97. Coaching Session - Part 2 

Ryan. Everyone needs a little guidance when they are starting out, I am glad the videos are helping you on your way.

jewel. Many thanks, unfortunately earning a living and running a home interferes with Selena's progress.

Great to hear!

My Greenpotato. Many thanks for the compliments, very pleased that you are learning from the videos.

Bill. Never too late to change Bill, yes it is harder as you get older but with the right guidance, faith in the coach and a bit of frustrating work it is certainly possible. I coached a player well into his sixties who went from the odd 30 break to making fairly regular 50s. The changes were not easy but he was determined and he made it.

Frustrated. Nicely put. Keep working at that technique and the rest will improve. Good luck.

George. My pleasure, nice to be appreciated.

Aqeel. We will try to get together to fit the next one in.

Your production crew are improving with each lesson too! Hats off to you guys

Obi. I will give Selina your good wishes the next time I see her.

Barry Stark Snooker Coach thanks! I managed to get on the table recently, I'm improving leaps and bounds thanks to these videos! I'm really starting to develop a good pre shot routine and understand mistakes I'm making! So cheers again!

Nigel. I would love to help but if you try to get out of your comfort zone and really analyse what is said and shown on the videos I am confident progress is just around the corner.

Happy to help

Harshil. One of the biggest problems any coach has is getting a player to accept that changes have been made to his technique, as a result of these changes the player will feel slightly uncomfortable and he is out of his comfort zone. He will miss the odd shot until he has grooved the new technique, in other words he will have to go backwards to ultimately go forwards. Patience is a virtue.

Zouhair. As long as there is an interest out there and my family commitments allow, I will try.

swaril. That's quite a compliment, many thanks.

Barry Stark Snooker Coach Barry sir...today i drilled for screw...n so pleased to infrm u 8/10 bang on complete action on white Perfect screw... 2 miscued that too due to lack of chalk

Need some practice drills for beginners to improve the game... It would really help

Triangle. Her need to earn a living and run a home restricts her practise and therefore her progress but she tries very hard.

@@BarryStarkSnookerCoachI have similar restrictions on my own progress, which is why your videos are so helpful.

When I first started to play a few years ago I hit them hard just because I found it satisfying when they went in at pace :P probably because I was young and just eager to pot balls, dont know if other people may have the same tendency

The Snookerist. As a good player yourself I am sure you recognise the trend, hit the ball hard then it will not roll off, I will also get spin on the cue ball etc,etc. As you know hitting through and feeling the ball are the traits of a good player not pace or power.

Barry Stark Snooker Coach When I was starting out I found it much easier to cue through the ball straight when I put power into it instead of rolling it in. Probably just my technique though

good coaching

How can i become a good pool shooter

Wow, thanks!

James. Thanks for that, Selina's next task is to practise what she has learned. Its a waist of her time and mine without the necessary practise, the first priority is the cue action and grooving her muscles in the correct manner.

diovani. Glad you like the videos.

pawandyes. Delighted that you have returned to the game and that the videos are helping you to recapture some of your old form, I hope the improvement continues, well done.

Oscar. My pleasure, many thanks.

I appreciate that!

World. Thanks for that.

Mohsin. Many thanks for the kind words.

Glad you think so!

So nice of you

Andrew. My pleasure, glad you like the content of the channel.

Martin. Selina has now played her first match in the handicap league and I am told she made a very respectable draw.

luke. Being right handed and left eyed dominant puts you in good company along with a lot of good players including Ronnie O'Sullivan. Just concentrate on where and how you hold the cue taking note that the position of the bridge hand can also affect the amount of follow through. On sighting, just allow what comes naturally to happen for now, the time to make any minor adjustments will be if and when problems arise. People often make the mistake thinking that the reason they have missed is because they have sighted incorrectly, obviously this can be the case but more often than not it is because they have not delivered the cue correctly. Good luck.

Stephanie. Selena hasn't been playing too much of late, her family and work commitments have interfered with her game and of course her progress but I will see what I can do.

Barry Stark Snooker Coach that’s a shame, it would be nice to see how Selina is progressing, thank you Barry, I appreciate it.

jameel. Pleased that the videos are helping despite the language problem.

@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach .. why not sir 'your videos are helpful

Mo. Selina takes the game very seriously but unfortunately her work tends to restrict the amount of practise that she can put in on the snooker table, she does however still enjoy the game and there is no doubt that her laugh is infectious.

Hadi. Very true and making good progress.

I like her laugh

Sunand. I will do my best for you through the medium of videos.

Freedom. Everyone is slightly different but the basics are pretty much the same for everyone.

Kharian. Not sure what you mean here, there is probably a problem with English.

Gee. The great Joe Davis always said that his cue ball control came originally from his skill at Billiards. Try playing a few games of billiards particularly spending some time at the top of the table . Look this up on RU-vid, how they pot the red then play a cannon, very worthwhile to spend a little time on these skills and your positional skills at snooker will improve.

Todd. As you know, it is easy to just hit balls, hitting them correctly demands that it is done properly and with method, many thanks.

bullsnutsoz. You are absolutely right, correcting bad habits can be difficult and players generally don't like change.

James. Many thanks, glad you liked it.

Judd Trump BAD Mr Judd trump! :)

Judd. The purpose behind the feathering is all too often forgotten. It is a rehearsal for the shot you are about to play, it ensures you are cueing straight and provides the very important rhythm. I am afraid that I cannot see how any of these criteria can be met with the action you are describing.

Ice. You are not bothering me, I will try to answer every ones questions to the best of my ability. You are obviously over doing it with the weight going forward and that is causing stress. Your weight should be roughly 60/40 slightly favouring the front leg and no more. The nearer you can get to the correct height of a snooker table, the better. The correct height from floor to cushion rail is 851mm to 876mm.

James. Good point I will see what I can do, please be patient though, there are a lot of things going on in my life at the moment.

Thank you! I mean for the players that are pushing professional level but just can't get over that last mental barrier to score heavily consistently! I have a few friends on tour who know you and kyren well and I hope things improve! Thanks again

Denis. Selena has what I suppose is a typical Nottinghamshire accent.

Freedom. Just part of the learning process, scooping the ball as she did the result was inevitable, she has progressed now.

@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach I too have progress tremendously by following your instructions. My mates were stunned at how fast I improved my technique. Thanks a lot to you Barry, you are a great instructor and coach.

Just search up a video, im sure there is plenty, the main thing that I see with beginners is that they dont get down on the cue and they also dont stay down when playing the shot

Neo. Selina is a complete beginner, we started with the stance, then the bridge, then where to place the bridge and lastly where to hold the cue. My videos cover all these aspects, please have a look at them.

Meek. Thanks for that.

Its exactly the same just reversed

gary. Jack has answered the question for me, where I put my right foot you put your left, where I put my left foot you put your right etc.

gary mills very important when you play right handed but some time you need left handed then we use the rest but when u play with out rest any shot is sure shot

Kaatni. I assume you mean keeping the cue as near parallel as possible and stopping the rocking up and down. Please have a look at my video that covers how to hold the cue, you will find that concentrating on the front of the grip (as the video shows) and unfurling the rear fingers will assist in keeping the cue level. Work hard on this, be patient and it will come.

Niranjan. I try to reply all the comments as time permits, I will see what I can do.

Rupesh. Using side and all its variables is complex and difficult to understand for a beginner. The better you hit the ball some of these complications do tend to disappear. I will however try to run over it again on video.

Playing and judging side just takes experience

Spark. Very keen at one stage but family life and earning a living limits her table time.

Owen. Its not all about putting the hours in, its also putting the hours in correctly. I know a lot of amateurs who have played snooker for years put have never improved because they do not do things correctly. Hitting balls on any surface will undoubtedly help but an English pool table is very small compared to a snooker table and when you change it will feel as if you are playing on a football pitch with cannon balls. You need to put the hours in on a full size table with the correct size balls and please have a few lessons from a qualified coach.

Pool is easy in comparison to snooker so it doesn't help much (by easy I mean just general potting, consistently dishing is another matter). Also it depends how old you are really and how much time you can get on a snooker table. I started quite late at 13 which currently puts me at a disadvantage to other county pool players my age as some of the best started when they 6-8 years old.

I have a snooker hall not far from me that i could go to sometimes. my thought process is that once i am very good on the pool table and can clear up and position myself quite nicely it will help my potting on the bigger table and make my practice more effective and my money more worth it than me just jumping onto that right away... these are like the baby steps and the snooker table is once i can walk i will try run type of thing. I have been to the snooker hall a couple times for practice and it was very fun, I did the potting practice you did for long shots and i did some other positional practice, I'm just wondering if you think spending the time on the pool table first will make my money more worth it when i move to the snooker table.... When the time comes i could probably do like 3hours a day and 6 or 7 on weekends.

Rafa. Everyone is anatomically different and what comes easy to one person can be difficult for another, this is quite natural. As long as you conform to fairly standard basics with the stance, the cue on line, arm vertical, chest on the cue, using the dominant eye correctly, having the ability to cue in a straight line, the rest should take care of itself. Good luck.

Barry Stark Snooker Coach. thanks Barry,again thanks for your videos

Tim. Very important, if it moves the cue moves.

Luke. If you are delivering the cue in a straight line and can play all the shots then it is the correct grip for you.

www.snookercrazy.com/professional-snooker-player-tip-shapes/#MarkSelby Something like that. Go down to the list of names and click on Mark Selby

George. What is a perfectly shaped cue tip? Some professionals like a very rounded shape, others like a flatish tip. Some like it flush with the ferrule, others like it to overhang. Personally I like it to be flush with the ferrule with a slight dome shape, if I get the chance I will try to do a feature on it.

I guess the perfectly shaped tip is the one made by you ;-)

Btw, if you say the ones like it this way, the others like it the other way, then there must be some kind of reasoning why anybody would like it that or the other way. So, what's the reasoning behind the different shapes? Directional control, more spin?

GeorgeAlexanderOz Just personal preference

can u please replay mee

bhanu. Preparing to play the shot (pre- shot routine) is an individual thing, the 1,2,3, wait is something I introduced for Selina to get her started and for her to appreciate the value of establishing a pre-shot routine. I do not advocate that everyone should copy it precisely merely that one should be established.

thq sir

Daragh. That shot was played with stun (bordering on screw) and a lot of side. Apart from making the pot the real difficulty was hitting the side cushion baulk side of the pocket and still getting the side to react as it did.

Barry Stark Snooker Coach It was quite a tremendous shot, especially under the pressure.

lllll. Of course, anything is possible but it should be remembered that everyone needs a little help occasionally. A player cannot always recognise what he is doing wrong even when he has the knowledge. The video camera will help with this and I believe that players should make more use of the camera on their mobile phone, it is a valuable asset.

Im about 6'1" and I use a 58 inch cue.

But I do hold the cue at the very end so if you prefer holding it further up you may want another few inches

Jack_1808 I could google questions but am starting from scratch, and 'too many cooks' as the saying goes. That's why I'm sticking to this site. Now I've got to buy a tape measure as well. :) Appreciate the answer fellow 6 footer.

Why do you need to buy a tape measure?

Also Id recommend something like this (58 inch cue) www.billiardsboutique.com/collections/peradon-snooker-cues/products/peradon-carlisle-3-4-jointed-snooker-cue

mujeeb. Selina is still a beginner and in reality has very little time to practise, she is busy earning a living, she works very hard looking after people with learning difficulties.

@@BarryStarkSnookerCoach yup even after working and then practicing she really is good and sir you are one of best coaches i have ever seen 😍😊

Lee. I am using three feathers/waggles with Selina primarily to get her to understand the importance of a routine and to groove the cue action. I don't mean for everyone to stick to three feathers, just for them to get a routine that works for them. On the pause subject I believe that the transition from pulling the cue back and then driving it forward is one of the areas where mistakes in cueing occur. Of course the pause can be too long and for some players its more a case of the action slowing down at the transition point rather than a definite pause. However I still believe one or the other is essential to establish consistency, it will take you a little time to incorporate it into you action but the effort will be worth it.

Barry Stark Snooker Coach Thanks Barry. I really appreciate your time. Yeah I get what you mean thank you. I'm just so frustrated as I was getting 50's regular a few months back but now I'm only making 20s and 30s. Some ex pro's have watched me and said my cue action is lovely. But I'm just worried I'm doing something major wrong. Is it possible to have any lessons with you. ? And how much if so. ? (as your the best coach out there I think the way you explain stuff). Thanks again for your time. I'd love some lessons from you. Lee.

Because doing so, the player can get the right timing/tempo to hit the ball more precisely.

Verono. It is possible to play the game without the cue touching the body but it makes the game more demanding than it need be. Most players today have the cue touching their chest, they also bring their chin down so that it is touching the cue during the sighting and feathering phase.

I suppose as long as the chest does not interfere with the cue delivery, it is fine to let the cue touching the chest? I was taught to use it as a guide to minimize that "seesaw" movement.

Neverlost. Simply means to point the cue in the direction you wish to deliver it to play the shot.

The line-up. Spot all of the colours and then place all of the reds in a line between the black pink and blue. Good for cue ball control and break building

Jack_1808 ...hey buddy ty...i suppose it may be too challenging for a beginner like me....its the drill that most pros use M not even amateur😅😅

swaril desai Ah okay, what I do sometimes is just spot the colours and then spread out the reds nicely and just pot balls. Should be helpful. Not even necessarily playing red colour red colour just red red if youre not on a ball nicely etc

Another thing I do is just line up a couple of reds to a corner or to the middle and just pot them. In the middle is easier because you can send the cue ball forwards or backwards

Jack_1808 helpful indeed...