Yep, it's that time again...  Everyone goes through peaks, valleys, and plateaus, even pros, and sometimes you just need to go back and review all of your fundamentals to see if something might be getting in the way of you playing your best.  I took a few lessons over the last couple months, only numbers 4 and 5 for me in my pool career, and while they weren't specifically on fundamentals, a few things were uncovered and made me want to really take a hard look at everything I was doing.  The best way to do this is to capture some video of yourself shooting, so let me give you some advice on how to go about doing that and what to look for.

If you are self-analyzing, you will ideally want to use a high def, newer style video camera.  If you don't have one of these, most current cell phones on the market also come with HD recording capabilities, so as long as you have a good light source and can prop the camera and phone up high enough and in the right position you should be fine with either option.  You can also ask a friend to record the session, or as a last resort ask them to watch your stroke and tell them what to look for.

I suggest capturing video from back, front, and side views.  I'm certainly no expert in this, have not attended any certified schools to learn how to do video lessons etc., but a lot of it is common sense.  You want multiple views to see different things from different angles.  Make sure the parts you are recording are in the frame, and unless you are working on something specific, shoot normal shots into the pocket with the camera directly behind or in front of the shot.  Try to shoot a variety of shots and speeds after the normal baseline to see if anything changes.  When you are done recording the basics you can also shoot a few racks and watch later to look at your overall rhythm, patterns, etc. 

What should you look for when analyzing your stroke?  From the back view, I'm looking to make sure the stick is roughly over your back foot, that it stays on line during the stroke, check the grip tightness and opening/closing of the hand, wrist angle to the stick, alignment of the upper arm and elbow over the stick, look for the arm or elbow moving up and down or sideways excessively, and generally looking to make sure the stance and stroke don't look cramped or crooked.  From the front view, I will assess many of the same things as above but also see the follow through more clearly and make sure it stays on line with the shot, look for consistent stick/eye alignment and perhaps watch the eye patterns, check for head movement during the shot, and watch the overall stroke pattern and rhythm.  From the side view, I make sure the forearm is roughly at 90 degrees to the stick, watch the grip movement during the stroke and the overall rhythm and pattern, watch for changes in or excessive tension (everything should just flow smoothly), and look for raising/lowering of the elbow or stick during the stroke.  

I'm sure there are more things than this, and I'll go into more details on certain aspects in future articles, but this is similar to the high level assessment I first do when seeing a student for the first time.  I'm really just looking for glaring flaws or flaws that could be holding the back or causing inconsistencies (as I just found with my stroke - oops...).  I also don't subscribe to any one way of doing things, so I try to stick to the preference vs. principle idea.  There are many ways to accomplish something, but there are certain things that ideally must happen for the stroke to be pure and consistent.  Anything beyond those few principles is a preference and you have leeway in how you approach and execute those concepts and personalize your stroke.  Just because you do something different than me, or different than what is generally taught, doesn't make it bad.  Even if you have a pretty distinct flaw, if you are able to execute shots consistently I wouldn't go out of my way to change it.


Which brings me to the picture above.  Jerry Briesath is a phenomenal instructor and one of the founding fathers of the current PBIA certified instructor program.  He is actually who I had my first lesson with after I had been playing for almost 15 years and it still is one of the best 2 1/2 hours of instruction I've ever received.  If you are looking to get back to fundamentals and get some great advice, I highly recommend his latest DVD series, it's a 3 DVD set and you won't be disappointed.

Hope this helps those of you who are looking to analyze your strokes.  If you would like me to analyze your personal  video and offer some suggestions, just post the video online (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) and email me a brief description and the link and I'd be happy to help.

This is a nice complement to the across the table version.  This one though isn’t so much about working on your stroke as it is working on position play.  

This drill is quite versatile as well, with several approaches ranging from easy to more difficult:

1)      Shoot in any order, any pocket, from either side

2)      Shoot in any order, any pocket, but staying on the same side of the line

3)      Shoot in any order but only in the two corner pockets

4)      Shoot in order, staying on the same side, either any pocket or corners only

5)      Shoot in order, alternating sides, any pocket or corners only

6)      If you are not feeling challenged, bank them all in cross corner or cross side

So try this one out as well, maybe alternating from time to time with the across the table version to keep things interesting.

This is a fantastic drill for players of all skill levels, simplistic in its complexity (if that even makes sense).  While it can be both boring and frustrating at the same time, there are so many variations that there is something for everyone.

In its basic form, you line up 15 balls across the middle of the table and place the cue ball 2 diamonds away so that the shot is straight in on the 1 ball.  If you are a beginner, feel free to place the cue ball just 1 diamond away (along the third diamond) to make it a bit easier.  Take your time and line up the shot properly, no reason to make it harder than it already is.  Go through your routine and pocket the 1 ball in the corner with a nice smooth stop shot.  Move the cue ball so that it’s straight in on the 2 ball and shoot it in the corner pocket next.  Continue up to the 8 ball, at which point you can choose to shoot it in the same corner or switch corners.  Then continue with the 9 – 15 in the opposite corner.

This is great for assessing flaws in your stroke – and also your ability to line the shots up straight…  There is enough distance between the cue ball and object ball and the object ball and pocket where slight mishits will not go in, especially on tight equipment.  You also learn to aim for the proper part of the pocket as you get closer to the rails.  You will see if you favor one side or the other, and if hitting stop shots how good your stop shot really is.  You can focus on different things as you repeat the drill – maybe your grip, eye patterns, smoothness of stroke, staying down, etc.  Like I said, a lot bundled up in this one drill.

But wait – there’s more.  This is a perfect drill to do in sets and to keep track of your scores.  Keeping score not only gives you a baseline and helps you measure improvement, but it also adds pressure while doing the drill as you try to beat previous best scores, adding an element of real competitive pressure to your practice. 

The easiest way to score is what you would expect - just keep track of how many balls you make out of 15.  Whenever you miss just leave the ball on the table and put it in the middle of the opposite end rail, then it’s easy to count when you are done.  You can also shoot until you miss, then line up and start over.  If you manage to sink 15 out of 15, keep going and try to beat your high score.

If you get tired of shooting stop shots over and over, add some variety.  Do a few rows where you try and follow the ball in the pocket, or draw back to the end rail.  Work on smoothness and accuracy, shooting only as hard as necessary to get the cue ball to its target and having it roll end over end with no side spin.  You can also work on replacement shots, or short draws, to really fine tune your tip position and speed control.  If you are an advanced player, move the cue ball back to the first diamond, or even frozen to the end rail.  The possibilities are endless.

Ralf Eckert mentioned shooting 5000 shots using this drill!  It is a great way to refine and perfect your stroke.  If you committed to just 10 rows of 15 balls each week, it would take 33 weeks to complete, but at the end of that time imagine how much improvement you would see with your alignment and stroke, and your confidence on these types of shots would soar during matches.  Something to think about for sure.