Roger Long has been a BCA Instructor since 1993. He is the former owner of CuePort Billiards in Lakeland Florida and a regular contributer to Table Talk Newspaper here in Phoenix. His column appears here courtesy of Billiards Table Talk. Previous months columns are available here.
	THE FUNDAMENTALS - MADE BASIC By Roger Long, BCA Certified Instructor Our last lesson ended with the statement that, "a good stroke is simply one that is consistently straight and level." Well, I hate to tell you this, but the word "simply" in that statement is fine for describing a good stroke, however, it is not appropriate when describing how to achieve one. A good stroke may come naturally to a few players, but most people find it to be something that is not easily mastered. It is even less simple to maintain on a consistent basis, and that is why you will sometimes see even expert players checking their alignment during practice. So how do you develop a good stroke? Good question. Most all of the instructional books and videos on the market do a good job of describing the "proper" stance, grip, bridges and alignment, but not all of them explain why their definition of "proper" is not always the same as the other person's. The thing we have to consider is that not all players are the same height and build, so how could there possibly be only one way to stand and hold a cue? Let's just try and remember that any combination of stance, grip, bridge and alignment that helps the cue to travel through the cue ball straight and level, is proper. To break it down a little further, let's look at some factors that contribute to a straight and level stroke. Is your stance balanced so that you will not be pulling your stroke off-line? Is it comfortable so that you will not fatigue early? Does your stroking motion pivot from the elbow only, thus minimizing up and down motion of the cue stick? Do you grip the cue at a point that will allow the tip to contact the cue ball at the very bottom of the stroke so that the stick will be as level as possible when the contact is made? Are your bridge hand, your chin, your shooting shoulder, shooting elbow and shooting wrist all aligned in one plane all through the stroke? Do you gently pull the cue straight back, then smoothly accelerate straight forward, and let the tip follow through the cue ball? If you can answer "yes" to all of the above questions, you probably possess a very good stroke. If you cannot achieve a straight and level stroke now that you have some basic knowledge to work with, you will probably have to hit the books and videos to get some visual specifics to help you adopt a style that will work for you. You also might try practicing in front of a large mirror so that you can see how your stroke looks. Or, you might get a friend to watch you shoot and ask him to look for errors. Or, better yet, you might want to hire a qualified coach to pinpoint the problem areas and help you find solutions. Call me, I might be able to recommend someone.   All copyrights are owned by Roger Long. No duplication is allowed without his permission.