The Power of Videotaping Your Game

By Glenn Bond

If you have not seen yourself playing pool, you should. You will learn much about yourself, and see elements of your approach, fundamentals, and stage-presence that you could never know otherwise. As an instructor, I first started utilizing video to show students what I was telling them, but they couldn’t really conceive of as being true. For example, a student might be curling his wrist in towards his body during the stroke (a common error). Although I tell him this is happening, it is often difficult to know it during the shot because he is so focused on the shot itself. When I use the video camera, he instantly learns to recognize the motion in his wrist and can take steps to correct it. The camera allows you to become a “removed observer” of your game and helps you become a manager of your game in a professional way.

Speaking of professionals, doesn’t every major sports team watch tapes of themselves playing and analyze their performance afterwards? They can both see fundamental problems and poor decisions made “in the heat of the moment”. However, the camera is useful for more than simply fundamental analysis. Videotaping shows your stage presence- and that is something you couldn’t know without taping. In taping with students, one comment that always gets raised eyebrows is, “Now you get to see what every opponent who has ever played you already knows--- What you look like when playing!

You can tape yourself and this will be very beneficial to you. If you are going to tape on your own and don’t have a home table to do it on, please be respectful of poolroom owners and ask permission before you tape. Better than on your own, though, go to a qualified instructor who can point out things you might otherwise miss. A good instructor can simply be another player’s perspective for you. Many of Arizona’s best players have gone through my video session, not because I am so much better of a player than them, but because an in-depth analysis of their game with another player is very useful. I know that here in the Valley, both Roger Long and Jerry Briesath make extensive use of videotaping in their lessons. I’m not sure if Doc Rice, Don Rose, Dale Teague or Babe Thompson videotape their students, but call and ask, if one of them is your instructor of choice.

Some hints for taping yourself:
Tape all kinds of shots: draw shots, follow shots, elevated cue shots.
You want to isolate the stroking arm from the front, back and sides.
Also, definitely tape your break (the one shot in pool in which you have body-motion!)
Isolate the camera more on you and less on the table.
Zoom in tight on important areas (stroking arm).
Watch on your big screen with pen and paper in hand.
Go back and do it all over again, looking for the corrections to have been made!

I videotape myself every three months. Having done this for years, I now have a video history of my game and the progression in it. For example, in the summer of 2001, I started developing a recoil (pulling back after the stroke) motion. By the fall, I had corrected that problem. Most importantly, fundamental problem are identified before they truly become habit and are therefore much easier to correct.

I include a video session with every one of my packages of lessons. As a result, my students move to the top of their league, win more tournaments and matches, get their ratings raised and start rising above those they previously played equal to. But the really important part of taping and lessons is that they are having more fun because they are learning new stuff and not remaining stuck in a rut!

I encourage you to see yourself play either with myself or another instructor. It will be a great experience.
Glenn

All copyrights are owned by Glenn Bond. No duplication is allowed without his permission.