Roy Yamane should require very little introduction. Nicknamed "The Sensei", Roy is a Master Certified BCA Instructor with the American Billiard Academy. Roy can be reached for private individual or group lessons at his website: www.abilliardacademy.com. Previous columns are available here.
	Off the Rail BY ROY "Sensei" YAMANE, MASTER BCA Certified Instructor ARE YOU A DEAD EYE? Ever shoot a shot aiming center ball hit on the cue ball and found out that you hit off center which resulted in missing the shot? You may not be aiming your cue straight at the cue ball, or hitting the cue ball dead center. This is more apparent and amplified on longer distance shots. I have found players who are continually aiming off center and subconsciously adjusting their aim without knowing that they have been doing this instinctively from the first day they picked up a cue. How do you correct this irregularity? Your eyes are the aiming mechanism that tell you if your alignment is truly straight or off. Check yourself by shooting a long diagonal corner to corner shot (ex. left to right corner). Set up the cue ball at a comfortable distance so you can get a comfortable bridge and place an object ball about two diamonds back from the opposite diagonal pocket corner to corner straight in. Shoot the shot ten times and check if you're missing or pocketing the ball on one specific side of the pocket. Then set the same shot shooting another ten shots diagonally across the other corner (ex. right to left corner). If the object ball is partial to one side of the pocket on both diagonal tests then I suggest a private lesson with an instructor to work on your basic mechanics. There may be one adjustment that can be made or a combination of things that you can do to rectify the problem through the keen eyes of an instructor and with the assistance of a video-taped analysis of your mechanics. Another simplified way would be to look at yourself in a mirror as you stroke your cue. You can resolve or change instantly by viewing yourself. Some of the elements that may effect your off-set are listed as follows. Knowing which eye is dominant; Do you shoot with your dominant eye directly over the cue stick or center your chin directly over the center of the cue? Either is acceptable but there are exceptions to any rule. Mental concentration has to be in tune or you may lose focus on your shot. Adjusting to correct this error in judgement is by checking and readjusting your aim and this must be done frequently. There are many ways to adjust your aim to make you center-focus such as through your stance configuration, grip alignment, bridge, eye adjustment, stroke and finally head alignment. They are all connected to each other to affect the aim of your shot. Learn by practicing drills to improve your aim more and not just by aiming at shot after shot. There are so many other causes that affect your aim that I could write a book on just aiming. "AIM ON" and enjoy pocketing balls.   All copyrights are owned by Roy Yamane. No duplication is allowed without his permission.