with no shuffling. Any shuffling or discomfort and you get up walk back and do it all again (including aiming etc).

To find the distance, get down on the shot, then without moving the feet at all stand up. Next, walk back with the left foot, then bring the right foot back to the left, so you're standing feet together. From here you should be able to step right foot/left foot into the position you were in when down on the shot. Remember this distance, and practice walking into the shot 10 times.

Then, try 10 more times in another position on the table, different angle, different white ball distance from cushion, to make sure you're using the white as the reference point for where to stand, and not the table etc.

The other way this helps, is that now you're aiming from the same distance/position behind the white, again increasing the likelihood of recognising the same shot again and again.

If you like to aim from behind the object ball, to find the back of ball etc, make sure that after you do this, you go back behind the white, the correct distance and walk in as described .. over time it will then become your normal/consistent method.

As for the right foot being on the line of the shot, I think it's important, as others have said, to have some part of you right/back foot on the line of aim. I know when I have my back foot outside the line my chest pushes my cue to the right, and I end up cueing across the ball.

If you feel uncomfortable with the right/back foot on the line, it may be due to the position of the left foot relative to the right, or because you're not bending the left knee quite as much. The more bend you add the more the right hip moves left. This gives you more cue clearance, perhaps your discomfort is due to this hip being too close to the cue?

[Terry Davidson]

Gavin and nrage have it exactly right. Some part of the right foot should be directly underneath the cue and on the cue's line of aim. I recommend to students that it's the laces (or the arch) of the right foot, but depending on a player's physique it can be anywhere between the toes to the very top of the arch (I would say the back of the heel is a little far out).

There is a very easy way to determine what a player should be doing when he walks into the shot and first puts his right foot in place (for a right-hander this is).

Place blue ball on spot and cueball on yellow spot. Stand behind the shot about 1ft and form your grip where you normally would for this hand-on-the-table shot but with the cue across your hips.

Without changing the placement of the grip and with your right hand only and without moving your feet, place the tip of the cue in the normal address position against the cueball and on the line of aim.

Now take a coin or a card or piece of thin paper and place it on the floor directly under the grip hand so it's on the line of aim. Stand back up behind the shot.

Now step into the shot and place the laces of your right foot right on top of the coin, then get down into the address position. You should have the right forearm vertical with the grip hand directly over (vertical from) the laces of the right foot. The foot is normally turned out a bit for confort on the knee joint, anywhere from 10-45degrees to the line of the shot.

In any case, having the foot inside the line of aim a bit is better than having it outside the line of aim as that will bring the chest too much into the cue action, but ideally with a normal physique the arch of the right foot should be directly on the line of aim.

Terry

[nevets]

Thank you nrage and Terry. What great posts!

[nevets]

"If you like to aim from behind the object ball, to find the back of ball etc, make sure that after you do this, you go back behind the white, the correct distance and walk in as described .. over time it will then become your normal/consistent method."

Yep, that's what I do. I get behind the line of the shot on the object ball, then back behind the white, without walking back in again.

[nrage]

"If you like to aim from behind the object ball, to find the back of ball etc, make sure that after you do this, you go back behind the white, the correct distance and walk in as described .. over time it will then become your normal/consistent method."

Yep, that's what I do. I get behind the line of the shot on the object ball, then back behind the white, without walking back in again.

Ahh.. sliding in from the side like this is not recommended because you're not conciously walking along the line of the shot, and it often results in your cue being across the line of the shot.

So, just to clarify what I mean.. If you're close behind the object ball, you should walk back out, then round to the correct distance behind the white, and then walk in; right foot, left foot, in position.

I like to keep my eyes on the back of ball spot as I move back around behind the white, so I tend to walk backwards out, and round.

As you walk in you should think to yourself "right foot, left foot, in position" until this comes naturally. There are other reminder phrases you can use as you get down, i.e. "get down on the line". These mental cues help remind you what you should be doing.

I sometimes aim from behind the object ball, but I am trying to teach myself to do it from behind the white instead. I think given enough time and practice I should be able to do this especially for the straighter shots. For thinner cuts I tend to take a look from behind the object ball, before coming back behind the white but I can even see some of these from behind the white, especially if they are closer. On long pots I almost always need a look from behind the object ball to the pocket.

[Terry Davidson]

The 'ideal' (and I think correct too) approach to any shot is this...stand behind the shot with your cue across your upper thigh/hips with your right foot already on the line of aim but around 1ft behind it. This means you will be leaning over a bit to get the nose on the line of aim too.

Form the final grip on the cue while standing behind the shot too and don't change it.

Now, place the right foot on the line of aim and in the final position so it will be directly underneath the grip hand when into the address position.

As you place your left foot (this is for right-handers) you swing the cue over to the line of aim and form your bridge in mid-air. KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE OBJECT BALL THROUGHOUT.

Very important...DROP THE HEAD/NOSE STRAIGHT DOWN WITH NO SIDEWAYS MOVEMENT. You should now be in the address position and the cue should be still for a short period of time (I call this the 'initial pause') just to quickly check you are on the cueball correctly and the line of aim of the cue is correct.

Only then do you start your 2-3 feathers but do them slowly, as slow as your final backswing is going to be

Terry

[nrage]

The 'ideal' (and I think correct too) approach to any shot is this...stand behind the shot with your cue across your upper thigh/hips with your right foot already on the line of aim but around 1ft behind it. This means you will be leaning over a bit to get the nose on the line of aim too.

Form the final grip on the cue while standing behind the shot too and don't change it.

Now, place the right foot on the line of aim and in the final position so it will be directly underneath the grip hand when into the address position.

As you place your left foot (this is for right-handers) you swing the cue over to the line of aim and form your bridge in mid-air. KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE OBJECT BALL THROUGHOUT.

Very important...DROP THE HEAD/NOSE STRAIGHT DOWN WITH NO SIDEWAYS MOVEMENT. You should now be in the address position and the cue should be still for a short period of time (I call this the 'initial pause') just to quickly check you are on the cueball correctly and the line of aim of the cue is correct.

Only then do you start your 2-3 feathers but do them slowly, as slow as your final backswing is going to be

Terry

Someone get this up on Snooker Ferret asap.

[nevets]

Thank you for the brilliant replies nrage and Terry.
I've checked this out in practice tonight and my right foot is in line. It's just that I've just placed my foot in line, not stepped in nicely, so it's been too close to the table. Hence the need for a shuffle to be comfortable.

I read all Terry's advice and it's all great, I need to be more disiplined when it comes to putting it into practice though! I do it for a few shots then get lazy.
I must make this point though. Walking into every shot is okay in a quiet club, but in my club in the evening when all the tables are busy, you don't have much room. Still, this is a good thing as at least snooker is thriving in my town!

I am a bit of "feel" player; I play best when I am not thinking too much about things, but I realise you need to be playing correctly first to do this!

We need a question on snooker ferret like "How to approach a shot", then add Terry's excellent answer. (If he doesn't mind).