Hello after long- seeking gameplay analysis

[Sidd]

Hello everyone,

I think I am posting here after a long long time really. Hope everybody is doing all right. I have been through a rough phase in life and wasn't playing snooker as such. But I am back to life again or perhaps slowly coming back to it and have picked up snooker again. I participated in last year Islamabad Championship and lost quarter final match against a very proper player so no regrets. However, the championship is again upon me- starting in two month's time and I don't think I am prepared enough.

I have started walking about 3-3.5 KMs a day trying to build some stamina. The tournament is such that at quarter final stages its a best of 7 match and I noticed I got tired in the 6th frame and lost concentration and lost. So this time I need ot be in better shape at least. I have started going ot my club and playing regularly since last three days and hence am back here to bother you all as before missed being here really.

I am attaching a video from my last tournament. The clip is from where I won the pre-quarter finals, this is my winning frame, I had scored a lot and the frame was over on the last red. Please do watch it and guide me on my overall technique- what do I require to better in terms with my overall technique. I am using a 59" cue which I got custom made locally as I believe it gives me a decent length. I am 6 feet high and pretty fat

Thanks and regards,
Sidd.

The link to the video: https://youtu.be/BJYF28EC72o

[Neil Taperell]

Welcome back Sidd . I like the idea of improving your stamina .

Hopefully some of the more educated on here can advise you regarding your technique .

[vmax]

Good to have you back Sidd.
I noticed at 2.10 on the video that after you have placed your left foot (back leg) in the stance position, you turn it a little to the left as you get down. If you watch the top pros, none of them do this once the back leg is in place.
I'm sure you're doing this for comfort and it maybe that you still keep the butt of the cue on the line of aim, but to be sure try some long blues from the baulk line both with and without this left foot turn and see if it makes a difference.
A small head movement just after the strike as well, but that's OK as long as it's just after and not before and probably due to wearing specs, otherwise a nice smooth action, you play well my friend.

[Sidd]

Good to have you back Sidd.
I noticed at 2.10 on the video that after you have placed your left foot (back leg) in the stance position, you turn it a little to the left as you get down. If you watch the top pros, none of them do this once the back leg is in place.
I'm sure you're doing this for comfort and it maybe that you still keep the butt of the cue on the line of aim, but to be sure try some long blues from the baulk line both with and without this left foot turn and see if it makes a difference.
A small head movement just after the strike as well, but that's OK as long as it's just after and not before and probably due to wearing specs, otherwise a nice smooth action, you play well my friend.

Hello Steve. It's good to be back at the table and so good to be back in touch. Yes I do have this foot movement and even some friends tell me I move the whole behind while getting down. I do have a slight stiffness in my left leg since birth my grandmother used to tell me that and this is the reason why I cannot sit down in a cricket wicketkeeper position at all. While like that I can't touch my ankles on ground and have to sit on toes and hence can't do that. Perhaps, this has to do with that. While walking I can't or don't walk with both feet straight my feet are placed outward. Even in my cricket days I used to bowl and see the feet marks and was amazed that my left foot comes at a 90 degree angle from the wicket.... But I will try the straight blues as you said. I know if I keep my left foot in the direction of the shot I feel discomfort so I place it outward for ease.

Head movement is gone by now or at least I try to keep it still. But I am happy that with 59 inches cue I have my grip arm vertical at address and still have some cue in front of my V. I don't think I can ever go back to 58. If you remember I went to a longer cue on your advice long ago and that really helped me and I have been using a 59 inches ever since. Tried a 60 inch too but it was a bit too long so came back and settled on 59.

Good to hear from you mate.

[Neil Taperell]

Didn't know they played Cricket in Pakistan .

Interesting that Steve noticed your foot movement , and that you have a reason why you do it .

What is your highest break in practice & in match play ? And please let us know how you get on in the Championship matches.

[vmax]

Hello Steve. It's good to be back at the table and so good to be back in touch. Yes I do have this foot movement and even some friends tell me I move the whole behind while getting down. I do have a slight stiffness in my left leg since birth my grandmother used to tell me that and this is the reason why I cannot sit down in a cricket wicketkeeper position at all. While like that I can't touch my ankles on ground and have to sit on toes and hence can't do that. Perhaps, this has to do with that. While walking I can't or don't walk with both feet straight my feet are placed outward. Even in my cricket days I used to bowl and see the feet marks and was amazed that my left foot comes at a 90 degree angle from the wicket.... But I will try the straight blues as you said. I know if I keep my left foot in the direction of the shot I feel discomfort so I place it outward for ease.

Head movement is gone by now or at least I try to keep it still. But I am happy that with 59 inches cue I have my grip arm vertical at address and still have some cue in front of my V. I don't think I can ever go back to 58. If you remember I went to a longer cue on your advice long ago and that really helped me and I have been using a 59 inches ever since. Tried a 60 inch too but it was a bit too long so came back and settled on 59.

Good to hear from you mate.

Like you I also had that foot movement, it happened over time as I got older and was purely for comfort, but as I turned my foot my body turned as well and placed the butt of my cue about 1/2 inch off the line of aim. I stopped it and the calf muscle in my back leg was tight, but I was potting far more accurately. I found that standing behind the shot in my final stance position (foot already turned) and stepping into the shot from there kept my cue on the line.
Like you I have gone to a shorter cue, but for me it was needs must after I dropped my cue onto the concrete workshop floor, it hit the floor like a felled redwood and damaged the shaft near the ferrule I had to cut it back and re-taper the shaft so it's now 59 3/4 inches from 61 1/2 inches. Still play the same though, on fire for five minutes and pot everything, and then crap for the rest of the session

[Sidd]

Didn't know they played Cricket in Pakistan .

Interesting that Steve noticed your foot movement , and that you have a reason why you do it .

What is your highest break in practice & in match play ? And please let us know how you get on in the Championship matches.

Cricket is number 1 sport in Pakistan dear ! I played at club level for 6-7 seasons then left as I moved to the capital city for my job.

practice break 67 although I don’t practice much as I don’t have time and match break 54. I have made 18 fifties in my career in matches but always break down after 50 because I over think things and tinker with my technique during matches because I don’t do solo still fighting on.

I will let you know as the tournament get started. I am expecting qualifiers in late Nov or Dec.

[Sidd]

Like you I also had that foot movement, it happened over time as I got older and was purely for comfort, but as I turned my foot my body turned as well and placed the butt of my cue about 1/2 inch off the line of aim. I stopped it and the calf muscle in my back leg was tight, but I was potting far more accurately. I found that standing behind the shot in my final stance position (foot already turned) and stepping into the shot from there kept my cue on the line.
Like you I have gone to a shorter cue, but for me it was needs must after I dropped my cue onto the concrete workshop floor, it hit the floor like a felled redwood and damaged the shaft near the ferrule I had to cut it back and re-taper the shaft so it's now 59 3/4 inches from 61 1/2 inches. Still play the same though, on fire for five minutes and pot everything, and then crap for the rest of the session

Steve Steve Steve ...... you have rescued me a third time my man. First you taught me to forget everything and remained focused on BOB at the exact moment of striking and I will never forget how important it is and how we can be careless. Second you asked me to go for a longer cue and I went 60 then settled on 59 which works great now.

Third oh mate how can I ever thank you enough. You know what I went in today and played winner stays on. Put my foot on line and made an effort not to let it move. Yes it felt uncomfortable but I did it with discipline - you have any idea what happened ....? I went to the club 2:30 and left 8 pm winning all the thirteen frames I played in a row. Undefeated ! No big breaks just the usual 30 and 40 odds but man I was too dangerous today getting everything done. I never knew this foot movement can create such a big difference. Thank goodness I posted the vid and you notified me of the foot and yes it has a big difference. Due to foot movement my hip was getting away from shot my stance was faulty. Wow man you are a true saviour although this might be psychological and I need to wait for a few days to make sure that this is what made the difference. Will keep you posted. But man keeping that foot locked made all the difference I was so compact and so confident like wow !!!

thanks a lot my dear Steve. Sorry about your cue mate and now I shall have a relaxed relieved sleep my back hurts my left ankle hurts and my bridge arm shoulder tendinitis is back again ...... but I am happy.

[vmax]

OK Sidd, so right now it all hurts a bit but that is due to doing something you don't usually do, and you did play for a long time. Of course it could be psychological, the one swing thought theory that Terry teaches to focus your mind on one thing letting all the other natural things fall into place, but if this foot movement did indeed take the butt of your cue offline, as it did with myself, then you now have the whole of the cue on the line of aim and are no longer cueing across the line.
Your long potting will no doubt improve, the mid range pots you will be more confident on, and when in you shouldn't miss anything easy apart from lack of concentration.
If the pain persists then stand behind the shot in your stance position (boxer or square) sight the line from that position and step into the shot with your foot already at the angle needed for comfort and you should stay on line.
This is now what I do on most tables, there is a low table in our club that makes my usual stance difficult and on this one I keep the back leg foot pointing straight down the line and bend both knees, this also works well.

I know I shouldn't muck about with my stance but low tables really do affect it as I drop to my usual position but then need to drop a couple or three inches lower, it feels wrong and I'm sure this takes me offline and I'm also looking above the lenses on my specs, so bending both knees keeps my body more horizontal and my head more upright.

If the pain persists and bending both kness doesn't work then try placing your foot a tad to the right so that the foot movement brings you onto the line of aim rather than taking you off it, there are many ways around this but no pain no gain as they say
Stance is vital in snooker, get the whole of the cue on the line of aim and then everything else will fall into place and your hand wil follow your eyes without contradiction from your subconscious that knows when you're off line and tries to rectify it on the strike leading to movement.

[DeanH]

can I ask, who is "Terry"?

[Sidd]

OK Sidd, so right now it all hurts a bit but that is due to doing something you don't usually do, and you did play for a long time. Of course it could be psychological, the one swing thought theory that Terry teaches to focus your mind on one thing letting all the other natural things fall into place, but if this foot movement did indeed take the butt of your cue offline, as it did with myself, then you now have the whole of the cue on the line of aim and are no longer cueing across the line.
Your long potting will no doubt improve, the mid range pots you will be more confident on, and when in you shouldn't miss anything easy apart from lack of concentration.
If the pain persists then stand behind the shot in your stance position (boxer or square) sight the line from that position and step into the shot with your foot already at the angle needed for comfort and you should stay on line.
This is now what I do on most tables, there is a low table in our club that makes my usual stance difficult and on this one I keep the back leg foot pointing straight down the line and bend both knees, this also works well.

I know I shouldn't muck about with my stance but low tables really do affect it as I drop to my usual position but then need to drop a couple or three inches lower, it feels wrong and I'm sure this takes me offline and I'm also looking above the lenses on my specs, so bending both knees keeps my body more horizontal and my head more upright.

If the pain persists and bending both kness doesn't work then try placing your foot a tad to the right so that the foot movement brings you onto the line of aim rather than taking you off it, there are many ways around this but no pain no gain as they say
Stance is vital in snooker, get the whole of the cue on the line of aim and then everything else will fall into place and your hand wil follow your eyes without contradiction from your subconscious that knows when you're off line and tries to rectify it on the strike leading to movement.

Dear Steve, I went in again yesterday and playing intentionally trying to keep that foot in the line of the shot and without moving. It still felt strange and a bit uncomfortable because I am not used to with it but I missed another 50 on 48 on the last blue as after the brown my CB got stunned in to the side cushion otherwise it was a clear cut clearance of 67. I think I came from the last 6 or 7 reds This is huge improvement for me. Yes my long game has improved dramatically and suddenly- mid range pots I feel more in command and when in the balls those small positional shots near pink and black with open reds is like I have never played before. I still miss and all that but the FEEL that I have- I think I have never had this before. Is it still psychological - this week shall tell - but I feel so so different inside of me when at the table now.

This is lovely ! thanks again mate.

[vmax]

can I ask, who is "Terry"?

Our resident coach Terry Davidson, not been here much after his illnesss and the forum change, shame.

This small change that has put Sidd's cue butt on the line of aim goes to show that with a basic compact snooker stance a straight cue action should be pretty easy to to achieve, after all the cue only moves about nine inches, the trick is getting the whole of the cue on the line of aim. When this is achieved everything looks and feels correct, if it looks and feels wrong then you're simply not standing in the right place; so many little things can be out of place and sometimes it only takes one change, sometimes it takes many but one change at a time, see if it makes a difference, if not then try something else.

It used to be so very hard to notice these anomolies in your own game, after all back in the day we couldn't watch ourselves play, but now with the advent of the smartphone we can all film ourselves and be our own coaches as long as we know what to look for, first thing is to get a cue that fits your height and then to truly understand hand/eye co-ordination, how you sight the shot and how to get the whole of the cue on the line of aim.

[DeanH]

I was hoping you were talking about TD
Yes I understand he has not been well of late - hope he gets well.

He did help Sidd back in the day so nice that his advice is rolling through the years

[Sidd]

I was hoping you were talking about TD
Yes I understand he has not been well of late - hope he gets well.

He did help Sidd back in the day so nice that his advice is rolling through the years

What happened to him? I do sincerely hope he is all right and would be back soon. Yes he did help me a lot no doubt- good kind man Terry. He told me in detail about the pre-shot routine when I literally had none. Also stance in terms of dropping down dead straight on the line as well as the fact that I really bothered him too much in terms with the grip- my psychological enemy- the grip. Too good I have finally gotten hold of these things. Hope TD gets well soon and is back here with us ready to help others !

[Sidd]

Our resident coach Terry Davidson, not been here much after his illnesss and the forum change, shame.

This small change that has put Sidd's cue butt on the line of aim goes to show that with a basic compact snooker stance a straight cue action should be pretty easy to to achieve, after all the cue only moves about nine inches, the trick is getting the whole of the cue on the line of aim. When this is achieved everything looks and feels correct, if it looks and feels wrong then you're simply not standing in the right place; so many little things can be out of place and sometimes it only takes one change, sometimes it takes many but one change at a time, see if it makes a difference, if not then try something else.

It used to be so very hard to notice these anomolies in your own game, after all back in the day we couldn't watch ourselves play, but now with the advent of the smartphone we can all film ourselves and be our own coaches as long as we know what to look for, first thing is to get a cue that fits your height and then to truly understand hand/eye co-ordination, how you sight the shot and how to get the whole of the cue on the line of aim.

Oh yes. I have learnt with experience and evidence how such a tiny bit of detail can help getting that cue on the line. If my friend hadn’t captured that video and I hadn’t put it up here I would never have known what’s wrong in my set up and would’ve kept tinkering and blaming the grip which I have been doing since years. You noticed something so so tiny that I personally would’ve never seen and since other guys don’t do it they don’t notice or might know of it. I’m lucky to have been here and have had that corrected.

I feel confident in my set up and technique and have been playing differently. Yesterday I won a session from 2-1 down to 3-2 ..... in my club I’m famous for my safety but in the decider due to my set up improvement with not moving the foot - my safety remained impeccable. Got a chance made a 38 lost position went safe. Got a chance on green score mine 12 and cleared up to the pink

cheers