Snooker Challenge

[TheMaverick]

Despite all the nay sayers, given your situation I think it's possible, but it will be difficult. I think someone with enough natural ability, and the time/energy/money you clearly have should definitely be able to make a century break, and possibly even a 147.

Step #1 is find a good coach, and see them once a week initially while practicing 8-10 hours a day in between. Focus on technique first, the goal is to build a solid consistent cue action with no major flaws or limitations which will later prevent you from playing the full range of shots. Once you have a solid cue action you can see the coach every 2 weeks, and then each month, or month and 1/2 and finally once every 6 months just for a 'checkup'.

Step #2 is to learn the potting angles, and white ball carom angles until you know on every shot exactly where the object and white ball will go.

Step #3 is to develop screw, stun, and top spin shots and how they affect the white ball carom angle.

Step #4 is to put positional play together in one package, using the white ball carom angle, screw, stun, and top spin plus the correct weighting of shot to make position.

Step #5 is to learn how side spin can be used effectively, and where and when to use it. Hint; only when screw, stun, or top cannot give you position.

Step #6 is to find local competitions and get seriously involved.

Throughout you should be finding opponents of relatively similar skill levels to play, at least one game a week, maybe more.

Cheers for that. All top advice. How much should I be looking to spend on a cue??

[nrage]

Cheers for that. All top advice. How much should I be looking to spend on a cue??

You don't have to go overboard, especially if you are not sure exactly what your own personal preferences might be. At the very least I would recommend an oiled (not varnished) cue of some kind, it doesn't have to be hand made as many machine spliced cues are perfectly fine.

If you want to spend a bit of money, spend it on a good shaft with a plain ebony butt, and ignore splicing as they are purely decorative. A single piece cue will give slightly better 'feel', but it will be harder to transport so many go for a 3/4 jointed cue, and some (fewer) prefer a 1/2 jointed cue. Jointed cues can still have a perfectly adequate 'feel' to them.

To start with look for a cue with 'average' specifications, unless you're exceptionally tall or short? Average is approximately 58" long, 9.5mm tip, 29.5mm butt, 18oz total weight. I have a Tony Wilshaw custom made cue, which was re-spliced by Trevor White. I got it for a steal from Terry because he was coming to the UK and needed some cash. I am 5' 8" and it's specs are 57", 9.5mm, 29.5mm, 18.2oz, with a 19" balance point.

[spike]

Surely every pro would have at somepoint through practice frames would have hit one?? I'm surprised at that.

I agree with you. I would say most (not all) pros have during practise sessions..

[cally]

Good thread, very ambitious....

But then you say i'm not being stuck in a snooker hall for the summer months. won't a full year practice to reach your goal of the 'perfect' game include the summer months somewhere though?...lmaooo

You may aswell start this weekend bud...

It will take you more than a year to suss the angles no matter play a perfect game. good luck though buddy...

[jaffa.johnson]

I suppose its human possibly so to totally rule it out is some statement.

Its certainly going to be difficult.

I would recommend playing matches against much better players as this is good way to improve.

Good luck pal

[TheMaverick]

Good thread, very ambitious....

But then you say i'm not being stuck in a snooker hall for the summer months. won't a full year practice to reach your goal of the 'perfect' game include the summer months somewhere though?...lmaooo

You may aswell start this weekend bud...

It will take you more than a year to suss the angles no matter play a perfect game. good luck though buddy...

I was just meaning I see the core of the hard work and 8 to 12 hours practice every day at the start to get all the fundementals right. I've done something similar with golf. It's no good just trying to improve on what you already have. You have to strip it all back like you are a beginner and in golf that meant me changing my grip, stance and swing. Then I built on the solid foundation I had re mastered. I didn't play a round of golf for the first 6 weeks. Just the range and practice area.

With snooker what I'll do is get a coach. Play a few frames as a "control" and let him watch me. Then let him tear my game, cueing, grip etc to shreads and then build from there.

Once I set my mind to something I generally achieve it. I'm not talking about being world champion. Merely after a 365 days of painful and constant practice being able to achieve a 147.

[ADR147]

Surely every pro would have at somepoint through practice frames would have hit one?? I'm surprised at that.

all main tour pros will have done it many times i am sure!

in answer to the question if you have a cue and tip set up you like and are prepared to put 5-6 hours a day into it, plus maybe a visit to nic barow /del hill etc its possible but i would say hitting a ton is a more achievable target.

[cally]

I was just meaning I see the core of the hard work and 8 to 12 hours practice every day at the start to get all the fundementals right. I've done something similar with golf. It's no good just trying to improve on what you already have. You have to strip it all back like you are a beginner and in golf that meant me changing my grip, stance and swing. Then I built on the solid foundation I had re mastered. I didn't play a round of golf for the first 6 weeks. Just the range and practice area.

With snooker what I'll do is get a coach. Play a few frames as a "control" and let him watch me. Then let him tear my game, cueing, grip etc to shreads and then build from there.

Once I set my mind to something I generally achieve it. I'm not talking about being world champion. Merely after a 365 days of painful and constant practice being able to achieve a 147.

I knew exactly what you meant, used to achieving goals eh, you need to work to smaller goals IMO, first the 50 and so on. your just asking to fail from the off set if you set the bar sooooo high.

But like i said best of luck, good to have aspirations and dreams and all that...lol.

It will be enough of a challenge to keep up 8-12 hours play every day bud. i'll be impressed if you just manage that for a full year without getting a maxi...

[Terry Davidson]

Maverick:

Here's a step-by-step process that I recommend you follow.

Step 1 - go to the club and try as many of the house cues and any private cues you can and find one you 'feel right' with. (Try out John's cue if he will let you even). Get the specs off the cue that feels right and as nrage says it should be around the normal specs of 57"-58", 17.5oz to 18.5oz, 1pc or 3/4-butt, ash or maple shaft, butt diameter around 29-30mm and ferrule somewhere around 9.5mm.

Step 2 - contact ADR147 on here (he's in Scotland but not sure of the city) as see if he has something that meets your preferred specs or very close to it. Also order a case and a mini-butt and tele-extension. Be prepared to pay somewhere around 300quid for a decent cue and it you go up-market a bit to a Trevor White os similar then maybe 400-450quid.

Step 3 - contact JIM DONNELLY who lives in Glasgow but not sure of which club he coaches in. He is an excellent coach (I believe bigmeek went to Jim so he might be able to give a recommendation). Tell Jim EXACTLY what you are hoping to achieve and how you would like to achieve it. As a coach I think initially you would need to book weekly appointments with Jim for the first 3 months or so and he should be able to work out all the kinks in your technique and set-up and get you to the point where you are delivering the cue consistently straight (at least 95% of the time). After that probably once a month for the remainder of your year.

Step 4 - listen well to what Jim shows you and tells you.

Step 5 - PRACTICE-PRACTICE-PRACTICE what Jim teaches you but VERY IMPORTANT (and I'm certain Jim will tell you this) only work on one thing at a time, for instance start with the stance, then the grip, then the bridge, then the feathering, then the backswing, then the rear pause, then the delivery, then getting the hand through to the chest and accelerating through the cueball.

If you have decent natural hand-eye coordination and you start out with a good coach learning the basics from day one I don't see any reason why you shouldn't reach the century stage (in practice) within one year if you practice 7 hours a day on average and if you are a good student and have good coordination I believe it might just be possible to have a practice 147 within a year if you spread the balls well on the break (and don't tie up the black doing it.

Willy Thorne has hundreds of 147s in practice (and one in a match) but he used to break the balls from behind off 2 cushions and then replace the pink. As this is a valid practice procedure I see no reason why you shouldn't have a 147 using this method.

Terry

[TheMaverick]

Maverick:

Here's a step-by-step process that I recommend you follow.

Step 1 - go to the club and try as many of the house cues and any private cues you can and find one you 'feel right' with. (Try out John's cue if he will let you even). Get the specs off the cue that feels right and as nrage says it should be around the normal specs of 57"-58", 17.5oz to 18.5oz, 1pc or 3/4-butt, ash or maple shaft, butt diameter around 29-30mm and ferrule somewhere around 9.5mm.

Step 2 - contact ADR147 on here (he's in Scotland but not sure of the city) as see if he has something that meets your preferred specs or very close to it. Also order a case and a mini-butt and tele-extension. Be prepared to pay somewhere around 300quid for a decent cue and it you go up-market a bit to a Trevor White os similar then maybe 400-450quid.

Step 3 - contact JIM DONNELLY who lives in Glasgow but not sure of which club he coaches in. He is an excellent coach (I believe bigmeek went to Jim so he might be able to give a recommendation). Tell Jim EXACTLY what you are hoping to achieve and how you would like to achieve it. As a coach I think initially you would need to book weekly appointments with Jim for the first 3 months or so and he should be able to work out all the kinks in your technique and set-up and get you to the point where you are delivering the cue consistently straight (at least 95% of the time). After that probably once a month for the remainder of your year.

Step 4 - listen well to what Jim shows you and tells you.

Step 5 - PRACTICE-PRACTICE-PRACTICE what Jim teaches you but VERY IMPORTANT (and I'm certain Jim will tell you this) only work on one thing at a time, for instance start with the stance, then the grip, then the bridge, then the feathering, then the backswing, then the rear pause, then the delivery, then getting the hand through to the chest and accelerating through the cueball.

If you have decent natural hand-eye coordination and you start out with a good coach learning the basics from day one I don't see any reason why you shouldn't reach the century stage (in practice) within one year if you practice 7 hours a day on average and if you are a good student and have good coordination I believe it might just be possible to have a practice 147 within a year if you spread the balls well on the break (and don't tie up the black doing it.

Willy Thorne has hundreds of 147s in practice (and one in a match) but he used to break the balls from behind off 2 cushions and then replace the pink. As this is a valid practice procedure I see no reason why you shouldn't have a 147 using this method.

Terry

Thanks for taking the time to do that Terry. Great advice. It's all this stuff and advice I'm gathering in time for starting in September. Between now and then I'm not going a table as my self challenge is to do it with one year of a control frame with a coach watching me.

[Bigmeek]

TheMaverick Here's a link to the coach JIM DONNELLY that Terry mentioned. Jim is based at The Q Club in Charing X but I think he travels around quite a bit. In 1982 Jim was the first Scot to make it to The Crucible losing in the first round to Ray Reardon. Ray got to the final that year and lost to The Hurricane.
http://www.improveyoursnooker.net/

[nrage]

Cheers for that. All top advice. How much should I be looking to spend on a cue??

Khizzy (user on here) plays to a high standard and has just purchased a Mike Woolridge Shark. I just had a look and you can get a plain ebony one piece shark from £175.00. If you have the cash then this would be a good starting cue for someone serious about playing snooker. Khizzy cue was £250.00 I believe (the site has it listed for that in any case).

http://www.handmadecues.com/

[Terry Davidson]

nrage:

But the problem with ordering a Shark may be the wait unless Mike has one to maverick's specs in stock or can quickly alter one. Maverick wants to start in September so he will need a cue within a month or so from now.

Not sure if there are any cue stockists in Glasgow however I would imagine some of the clubs have a selection of new cues by decent cuemakers, but would still recommend someone like ADR147 where you can get a quality used cue at a decent price

Terry

[nrage]

nrage:

But the problem with ordering a Shark may be the wait unless Mike has one to maverick's specs in stock or can quickly alter one. Maverick wants to start in September so he will need a cue within a month or so from now.

That's true. I was looking at MW's website and saw the cue in the "Stock Cues" section and hadn't noticed the "** OUT OF STOCK **" notice. The Khizzy cue is listed without that, so there may be a cue in stock now which is suitable. Worth asking anyway.

[deant1982]

I have to say, that despite the enthusiasm, I don't think the 147 is possible in a year, Irrespective of amount of practice.
BUT......... A century certainly is a difficult but realistic challenge, and believe me, it is no small feat. I people that have played the game to a good standard for yeard that have never had a century. If you extend your time frame to 2 years, then I feel a max may be achievable, but in all honesty I think a year is just too short a time span to get everything right.
Out of curiosity, you mention that your previous high break was 25, how much were you practicing at the time?
However, I do wish you the absolute best of luck to achieve your ambition. It is a bold and daring challenge to set, but don't be too downcast towards the end if you don't think you can achieve it. I am sure that after a year of playing so much, the coaching, and all of the practice, if you have listened and learned what you have been advised, you will be a VERY formidable opponent to anybody! That is a very good achievement in itself!
Only other advise I would offer I haven't seen above is - remember, Snooker is game. It is supposed to be fun, so if you get the max or not, enjoy it every step of the way. I would love to be able to spend a year doing nothing but practicing!
Dean.