Just want to thank you Michael, I added helping side to my game today and picked it up straight away. Cleared my 1st ever T drill after 13 years playing with the help of your insight. Can't thank you enough
Great discussion point thanks Michael! The most common reasons I've seen for not being able to play the shot; (I) players trying to anticipate the contact, rather than just pushing through the white and (II) tension and anxiety resulting in the cue speed being too fast (similar to hitting from the top at golf). Cheers.
Michal thank you for the best advice basically just play stop over thinking also I’m playing positive my game has gone up a level and confidence is rising cheers
Well this is the most logical explanation of what timing is that i've heard. I agree with your explanation Michael of cue speed and grip strength working in harmony to create 'timing'. I've heard some coaches mention its the fraction of a second of extra time that the tip is in contact with the cueball that defines timing. Well like you've mentioned in another video that contact time is so minute its less than fractions its more like thousandths or even milliseconds that the tip is in contact with the white for. Keep up the great content Michael👏
Timing for me is to always hit the cue ball when the cue is being delivered at its peak speed (whatever speed you have chosen for any one particular shot)... so it comes down to the regulation of cue speed at the moment of contact because the cue starts off slow, accelerates up to a peak speed and then slows down again to a stop. If you always strike the cue ball at the peak speed, you get more consistency. If you hit too early or too late in that cycle, you'll be hitting when the cue is still accelerating or slowing back down so won't have the consistency which will affect consistent, accurate positioning. Maybe this is why a longer bridge stroke helps as it should allow for a longer peak speed duration and less margin of error?
Exactly what I’ve been working on.. Maximum speed of cue as tip hits the white ball at your premeditated speed… Maximum speed before cue tip hits white or after white results in a poor strike as the cue usually rises on the white in my case I’m a 4.3 handicap in golf and the principle is exactly the same.. maximum speed at the ball when this happens in these sports I have fun.. My way of doing this is focusing on the cue zipping through the white.. No other thoughts… My practice routine is doing the above at various speeds.. I truly believe if you can get this right, you’re on a winner..
Hi Michael, thank you for this very sound advice. A player's technique is the most important thing to focus on, and they should allow their timing on shots to take care of itself.
I believe timing is when the tip is at address where the tip has found it's desired clock position, before the backswing and the cueing shoulder is locked in. As the cue reaches the end of the backswing and starts it's delivery and arrives back just before the address position, (which is the front pause). The squeeze or close happens right at address, where the tip is at the same position it started at and with the shoulder socket completely still the cue is accelerated thru the cue ball by the squeeze or elbow or bycep or with a wrist flick.
Only just come across your channel and just watched about 12 of them.. very informative. Got to apologise though as I just became the '148th' like on this video.. kinda felt quite bad knocking it up one from '147' 😬.. 85 is my highest break and looking forward over weekend of taking your tips on board and trying to improve on it. Thank You and keep them coming!
Timing is a funny one to explain. I think its a combination of setting yourself up a suitable distance from the white and cueing to allow max acceleration at point of contact. I know when playing right, the whole cue stroke feels great including backswing.
To me timing is much more complex than this albeit rather decent explanation . . . in essence timing is determined purely by the graded acceleration of the cue action combined with true mastery of both the grip type and strength from the point in time where the cue tip first contacts the cueball to the point in time where they separate again. The best way to think of how to achieve good timing on shots where you are attempting to accelerate throughout the delivery of your cue both to and through the cueball is as follows: (incidentally I say 'where' because sometimes deliberate deceleration throughout the cue stroke can also be employed to useful effect in shotmaking) Okay, think of the stationary cueball as if it is made out of very thin glass and that it can only become a solid ball again if it is caressed very gently back into motion from it's standing start / resting position. In this Imaginary Scenario, if you were to deliver your cue too fast into the stationary cueball it would be smashed into shards and the intended shot not able to happen at all. Similarly if your grip on the cue is too firm or fierce then the cueball will once again be smashed during the process of accelerating it too forcably and rigidly into motion. Thinking of the cueball as a very delicate fine instrument in this way will help you gain an accurate appreciation of just how sensitively you should attempt to set this all important ball into motion from rest to achieve the true and repeatable effect of excellent timing desired to make botj h control and thus the game 'easier'! In order for timing to happen naturally your stroke must go from virtually nothing at the point of contact with the cueball and then through to everything near to the completion of your follow through . . . the cueball will leave the tip of your cue shortly after initial contact with it but two things are absolutely crucially important for true timing to happen and these are as follows: 1, Your Grip must cradle the butt of the cue but all the muscles below the elbow in the forearm of your grip hand, wrist and the fingers must remain very relaxed so that there is a certain amount of cushioning or dampening at the point of initial contact between cue tip and cueball. 2, After the initial contact of your cue tip on the cueball your cue must gradually but increasingly accelerate throughout the stroke until the cueball completely leaves the tip (this is the only part of the shot which matters for timing because 'It Is The Timing!' . . . It is this time slice which is the only part of the shot where momentum and spin can effectively be transferred and imparted efficiently onto the cueball . . . it is a variable but fairly small window of opportunity where through correct technique you can learn to effectively master the art of repeatedly timing each shot well . . . but with all this being stated, achieving consistently good timing is definitely an artform and not an easy skill to pick up or master. Once true timing is perfected though you will be able to move the cueball around effortlessly and will be able to cue shots more accurately using far less power whilst still achieving desired positional play. Hopefully this analogy and explanation helps.
I agree with the grip part, but I find the omission of the cue action odd. You can hit the same spot on the white at the same pace and with the same grip and get different results.
I get the best results when playing very loosely in the hand and arm. I have to be rested and relaxed to do this. That can be difficult in everyday life. But bringing that ease into a competition takes a long time to train.
I thought timing is like when you strike thro the ball sweet - like when you swing thro a cricket/golf ball and catch it sweet and its a repeatable stroke where you are going through the ball not jabbing or decelerating - dart players do same thing. I have a bad habit of pulling back too fast sometimes which makes the delivery too quick too - if I get the pull back right it helps my timing, which I think is just everything right - grip and pull back and delivery thro the ball and when this is right jugement of speed and shot improves. It also gives more time to focus on the shot, When I get this wrong I throw in a quick one or I can just tell. I wish I could actually correct this to do same thing all the time but I messed around with so many different things to do with technique this I jangled my brain n I dont know which cue action/technique suits me best. Some days i can try something new and buzz n think right now I have got it and I dont miss much n keep kocking in those 50 breaks other days it feels like the hardest game in the world.
Does it feel like you are almost slightly throwing the cue, then slightly catching it at the point of contact? Not really a throw as such, but there is definitely some slight grip pressure differences in the action from the backstroke pause, through acceleration and to the point of contact. I feel if you grip it the same through the cue action, then you might be pushing it offline (I believe I do this a lot). That's why I keep experimenting with my grip, to try and stop bits of my hand 'pushing' it offline. I get the feeling that if the grip is kind of loose at first (the throw), but consistently solid to some extent on contact (the catch) every time - then that's a perfectly timed shot?
hello, Michael! how do you keep your stance consistent on all shots? because for certain angled pots, or parts of the table, I'm fine, but for others, I just can't get comfortable for some reasons, please help! thank you. And Merry Christmas!
Don’t get too obsessed with what your feet are doing. As long as you’re comfortable and the cue is pointing in the right direction it doesn’t matter where your feet are. just play. Merry Christmas. 👍
If I practice the same shot over and over, my timing improves a lot. Wish I could do that first time on every shot, but I guess that's another reason why I'm not good at snooker.
I’ve always felt timing meant that you hit the white at the absolute optimum time of your strike for ultimate benefit, this will change depending on shot type ( I think lol) the same as other cue/racket/club/bat sports , I would imagine 0.05 % difference could have a bigger impact than we’d imagine. I’m guessing you’re not a huge advocate in the follow through which does seem more important in other sports, especially golf and cricket. Are you saying that whatever you do before and after that tip hits the white for that small amount of time is irrelevant, it’s an interesting point
When you say “optimum time of your strike” what do you mean? It’s just one object hitting another. The variable that influences that the most is speed of the one that’s moving. Different shots will need a different pace at impact. I think in some sports there will be a sweet spot of racket/bat/club but not in snooker. It’s just the end of the cue. It’s not that I’m not an advocate of follow through, I think it’s important to finish your strike/swing where the cue is in contact with the chest. Like we know the cue is in contact for a split second and it’s at that point and that point only a player can influence what the white does. My point is that a player should focus on getting that split second right rather than having focus on follow through unless you believe the cue can effect a ball when not in contact with it? I don’t believe they can. I believe this is the same at golf too. If what happened before or after that contact point did matter Judd Trump and the golfer Jim Furyk would be terrible at their sport. They are real examples of what I mean. They get that split second right consistently. 👍
@@MichaelHoltSnookerCoaching when I say ‘optimum timing’ I mean that as the cue is coming towards the white if it hits it soon (say similar to mark allen) or a more longer stroke a la Robertson,Murphy each player will almost have their own sweet spot (if you hit it earlier, the spot is missed, later, again the spot is missed …. I suppose moving your bridge hand a millimetre (unbeknownst to the player ) would put their ‘timing’ out of sync. Now it may not cause a missed pot or only a very slight change of the white ball as it’s so very subtle but that’s what I was referring to. That’s what I’ve always thought, I’m not sure if I’m correct but that’s what I’ve always thought, you obviously know a whole lot more than me about this. Regarding pre shot and post shot (follow through) in all sports I used to think exactly like you for years and years, like how can anything but the actual strike in any sport affect what happens once you’ve struck it, but more recently I’ve thought that what they do pre and post strike ‘helps’ that particular individual make it go where they want. Looking at it paradoxically if you asked trump or furyk to change their pre or post action, they wouldn’t be as effective so it could be said that it does affect it? Not generically but individually, I don’t know buddy, but I have thought about this (probably far too much lol) over the years
Just want to thank you Michael, I added helping side to my game today and picked it up straight away. Cleared my 1st ever T drill after 13 years playing with the help of your insight. Can't thank you enough
Great discussion point thanks Michael! The most common reasons I've seen for not being able to play the shot; (I) players trying to anticipate the contact, rather than just pushing through the white and (II) tension and anxiety resulting in the cue speed being too fast (similar to hitting from the top at golf). Cheers.
I think the connection of the grip closing at the point of the hit always feels right. Nice video thanks for sharing 😊
Michal thank you for the best advice basically just play stop over thinking also I’m playing positive my game has gone up a level and confidence is rising cheers
Well this is the most logical explanation of what timing is that i've heard. I agree with your explanation Michael of cue speed and grip strength working in harmony to create 'timing'. I've heard some coaches mention its the fraction of a second of extra time that the tip is in contact with the cueball that defines timing. Well like you've mentioned in another video that contact time is so minute its less than fractions its more like thousandths or even milliseconds that the tip is in contact with the white for. Keep up the great content Michael👏
Timing for me is to always hit the cue ball when the cue is being delivered at its peak speed (whatever speed you have chosen for any one particular shot)... so it comes down to the regulation of cue speed at the moment of contact because the cue starts off slow, accelerates up to a peak speed and then slows down again to a stop. If you always strike the cue ball at the peak speed, you get more consistency. If you hit too early or too late in that cycle, you'll be hitting when the cue is still accelerating or slowing back down so won't have the consistency which will affect consistent, accurate positioning. Maybe this is why a longer bridge stroke helps as it should allow for a longer peak speed duration and less margin of error?
Exactly what I’ve been working on.. Maximum speed of cue as tip hits the white ball at your premeditated speed…
Maximum speed before cue tip hits white or after white results in a poor strike
as the cue usually rises on the white in my case
I’m a 4.3 handicap in golf and the principle is exactly the same.. maximum speed at the ball
when this happens in these sports I have fun..
My way of doing this is focusing on the cue zipping through the white.. No other thoughts…
My practice routine is doing the above at various speeds..
I truly believe if you can get this right, you’re on a winner..
He's really a wonderful coach.
Great stuff
Hi Michael, thank you for this very sound advice. A player's technique is the most important thing to focus on, and they should allow their timing on shots to take care of itself.
Aiming and alignment is the most important thing a player should focus on, if you can’t get that right only a bad strike will pot the ball. 😃
Another helpfull tip, again don't have 2 think of extra things when down on the shot , thanx again
I like the style of your Vids and the explanations , its a shame we can't play the shots like you.
You should do a collab video with Stephen Hendry. Not sure who runs his channel though, don’t think it’s him.
I’ll see what he says…
I believe timing is when the tip is at address where the tip has found it's desired clock position, before the backswing and the cueing shoulder is locked in. As the cue reaches the end of the backswing and starts it's delivery and arrives back just before the address position, (which is the front pause). The squeeze or close happens right at address, where the tip is at the same position it started at and with the shoulder socket completely still the cue is accelerated thru the cue ball by the squeeze or elbow or bycep or with a wrist flick.
Only just come across your channel and just watched about 12 of them.. very informative.
Got to apologise though as I just became the '148th' like on this video.. kinda felt quite bad knocking it up one from '147' 😬.. 85 is my highest break and looking forward over weekend of taking your tips on board and trying to improve on it.
Thank You and keep them coming!
Very disappointing. 😂
Thank you. ☺️
Timing is a funny one to explain. I think its a combination of setting yourself up a suitable distance from the white and cueing to allow max acceleration at point of contact. I know when playing right, the whole cue stroke feels great including backswing.
To me timing is much more complex than this albeit rather decent explanation . . . in essence timing is determined purely by the graded acceleration of the cue action combined with true mastery of both the grip type and strength from the point in time where the cue tip first contacts the cueball to the point in time where they separate again.
The best way to think of how to achieve good timing on shots where you are attempting to accelerate throughout the delivery of your cue both to and through the cueball is as follows: (incidentally I say 'where' because sometimes deliberate deceleration throughout the cue stroke can also be employed to useful effect in shotmaking)
Okay, think of the stationary cueball as if it is made out of very thin glass and that it can only become a solid ball again if it is caressed very gently back into motion from it's standing start / resting position.
In this Imaginary Scenario, if you were to deliver your cue too fast into the stationary cueball it would be smashed into shards and the intended shot not able to happen at all.
Similarly if your grip on the cue is too firm or fierce then the cueball will once again be smashed during the process of accelerating it too forcably and rigidly into motion.
Thinking of the cueball as a very delicate fine instrument in this way will help you gain an accurate appreciation of just how sensitively you should attempt to set this all important ball into motion from rest to achieve the true and repeatable effect of excellent timing desired to make botj h control and thus the game 'easier'!
In order for timing to happen naturally your stroke must go from virtually nothing at the point of contact with the cueball and then through to everything near to the completion of your follow through . . . the cueball will leave the tip of your cue shortly after initial contact with it but two things are absolutely crucially important for true timing to happen and these are as follows:
1, Your Grip must cradle the butt of the cue but all the muscles below the elbow in the forearm of your grip hand, wrist and the fingers must remain very relaxed so that there is a certain amount of cushioning or dampening at the point of initial contact between cue tip and cueball.
2, After the initial contact of your cue tip on the cueball your cue must gradually but increasingly accelerate throughout the stroke until the cueball completely leaves the tip (this is the only part of the shot which matters for timing because 'It Is The Timing!' . . . It is this time slice which is the only part of the shot where momentum and spin can effectively be transferred and imparted efficiently onto the cueball . . . it is a variable but fairly small window of opportunity where through correct technique you can learn to effectively master the art of repeatedly timing each shot well . . . but with all this being stated, achieving consistently good timing is definitely an artform and not an easy skill to pick up or master.
Once true timing is perfected though you will be able to move the cueball around effortlessly and will be able to cue shots more accurately using far less power whilst still achieving desired positional play.
Hopefully this analogy and explanation helps.
I agree with the grip part, but I find the omission of the cue action odd. You can hit the same spot on the white at the same pace and with the same grip and get different results.
I get the best results when playing very loosely in the hand and arm. I have to be rested and relaxed to do this. That can be difficult in everyday life. But bringing that ease into a competition takes a long time to train.
Just work on something that you feel
comfortable enough to repeat at anytime 👍🏻
Opinion on Chris‘s The Balls? Worth a try?
Or is it more like focusing to hard on the stance when it doesn’t really matter
I thought timing is like when you strike thro the ball sweet - like when you swing thro a cricket/golf ball and catch it sweet and its a repeatable stroke where you are going through the ball not jabbing or decelerating - dart players do same thing. I have a bad habit of pulling back too fast sometimes which makes the delivery too quick too - if I get the pull back right it helps my timing, which I think is just everything right - grip and pull back and delivery thro the ball and when this is right jugement of speed and shot improves. It also gives more time to focus on the shot, When I get this wrong I throw in a quick one or I can just tell. I wish I could actually correct this to do same thing all the time but I messed around with so many different things to do with technique this I jangled my brain n I dont know which cue action/technique suits me best. Some days i can try something new and buzz n think right now I have got it and I dont miss much n keep kocking in those 50 breaks other days it feels like the hardest game in the world.
Agree
Timed 👌 you feel like you grab the white longer on that shot to get the spin. Obvs you don’t but just feels like it 😬
Does it feel like you are almost slightly throwing the cue, then slightly catching it at the point of contact? Not really a throw as such, but there is definitely some slight grip pressure differences in the action from the backstroke pause, through acceleration and to the point of contact. I feel if you grip it the same through the cue action, then you might be pushing it offline (I believe I do this a lot). That's why I keep experimenting with my grip, to try and stop bits of my hand 'pushing' it offline. I get the feeling that if the grip is kind of loose at first (the throw), but consistently solid to some extent on contact (the catch) every time - then that's a perfectly timed shot?
hello, Michael! how do you keep your stance consistent on all shots? because for certain angled pots, or parts of the table, I'm fine, but for others, I just can't get comfortable for some reasons, please help! thank you. And Merry Christmas!
Don’t get too obsessed with what your feet are doing. As long as you’re comfortable and the cue is pointing in the right direction it doesn’t matter where your feet are. just play. Merry Christmas. 👍
you seem like a really top fella michael!
Thank you. 😃
If I practice the same shot over and over, my timing improves a lot. Wish I could do that first time on every shot, but I guess that's another reason why I'm not good at snooker.
Book yourself in.
I do online of trip to Nottingham is too far.
Info is in my bio. 👍
I’ve always felt timing meant that you hit the white at the absolute optimum time of your strike for ultimate benefit, this will change depending on shot type ( I think lol) the same as other cue/racket/club/bat sports , I would imagine 0.05 % difference could have a bigger impact than we’d imagine.
I’m guessing you’re not a huge advocate in the follow through which does seem more important in other sports, especially golf and cricket. Are you saying that whatever you do before and after that tip hits the white for that small amount of time is irrelevant, it’s an interesting point
When you say “optimum time of your strike” what do you mean? It’s just one object hitting another. The variable that influences that the most is speed of the one that’s moving. Different shots will need a different pace at impact.
I think in some sports there will be a sweet spot of racket/bat/club but not in snooker. It’s just the end of the cue.
It’s not that I’m not an advocate of follow through, I think it’s important to finish your strike/swing where the cue is in contact with the chest. Like we know the cue is in contact for a split second and it’s at that point and that point only a player can influence what the white does. My point is that a player should focus on getting that split second right rather than having focus on follow through unless you believe the cue can effect a ball when not in contact with it? I don’t believe they can. I believe this is the same at golf too.
If what happened before or after that contact point did matter Judd Trump and the golfer Jim Furyk would be terrible at their sport. They are real examples of what I mean. They get that split second right consistently. 👍
@@MichaelHoltSnookerCoaching when I say ‘optimum timing’ I mean that as the cue is coming towards the white if it hits it soon (say similar to mark allen) or a more longer stroke a la Robertson,Murphy each player will almost have their own sweet spot (if you hit it earlier, the spot is missed, later, again the spot is missed …. I suppose moving your bridge hand a millimetre (unbeknownst to the player ) would put their ‘timing’ out of sync. Now it may not cause a missed pot or only a very slight change of the white ball as it’s so very subtle but that’s what I was referring to. That’s what I’ve always thought, I’m not sure if I’m correct but that’s what I’ve always thought, you obviously know a whole lot more than me about this.
Regarding pre shot and post shot (follow through) in all sports I used to think exactly like you for years and years, like how can anything but the actual strike in any sport affect what happens once you’ve struck it, but more recently I’ve thought that what they do pre and post strike ‘helps’ that particular individual make it go where they want. Looking at it paradoxically if you asked trump or furyk to change their pre or post action, they wouldn’t be as effective so it could be said that it does affect it? Not generically but individually, I don’t know buddy, but I have thought about this (probably far too much lol) over the years
Hit it like a pro….