The Les Edwards Snooker Challenge Thread

[lesedwards]

What are your aims/ambitions with snooker buddy?

Aims and ambitions, that's a good one. When I get left in the balls I want to be able to run 40's and 50's but for now 20's would be nice. Safety game is great.

[markz]

Also I will note at that point I knew nothing about technique, everything was done by feel and never heard of looking at the OB I had always looked at CB. Had my first coaching session with Terry and he video taped me making long blues and I made 7-10. He gave me his training cue with the spring in the butt and ran the spots with no problem. He did not see a whole lot wrong with my game other then learning how to play position and learning how to play the stun shot. Now look at me. Cannot make a thing.

Having read that Les we can all feel your frustration and we have all been there. But if a coach is teaching you the stun shot you are in the very early stages of snooker and have a long road ahead of you that all snooker players have to go down to gradually improve, it won't happen in a week or few months.

[GeordieDS]

You might even meet someone good at the game who's full of it

At least Shooter had actually won something

[Byrom]

ha ha tickled me that - very good

Anyway Les just let your ambition be to relax and enjoy snooker - no good me telling you not to be hard on yourself you wont listen but just do the challenges and try your best. You wont be the first guy on here to loose it over this game. Who has not chucked a cue snapped a cue or lost their head over it at some point - sometimes its seems like a game for people who like the anguish because we keep coming back for more.

You will find your way - you build houses right? Build the first one you have problems - second one gets a bit easier but you sill get setbacks right - snooker is bit by bit brick by brick too - but I bet you find that easier to do then when you first started if you keep up the focused practice for more than two minutes.

A man always wants more Les - you have a great home a nice family your own snooker room - hell you only need to date Beyonce on the side and you have every man's dream - You have got more out of life and snooker than most of us will achieve -

My dream is to one day get a room like that - I would smile every day. Cheer up you impatient bugger - tell your Mrs if you get rid of the table you and her will be together more often - I tell that to mine every time I want a passport to get out the house to a club or get a new cue - works a treat

[Terry Davidson]

Terry my game is so screwed I have know idea what I am doing. Now everything feels awkward. Miss cueing missing everything. After an hour of Blacks I made 5 after an hour of 4 red line up I managed to get 16. Maybe it's time for a break. I have not missed a day since the challenges started. Now I am diwn right miserable as my wife says it is time to sell the table and give up the game.

Work on ONE thing at a time. Go back to your normal basics but try practicing with an ULTRA loose grip, with the butt near the end of the fingers, an air gap between the web and the butt and the thumb pointed straight down but NOT touching the cue at all, just the end of the index finger. This should loosen everything up and also stop the mis-cueing which is telling me the grip is way too tight at the time of strike.

If you do one of your drills then if you miss a pot re-set the shot until you are successful. Remember nothing succeeds like success and making the shot 2nd or 3rd time around will help, your confidence will improve (and I think you have a bad rip in your confidence bag).

[GeordieDS]

I wasn't aware Les had only been playing such a short time, no wonder his head is up his **** , hasn't even learned to crawl yet and he's training for the Olympics

[lesedwards]

Work on ONE thing at a time. Go back to your normal basics but try practicing with an ULTRA loose grip, with the butt near the end of the fingers, an air gap between the web and the butt and the thumb pointed straight down but NOT touching the cue at all, just the end of the index finger. This should loosen everything up and also stop the mis-cueing which is telling me the grip is way too tight at the time of strike.

If you do one of your drills then if you miss a pot re-set the shot until you are successful. Remember nothing succeeds like success and making the shot 2nd or 3rd time around will help, your confidence will improve (and I think you have a bad rip in your confidence bag).

I think I better just start with just potting some easy shots such as pinks off the spot.

[tedisbill]

It's like being in a mental asylum.

[lesedwards]

It's like being in a mental asylum.

You got that right. Some how I have to figure out the mental part of the game before anything is going to help. It is not fun when you are scared to go down and pot a few for fear you will miss everything and just get more frustrated. Everything I have ever done I have either excelled at it or just did not do it except for Snooker. I was teaching drum lessons by the time I hit high school, playing professional golf by the time I was 20, carrying a 192 average in ten pin bowling but this game they call Snooker has got my number. My problem is I cannot do anything for fun I have to be the best.

[Byrom]

Anyway Les reason I asked your ambition is because they change you see -

Get a 50 you want more get two you then you may want a 70 and a ton and so on and so forth I don't think everything is achievable but your goal seems realistic enough - its the impatience and stubborn frustration I find interesting in you - you want to make 40's 50's in the balls right now - Ted has set you challenges that help lay these foundations in break building but at the moment you get one bad day and back to square one - you seem a very interesting bloke I am enthralled by you -

A few days ago you posted this on the ambitions thread

To keep up my challenges set by Ted and keep improving. I know sometimes I get down on myself but I look what I have done since Ted come up with a great post and there is no looking back. Thanks to Ted he has forced me into a structured practice rather then firing balls around.i look forward to my new challenge every Sunday.

Have a break a day out play some golf or ski - build a snowman take the wife out for a meal or something - come back refreshed tomorrow and continue - ask yourself are your other goals - the 40s or 50s more likely or less likely to happen with this kind of focused practice?

The answers are always within Les - sometimes we need to listen to ourselves first though

[Byrom]

In an addition to the above - are you listening Mr Edwards?

[sealer]

Every player has a day or or hour or maybe a minute where he can pot anything from anywhere. Les had it too, for a brief moment at one point I am sure. He now thinks that there is that something that he can do to get it back. Hehe :-) Practice, and take the bad days with the good days. The better the practice the better player you are going to be next year. One day you will realise there is no magic in it.

[lesedwards]

Anyway Les reason I asked your ambition is because they change you see -

Get a 50 you want more get two you then you may want a 70 and a ton and so on and so forth I don't think everything is achievable but your goal seems realistic enough - its the impatience and stubborn frustration I find interesting in you - you want to make 40's 50's in the balls right now - Ted has set you challenges that help lay these foundations in break building but at the moment you get one bad day and back to square one - you seem a very interesting bloke I am enthralled by you -

A few days ago you posted this on the ambitions thread

To keep up my challenges set by Ted and keep improving. I know sometimes I get down on myself but I look what I have done since Ted come up with a great post and there is no looking back. Thanks to Ted he has forced me into a structured practice rather then firing balls around.i look forward to my new challenge every Sunday.

Have a break a day out play some golf or ski - build a snowman take the wife out for a meal or something - come back refreshed tomorrow and continue - ask yourself are your other goals - the 40s or 50s more likely or less likely to happen with this kind of focused practice?

The answers are always within Les - sometimes we need to listen to ourselves first though

Well I do know one thing, anytime there is a thread which i am involved in they are usually very interesting..... I think I will take TD advice and just play a couple frames against myself this afternoon and try to just relax everything especially my grip.

[sealer]

Oh Les and remember that the table has the answers for you and you are the best coach you can get. Just need to spend time and work it out :-)

[lesedwards]

Every player has a day or or hour or maybe a minute where he can pot anything from anywhere. Les had it too, for a brief moment at one point I am sure. He now thinks that there is that something that he can do to get it back. Hehe :-) Practice, and take the bad days with the good days. The better the practice the better player you are going to be next year. One day you will realise there is no magic in it.

Magic.........I have found that out. I have to back to the structured practice I had goung last week. Five attempts is all I get at each challenge if I do not complete I carry on because the longer I spend on one challenge the more frustrated I get. I can always go back to it. Also play matches against myself.