Bad practice worse than no practice?

[hatterboard]

given i aint a million miles from you, have you thought about trying stu green, at thornaby snooker club. in between stockton an middlesbrough. think he charges 25 an hour an less than an hour from york.

[snookerpoolman]

i think you have totally missed my point to be fair. i am not making Nigel out to be a "no mark" just as i am not making Stephen Hendry out as a "no mark"... my point is what might be right for Nigel may not be right for Stephen and therefore both coaching styles may not be right for YOU. I honestly think there is no such thing as bad practice but i do think there is such a thing as bad coaching. only my opinion.

Again, there IS such a thing as bad practice.... practicing mistakes repeatedly equals no progress - hence the need for coaching. I speak as someone who has coached and received coaching and have personally seen the benefit from both sides.

The main point is that until someone tells you where you are going wrong e.g. stance, cue action, timing, grip etc. etc. you'll never reach your full potential.

When I was young and first saw good league players pot long shots and get perfect black ball postion I thought I'd never ever be capable of that. Then my highest break was 32... Now I can pot any type of long ball and get perfect postion and my highest break is 132... yes, some of that is from practice - but good practice thanks to my coach perfecting my technique... that's the difference...

[amactaggart]

Again, there IS such a thing as bad practice.... practicing mistakes repeatedly equals no progress - hence the need for coaching. I speak as someone who has coached and received coaching and have personally seen the benefit from both sides.

The main point is that until someone tells you where you are going wrong e.g. stance, cue action, timing, grip etc. etc. you'll never reach your full potential.

When I was young and first saw good league players pot long shots and get perfect black ball postion I thought I'd never ever be capable of that. Then my highest break was 32... Now I can pot any type of long ball and get perfect postion and my highest break is 132... yes, some of that is from practice - but good practice thanks to my coach perfecting my technique... that's the difference...

so you are telling me you can pot long balls and get perfect position and make 132......mate, call me old fashioned but i dont think your stance, cue action, timing or grip etc etc is your problem....in fact i don't think you have "a problem" just like i think Cazmac on this forum doesnt have a cue problem. everyone has their full potential and you may have reached yours, i just hope i can get near yours one day soon.

[amactaggart]

Again, there IS such a thing as bad practice.... practicing mistakes repeatedly equals no progress - hence the need for coaching. I speak as someone who has coached and received coaching and have personally seen the benefit from both sides.

The main point is that until someone tells you where you are going wrong e.g. stance, cue action, timing, grip etc. etc. you'll never reach your full potential.

When I was young and first saw good league players pot long shots and get perfect black ball postion I thought I'd never ever be capable of that. Then my highest break was 32... Now I can pot any type of long ball and get perfect postion and my highest break is 132... yes, some of that is from practice - but good practice thanks to my coach perfecting my technique... that's the difference...

so you are telling me you can pot long balls and get perfect position and make 132......mate, call me old fashioned but i dont think your stance, cue action, timing or grip etc etc is your problem....in fact i don't think you have "a problem" just like i think Cazmac on this forum doesnt have a cue problem. everyone has their full potential and you may have reached yours, i just hope i can get near yours one day soon.

[snooks1000]

what i Will say is don't get playing and coaching mixed up. Stephen hendry could be a terrible coach and as far as i know isn't qualified as a coach anyway? Del hills never been a pro but has pad great success as a manager. You probably wouldn't put terry griffiths in the top 30 players of all time but is regarded as one of if not the best coach around. Moving away from snooker, were Alex Ferguson, Jose mourinho or arsene wenger ever top footballers?? If there's a fundamental flaw in my technique then how is practice without guidance going to help? Granted, not everyone out there who is qualified as a coach would probably do me much good but I'm willing to take the chance on someone who i have only ever heard good things about and has at least got a wealth of experience...

[mchpddl1]

Just go ahead, you do not need to ask which woman you want to get married to in future

[Luke Hooper]

the way i see it is, if your potting balls, why change anything? ive been to a coach about 3 times now, and each time ive been told things that has helped on the day when i was there with the coach, but then when i leave and put it into practice i cant pot a thing, revert back to the way i naturally do things and i start potting again, i start cueing straighter because my confidence is higher due to potting balls and in turn my positional play is better and i make more breaks again... somethings are good to start with but once your settled, try not to change, just practice with what you got because being naturally comfortable playing the game beats being a robot thinking about everything.

certain things i have implemented into my natural game, mainly a loose grip, my grip is still probably too tight, but i cue straight, and pot 9/10 straight long blues and i know that with more practice i will pot 10/10 its just a concentration thing.

my point is, if its not broke, dont fix it, practice with what you've got