Stance Problem

[dan_ormerod]

Hi all,

First post on the snooker forum and was wondering if anybody could help.

My problem is stance.

Sometimes I can get down on the shot and it all falls into place and I can pot pretty much any ball (definitely the short to medium range pots) on the table and when I feel like this I can cue up and down the spots no problem with a lot of speed.

But then sometimes (most of the time) I get down on the shot and I feel really unbalanced and when I get this feeling I can't even pot half ball blacks off the spot and they are consistently missing to the same spot (until I start whacking it out of pure frustration).

The only way I can possibly pot them is by hitting them at snails pace and looking at the cueball to conciously make the cue go through straight.

The balance feels mostly on my right straight leg but when I am in the correct position it feels even.

When in the uncomfortable stance my grip hand arm hangs in towards my body but when in the good stance it is dead straight.

Also, in the uncomfortable stance if I feed the cue through really really really slow with my eyes closed the cue goes to the left when I hit the right point on my chest but sometimes to the right if I drop my elbow/shoulder slightly too early and the cue doesn't stay parallel and cue under my body (I know I need to get rid of the latter but thought I would mention it).

This also makes sense when cueing up and down the spots as they return to the left or right to a consistent position.

The things I have checked are:

- Bending from the hips and not being scrunched up
- Hips are swung far out to the left
- Right foot is on the line of aim
- Right foot pointed 45 degrees to the right
- Left foot pointed down the line of aim
- Left foot slightly in front of the right
- Feet roughly shoulder width apart
- Standing same distance from table
- Back of cue is above the nipple to the right
- Everythings in the same position on the cue (bridge/grip/chin/chest)
- I always get down on the shot the same



I feel like the problem is the arm not being straight but If I simply straighten it whilst in the uncomfortable stance it's just the same so I am thinking if I sort the stance it will sort the arm and then be ok.

I have read that your weight should be on the left but can't figure out how you can get the weight onto your left hand side whilst keeping your chin on the cue. It just feels weird when I try getting down on the shot like this.

Another thing worth mentioning when I am down on the shot if I aim approx 15-20cm to the left then it feels relatively comfortable again. That to me says I am not swinging the hips far enough but I have already tried that and it feels the same.

I know I should go and see a coach and I do intend too but would have to travel as I can't find anyone local to me and am not in a position to do so at the moment.

Can anyone think what I might be doing wrong to be so unbalanced from one day to the next (or even one shot to the next)?

Dan

[Slasher]

Posting a video showing a few different angles would help immensely.

[Ramon]

Hi Dan ,
Welcome to TSF dude .

[Snookster]

pre shot routine
walk in to your shot would be a good start

[jwinsor]

I have the same problem, my mechanics are pretty good but every so often I feel " off " once I am down on the shot. I think Snookster has the right answer at least in my case. When I am running good I am getting into each shot by walking into it on the line of shot, on the ones where I feel "off" I usually have got into the shot from the side or at least not addressed the shot. The room where I play , the tables are too close together and sometimes when it is busy I find I don't get into the shot correctly because of traffic around the table.

[kayen147]

yeah pre shot routine is really a key to be consistent, i started imitating some guys in their pre shot routine ( i still wonder whats the meaning of some gestures :biggrin-new) and it helped me make my first 55 et 6x breaks in 8 ft table, not that big of achievement but really proud of my progress

[dan_ormerod]

@Ramon - Thanks mate, I have been looking at other threads for quite a while and just got around to posting one

@Slasher - I will post the video's as soon as I can. I have an old video also when it felt right so I will upload that at the same time for comparison

@Snookster - The pre shot routine is the thing I take most seriously above anything. I never get down on the shot without doing this. The problem is I am getting down into an incorrect stance from the pre shot routine and can't even figure out how to get the stance right at all let alone get down into the stance from aiming up top. Sometimes without thinking it just happens and everything's perfect but then as jwinsor says sometimes it feels off.

@jwinsor - Thanks I will check I am not coming in from the side. I did used to do this quite a lot and thought I was stood directly behind the shot but when I looked at it properly I was standing to the left of the line of aim and therefore my right foot wasn't on the line of aim. It took me a month or so to stop doing it but I will check again to make sure I haven't started doing it again.

@kayen147 - Who did you imitate when getting down on the shot out of interest?



I am relatively pleased with my progress also, I made a 55 a couple of months ago after playing for 2 1/2 years and taking it seriously for 1 1/2 years, it just get's frustrating being solid and cueing really nice through the ball one day and then missing the pocket by 2 balls the other. When solid in the stance it feel's really difficult to not cue straight and when not impossible too.

[Snookster]

Dan this is obviously difficult without being there
I play with an old style stance similar to john pulman i guess would be the description
basically this is quite easy to replicate
imagine an invisible line going through pocket, blue spot, opposite centre pocket and over the floor
your back leg, right foot (if your right handed) should go through your instep
front foot pointing towards the shot
back foot should be pointing towards the middle of the baulk cushion or top cushion depending which middle pocket your aiming at
this is the important bit
when getting down to your shot get someone to gently push you if your not steady then your feet are too close together
apart from getting your alignment right this will stop you moving on the shot
obviously the distance between your feet will vary depending on your height

Hope this helps :-)

[dan_ormerod]

Snookster,

I have a pool table at home so I have just tried the things you mentioned apart from getting someone to gently push me as I am on my own at the moment.

I was putting the heal on the line, the instep does feel a touch better.

I had the back and front feet correct.

My back leg however is usually leaning to the left (from my point of view) to the line of aim. This is a part of it I don't understand how can my back leg be straight up on the line of aim if my grip is on the line of aim?

Also, if my leg is on the line of aim how can you get your weight balanced between both legs as it appears to me that if my braced leg's foot is on the line of aim and I am looking down the line of aim with the chin on the cue then all the weight will naturally be on the right leg? (which it is).

I can tell even without the push from someone else I am off balance and widening the feet seems to make it worse as it puts more weight on the right leg.

I feel as though I am going to fall over 45 degrees to the right and forward of where I am aiming. This makes my cue hit the top left hand side of the cue ball.

Can someone try to explain how to get the weight balanced between both legs, if I bend my left knee more whilst down I am taking myself way off the line of aim as so much weight is on the right leg.

Thanks for all your help so far.

[alabadi]

Welcome to the forum Dan.

Well for me, I used to mess around with my stance a lot. I wanted to copy some of the pros thinking that it's the way to go, however I was never comfortable . I also have a problem with my left knee and neck so these stances were giving me grief .

Eventually I settled on a stance where I lead from my right hip. I keep the cue facing the line of aim and walk into the shot holding it tight to the hip. I plant my right foot on the line. My foot isn't point straight because of the issues I have , so it's to the right slightly.

My left leg is where it feels comfortable really, it's a boxer stance my left foot again pointing to the left to relieve pressure off my left knee.

The main part of this is keeping the cue and head on the line of the shot. So dropping the head straight down keeps you online.
The left leg can be anywhere really , as long as it's comfortable . I.e , no pain or stress.
Then it's just a question of repeating it until it becaomes part of your routine.

I think a vid my help , but ultimately a coach would be better.

Film yourself and look at what you do when you are balanced and pitting well. Then try to repeat it.

You can also find lots of videos on YouTube, try to find Nic Barrow , he has a good one for beginners finding your perfect stance.
Remember we are all built different and there is no one solution for all. Each one of us finds the best solution for what suits them.

[kayen147]

@dan_ormerod some random dude in my local club named "century" so basically i wave my cue right before going down on the shot it perfectly suits my stance and i feel confident about my shot, just monkey stuff

[kayen147]

forgot to mention that im left handed too

[Ramon]

Welcome to the forum Dan.

Well for me, I used to mess around with my stance a lot. I wanted to copy some of the pros thinking that it's the way to go, however I was never comfortable . I also have a problem with my left knee and neck so these stances were giving me grief .

Eventually I settled on a stance where I lead from my right hip. I keep the cue facing the line of aim and walk into the shot holding it tight to the hip. I plant my right foot on the line. My foot isn't point straight because of the issues I have , so it's to the right slightly.

My left leg is where it feels comfortable really, it's a boxer stance my left foot again pointing to the left to relieve pressure off my left knee.

The main part of this is keeping the cue and head on the line of the shot. So dropping the head straight down keeps you online.
The left leg can be anywhere really , as long as it's comfortable . I.e , no pain or stress.
Then it's just a question of repeating it until it becaomes part of your routine.

I think a vid my help , but ultimately a coach would be better.

Film yourself and look at what you do when you are balanced and pitting well. Then try to repeat it.

You can also find lots of videos on YouTube, try to find Nic Barrow , he has a good one for beginners finding your perfect stance.
Remember we are all built different and there is no one solution for all. Each one of us finds the best solution for what suits them.

Yeah, good post .


Just in case anyone interested guys . At 21.20 minute of this video he mention some interesting stuff in regards to your stance .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-yTPXlNfyY


may not be such a bad idea to take a look at it.

[dan_ormerod]

Another thing worth mentioning by the way and should have said it in the first post is that I get down on the shot and then if I aim about 15cm or so to the left and 3cm back then I get this comfortable stance but can't work out how to get from standing behind the line into this.



@kayen147 Ha yes I know what you mean I used to do that but changed it. I did have less negative thoughts when getting down on the shot when I did that. Although I have improved (not necessarily because of that) since so not sure I should go back to it.

@alabadi When I've videoed myself in the past my head has always gone straight down so I don't think that's an issue. I do however, sometimes catch myself going down on the shot and it's like I've twisted my right shoulder too far (and then my head turns with it) and then re adjusted at the last second to make me hit centre ball. It's like my head has gone down straight down but I've pulled my cue towards my back. It doesn't happen often so not too worried about it.

With your point about the no pain and stress in the left leg, all the pain and stress is in my right leg.

Again, when I have videoed myself in the past and felt relatively comfortable (not perfect but better than usual) my right shoulder isn't as far behind my head as when I feel really uncomfortable. I feel like I am twisting my back too much when getting down but when I consciously don't do this the cue isn't in the correct position on my chest so it's wrong for another reason.

I live in lancashire up north and there is a coach about 20 minutes away from me. I did once have an hour coaching session with him before I started taking it a bit more seriously and he said nothing was wrong apart from I should move my right leg further to the right. In your opinion would you go back to him or would going somewhere like the star snooker academy be better? (about 1 hour 10 mins away).

I very much like Nic Barrow's video's and have watched a lot of them, I have tried the one where he says move the left leg further left then right, then forward then back etc. but couldn't seem to find a comfortable stance when doing that (again the weight feels all on the right leg). It's a lot easier when the cueball isn't in front of you.

Thank you for the video Ramon I hadn't watched any of the live video's he did, it was good to hear that the stance effects the cue coming through as I feel a bit restricted when not in the stance correctly.

I don't understand how something that looks so simple can be so difficult for me.

Am I over thinking it? I just know that there is this perfect stance for me as once in a blue moon I get into it. Should I keep trying to get into this stance to get solid on the shot or make the best of a bad stance?

Probably best just to phone a coach tomorrow

[alabadi]

.

I live in lancashire up north and there is a coach about 20 minutes away from me. I did once have an hour coaching session with him before I started taking it a bit more seriously and he said nothing was wrong apart from I should move my right leg further to the right. In your opinion would you go back to him or would going somewhere like the star snooker academy be better? (about 1 hour 10 mins away).

I go to the star snooker Academy as I live in sheffield, there's a good coach there called Garry Baldery . I've had coaching from him he's good. The facilities at the Academy are great you would love it.