Comments on: Don’t Waste Your Money on Pool Lessons!

By: John Biddle

John Biddle — Thu, 06 May 2010 13:28:52 +0000

Brian, by all means get the lessons. But be prepared to do the practice that’s required to turn the knowledge gained into skills and an improved game. Guitar lessons won’t make you a guitar player without the practice, but with practice they make rapid progress possible. Best of luck in your effort.

By: Brian Spence

Brian Spence — Thu, 06 May 2010 01:35:25 +0000

Awesome Blog! Like what everyone has said. What great timing for me to run into this article. I am just like the guy portrayed in the article, but have not gotten the lessons. I love the game, and am always looking into what is going on. I play on an inconsistent basis, but have more time available to practice and play these days. So we will see where this goes. Thanks again for the post.

By: Ingo Peter (ratta)

Ingo Peter (ratta) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:16:56 +0000

Nice article-

In my opinion nothin can beat a lesson with a good instructor. Scott already shown up in his posting the (imo) most important thing: the student have to believe *in HIS instructor*. An instructor without any reputation will have a big problem with students. The first thing i try to transport and explain to a student is, that i m just able to show him to get good fundamentals (technique, stance, stroke)- and then teach him the way how to practice successfully…to become a good billiards-player. If i already *feel* that the guy isn t able to work for his success, i ll let him know. LIke Scott also said: it would be just wasting my time and his money.
lg from germany,

Ingo

By: Ed The Book

Ed The Book — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:05:25 +0000

Can’t beat lessons from a trained instructor. The most important thing that I learned was proper stroke and body alignment. When you have that you can start the long journey of learning the game knowing that you have the proper foundation.

By: Ginky

Ginky — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:13:04 +0000

I believe lessons are good, combined with practice. Think of it this way. If you constantly practice, but dont take any lessons from someone of a higher caliber than you, how are you going to improve. You need an equal combination of both. I know this because I’ve taken a few students from begginer level to semi-pro level. If I hadn’t been there to guide them through, they would have mastered their level, their speed, but nothing more…

By: Tom Simpson

Tom Simpson — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:00:30 +0000

Dang. I’m going to have to return that shipment of Magic Pills I just bought.

Great article, John.

By: John Biddle

John Biddle — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:18:21 +0000

Steve, Ernie & Scott,

Thanks for the kind words. Coming from guys like you it means a lot. As I hope I made clear, I view lessons from a professional instructor as well worth the investment, as long as you’re ready to do the follow-up work. Though there may be some exceptions, I’m not familiar with any reputable instructor or school misrepresenting this to clients, just that many clients for whatever reason, don’t do the follow-up and consequently don’t get the big return on their money they hoped for.

Scott, this was not written about one person. I know of three people who each took lessons with different, well known and well respected instructors, and each missed their opportunity to turn the knowledge and wisdom shared with them, into improvements in their game. Our friend is one of these people, but he may still escape this fate, if he gets with the program soon.

By: Scott Lee

Scott Lee — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:24:47 +0000

John…A great article, and hits the nail on the head. I can only “point the way”…LOL…the student has to WANT to do the work, that will show up as big strides in their game playing. It sounds like you are talking about someone in particular. I have yet to followup with that student, but I will shortly, to give them a kick in the behind. As I tell all my students, who want followup lessons, the first thing I will do, in a subsequent lesson, is test you on what I taught in the first lesson. If you haven’t mastered that, then we have to go over it again…wasting my time your money! Serious improvement begins at the ground up!

Scott Lee

By: Ernie Reynolds

Ernie Reynolds — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:53:13 +0000

I agree 100% that PRACTICE is the best way to improve your pool game. Knowledge can help you improve much faster, but you still have to program that shot-making ability into your mind and body. You can read about and be told 1000 times how hard you should hit a shot or how much english to use in a certain situation. However, until you actually put some hours on the table and really get the feel for how far the cue ball will travel and how the balls will react with a certain amount of english, you won’t be really proficient at the game. In addition, a major goal in pool is to shoot in a CONSISTENT manner. Lots of practice is still the best and most reliable way to shoot consistently and confidently no matter what game you play.

By: Steve Jennings

Steve Jennings — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:09:00 +0000

John,
You have nailed it with this post. I always tell my prospective students that pool school is where you get the tools to accomplish your goals. We (instructors) give the student the road map. The student still has to do the driving.
As RandyG says “Improvement doesn’t come from a magic wand, it comes from a magic WANT.

Great article!
Steve Jennings