A day with Chris Small

[alabadi]

An interesting discussion alabadi and itsnoteasy.

I'm slowly coming around to getting my head so that I spend a bit more time working out my aiming point, trying to work out what line the white will follow after impact and at what speed I need to get the position I require..

this is what i have been working on recently. I think its the only way to make breaks and be consistent. the cue ball control is one of the hardest things to do, but once mastered can improve ones game no end.

the coach i have been seeing sets up the colours across the table spaced out level with the pink spot. then gets me to play reds from a high on the blue spot (3/4 ball)
the idea is to get the white to pass though the gaps of the co;ours. doing this over and over will give you a good idea of where the white will go depending on height and power used. very useful i have learn't a lot from this exercise alone.

[cyberheater]

this is what i have been working on recently. I think its the only way to make breaks and be consistent. the cue ball control is one of the hardest things to do, but once mastered can improve ones game no end.

the coach i have been seeing sets up the colours across the table spaced out level with the pink spot. then gets me to play reds from a high on the blue spot (3/4 ball)
the idea is to get the white to pass though the gaps of the co;ours. doing this over and over will give you a good idea of where the white will go depending on height and power used. very useful i have learn't a lot from this exercise alone.

I've read your description over and over again but can't visualise what the table should look like.

[itsnoteasy]

Balls in a line across the table with gaps in between , lined up across pink ball level ,ball on blue spot ,pot it into middle bag sending the white down the table through a gap in the line, hope that's it.

[cyberheater]

Balls in a line across the table with gaps in between , lined up across pink ball level ,ball on blue spot ,pot it into middle bag sending the white down the table through a gap in the line, hope that's it.

Thanks. I think I understood that. I was going to ask how many balls but alabadi said the colours so 6 balls. Okay. I'm going to try that. Sounds like a good exercise and it would give me more practise putting the blue which I so have problems with sometimes.

[alabadi]

I've read your description over and over again but can't visualise what the table should look like.

If you are still not sure maybe the image below might help.....forgive the accuracy but you'll get the idea


Cueball_control.jpg

[DeanH]

that is an exercise I got from Wayne Griffiths all those years ago, he did it both ways, to hit a called colour or go for the called gap

[alabadi]

that is an exercise I got from Wayne Griffiths all those years ago, he did it both ways, to hit a called colour or go for the called gap

yes i do this from both sides but to go through the gaps, its good practice for coming off the blue to land on a particular red. the one that you mentioned hitting the colours i do it from the black. i set up a 3/4 ball high on the black and try to pot the black and canon a colour, again this is a good break building exercise, help with learning the angles the white comes off the top cushion.

[cyberheater]

If you are still not sure maybe the image below might help.....forgive the accuracy but you'll get the idea


[ATTACH=CONFIG]15565[/ATTACH]

Thanks for taking the time to put that together. That's made it clear for me.

[DeanH]

yes i do this from both sides but to go through the gaps, its good practice for coming off the blue to land on a particular red. the one that you mentioned hitting the colours i do it from the black. i set up a 3/4 ball high on the black and try to pot the black and canon a colour, again this is a good break building exercise, help with learning the angles the white comes off the top cushion.

Black and cannon, yep that as well
[one I need to practise a bit more ]

[itsnoteasy]

I do something similar , plus just low on the black and stun up to hit the balls .

[itsnoteasy]

Recently my game has been flying, I have registered some good results against players that a few months ago I couldn't even have won the odd frame against, hell if I had been asked for a game I would have turned it down as I would have felt out classed. I feel like a snooker players now, and all the things Chris showed me, especially this centre line aiming has clicked, some of the comments from the players in the club have been very flattering, one being" your cueing is sublime" (a bit over the top lol)and " your long potting is incredible" now I don't know if that second one means all the rest is rubbish lol but it's very nice to hear , I wish I had picked a cue up and gone to see Chris ten years ago, I could have been a contender lol. Now if I totally stop my eyes wandering(it's much better now but does still happen ) I think something big might come.
Just rambling because I played that well today lol.

[chrissmall147]

Well done jim keep going mate dont take the foot off the gas when they're down keep them down lol. more hard practice and you will reach your goals.


Cheers Chris

Www.chrissmallsnookercoaching.co.uk

[itsnoteasy]

Lol Chris, I don't really have a killer instinct, I just love playing the game , of course it's a much better game when playing well, but to me winning is just a by product of playing well, I know this is not enough, but I am who I am, I don't mind losing if the lad knocks in a seventy or eighty break, I like to see good snooker, and I will have learned something from the game, be it I played the wrong shot and let him in,or played it badly, or watched the shot he played to get in, and that's in the locker, or under the nut sack as J6 would say, for future games but when it's my turn I will try my hardest to do the same, I'm only learning so everything is a lesson for me just now, good and bad.

[itsnoteasy]

I have been playing awful lately but it has gradually come back to me, had a big singles comp tonight, playing a good player so I wasn't looking forward to putting my fragile cueing under the microscope. Best of three ,first frame very very scrappy everything I tried went wrong, I wasn't cueing badly just kind of rolling a ball too far ,or rattling bags ,or going in off about ten times lol(no excuse for that) so lost it easy.
Second frame got a few high teen breaks ended up winning that but still scrappy although my potting was improving all the time, so into the decider, straight off got a fifteen then a big nine lol, missed a dolly pink with loads on,some scrappy stuff he managed to get nine , then after a decent safety from me he clipped the black, so I'm 22 up pot a cracking red make a 37 and I'm 59 up with 59 on the table, he pots a beauty of a red but wobbled the black and landed perfect on a red for me, "that will do for me Jim, well played, you got right into the swing of it in the last frame there" a nice handshake and wished me luck in the next round, a gentleman to play , as they all are (or all the ones i have met)in Carlisle , so glad a bit of form arrived at just the right time.
Should add I was playing at home so I had a big advantage.

[chrissmall147]

Hi jim

Ive not been on much lately as been very busy but keep battling mate. Just make sure your technique is sound and then its just getting time on the table. Your form comes and goes a bit so sounds like your technique is a bit inconsistent so keep working hard on it.

Cheers Chris

Www.chrissmallsnookercoaching. co.uk