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Oct 04, 2004 :: I think someone is laughing at me
Calibrate Your Stroke: The Value Of A Stop Shot
How many stop shots do you shoot in a day, a week, or a month? The skill and discipline required to pocket 100 consecutive, perfect stop shots without a miss is truly an art.
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 just drill balls into the center of the pocket while using extreme english.
Whatever system you use to sight 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. Often times, if you have pocketed the ball with some english, you will be able to see the cue ball spinning in place after it contacts the object 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 dial in on your stroke.
Our stroke may feel a bit different on different days, too. You may notice on Monday you were putting some right english on every stop shot, but today, you're hitting them square into the center of the pocket while the cue ball stops dead. If that's the case, embrace that feeling and challenge yourself to shoot every single stop shot square into the center of the pocket while envisioning the cue balls frozen in its tracks once it makes contact.
You see people practicing with a game of 8 ball before an 8 ball match. Well, you just get up to your warm up rack and shoot in 15 stop shots. I guarantee it will be much more beneficial. Like calibrating a gun, it's important to make sure it's shooting straight.
A tip: When shooting a few stop shots to prepare for a match on a bar table, use an object ball (I like to use the 9ball) as the cue ball and shoot that into the cue ball. Wait for it to return and set it up again. This will help you get in stroke while saving your money for the matches.
