Look over the following 4
shots for a moment and look for a few things that they all might have in common,
and then we’ll get on with our lesson.
What do they all have in common?
They all require spin? Yep.
The position shots all have the cue ball entering the
position zone properly?
Very good, I’m proud of you for recognizing that.
They all require you to deliver the cue ball to a very
precise location on or near the object ball while applying side spin. Very good,
who said that?
Delivering
the cue ball to a precise location while applying side spin is not only an art
but it’s an art that we simply must add to our game. Traditionally we’ve
been warned to stay away from side spin until we have a firm handle on center
ball; here I go again in my best teacher to student deep voice
“Oh no, you‘re not ready for that fancy stuff yet,
lets work on that stance a little longer“.
I say that type of thinking has been holding us back,
so this month I’m going to get you to practice the most useful shot you may
never use, Stop shots with side spin. Most people that try this
shot or see someone else trying it usually come up with just about the same
expression, crunched eyebrows & same words, “why, what’s the use“?
The use is this, if you can’t deliver it
accurately here, what makes you think you can deliver it accurately anywhere
else? At least while we’re straight in we can all pretty much agree we know
where to aim. If we miss here, we can not only blame our technique of applying
side spin or our feel for estimating the effects the side spin had on the cue
ball but we can also learn quickly from this shot.
Most people go immediately blind when they miss a shot
and they have no real factual clue as to why the shot was missed or even how it
was missed. We will not go blind. We will learn from each and every shot,
especially the misses and we will do so as fast and as effectively as possible.
