Technique Critique Please!

[Gus Teunissen-High]

Hi everyone, I have recently started recording myself practising. I was wondering if anyone could give me some honest feedback on my technique, any advice would be really appreciated!

One of my main problems is not pushing the cue through consistently straight. I often cue with about ½ a tips worth of unwanted left hand side; you can see the cue pushing to the left through the delivery in the videos below. I believe the problem is that during the delivery the cue breaks its light brushing with the chest and my hand to swings out to the right, pushing the tip to the left. I am going to try and focus on a light brushing along the chest, throughout the delivery, to keep the cue on line. Is there anything else anyone could suggest to help groove a straight action or just improve my technique in general?

About me: I am 20 years old now and have been playing snooker for just over a year now. I played casually before then, but only once or twice a month for fun with friends, since Easter 2013. I have almost no cue sports experience other than this. My high break in a proper frame is 36, but I have been very close to beating that in every session (those where I play proper frames against people) that I have played over the last few weeks, knocking in a number of high 20s and 30s.

Videos:
Side View – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Metr...ature=youtu.be
End View – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nO9...ature=youtu.be
Line Up (just reds; recorded this today, but ran out memory on my phone so couldn't record more attempts) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDhn...ature=youtu.be

Thanks allot in advance to anyone that is willing to help me out!

[Ramon]

20 years old and play so well,,,, Relaxed attitude and nice cue action !! my compliments !!!

[davcab92]

I have been playing for a year also... to me it looks like you are cueing straight, the shots you missed towards the end of the front view video looked to me to be an alignment problem (I could see you would miss the pot to one side of the pocket even before you took the shot)... the first three shots you walked into the shot perfectly aligned and drove the cue in a straight line (consequently potting the ball). I used to have a chest contact point but recently I seem to have changed something in my stance and now my cue doesnt brush my chest which really annoys me since even though my cue is moving relatively straight, I dont get the same sense of security than when I had the cue brushing my chest throughout the stroke. My advice to correct your cue action (if you think you are cueing across the ball which I dont think is the case) is to slow it down and pay attention to the cue coming back in the backswing, if its coming back straight, then it will go forwards straight.

[biffer]

You play well, you cue well, your stance seems solid, you are consistent with the delivery of your cue. you have a nice natural pace around the table, i think as you play this great game your choice of shot will improve in match play and in turn will lead to higher breaks, you definitely have it in you. patients is your best friend, dont force this game and enjoy it, u will be playing great in no time.

[Inoffthered]

You play well, you cue well, your stance seems solid, you are consistent with the delivery of your cue. you have a nice natural pace around the table, i think as you play this great game your choice of shot will improve in match play and in turn will lead to higher breaks, you definitely have it in you. patients is your best friend, dont force this game and enjoy it, u will be playing great in no time.

Agreed. x2. Just keep doing what you are doing and your game will develop, will grow as you gain more experience. Your approach of the shot is good.. you seem to be working along the lines of what Del Hill advocates.. "90% of the aim is on the approach". Keep up the good work!

[alabadi]

yep i agree too, the ones you missed from the front view i could tell you were going to miss them to your left because you were lined up slightly to the right.

just keep practicing, a good idea would try lining up on the baulk line or you could get a mirror in font of you.

its a very small alignment issue , so don't worry too much with practice it will get sorted

[Gus Teunissen-High]

20 years old and play so well,,,, Relaxed attitude and nice cue action !! my compliments !!!

Thanks!

I have been playing for a year also... to me it looks like you are cueing straight, the shots you missed towards the end of the front view video looked to me to be an alignment problem (I could see you would miss the pot to one side of the pocket even before you took the shot)... the first three shots you walked into the shot perfectly aligned and drove the cue in a straight line (consequently potting the ball). I used to have a chest contact point but recently I seem to have changed something in my stance and now my cue doesnt brush my chest which really annoys me since even though my cue is moving relatively straight, I dont get the same sense of security than when I had the cue brushing my chest throughout the stroke. My advice to correct your cue action (if you think you are cueing across the ball which I dont think is the case) is to slow it down and pay attention to the cue coming back in the backswing, if its coming back straight, then it will go forwards straight.

Watching the video back I can see what you mean, I am sometimes not getting down on the right line of aim. I am the same with regards to the cue brushing the chest, I don't feel as confident when the cue isn't brushing my chest. Cheers for the help!

You play well, you cue well, your stance seems solid, you are consistent with the delivery of your cue. you have a nice natural pace around the table, i think as you play this great game your choice of shot will improve in match play and in turn will lead to higher breaks, you definitely have it in you. patients is your best friend, dont force this game and enjoy it, u will be playing great in no time.

Thank you, I will just do more practice and then hopefully my game will improve!

Agreed. x2. Just keep doing what you are doing and your game will develop, will grow as you gain more experience. Your approach of the shot is good.. you seem to be working along the lines of what Del Hill advocates.. "90% of the aim is on the approach". Keep up the good work!

Yes, I am just trying to work on keeping things simple and consistent!

yep i agree too, the ones you missed from the front view i could tell you were going to miss them to your left because you were lined up slightly to the right.

just keep practicing, a good idea would try lining up on the baulk line or you could get a mirror in font of you.

its a very small alignment issue , so don't worry too much with practice it will get sorted

Yeah, I noticed that just now too. I will try the baulk line routine and see where it takes me!

Thank you all for taking the time, much appreciated!

[Terry Davidson]

Looks pretty good to me. I agree with the alignment issues mentioned above. I do have one point, but it's not all that bad and that is the butt of your cue is a little high and when you deliver you drop the elbow and produce a 'scooping' action into the cueball. The butt of the cue should be no more than 1" above the cushion and you should try to keep the cue on the same plane during the backswing and delivery.

Other than that all you need now is tons of practice.

[Gus Teunissen-High]

Looks pretty good to me. I agree with the alignment issues mentioned above. I do have one point, but it's not all that bad and that is the butt of your cue is a little high and when you deliver you drop the elbow and produce a 'scooping' action into the cueball. The butt of the cue should be no more than 1" above the cushion and you should try to keep the cue on the same plane during the backswing and delivery.

Other than that all you need now is tons of practice.

Cheers Terry!

Are there any drills other than cueing on the baulk line that can be used to improve alignment? I am also not sure whether the miss alignment is a result of incorrectly walking into the shot, or picking out the wrong contact point on the OB.

[j6uk]

hi gus,
yeah planty there to work with and becoming a cueist is a long road, how long you plan on playing snooker for?

[Gus Teunissen-High]

hi gus,
yeah planty there to work with and becoming a cueist is a long road, how long you plan on playing snooker for?

I could honestly see me playing snooker for the rest of my life. I have played other sports to a high level, but never have I found a sport so enthralling as snooker, even when I play badly I still wake up the next day wanting to go and practice/play. Trouble is, I study an intensive course at university (Mechanical Engineering) so don't get too much time to play, I probably only average 6-7 hours a week (3 solo practice, 3-4 frames vs others) during term time. I really want to play more and looking at ways I can increase this. I also want to play proper tournaments/leagues in the future, but don't know where to look for things my level. Only wish I had started playing when I was a lot younger aha!

[Bigmeek]

Hi Gus, post up what area you live and someone may be able to suggest a local league.

[magicman]

Your technique looks remarkable for someone whose only being playing for a year. Your determination and passion will undoubtedly lead you to become an exceptional player years down the line. Right now your degree is more important, but as long as you remain interested in snooker and keep playing year after year, you will become better and better. In my experience, its the players who periodically give up then retake up the sport that fail to progress. As long as you remain passionate, interested and absorbed in the game, your stance, bridge hand, timing and stillness on delivery will all hold you in good stead. Watch this space!

[billabong]

Snooker and Frank Zappa , now there's a combination . Zoot Allures !!

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[RogiBear]

When I did my degree (also Mech Eng) I probably studied for about 15 hrs a week including lecture time for the first few years and the rest of the time I just played snooker/went out. The degree will take care of itself but the snooker will only improve if you put the work in