Calibrate Your Stroke: The Stop Shot is Your Friend

(This is one of my favorites. This one is from the January 2005 issue of Professor Q Ball.) How many stop shots do you shoot in a day, a week, or a month? It takes more than just skill to pocket 100 consecutive, perfect stop shots without a miss. It takes discipline. Every player aims and views the contact point of an object ball a bit differently. Some players may have one eye that is more dominant than the other. Some players can see and feel the contact point of a cut shot without even having to look at it. Some players are able to drill balls into the center of the pocket with no problem while using extreme english. Whatever system you use to site your shots, just make sure it's consistent. Regularly shooting series of stop shots will help you determine whether or not your stroke is 'calibrated.' What do I mean by that? It's simple. When you shoot 10 stop shots and 8 of them consistently enter the left side of the pocket, you may be inadvertently putting some right-hand english on the cue ball. And likewise, if you shoot 8 to the right side of the pocket, you may be applying some left-hand spin. You can also tell if you are putting unwanted english on the cue ball when you break. The break shot is a firm stop shop, to put it simply. With an ideal break, your cue ball should stay in the middle area of the table. After you break, is your cue ball spinning in place to the left or right? If it is, that is another indication that you have put unwanted english on the cue ball. So, what does all this mean? Basically, shooting a rack or two of stop shots a day keeps the doctor away. Not really, but taking the time to set up at least one rack of stop shots for yourself, at least a few times a week, will really help you calibrate your stroke. Note: If you are shooting hundreds of stop shots but are still not getting the results you want, You may want to invest in a Jim Rempe Training Ball. These balls are great! Line it up to your shot and check the chalk mark on the ball to see where you actually hit it.