147 Snooker Drills and Exercises E-Book

Andrew Highfield

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

147 Snooker Drills and Exercises will help players of all standards to improve their game. It presents a range of practice routines that covers all aspects of a player's game. Some are more advanced than others, allowing the player working on a particular area of their game to pick out the exercises they feel will help them most. The routines become more difficult as the pages go on, so the beginner can work through them and use them to set targets to make their practice competitive. For coaches, the routines will assist in giving variety in lessons and helping to set targets in lessons.

Leseprobe

147

SNOOKER

DRILLS AND EXERCISES

Andrew Highfield and David Horrix

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2017 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2017

© Andrew Highfield and David Horrix 2017

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of thistext may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 356 1

Contents

Introduction

K1 Up and Down the Spots

K2 Road Block Colour Clearance

K3 Up and Down and Cue Between 2 Reds

K4 Feather Touch

K5 Full Ball Cannon

K6 3 Reds for Akani

K7 Top Spin Red with Follow Through White

K8 Straight Cueing

K9 Straight Red Stun Shots

K10 Semi-Circle Clearance

K11 Screw Shot Training

K12 Master Drill

K13 Working on Pace

K14 18 Ball Clearance

K15 Blue Potting Angles

K16 Six Reds for Glory

K17 Black Potting Angles

K18 Reds and Blues

K19 Pink Potting Angles

K20 Cannon Ball Run

K21 Pink Potting Angles to Middle Pocket

K22 Reds to Bed

K23 19 Pots on Pink

K24 Straight Cueing Required

K25 Three-Quarter-Ball Blue to Pink

K26 Click Clack Click Clack

K27 Consecutive Reds

K28 Side Splitter

K29 Blue Break Circle

K30 The Akani Sunny Challenge

K31 Consecutive Blacks

K32 3 Red Loop

K33 Break Build In a Box

K34 Safety Behind the Line

K35 Black Break-Building Exercise

K36 Avoid the Straight Line Pot

K37 Black Ball Break-Building Line

K38 2 Pot and Stun Shots for Starters

K39 6 Reds and Blacks

K40 Red/Colour Sequence Clearance

K41 Split and Break

K42 3 Red Variant

K43 Judgement of Pace and Spin to Cannon

K44 Tough Clearance

K45 Blue and Cannon

K46 The Triple Cannon

K47 Black and Cannon

K48 Safety Behind the Line

K49 Break-Building on Blue

K50 Colours and Reds

K51 Red and Colour Break-Building Exercise

K52 Colour Cannon Line

K53 Judgement Day

K54 Killer Colour Clearance

K55 Pot and Stun

K56 The Pink Cross

K57 Full-Ball Pot on Red

K58 Simple Line

K59 Half-Ball Red – Fixed White

K60 Triangle of Confusion

K61 Advanced Long-Potting Angles

K62 Easy Clearance to Get the Session Started

K63 Red to Black Positional Play

K64 Tough Break

K65 The Clock Routine

K66 Perfect Positional Play

K67 Black Break-Building Exercise

K68 Star Performer

K69 Pink Break-Building Line

K70 Split the Circle

K71 Half-Ball Colour Cannons

K72 Mini Machine-Gun Shot

K73 Half-Ball Cannon to Reds

K74 Colour Triangle Split and Clear

K75 Easy Position Biggest Break Opportunity

K76 The Line

K77 Using the Rest Effectively

K78 Pot and Screw to Line

K79 Break-Building 3-Position Start

K80 Stay Behind the Line

K81 Break-Building Exercise

K82 Pot and Cannon off Green Spot

K83 Three-Quarter-Ball Pot and Return

K84 Colour Clearance Avoiding the Obstacles

K85 Up and Down the Spots with Marker Balls

K86 Pot and Banana Shot to Green Pocket

K87 Blue/Red Loop

K88 Pot Screw Pot

K89 Red to Black When White Is off the Cushion

K90 Long Pot and Screw Shot

K91 Tight Red to Black

K92 A Nightmare of Triangles

K93 Three-Quarter-Ball Soft Stun to Pink

K94 Deep Screw and Arc Shot

K95 Full-Ball Pot and Screw

K96 Not So Easy Clearance

K97 Three-Quarter-Ball Pot to Middle

K98 See-Saw Potting

K99 Three-Quarter-Ball Stun Shot off Pink to Black

K100 Fun on the Black

K101 Quarter-Ball Pink to Black Using Top Spin

K102 Top-Spin Curve Shot

K103 Three-Quarter-Ball Pink to Black Using Top Spin

K104 Colours Into the D

K105 Three-Quarter-Ball Pink to Black

K106 Colour Clearance Road Block

K107 Awkward Cueing Practice

K108 Middle Pocket Arc Shot

K109 Black Break-Building Exercise

K110 Easy Warm-Up Routine

K111 Quarter-Ball Safety Shot

K112 Right-Hand-Side Breaker

K113 Half-Ball Blue to Pink Using Bottom and Left

K114 Top-Spin Arc to Middle

K115 Half-Ball Safety Shot

K116 Green Pocket Arc Shot

K117 Half-Ball Blue to Pink

K118 Reverse Break

K119 Half-Ball Blue to Pink Using Stun

K120 Develop Your touch

K121 Half-Ball Blue to Pink Using Top Spin

K122 Give Me A Break

K123 Consecutive Pinks

K124 Reds to Middle

K125 Three-Quarter-Ball Through The Line

K126 Half-Ball Centre Top

K127 Half-Ball Below Centre 45-Degree Bounce

K128 Half-Ball Running Side Pot

K129 Advanced Long Potting Angles

K130 The Great Escape

K131 Bottom Cushion Escapes

K132 Escape to the Colours

K133 The Machine-Gun Shot

K134 Trickery with the Black Ball

K135 Impossible Black to Middle

K136 As Seen on TV

K137 Three Reds From one Shot

K138 Hard 3s for 10 Minutes

K139 15 Red Warm-Up Routine

K140 Advanced 3s Colour Clearance

K141 Soft Screw-Shot Training

K142 Small Line and Colours

K143 5 Threes and A Black

K144 Advanced Warm-Up

K145 Dead Red Back to Baulk White

K146 Tight Control Break

K147 Realistic Line Break

INTRODUCTION

The snooker player who wishes to improve and play at a high level must have the right tools to assist in their development. This book provides the drills and exercises that are used by professional coaches to develop players to their full potential. Packed with 147 of the most useful and beneficial exercises, this book will bring the structure to your practice sessions that you need to improve.

As well as being challenging the exercises are also fun to try, and many top players have benefited from challenging themselves and also, more importantly, enjoying their training.

147 Snooker Drills can be used by every standard of player, from beginner through to advanced player, as there are different targets dependent upon your current level of ability. The authors use the exercises in this book on a weekly basis and many players have benefited from improving their knowledge and understanding of how to play snooker through practising the exercises.

We hope you enjoy reading this book as much as we have enjoyed producing it, and if you practise the drills and exercises that are contained within the book we are confident that your knowledge of the game will improve significantly.

Andrew Highfield and David Horrix

K1

UP AND DOWN THE SPOTS

Aim at the chalk and back to the tip

Description

Place a chalk on the cushion in line with the black spot, place the cue ball on the brown spot and 2 reds behind the cue ball only showing a small segment in the centre. Aiming at the chalk, hit the cue ball over the 4 spots and back to the tip of your cue.

Why this Is a Good Exercise

1. Ensures straight cueing

2. Requires you to stay down on the shot

3. Develops touch

Practice Objectives – Over the Spots

Beginner

Complete once

Intermediate

Complete twice in succession

Advanced

Complete four times in succession

Coaching Top Tips and Trivia

Try to learn a little about the game of billiards and in your snooker practice also try to incorporate a few billiards shots. It’s a superb way of learning angles and positional play and can be very relaxing and enjoyable.

K2

ROAD BLOCK COLOUR CLEARANCE

Clear the colours without touching the reds or the triangles

Description

Start from anywhere inside the D and aim to clear the colours in sequence. After potting the pink ball gain position on one of the reds either side of black then clear red, black and the final red.

At no point in the clearance must the cue ball touch any of the reds on the blue line or either of the triangles.

Why this Is a Good Exercise

1. Good control of the cue ball is needed

2. Improves positional play

3. Ensures you understand what you wish to achieve before going down on the shot.

Practice Objectives – For the Road Block Colour Clearance

Beginner

1 out of 10

Intermediate

3 out of 10

Advanced

8 out of 10

Coaching Top Tips and Trivia

To keep your snooker cue feeling silky smooth and in good condition put some beeswax onto a strip of 00000 grade steel wool. Rub the wool up and down the shaft and the steel wool removes any dirt or grease while the beeswax seals and nourishes the wood.

K3

UP AND DOWN AND CUE BETWEEN 2 REDS

Avoid hitting the reds

Description

Place a chalk on the cushion in line with the black spot, place the cue ball on the brown spot and 2 reds either side with just a few centimetres gap.

Aiming at the chalk hit the cue ball over the spots and back over the brown spot and into baulk.

Avoid any contact from white or cue with the reds.

Why this Is a Good Exercise

1. Requires a good aim

2. Encourages straight cueing

3. Improves control over the cue

Practice Objectives – Between 2 Reds

Beginner

3 out of 10

Intermediate

8 out of 10

Advanced

10 out of 10

Coaching Top Tips and Trivia

The quickest century break ever made in a tournament was done so by Tony Drago in just 3 minutes and 31 seconds – quite some going but Tony was quite some player!

K4

FEATHER TOUCH

Make contact with the red ball without potting the colour

Description

Place the balls as illustrated with both red and colour touching and just 1 inch from the pocket.

Starting from a straight line position in baulk aim to hit the cue ball very gently to hit red full in the face without potting yellow.

Once complete remove the red and yellow from the table and move on to green, brown, blue, pink and black.

Why this Is a Good Exercise

1. Helps develop superb touch

2. Requires concentration

3. Requires persistence

Practice Objectives – For the Feather Touch

Beginner

20 attempts on each set to make contact

Intermediate

10 attempts on each set to make contact

Advanced

3 attempts on each set to make contact

Coaching Top Tips and Trivia

Exert a little more pressure through the index finger of the bridge hand. This stabilizes the bridge and helps it to remain still when playing the shot.

K5

FULL BALL CANNON

Cannon red and white around pink spot

Description

Place a block of chalk as indicated. Hit the red ball on the blue spot full in the face sending it off the top cushion and back for a cannon with the white ball around about the pink spot.

Use a small amount of top spin for this shot.

Why this Is a Good Exercise

1. Requires straight cueing

2. Improves aiming

3. Requires perfect stillness on the shot

Practice Objectives – Full Ball Cannon

Beginner

Complete once only

Intermediate

Complete 3 times

Advanced

Complete 5 times

Coaching Top Tips and Trivia

The referee is allowed to inform a colour-blind player the colour of a specific ball if he is requested to do so by the player.

K6

3 REDS FOR AKANI

You believe you can control the cue ball?

Description

Set the balls as illustrated.

Starting from any position aim to pot a red (then re-spot the potted red) and gain position on one of the other reds. Continue like this aiming to make as many pots as possible in succession.

Note – you can’t pot the same red twice in succession.

Easy?

Why this Is a Good Exercise

1. Pinpoint accuracy and control is needed

2. Determination needed

3. This forces you to appraise how much control of the cue ball you really have

Practice Objectives – For 3 Reds for Akani

Beginner

3 pots

Intermediate

15 pots

Advanced

75 pots

Coaching Top Tips and Trivia

Ash or Maple for the main shaft of your cue?

Ash absorbs shock and gives a slightly softer impact feel than Maple and is favoured by the majority of top players.

K7

TOP SPIN RED WITH FOLLOW THROUGH WHITE

Pot both red and white into the same pocket

Description

Place a red on the brown, blue and pink spot. Place the white about halfway between cushion and red ball and in a straight line.

Pot the red hitting the white top centre sending both balls into the pocket.

Repeat from each position.

Why this Is a Good Exercise

1. Requires smooth cueing

2. Assists in straight cueing

3. Requires careful set up and aiming

Practice Objectives – Follow Through White

Beginner

Complete once from each position

Intermediate

Complete 3 times from each position

Advanced

3 times from each position without missing

Coaching Top Tips and Trivia

Joe Davis compiled the first officially recognized maximum break on Saturday 22 January 1955. The break was made at the home of Billiards and Snooker, the famous Thurston’s Hall in Leicester Square.

K8

STRAIGHT CUEING

Placing your cue on a straight line

Description

Place 2 blocks of chalk either side of the extended baulk line and on the wooden side rail. Place the cue ball on the brown spot.

Aim to place the tip of your cue dead centre and at the bottom of the cue ball. When the cue ball is removed your tip should point at the centre of the brown spot with the cue covering the baulk line and butt in-between the blocks of chalk.

Why this Is a Good Exercise

1. Helps you to stop hitting across the cue ball

2. Ensures a consistent and correct approach to the shot

3. Encourages straight cueing on each and every shot

Practice Objectives – Straight Cueing

Beginner

30 minutes’ practice

Intermediate

30 minutes’ practice

Advanced

30 minutes’ practice each week

Coaching Top Tips and Trivia

If your cue has a 9.5mm tip when you come to replacing it put on a 10mm tip and trim it down with a sharp knife. This is much easier than trying to place a tip on the cue that is the exact size.

K9

STRAIGHT RED STUN SHOTS

Pot and stun

Description

Straight red stun shots from each side of the table.

Set the balls as illustrated with centre reds on pink and brown spots with one ball width between the other reds.

Pot the straight reds hitting the white just below centre. The white should remain where the red was.

Aim for the right-hand side of the pocket.

Why this Is a Good Exercise

1. Improves potting skills

2. Increases control of the cue ball

3. Requires good aim and concentration

Practice Objectives – Stun Shots

Beginner

Complete once

Intermediate

Complete 2 times

Advanced

Complete 3 times without missing

Coaching Top Tips and Trivia

In 1799 John Thurston established a business based in the Strand in London making furniture and Billiard tables. In 1814 Thurston’s began specializing in Billiard and Bagatelle tables.

K10

SEMI-CIRCLE CLEARANCE

Clear 12 balls

Description

Using mainly screw shots start by potting red and the yellow. Continue clearing reds and colours in sequence.

Not as easy as it looks and many good players lose control with this routine.

Why this Is a Good Exercise

1. Improves control over screw shots

2. Improves concentration

3. Requires careful thought to get in correct position for the next shot

Practice Objectives – Semi-Circle Clearance

Beginner

Clear down to the brown ball

Intermediate

Clearance

Advanced

Clearance × 3

Coaching Top Tips and Trivia

The most important piece of equipment a coach should carry in his bag?

Deodorant!

K11

SCREW SHOT TRAINING

Pot red from the blue spot and screw to side cushion

Description

Place 7 reds as illustrated.

Place the white ball just off straight and aim to pot the red to middle and screw back to the side cushion.

Move the white ball just off straight for the other reds and repeat aiming to increase the power on each shot and aim to bounce the white further off the cushion.

Why this Is a Good Exercise

1. Improves potting to middle pocket

2. Increases control of the cue ball when playing screw shots

3. Increases your ability to cue smoothly and stay still on each shot

Practice Objectives – Screw Shot Training

Beginner

Spend 15 minutes practising

Intermediate

Complete the exercise

Advanced

Complete the exercise 2 times without missing

Coaching Top Tips and Trivia

The first slate bed table was introduced in 1826 and was supplied to Whites Club in London in 1832. Arguably this is the start of the modern era of billiards where the standard of play started to improve dramatically.