APA Skill Level 3-5: Group work on pre-stroke and stroke routines
Players at all skill levels of pool, such as those from APA (American Poolplayers Association) Level 3-5, can greatly improve their skill level by working on fundamentals of grip, stance, bridge and stroke during the pre-stroke and stroke routines. Players often try to work on various things that they assume are responsible for their misses, such as aiming or equipment changes, when in almost every case it is the stroke, or at least the variability of the stroke that causes misses. It is essential to establish a completely understood and repeatable shot routine to be successful at the sport of pocket billiards. Doing a shot routine is similar to doing a gymnastics or dance routine. The practitioner works for month after month on a gymnastics or dance routine that will eventually be performed in front of an audience, and lasting anywhere from 30 seconds to a couple of minutes. In pool, we need to memorize and embed in our bodies a routine for setting up and executing a shot. All of this lasts no more than about 15 or 20 seconds, and yet most players either do not recognize that this routine is necessary to success, or they do not work hard enough to make that shot routine a true, repeatable routine that they repeat every time they come to the table. Instead, low handicap players often stroke the ball in a variety of ways, setting their feet, hand and arm differently and stroking differently from one shot to the next.In this video Jim Brauker, PBIA/CSA certified pool instructor, works with a mixed group of players to go over shot routines. Working in groups can really enhance the experience of learning the pool stroke because each of the players becomes aware of the elements their teammates are working on and are able to help them to notice when they are setting up or shooting incorrectly. Almost every problem players face in the daunting task of improving their skill level in pool has to do with perfecting a functional and repeatable shot set-up and stroke. It is also important to learn pattern play, pool ball mechanics, and various shot strategies, but the stroke comes first and is necessary for execution of all those things.