Players endorsing SightRight

[mick farrell]

The finest example of left eye right handed play came from the man who started it all ie. the great JOE DAVIS. his book How I Play Snooker used by Bill Davis in the development of a certain Steve's game was without doubt the standard work for coaching the game and in many repects still is. The only real flaw in the book is summed up in the title How I (Joe Davis) play snooker. Joe was Left eye right handed and the result was a super compact stance, cue brushing waistcoat and over tie knot. Frank Callen noted this flaw in general coaching and very often without messing with the stance would point out sighting alignment changes that he felt were needed. Having coached over 2000 players over the last thirty odd years I always check for master eye. I only suggest occasionally a change of head position or squaring of the stance for same sided players and always make the point that whatever happens what feels best naturally and does not cause ANY discomfort is the best way to go. I am sure Joe Davis received advice as his game developed from childhood but his (slightly narrow) stance was purely what felt right for him.

The sight right method is obviously an asset to many as it is building a confidence in some already very fine sports people whose belief is building this confidence.
.

Hi franksandellsnooker.
I spoke to Frank about Joe Davis. Frank told me of the time he was watching Joe play in someones private snooker room in Blackpool. Joe made a 99 break and missed a pink off it's spot for the century. Joe's words were "how did I miss that?" to which Frank replied " you lifted your head Joe. In fact you lift your head on every shot!" Frank & Joe were good friends but after this exchange Joe did not speak to Frank for five weeks.
Joe mentioned in his book that his right eye had gotten worse as he got older. But since sighted over his left eye it would not have affected him.
Franksandellsnooker, have you ever coached anybody sighting like Graham Miles (cue under left ear) or had anyone who has even lost an eye and had no option but to drastically change their head position? Thanks.

[tommygunner1309]

Mick if you can knock in 100 breaks, I would suggest that you have the eye thing about right. A 134 by any standards is top drawer, so I wouldn't think about changing anything. I am still trying to get it right. I played this morning and for the first two frames potted better than I have ever potted. This is due to reading a lot from Nic Barrow and Terry Richardson, two top coaches, and I conciously noticed that I was cueing centre as far as head position was concerned. I went off the boil a bit later, and this is what annoys me. I can't really put my finger on why, as the stroke seems the same - smooth and slow backswing with a slight acceleration on the delivery. Still, I have improved since my two days with Steve and Terry and hope I will continue to do so.

[mick farrell]

Mick if you can knock in 100 breaks, I would suggest that you have the eye thing about right. A 134 by any standards is top drawer, so I wouldn't think about changing anything. I am still trying to get it right. I played this morning and for the first two frames potted better than I have ever potted. This is due to reading a lot from Nic Barrow and Terry Richardson, two top coaches, and I conciously noticed that I was cueing centre as far as head position was concerned. I went off the boil a bit later, and this is what annoys me. I can't really put my finger on why, as the stroke seems the same - smooth and slow backswing with a slight acceleration on the delivery. Still, I have improved since my two days with Steve and Terry and hope I will continue to do so.

Hi tommygunner1309. My 134 was 5 years ago (and my last 100 break). I phoned Frank Callan in 2003 because I was starting to not just play a bit poorer but I felt that my cue action was feeling strange and unnatural. Frank asked me what my personal best break was (it was 116 at the time) and how many centuries I had made (20 to 25 not sure exactly). He said to me " well, you can play the game then... " before I interrupted him to say that was playing like someone who would struggle to make a 60+. He said " I am guessing your age and that you are in your mid 30s or older "( I was 35!) and how the game does not come as easy to you at this age and beyond.
I am now 44 and the game feels a damn sight harder than it it did at 35.

[hotpot]

If you have a very good cue action and your technique is almost faultless like near enough every pro then i think your game will decline with age , if you have not and have got flaws then i dont thing age is a barrier for improvement , it,s finding the solutions that holds you back .

[tommygunner1309]

Hi hotpot and Mick - Yes I think you are both right - I am 67 now and find the game much more difficult than when I was younger.
The only saving grace is that I have learned much more over the last few years - its a case of "if only I knew then what I know now" ---- but I still love the game, and I play in the league so its still very enjoyable'

[Terry Davidson]

tommygunner:

I agree with you completely. I played to a decent standard in my early 40's but now at 67yrs I struggle on a day-to-day basis and at the start of each day I sort of have to 're-train' myself to make sure I'm doing what I know is right.

It's almost like if I take a coffee/ciggy break I have to re-train myself. The other thing about age and competetive playing is the stamina. I find after 2 best of 7 matches by the time I get to the third one during the day there's just no gas left in the tank

Terry

[Strickimicki]

Hi all,

I have often written about this here on the forum, well about my own problems with a very dominant right eye. I have over the years also come to the conclusion that Right handed / left eyed or Left handed / right eyed players are better built for this game of ours. I had some training a couple of years ago with Nick Barrow and we addressed this problem over two days. Even though Nick did eventually come up with a Half cure for my problem, it is still here and still causing me problems. I can on some days pot most anything, then again on other days I can't seem to get behind the shot correctly to make it look like it's going to go in the pocket. This is very confusing for a player, and causes terrible problems.

I only yesterday was pacticing the above mentioned long blues with follow through (white into same pocket as blue). I found that if I was getting down on the shot with my cue running along the correct contact point on my chest, that I was managing the pot and follow through as wished for. Having said that, most of the time the pot looked like I was aiming about 10cm to the right of the pocket. As sufferers of this know, this is not a very good set up for playing good snooker!

If anybody comes up with a real cure or helper for these problems, I'd like to find out about it! If Right-Sight really works, I'd like to hear some of your experiences also.

Brian.

[tommygunner1309]

Yes Terry. Its really interesting you should say that. Yesterday morning I played against my old pal and won the first two frames by a mile. I potted everything in sight. My cueing was as smooth as an eel in a bucket of oil and I felt like I could pot them off the lampshade. Then we went for a fag and coffee break and I only won one of the next three. Cueing was offline, and felt lumpy. I don't know why the consistency goes that way - but I will put it down to age - and maybe a loss of concentration

tommygunner:

I agree with you completely. I played to a decent standard in my early 40's but now at 67yrs I struggle on a day-to-day basis and at the start of each day I sort of have to 're-train' myself to make sure I'm doing what I know is right.

It's almost like if I take a coffee/ciggy break I have to re-train myself. The other thing about age and competetive playing is the stamina. I find after 2 best of 7 matches by the time I get to the third one during the day there's just no gas left in the tank

Terry

[hotpot]

There are so many things that can and do go wrong on the shot and to play well everything has to be in sync . Steeping into the shot on line and consistenly is vital when you can do that the grip seems to be an area that causes a lot of headaches for a lot of players , even good and experienved ones . Having a relaxed grip and experimenting where you place your fingers around the cue that feel comfortable and deliveres the cue straight is as important too . When your grip feels right you always seem to cue weel and straight , if not it causes nightmares .

[mick farrell]

Hi all,

I have often written about this here on the forum, well about my own problems with a very dominant right eye. I have over the years also come to the conclusion that Right handed / left eyed or Left handed / right eyed players are better built for this game of ours. I had some training a couple of years ago with Nick Barrow and we addressed this problem over two days. Even though Nick did eventually come up with a Half cure for my problem, it is still here and still causing me problems. I can on some days pot most anything, then again on other days I can't seem to get behind the shot correctly to make it look like it's going to go in the pocket. This is very confusing for a player, and causes terrible problems.

I only yesterday was pacticing the above mentioned long blues with follow through (white into same pocket as blue). I found that if I was getting down on the shot with my cue running along the correct contact point on my chest, that I was managing the pot and follow through as wished for. Having said that, most of the time the pot looked like I was aiming about 10cm to the right of the pocket. As sufferers of this know, this is not a very good set up for playing good snooker!

If anybody comes up with a real cure or helper for these problems, I'd like to find out about it! If Right-Sight really works, I'd like to hear some of your experiences also.

Brian.

Hi Brian. Your problem sounds like mine. I am interested to know what the "half-cure" was for the problem. The problem with snooker is that when you are in close amongst the balls (around the pink & black) with the reds nicely spread, you can be off line but still make 70+ breaks because you will not face - and miss - a long shot that will expose your bad alignment. My long potting is absolutely dreadful by the way (always has been) I can miss them by feet.

[hotpot]

Mick do you miss the long ones mainly to the left of pocket .

[Strickimicki]

Basically it's quite easy,

1) You need somebody to watch you.

2) You need to know which is your dominant eye (Nick is going to kill me for saying that)

First thing to do is to get down on the shot, keeping everything straight! Now the person watching you should make a note of which eye is over the ball (tendency, not exactly). I was always trying to get my right eye over the ball, which in turn was making me move my cueing arm in accordance (tut tut, very wrong). Well now without you having moved (needs checking), tilt or move your head until you get the feeling that the ball will actually land in the pocket. When you have found the postition on your chin that gives you the highest security, stick with it concentrate and things in time should get better.

But we are not machines, and I'm totally off line again at the moment and will be going back in to solo practice and alligning myself over the next few weeks.

Just a small mention of a tip that I would like people to try,

point at a piece of chalk, light switch, ornament on the mantle piece or anything smallish about 10 feet away, with both eyes open. Your dominant eye should place your finger over that object. Hold that postition for the count of 20 secs and the relax. At the moment due to lack of practice, I see 2 fingers that merge into one or two light switches. This with practice does get better and you will have a lot more success with potting at snooker. The idea is obviously to get the view of one finger covering the one object, without wavering or seperating. OBVIOUSLY WITH BOTH EYES OPEN!

[jim evans]

right lads just checked and ime right handed left eye dominent how should i be cueing left eye over cue i seem to miss pots more to the left of pocket than right side

[Strickimicki]

Always start in the middle of your chin and then in your case work slowly to the left until it feels correct and looks correct!

[mick farrell]

Mick do you miss the long ones mainly to the left of pocket .

Yes, hotpot. A straight long pot will usually be missed on the left.