Let's talk about sighting methods.

[Terry Davidson]

I agree with crackers. Sighting is not really an issue that should be worried about much but it seems a lot of players believe they aren't sighting well.

As proof I had a student yesterday who is just a beginner and I had him trying to pot 3/4 and 1/2-ball blues into the middle bags. I had been working on his grip and timing up until then and correcting some faults he had developed from his first lesson a couple of months ago.

When he started with the blues he was missing 90% of the pots and was getting frustrated and since everything looked good on the technique side I was having a difficult time trying to find out why he was missing. In the end it turned out he had something I call 'presumptive movement' which means he had the bad habit of lifting himself off the shot too early and this movement up was creeping back in his delivery until he was starting to lift before he struck the cueball.

I cured it by making him stay down with the cue extended and no head movement at the end of the delivery, overemphasizing it like Shaun Murphy does. At the end he was potting 100% of the blues and getting position on the pink too.

My point in all this was he wears glasses and is very near-sighted and he felt he was getting the sighting wrong because he was looking through the thicker part of his glasses. As a coach I know the brain will make the correct compensation for whatever problems you have with sighting AS LONG AS YOU DO EVERYTHING CONSISTENTLY THE SAME.

If you feel you are sighting incorrectly then just stick with it BUT at the end of every delivery stay down and keep the head still and follow the object ball to the pocket or cushion. This will give your brain the feedback it needs and it will unconsciously and automatically correct the problem without the player even having to think consciously about it.

Even my newest students have had no problem determining the correct spot on the object ball to pot it and using the 'ghost ball' method they know where to aim the cue correct. The only reason they miss is not because of incorrect sighting but rather being unable to deliver the cue straight.

Terry

[dcrackers147]

Exactly Terry. I'm no coach but if I could give advice to anyone trying to improve it would be.
1. Commit to the shot
2. keep as still as possible.

I personally look at it like this I can accept I will miss balls but as long as I do as much as I can to execute the shot thats ok. If you play with fear of missing you will naturally tighten up and be jabby in your action. Ronnie is probably the best I have ever seen at this especially in pressure situations he never backs down or "quits on the shot" and just delivers the cue through every shot with 100% conviction. By doing this you give yourself confidence with each ball until you can settle and feel comfortable and I believe this is best practice for players of all levels.

[armstm]

Exactly Terry. I'm no coach but if I could give advice to anyone trying to improve it would be.
1. Commit to the shot
2. keep as still as possible.

I personally look at it like this I can accept I will miss balls but as long as I do as much as I can to execute the shot thats ok. If you play with fear of missing you will naturally tighten up and be jabby in your action. Ronnie is probably the best I have ever seen at this especially in pressure situations he never backs down or "quits on the shot" and just delivers the cue through every shot with 100% conviction. By doing this you give yourself confidence with each ball until you can settle and feel comfortable and I believe this is best practice for players of all levels.

i agree with terry's points and he's really helped my game. with that out of the way, i'd add the observation that i saw on a nic barrow video. he shows a poor level player trying to pot a blue in the middle. he annotates onto the video a line of aim and you can see the guy's head moving on and off the line of aim as he gets down. it don't matter how well u cue or how well u keep ur head still on delivery if u approach da shot like this, u gonna miss a high %. maybe this isn't sighting but it's to do with keeping your eyes locked onto the line of aim...

i personally have seen a number of changes to my technique but have returned to this basic principle. find the line of aim and then make sure you get your back hand onto this line of aim while standing up. your body hopefully should find a stance and approach that allows u to do this. it also affects where you stand before approaching the shot to get that back hand comfortably online.

as a side note, i've watched a bit of john higgins and he does this on some shots, where you can see him thrust out the cue early on the approach to the shot, in order to get that back hand online.

[dcrackers147]

[QUOTE=armstm;764338]i agree with terry's points and he's really helped my game. with that out of the way, i'd add the observation that i saw on a nic barrow video. he shows a poor level player trying to pot a blue in the middle. he annotates onto the video a line of aim and you can see the guy's head moving on and off the line of aim as he gets down. it don't matter how well u cue or how well u keep ur head still on delivery if u approach da shot like this, u gonna miss a high %. maybe this isn't sighting but it's to do with keeping your eyes locked onto the line of aim...

I never said that cueing through the ball alone is the answer to every problem. The two points I suggested are just basic points for people to adopt which I believe will improve consistency over time. As Terry mentioned as long as you are consistent with practice you can adjust little things here and there to improve further. the point you raised falls into what i suggested "2.Keep as still as possible".

[armstm]

[QUOTE=dcrackers147;764339]

i agree with terry's points and he's really helped my game. with that out of the way, i'd add the observation that i saw on a nic barrow video. he shows a poor level player trying to pot a blue in the middle. he annotates onto the video a line of aim and you can see the guy's head moving on and off the line of aim as he gets down. it don't matter how well u cue or how well u keep ur head still on delivery if u approach da shot like this, u gonna miss a high %. maybe this isn't sighting but it's to do with keeping your eyes locked onto the line of aim...

I never said that cueing through the ball alone is the answer to every problem. The two points I suggested are just basic points for people to adopt which I believe will improve consistency over time. As Terry mentioned as long as you are consistent with practice you can adjust little things here and there to improve further. the point you raised falls into what i suggested "2.Keep as still as possible".

i'd say a lot of errors happened before you are down on the table. so i'd categorise this as a third point personally.

[dcrackers147]

I just think alot of people get far too technical when its not always needed. I mean no disrespect to you but with a high break of 37 you shouldn't be thinking about a million things on the shot and analysing all these videos online. Imo You should be focusing on hitting the ball solid and consistently, playing the required shots to make the game as easy as possible for you. Plenty of easy potting and breakbuilding routines. learning the importance of not just being on the next ball but being the right side of it to give you options. All most on here are doing is destroying their own heads over analysing the game. I have met 100s of snooker players amateaur and pro with terrible techniques yet will still knock in a ton against you in competitive play. what i am getting at is I say spend more time on the table guys

[armstm]

i have spent time on the table and this is the point i've got to. thanks for your encouragement but we all have to do it our own way. i've listened respectfully to what you have to say. i've added a point which i think may be useful to others. cheers dude.

[dcrackers147]

Fair play to you mate and good luck with your game. As mentioned I mean no disrespect but practice and playing better players is the way to improve in my opinion.

[armstm]

yep that's certainly important too.

Fair play to you mate and good luck with your game. As mentioned I mean no disrespect but practice and playing better players is the way to improve in my opinion.

[j6uk]

i don't get it, what is sighting in your eyes?

[Catch 22]

Thanks for sharing... For longish pots, it helps if I were to imagine I am lining up to a point on a cushion behind the object ball. The distance don't seem that great that way and it takes a bit of pressure off the pot, for me at least.

Exactly what I do too . I also do that when wanting to hit a red thin to play safe if the red is at the top of table and cue ball is in baulk

[cyberheater]

Wow you guys make things complicated!! Maybe it's because I have been playing snooker since a young child but I just look at the point of contact I want to make with the object ball once locked in I keep deadly still. I then conciously feel my backswing and deliver the cue positively. I have seen coaches in the game but not until I was already making 100 breaks so sighting was not something we worked on. I find it hard to believe that sighting is the biggest issue for low to average level club/league players.

You are probably right but I posted this thread to find out if there was a superior way of determining the correct line of aim as I do have difficulty on some shots. Say the white is just below the blue spot and the red is about a 2ft from the black pocket and say 1ft from the cushion. Like this.



I guess I just need to practise potting them a lot more.

[Terry Davidson]

Speaking with my coaching hat on here is what I think is the correct and easiest way for a player to improve and it doesn't involve sighting methods.

The first requirement to improve at snooker is to FIRST learn how to deliver the cue consistently straight and this is a purely mechanical thing. No matter how you think you aim and sight the ball if you deliver the cue the same way every time and that same way is consistently straight you WILL improve with practice (unless you're over 65yrs or so but perhaps even then).

So the 2 'secrets' to improving at snooker is deliver the cue consistently straight and practice a lot. That's all folks.

Terry

[j6uk]

i like what tel says in regards to straight cueing its so vital, especially on mid-long to long shots..
but for me its about the angles and recognizing them. i think this comes from your natural ability. seeing the angle and rattling the ball in and getting on the next ball, that's the bottom line! you can learn the rest.
terry's an exception because he wasn't very good and things didn't come natural to him as a young lad, but somehow things changed. i put this down too ether the quality or the amount of spinach he got his hands on on his war ship at sea