Johnny Henson, Professor Pool
When coaching students to improve their games, I emphasize that players must improve and perform well in many different areas of their games. Over the years I have competed against many very good players in tournaments. The players who I feared the most are the ones that were well-rounded and very good in many different areas of their games. Sure some players were strong in certain areas such as banks, cut shots, long shots, and draw shots. When I knew a player was not well-rounded, I would just simply play away from their strengths and toward their weaknesses, in order to defeat them. If you think of each skill in your billiard game as a toy you get to play with. The player with the most toys will usually win the match or tournament.
Now I want you to think of yourself as a conductor of a band. I want you to think of each skill you have as an instrument in that band. The more instruments in your band, the better music your band can play. Let’s say you can’t do bank shots, then you have no trumpets, or you can’t do draw shots, you have no drums. You get the idea. If you want to play well and be regarded as a really good all around player by your peers, you need to have a complete band with all the instruments, so you can play beautiful music or play a good game.
It’s been said that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. This is so true in this game of billiard-pool that we play. If a player is a poor banker. Then every time they have a bank shot to win a game or match, they either miss the shot or throw away a run out by trying to avoid shooting the bank shot. Either way your game can’t flow the way it should. You can never be the player or champion you should if you don’t have confidence with certain shots or skills. No one can play well if they have fear of the shot they are trying to shoot. If your leg is shaking, you ain’t making the shot.
Some shots that players need coaching or instruction in are: long banks, cross banks, back cuts, thin cuts, long kicks, cross kicks, caroms, balls on rails, combinations, and jumping, just to name a few. Some skills that players need improvement in are drawing the cue ball, defense, running patterns, cue ball control, game and match strategy. Ask yourself: How many weak links do you have? With proper instruction, coaching, and practicing, you can replace weak links with strong ones, and add some more instruments to your band.
The best way to add new skills and improve your game is to hire a billiard coach. A coach is an instructor, teacher, mentor, and motivator. Most players deceive themselves into thinking they can be self-taught to improve their games. I tell students, if you could truly teach yourself how to be a great player, you would have already done it. All professional players work with a professional coach to instruct, inspire, mentor, and motivate them to be the best player they can be. If hiring a coach works for the best players in the world, it can also work for you. Seeking out professional instruction can take your billiards game to new heights in a short period of time. Contact us for more information at [email protected] or call 623-377-0042. Visit BilliardUniversity.com to learn more about our classes.