Mark Selby

[itsnoteasy]

Hi, i have been watching Mark Selby today in the semis of the uk, when he cues with his hand on the rail there seems to be a lot of lateral movement, at first i thought it was camera shake as it seems that pronounced but have checked on other shots and it seems to be movement in his hips that then make his shoulders move side to side to counter act this, is this within normal range?.
P,S hes missed 3 pots that had obvious movement in them
Do you think he may need to work on his core strength, he looks quite long backed, and a stronger core may make him more stable

[sberry]

Not sure the world number one needs to work on anything apart from maximising sponsorship and earning potential.

[pottr]

First saw him play when he was 13. He's always wobbled and he's always been amazing

[itsnoteasy]

Doesnt matter who you are you have things to work on, thats why pros go to coaches.
Cheers Pottr, i havent followed snooker for years, it was the first time i have ever watched him

[NorthWestJunior]

He's right up there in the rankings. I wouldn't be making changes if I were him.

[sberry]

He's about to return to number one in the world, a rare list, it's him should be telling the coaches where they're going wrong, not the other way round.

That Alex Higgins bloke was crap, all that body movement, Thorburn's cue action was rubbish, Ronnie went for the wrong shots, etc...

[LittleMissAlexa]

you know you can overcoach someone some people arent comfortable in normal stances or with orthodox cue actions all that ,matters is the cue is delivered straight

[sberry]

Exactly and a coaches job is also to make more coaching sessions for himself, I doubt a coach in the world would have said to a 1990's Stephen Hendry, "no mate, that's fine as it is, crack on" if he'd have gone to them, they would have tried to change something.

[LittleMissAlexa]

He's about to return to number one in the world, a rare list, it's him should be telling the coaches where they're going wrong, not the other way round.

That Alex Higgins bloke was crap, all that body movement, Thorburn's cue action was rubbish, Ronnie went for the wrong shots, etc...

coaching a natural like a higgins, white, o'sullivan, williams, stevens, allen, trump etc can be counter productive the whole point of natural talent so someone doesnt need coaching naturals dont conciously think its largely subconcious

the difference between a natural and a non natural is a natural thinks subconciously a non natural thinks conciously

thats also why naturals make terrible coaches

[CoachGavin]

Sberry. Guessing your not keen on coaches and coaching then. Think you are generalising that they are all in it for money!

[sberry]

Not at all Gavin, coaches are a good and necessary part of the game but there's a psychological element to most sports and a coach wouldn't be a coach if he didn't suggest something and an ongoing action/improvement plan, even if Hendry or O'Sullivan walked into their room.

Part of me says I should see a coach but the other part tells me don't and it's too late. It's the new age where we keep saying we must always continue to strive to improve and perform better but sometimes, you just can't get any better. Getting to world number one and staying there is one of those times in my opinion.

[CoachGavin]

I think if you get to the top say any sport you still need to try and improve. After all everyone is after you. If you rest on your laurels you just get lazy and people go past you. I would say ronnie o sullivans cue action and overall matchplay is much better now than when he won his first world title but he has spent hours working hard to improve his game even when he was the best. Mark williams got to the top and didn't keep working to improve and look what happened? cueing should be natural but that comes from working at it so that it becomes subconcious.

[GeordieDS]

I have seen 4 different coaches over the years and after reading this forum over the last 2 months or so i realise they were useless.

[CoachGavin]

Why is that?

[mchpddl1]

why you think Mark's current technique is bad? His lateral movement helps me fine tune the alignment before striking. If you observe carefully, there is absolutely no movement at all during his ACTUAL striking the cue ball. Hi head is perfectly steady. Amazing technique.