It's All (mostly) In the Eyes

[j6uk]

I said I could cue through a matchbox at full power, you know, the outside cover of a matchbox, I didn't mention a hole, stop reading things that aren't there and then arguing over something that wasn't written.
sorry man, but your supposed to push the box open an punch a hole in the back of the matchbox so, whatever you were doing you were doing it wrong

And you do get it, the distractions are other things on the table, the pocket, the cue ball, the ball I want to cannon, chalk marks on the cloth, all sorts of things catch my eye both on the strike and when lining up the shot, and I keep taking my eye off the object ball, have said so many, many times, and when this happens my hand and therefore my cue follows my eye, how straight my cue action is doesn't matter a jot when I do this and I simply pass this advise on to others.
cool man, well my head is always clear an has been since i was a junior many years ago, cus i know what im going to do before i get down.. good that you bring that up though, could be a thread

I've seen the pros do this, you do this, we all do this at times, but I do it much more often than I should, why the hell I do I don't know, lack of concentration, bad eyesight, too tired, who knows, but practising my cue action on the kitchen table ain't gonna help me or ayone else who does this.
well i think you really do need to be cueing through a smallish hole for a few weeks before you can say

This basic hand eye comes first in my opinion, without it you cannot pot balls and therefore cannot progress if you keep missing.
yes theres something in that, though you can have all the natural ability in the world but if youve not developed your cue action youll miss balls, flatline an likely loose interest. so 10mins on the kitcken work area while the kettels on is gonna keep your eye in an take things to the next level

When I keep my eye on the object ball I don't miss, everything is fast and fluent and comes easy, and I'm not going to buy a video camera just to post a "look at me" video that will help no one, they can watch the pros on tv if they need to see someone with a straight cue action or watch snooker pro tips on youtube for excellent explanation of the processes of shot making.
nothing wrong with a look at me video cus it tells you exactly where you are as a player, besides thats what snookers about, an why not. youve worked hard to obtain the skills so why not show them off. an if you dont mind the hassle, share the knowladge
I simply pass on my experience
i think we are all do that. unless your in it to share someone elses, and theres been a few of those
, now feel free to rubbish me in blue, I don't give a damn, and I hope you do make your millions, even though people only need to buy a box of matches; a fool and his money they say, and there are many fools out there, Nic Barrow makes a good living from them so why shouldn't you.
whos really the fool?

if someone wishes to invest their time in working with tuca, the devise that helped me then more power to them



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[j6uk]

cueing along the baulk line really helps me be more technically consistent

http://www.thesnookerforum.co.uk/boa...ghlight=cueing

[Leo]

cueing along the baulk line helped really helps me be more technically consistent

http://www.thesnookerforum.co.uk/boa...ghlight=cueing

For someone who's never picked up a cue this would be Ok.

[j6uk]

For someone who's never picked up a cue this would be Ok.

no, cueing along the baulk line simply works for everyone at all levels, from absolute bigginer to top level pro

[Leo]

no, cueing along the baulk line simply works for everyone at all levels, from absolute bigginer to top level pro

Agree to disagree on this.

[j6uk]

Agree to disagree on this.

i can only speek from experience. iv seen the training and the benifts from every level player

[tetricky]

It's tempting to think it's all in the eyes, but it's not...there are so many things that can go wrong, that it's silly. It's best not to think about them, but the number of things that have an influence are unbelievable.

I was doing okay tonight. Okay, but not really striking the ball with authority. I'd cleaned my cue before I wet out, and I only had time for three lineouts, but after the first I cleaned my cue again, and then towelled it down. Suddenly everything was smooth, and I was hitting it well (for me). Managed a best of ten reds in around an hour. Not bad for me.

A bloke came to the lockers near me, "why are you practising the easy shots?", "if I could guarantee I don't miss an easy pot, I'd be a decent player.", "can't argue with that, you should play [so and so]". It was nice, proper club. I've only been four or five times, but will go when I can. It's only last thursday and tonight that I've been when any number of other people have been in. Happy to have been noticed. Nicely kept tables. Geoff Large is their table fitter....stapleford snooker club, if anyone knows it....

Anyway. It's mostly the eyes, and keeping your cue clean.

[Terry Davidson]

I'm one of those coaches who believe it's actually NOT 'all in the eyes'. I believe it's 'all in the consistently straight delivery'. I know a lot will disagree with me but I believe virtually everyone who picks up a cue can determine the correct spot to hit the object ball and direct it into the pocket (except perhaps shots down the cushion or very close to the cushion).

Delivering the cue consistently straight is the hardest thing to learn properly.

[armstm]

I'm one of those coaches who believe it's actually NOT 'all in the eyes'. I believe it's 'all in the consistently straight delivery'. I know a lot will disagree with me but I believe virtually everyone who picks up a cue can determine the correct spot to hit the object ball and direct it into the pocket (except perhaps shots down the cushion or very close to the cushion).

Delivering the cue consistently straight is the hardest thing to learn properly.

I hear you - you would know better than me. However that maybe the case for those > 50 breaks but if you look at the nic barrow video where the patient's head is offline to start with and then weaving in and out of the line of aim on the way down, I'd say that must be a fairly large and inconsistent source of error.

The other point I'd make is usually you can feel if you've cued across or not cued straight.

[j6uk]

I'm one of those coaches who believe it's actually NOT 'all in the eyes'. I believe it's 'all in the consistently straight delivery'. I know a lot will disagree with me but I believe virtually everyone who picks up a cue can determine the correct spot to hit the object ball and direct it into the pocket (except perhaps shots down the cushion or very close to the cushion).

Delivering the cue consistently straight is the hardest thing to learn properly.

I hear you - you would know better than me. However that maybe the case for those > 50 breaks but if you look at the nic barrow video where the patient's head is offline to start with and then weaving in and out of the line of aim on the way down, I'd say that must be a fairly large and inconsistent source of error.

The other point I'd make is usually you can feel if you've cued across or not cued straight.

yes theres too many things to think about in this game, so getting to know your own cue action is crucial if you wanna be consistent

[Terry Davidson]

I hear you - you would know better than me. However that maybe the case for those > 50 breaks but if you look at the nic barrow video where the patient's head is offline to start with and then weaving in and out of the line of aim on the way down, I'd say that must be a fairly large and inconsistent source of error.

The other point I'd make is usually you can feel if you've cued across or not cued straight.

What you describe in Nic's video is not a problem with aiming/sighting but rather a problem or error in the pre-shot routine. If you believe what I said is true, that every player is able to detect the correct potting angle when standing behind the shot (aiming) then the right thing to do is the player has to learn to get his eyes behind the cueball and centered on the line of aim and then drop his head straight down when he assumes the address position. If he drops the eyes straight down he cannot fail to be on his chosen line of aim which is probably correct because he gets the best perspective on that line of aim when standing up behind the cueball.

Where most players go wrong (describing right-handers) is when they place the left foot out. At that time the head usually goes to the left because they try and stand up straight so the head has to move to the left. There are 2 things that can be done to correct this. The first is to keep the eyes on the line of aim by leaning over to the right and the second one (which I prefer to teach) is to keep standing up while moving the left foot over but then while still standing behind the shot swivel the hips to the left which will swing the head back onto the line of aim or in other words the player, while still standing behind the shot, reacquires the correct line of aim.

Then the player has to work on dropping his head straight down and the easiest way to do this is to ensure the nose is pointed at the object ball and stays pointed there while he drops his head down and assumes the address position. If this is done he will now be sighting on the correct contact on the object ball and therefore on the correct line of aim. For the purists on here there is one minor point to consider and that is if that player turns his head to the right a bit (like me). In this case there's nothing to prevent that player from turning his head slightly while he's standing up behind the shot.

I believe aiming/sighting mistakes are made only when the object ball is on or near a cushion and it's to a closed pocket where there is very little room for error. I still believe the vast majority of pots are missed by not delivering the cue straight along the chosen line of aim with a nod to a small number of them where the player has come into the address position from the left of the line of aim and has to reacquire the correct line of aim when he is sighting in the address position.