Tip Of The Week

Number: 27 Jim Tellier November 2011

TOPIC: Stay Put!

CATEGORY: Beginner to Intermediate

INTRODUCTION:

Everybody does it: sometime or another: jump up before they have actually finished the shot. What happens? Well, you probably MISS the shot! Why? Because, whether you can see it or not, you probably start jumping up even before the cue tip hits the cue ball. So, you simply dont hit it where you intended to hit it. IF you can fix that.and you CAN you will improve your game significantly! If this is a serious problem for you, I would bet that once you fix it, you could see yourself going up a full skill level. Its that big of a deal!.

TECHNIQUE:

1.     Get your body into the proper position for the shot before you get down to do your practice strokes. Dont adjust your body position after youre down on the shot!!!! Get back up and reset!!! If youre not in the right position to start with, you will be more inclined to do silly things like putting body English on the shot another form of jumping up, really.

2.     Keep your body really still (except for your arm moving the stick back and forth with your practice strokes) ALL THE WAY through the shot. This means until the CUE BALL stops moving. Not just that the object ball goes in the pocket. Why? You give your brain time to process what has happened and positioning the cue ball IS a big part of what you tried to do with the shot, right?

3.     Once you start your practice strokes relax and stay loose. If you find yourself tensing up, stand up, even take a walk around the table, and reset your position. Dont feel rushed!

4.     When are you ready to take the shot? When you decide that the practice stroke you just took was perfect take a little pause, focus on the object ball, and decide that it is going in that pocket! Shoot it with honest conviction. Stay down until you see the CB stop, and then get up and move on to the next shot.