Ah! That potting consistency

[Sidd]

I have been struggling with my potting for quite some time now. This situation is rather bothering me now after irritating me for so long. On some days, particularly very less, I would play like an ace developing 40-50 breaks on almost every other frame with immaculate positioning and potting. But even in those days I would miss a couple of easy ones but I ignore them as I am playing better overall. But then suddently after two days of playing like that I play like an arse in the following 5 days and keep thinking what is going on. Then I would struggle with technique and everything and would suddenly get my knick back again for another 2 days and then the story repeats itself all over again. Sometimes the anguisg, as I call it, lasts for over two weeks and that is rather a misery to live with.

I have noticed one more thing, when I am playing like an ace in those days my potting positioning making and escaping snookers and safety is inch perfect, literally, inch perfect. And in the days when I am not potting well I won't do well in every department of the game. Now that is something to ponder over.

I have been practicing baulk line straight cueing and long cushion and both work perfectly fine now for me (something to be glad about). After Terry's suggestions and advice I can now hit the ball from brown spot and it will come back and amazingly strike the centre of my cue tip 8/10. I can pot straight long blues in practice and matches. I am keeping a loose grip hence I am able to achieve that.

But then where is the problem? I think that I line up properly on the line of aim and can pot but cannot achieve potting consistency. I would develop a 50 break having very difficult positioning shots and easy potts due to them but then suddenly I would miss a simple red or an easy colour. But that would happen on those golden days and in the rest of the days its just that I would not pot anything at all or even if I do I would pot some but then miss a lot...

[Terry Davidson]

The only way Sidd is to either video yourself when you're playing both badly and well or have a friend you can rely on who has some knowledge on technique to take a look when you're playing both ways.

Everyone has inconsistency.

Terry

[Sidd]

Yes you are right Coach that everyone has inconsistency however my inconsistency is perhaps way too bizzare. I mean being inconsistent should mean not being your best but then it should not mean being an arse haha .. Anyway another thing that comes to my mind is that maybe since I never used to play with a technique and a proper grip and follow through etc this is happening because now I am playing with a proper technique that it would take some time for me to settle in. Like when I am playing well I can feel settling in to the game, you know what I mean, I dont have to think about anything like stance grip etc etc but everything becomes automatic a if I am in the line of aim automatically and am cueing automatically perfect and I just hit and the cue ball pots and positions for me magically. At that time I know deep down that I have settled in to the game. On other days I dont feel settled myself... !

I hope this improves over time and I can settle easily maximum number of days, if not always. Another thing maybe something that a friend recommended to me the other day. Would like your inputs over that. He said (he is a provincial level ranking player) that when we play exceptionally well for two days then on the third day we are so confident that we somehow take things for granted like everything will happen like yesterday and we will play best. This makes us loose concentration and focus and hence the game is ruined. He asked me to keep focused and concentrated even when you are playing best and never to loose it...!!!

[Izzyfcuk]

I have been watching your posts of late and seriously, it has now come to a point rather annoying for me..

I can't help but feel that you're being paranoid about techniques....

You're searching to have the "best technique..best grip, best follow thru etc........." in the end what you're searching for is being mechanical..yes no doubt you will be able to achieve that through hard work im sure, however if when you get to that point im sure that you will not be enjoying the game.

Snooker has too much variables that even on your best days you may not be playing to "your standard"

I used to be like you....at my local club i can comfortably pot 20 - 30+ breaks, just last week, i played at one of the more tighter pockets table and needless to say i was horrible and started to doubt myself, my bridge hand distance, my walk in, cue action etc...even after i returned to the normal tables i was still horrible...

What im trying to say is enjoy the game, has confidence in your stance, cue action etc. that's all. I do agree what your friend says

"Just stay focused, dont' take every shot for granted, every shot is a new shot" and stop worrying so much...

Snooker will outlive you, you'll be dead long before you can figure it out.

[Terry Davidson]

Sidd:

Your friend is correct but then again so is Izzy. In order to improve to a higher standard a player needs just 2 things. They are a good and solid technique in the first place and then TIME, TIME, TIME AND MORE TIME!

You seem to be trying to fold in all kinds of technique changes all at once and then also expecting with these numerous technique changes that you will very quickly achieve a higher standard and remain there consistently.

I'm terribly sorry but no player in history has EVER achieved a higher standard without YEARS of practice and I mean serious, motivated and determined practice with a lot of that (at least 50%) being SOLO practice. If you doubt what I'm saying, then consider any of the top pros...ROS started playing when he was 8 years old and had his first century in practice when he was 10 years old. Considering the young will learn one heck of a lot quicker than an adult IT STILL TOOK HIM 2 YEARS TO ACHIEVE HIS FIRST CENTURY AND THAT WAS IN PRACTICE!

Ronnie didn't hit the top ranks of the amateur game until he was around 16years so that means it took someone as naturally talented as Ronnie EIGHT YEARS to do it and as a youngster besides. The exact same thing with very little variance can be said about Hendry, Murphy, Higgins and the lot of them. They all started playing seriously at a very young age (I met John Higgins when he was around 12yrs old and I don't think he had a century yet) and they ALL practiced and played in tournaments for YEARS before they reached the top amateur level.

So what does the top amateur level mean? It means they will have a lot less bad days than the average good amateur or in other words be more CONSISTENT than other players.

It seems to me you believe you should be able to achieve this level in a matter of WEEKS and you are getting frustrated because in the few weeks you've been following my advice you cannot achieve something that took any of the top pros YEARS to reach. First of all, you are not 8 or 10 years of age and also (although you might be) I seriously doubt you are as naturally talented as Ronnie or the other top pros.

My advice for you...work on your technique with lots of solo practice and don't even worry about how you are doing in matches against opponents because that will eventually come once you understand you CANNOT be thinking about technique when you play an opponent since that is not the job you are there for which is to pot balls or at least hit the cueball consistently straight.

Once you feel you have a technique which is reliable, comfortable and consistent and it is UNCONCIOUSLY part of your technique then, and ONLY then, should you start worring about your performance against other players in practice or in a match. Also, quit worrying that you are not beating your high break every damned day or are not playing to what you consider to be your own higher standard which is seems you are only achieving once in a while. Before you know it you will get too frustrated and completely quit the game as more than a few have done.

The one solid and unquestionable fact regarding snooker (or golf, or tennis, or cricket) is --- THERE IS NO EFFING SILVER BULLET!!! --- or in other words there is no magic formula that will turn you into a good player in a period of time shorter than is measured in YEARS.

Now the question is, do you have the motivation and ability to go down that long road? Or will you consistently frustrate yourself over and over again and put up these long strings of anguished comments which is starting to get under the skin of some of the members since you are obviously expecting WAY TOO MUCH

Terry

[snookergr]

An ex-pro recently told me that for snooker you need a 10 years apprenticeship, how true is that and how true is Terry's comment above!

[Terry Davidson]

snookergr:

And then some of us, like myself, will require CENTURIES to get to just the top amateur level, never mind professional.

As a coach I find myself concentrating more on my technique and what went wrong with a particular shot in a match because I STILL don't feel my own technique is reliably consistent and I've been at it almost daily since the start of 2006 after my 10-year layoff.

I believe as I get older it becomes more difficult to learn these important things and I've been trying for almost 6 years now and am still not at the consistent century level but rather somewhere around consistent 60-70 breaks and having a hell of a time trying to step up to that next level.

Terry

[snookergr]

Terry:

same here

I have been practising this game since 2002 and I am very proud to have reached a sort of decent amateur level :-)
I have also played A LOT of 9-ball pool for 7-8 years prior to snooker (my mistake sorry...LOL)
As I had no coaching in my early days of playing, I developed bad habbits along the way, some of which I am still trying to get rid of ! However, I was determined to learn the game, study it and even start my approach from scratch, but it defintely was worth it as I have now reached a level which enables me to enjoy the game more than I ever did :-)
I have to admit that lately I haven't been putting the hours in terms of solo practise....but I promised myself that next year I will work even harder.
Needless to say that the work you (and other coaches) are doing in the TSF is invaluable ! I wish I had this kind of documented professional advice when I was starting the game ! Keep it up Terry and thanks again for all your efforts :snooker:

[cazmac1]

If your playing well for a few days and then start missing It might just be your sighting/aiming is off from day to day. Joe Davis puts it this way in his book. He says that what you are doing is guessing the potting angle and that some days your guessing is better than others. Del Hil also maintain that aiming is massive and he achieves this with the front paused. When he coached me, he told me a story of a top pro that was really struggling for form so said let me see you play, he mediately said your not aiming. By the end of the session the guy was knocking in 140's. Out of all the things Del taught me I would say the aiming and the front phase was the most important and easiest thing to bring into my game. As soon as he told me about aiming and the front pause I was aware that on good days that I had already been doing it on days that I was playing well but didn't know quite what I was doing. Now that I understand this Technic it is something I can focus on when playing badly. This is one of Del's five dummies.

[Izzyfcuk]

Cazmac

When are you going to upload the full coaching session you had with dell hill? i have to say it was definitely one of the great insights i have after viewing your video.

Just this week after watching the video, i went to the club and did one thing and one thing only, an habit that you had which is unconsciously bringing the cue to chest cos i've taken for granted and lazy.

Just focusing on bringing chest to cue this week, my potting increased dramatically. it was great to pick on the following, same as what you did as instructed from dell hill

1. Walk in, aim and tip to cue ball.

2. Chest to cue

Just above points, i realised that when i was down on the shot, i practically did not have to bother about aiming anymore, just concentrate on feathering and deliver cos the aiming was already done with and i did not have to do any micro adjustment!!

[nrage]

@Izzyfcuk, are these the videos?
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrTopbreak/videos

(Hope you don't mind Caz.. or was this someone else's vids?)

[Izzyfcuk]

Yup those are the ones!

Gotta have some patience to "listen" though cos you can see erm...****! lolz

[cazmac1]

Hi Izzyfcuk, Unfortunately Del kept on moving around that's why I wasn't in the camera. I edited the video to show what I thought was the best bit's. You haven't missed a lot believe me it would have been nice to be in view at all times but as Del explains things very well I think you don't really need to see. Your right about putting the cue on line and bringing the chest to cue helps with what you might call pre aiming or advanced aiming but the front pause and aiming while on the shot is where the confidence to push the cue through straight and keep on line comes from. I did plan to go back to del and make a second video but I've had to let snooker take second place while I concentrate on work and family. This dam recession has really effected the amount of time I can give to the game

[limecc]

Cazmac
i have to say it was definitely one of the great insights i have after viewing your video.

Yes, have to hand it to you Cazmac. A tremendous help to myself and thousands of others who have viewed the series. I don't think it's doing Del out of any work because I'd never heard of him before and now I'm considering a mini break with my family in Del's neck of the woods, taking an hour out for personal coaching. Probably my most ever viewed on YouTube.

[cazmac1]

Yes, have to hand it to you Cazmac. A tremendous help to myself and thousands of others who have viewed the series. I don't think it's doing Del out of any work because I'd never heard of him before and now I'm considering a mini break with my family in Del's neck of the woods, taking an hour out for personal coaching. Probably my most ever viewed on YouTube.

When I asked Del could I film the session he did say that he might lose work by doing so but he agreed as he said he wanted to help ppl. It's funny as someone contacted me from Dels official site and asked for permission to used the video. I agree with you in that I believe it is good for his business.