Aiming - Many ways to get to the same path
It's interesting to me as a student of the game to learn about different systems and techniques. There have always been rumblings about various aiming systems, but until somewhat recently knowledge like this would be handed down from player to player, or occasionally someone would write a book or publish an article in a magazine exposing some but usually not all of the "secrets".
There are many different ways to aim. I learned like most people about the ghost ball concept from numerous books, probably because it is the simplest way to illustrate where the cue ball must hit the object ball to send it to the pocket, not taking into account collision induced throw etc. But since I, like a lot of other people, am not the most visual person, I always had a hard time picturing some imaginary ball to aim at, or some imaginary point 1 1/8 inches away from the contact point to roll the cue ball over. Up until a few years ago I aimed by picturing the amount of overlap between the cue ball and the object ball necessary to send it in the direction of the pocket, and that correct overlapping picture was honed through trial and error and a lot of practice and calibration. Even though I played pretty well, there were shots where I felt less confident than others, and many shots where even in critical situations I felt like I was just guessing and hoping the ball went in.
So about 8 years ago when I started playing again, thanks to the internet and specifically the AZ Billiards forum, I started getting curious again about these systems. I first tried 90/90, and had a nice phone call with Ron Vitello himself, the creator of the system. It actually worked pretty well, and I used it in competition, but ultimately I could only get it to work consistently for a certain range of shots. It was clear I didn't have enough knowledge of it to use it from all positions and just never spent the time to pursue it further. I also heard about and saw some videos on CTE, found it interesting but again didn't pursue it enough to try and incorporate it into my regular game. I also saw some other approaches such as double the distance or various fractional systems, but none of those felt right for me.
Then I met Stan Shuffett, creator of Pro One, at a local pro event. I actually met him, his son Landon, and Stevie Moore, all practicing side by side in one of the rooms I play in regularly. I knew Stan created and taught an aiming system and that both Landon and Stevie used the same system. So I said hi and Stan was gracious enough to talk to me for 15 - 30 minutes and explain some things and show me some of his materials. I was pretty interested but couldn't make the journey for lessons at that time.
Fast forward a few years, right when I started playing again after a year off, and I'm catching up on the forums and everything I missed and see that Stan came out with a DVD on his system! I got it, and after my first viewing I was - confused. Several things didn't make sense, but I couldn't stop there, I just felt it had to work. I reached out to a few guys on the forums who were well versed in aiming systems (John Barton, Dave Segal, and Joey A) and they addressed my questions via email or phone calls. I watched the DVD again, and still had some questions, so reached out to Stan and had a long conversation with him over the phone and quite a few follow ups as well. I took the advice to the table and immediately had success. I spent the next 4 - 6 weeks working with the system and perfecting the aiming lines and pivots, and for the next year and a half using the system in my everyday play, constantly tweaking and learning along the way.
I then became aware of another system called SEE invented by Ekkes in Germany. This system seemed mysterious because it used the shadows under the balls as aiming points. However, once reading the manual and going to the table it immediately just worked for me. It was the perfect addition and complement to Pro One, a matter of fact when in my initial sighting position I can visualize both the Pro One and SEE alignments simultaneously. I even played around for a while with interchanging and combining the sighting and pivot/sweep methods of both, and while there are synergies I ultimately found that SEE was just more natural for me and I stuck with that as my primary system. So much so that I became certified to teach SEE here in the US, and Ekkes and I have become friends and talk and exchange ideas frequently. I still use some Pro One concepts on certain types of specialty shots where needed, or even just resort to feel and experience. Ultimately, I just want to be 100% comfortable with the shot at hand and feel like I'm lined up perfectly and confidently to make the shot.
Check out the SEE and Pro One page for more details on these specific systems, and feel free to contact me using the link at the top of the page with any questions or for more information.
There are many different ways to aim. I learned like most people about the ghost ball concept from numerous books, probably because it is the simplest way to illustrate where the cue ball must hit the object ball to send it to the pocket, not taking into account collision induced throw etc. But since I, like a lot of other people, am not the most visual person, I always had a hard time picturing some imaginary ball to aim at, or some imaginary point 1 1/8 inches away from the contact point to roll the cue ball over. Up until a few years ago I aimed by picturing the amount of overlap between the cue ball and the object ball necessary to send it in the direction of the pocket, and that correct overlapping picture was honed through trial and error and a lot of practice and calibration. Even though I played pretty well, there were shots where I felt less confident than others, and many shots where even in critical situations I felt like I was just guessing and hoping the ball went in.
So about 8 years ago when I started playing again, thanks to the internet and specifically the AZ Billiards forum, I started getting curious again about these systems. I first tried 90/90, and had a nice phone call with Ron Vitello himself, the creator of the system. It actually worked pretty well, and I used it in competition, but ultimately I could only get it to work consistently for a certain range of shots. It was clear I didn't have enough knowledge of it to use it from all positions and just never spent the time to pursue it further. I also heard about and saw some videos on CTE, found it interesting but again didn't pursue it enough to try and incorporate it into my regular game. I also saw some other approaches such as double the distance or various fractional systems, but none of those felt right for me.
Then I met Stan Shuffett, creator of Pro One, at a local pro event. I actually met him, his son Landon, and Stevie Moore, all practicing side by side in one of the rooms I play in regularly. I knew Stan created and taught an aiming system and that both Landon and Stevie used the same system. So I said hi and Stan was gracious enough to talk to me for 15 - 30 minutes and explain some things and show me some of his materials. I was pretty interested but couldn't make the journey for lessons at that time.
Fast forward a few years, right when I started playing again after a year off, and I'm catching up on the forums and everything I missed and see that Stan came out with a DVD on his system! I got it, and after my first viewing I was - confused. Several things didn't make sense, but I couldn't stop there, I just felt it had to work. I reached out to a few guys on the forums who were well versed in aiming systems (John Barton, Dave Segal, and Joey A) and they addressed my questions via email or phone calls. I watched the DVD again, and still had some questions, so reached out to Stan and had a long conversation with him over the phone and quite a few follow ups as well. I took the advice to the table and immediately had success. I spent the next 4 - 6 weeks working with the system and perfecting the aiming lines and pivots, and for the next year and a half using the system in my everyday play, constantly tweaking and learning along the way.
I then became aware of another system called SEE invented by Ekkes in Germany. This system seemed mysterious because it used the shadows under the balls as aiming points. However, once reading the manual and going to the table it immediately just worked for me. It was the perfect addition and complement to Pro One, a matter of fact when in my initial sighting position I can visualize both the Pro One and SEE alignments simultaneously. I even played around for a while with interchanging and combining the sighting and pivot/sweep methods of both, and while there are synergies I ultimately found that SEE was just more natural for me and I stuck with that as my primary system. So much so that I became certified to teach SEE here in the US, and Ekkes and I have become friends and talk and exchange ideas frequently. I still use some Pro One concepts on certain types of specialty shots where needed, or even just resort to feel and experience. Ultimately, I just want to be 100% comfortable with the shot at hand and feel like I'm lined up perfectly and confidently to make the shot.
Check out the SEE and Pro One page for more details on these specific systems, and feel free to contact me using the link at the top of the page with any questions or for more information.
