Increase in my front pause.

[GeordieDS]

The cheap option, assuming you have a reasonable mobile with a reasonable camera is to get a Joby Goriallapod with mobile attachment(s). You can mount it directly over any pocket, or off any nearby furniture/railings/etc.

It does help to have the place well lit, I tend to throw open all the curtains at my social club but that might be a bit harder at a snooker club where they tend to keep things fairly dimly lit in many cases.

TY, Whitley Bay snooker club where i practise has lots of natural light in so it will be ideal

[chrissmall147]

hi terry,

i think every player should have a front pause, no matter what standard they are. The front pause enables you to check you are still aiming at the correct spot on the cue ball and your line of aim and to check for stability on the shot. I think this is very important as this is your last chance to get up of the shot if you feel that something is not quite right. without the front pause and the backswing pause i would feel totally out of control on the shot and this helped me to deliver the shot properly. Terry can i suggest something to you. When you are playing a shot in a match, i would suggest you lock your eyes on the object ball when you are halfway through your backswing as you you will be able to see if your cue is coming back in a straight line and i think that this will also help your timing of the shot aswell. Halfway through my backswing was always my routine for every shot and i did experiment with locking my eyes on the object ball on my front pause, but found my eyes wandering about a bit as they where focussed too long on the object ball and my timing went right out of the window aswell. I think it is worth a try Terry, and one more thing, you are a great coach so was surprised to hear you mention the state of the tables in your matches. I always had the attitude that it was the same for both players and you just have to adapt your game to the playing conditions. this is what i drum in to my students so as their heads don't go down if they find themselves on not so good a table.

thanks chris

[j6uk]

Good post Chris. I didn't say to much on my original post on this thread because I take the less is more approach, I feel its easier to digest for the ones who are on the real search to play better. bbl reading time

[j6uk]

So when I started deliberately watching my cue, from the front pause, come back (in a straight line) on the final backswing and being more aware of my balance, my game change dramatically. Yes I had made many big breaks prior to this but, I was so inconsistent, which lead to frustration, then come match time I would be so nervous because I didn't know what would come out on the table that day.
After implementing the above I started to become a genuine heavy scorer, frame after frame, without expending as much energy as I was doing before and the misses became easier to soak-up. enjoy it

[Terry Davidson]

Chris:

A couple of comments. I have tried to move my eyes during the backswing, somewhere about half back but that was a couple of years ago and I had forgotten all about it while I was trying to find something that would give me a rear pause. I will try that this morning when I go to my practice table.

Regarding bad tables...no surprise for conditions here in Canada. My thoughts are, in this situation where the pockets are cut badly and when the balls hit either nose on the jaws and when that compacts and the ball hits the wood underneath the nose and just won't go in, but even worse is it normally stays right there in the jaws. I would say tables with bad pockets such as these will probably take away somewhere around 30% (or pick a number) of EVERY players game however the better player will lose two of his main advantages which is break building and long potting and it will cost the better player more. We've played 5 tournaments at this particular club and believe me we are getting some skewed results with a lot of the better players falling early. It seemed to me the weaker players were getting a lot more opportunities with balls sitting right in the jaws of corner pockets.

Thanks for the tip on the backswing. I'll have to work on that a bit as the Canadian Championships are coming up in late June and I'd like to do a little better this year than I have in past years.

Terry

[throtts]

Terry, watching the cue back to check the straightness, how can anyone be doing that on every shot?. As you said, try before your next tournament because it another new introduction. Who am I to say that though, heck I give it ago in practice but imagine it will be too busy for me.

[j6uk]

Just try, oh and don't forget to breath

Terry, watching the cue back to check the straightness, how can anyone be doing that on every shot?. As you said, try before your next tournament because it another new introduction. Who am I to say that though, heck I give it ago in practice but imagine it will be too busy for me.

[throtts]

Just try, oh and don't forget to breath

Stop it, haha..

[Terry Davidson]

You shouldn't breathe when down on the table anyway since the head and chest will move and thus move the tip on the cueball.

Terry

[j6uk]

That's a new one for me When I use to practice the matchbox, doing power shots, I'm sure I was breathing! I'll do some later to check, maybe real shallow.
I feel its so important to get that right, If I'm not breathing smooth, in and around the table, I find my energy goes and concentration suffers as a result.

You shouldn't breathe when down on the table anyway since the head and chest will move and thus move the tip on the cueball.

Terry

[nrage]

That's a new one for me When I use to practice the matchbox, doing power shots, I'm sure I was breathing! I'll do some later to check, maybe real shallow.
I feel its so important to get that right, If I'm not breathing smooth, in and around the table, I find my energy goes and concentration suffers as a result.

You could be breathing deep into your diaphragm (down by your solar plexus) instead of into your chest - like a singer would.

[j6uk]

Lower chambers then, into upper chambers and.. do ray me
No really you got something there.

You could be breathing deep into your diaphragm (down by your solar plexus) instead of into your chest - like a singer would.

[viv0147]

If Peter Ebdon didn't breath when he was cueing he would be dead

[lesedwards]

I was up to see Terry at his facility two weeks ago, we talked about the same change "The Grip" to tight or tightening to early. I have been working hard on my game since my session with Terry and I feel everything is coming together. My big problem I have is putting un-intentional side on the cue ball which again starts with my grip. So if I find this creeping back in I try potting long blues closing my eyes at my front pause which Terry suggested and it is amazing how your stroke changes when you do not know where the cue ball is, so smooth and fluent. Then I open my eyes and try to reproduce the same stroke.
I start every practice session with up & down cue balls to my cue tip until I run 10 in a row, then I pot long blues until I make 7/10 minimum, then I move to straight blues in side pocket playing cue ball where it finishes minimum 10 which works on very straight cueing, then I move onto pinks in any pocket playing cue ball where it finishes minimum 10 in a row which is great practice for the Stun shot which Terry also worked with me in our session. Then onto the black ball for minimum of 10 which of course is one of the most important shots on the table. I either finish with a match with my son or I run the line up drill. Thanks Terry see you at the next Tournament.

[j6uk]

Ha, he's a bit of a fly-catcher with his mouth open like that, but he is not alone, as we see Ron doing it and Ricky, to name a few..

If Peter Ebdon didn't breath when he was cueing he would be dead