Tough Workouts Ahead!
Late last night I drafted up a two year training schedule which leverages the game strategies and training techniques contained in “The Pro Book” and “The Advanced Pro Book.” I will not include all the gory details here, but what follows are the highlights.
My Vision: To play billiards competitively at a Professional Level
Goals:
(1) Master “The Pro Book” by August 31, 2010. If I start today, I’ll have six months to do this. I’ve timed this goal to allow me to prepare for the 2010 US Amateur Championship tournament. The qualifying rounds of the tournament are held each September at several locations around the United States. My goal is to make it to the finals of the qualifiers, and earn a spot in the National Championships which are being held in November in Tampa, Florida.
(2) Master “The Advanced Pro Book” by August 31, 2011. I will have twelve months to do this after I master “The Pro Book.” This goal is timed to allow me to prepare for the 2011 US Amateur Championship tournament. My goal again in 2011 is to qualify for the National Championships, and be able to play competitively at the National Level.
(3) Play in an open professional tournament in 2012.
Tactics for Goal 1
I reviewed “The Pro Book” and discovered that the ‘Basic 16 shots’ is really about 80 shots. The reason is that most of the basic shots have a natural ‘extension’ – an alternative distance for the cue ball to travel after the shot. Most of the basic shots also have two associated shots that are called ‘boundry’ shots. Boundry shots are shots where the cue ball and object ball are placed at locations that are considered to be on the ‘edge of viability’ of the shot being studied. So, altogether, there are really 80 Basic shots to learn. In addition to the Basic shots, there are 16 safeties, 12 kicks, 8 kick safeties, and 8 bank shots that are presented. The grand total number of shots to memorize (in deep practice) is 124 shots. Whew! This equates to roughly 1 shot per working day between now and August 31st, assuming that I only practice during the work week. For now, I’m not going to do a whole lot of planning for 2011, but I will be periodically reviewing and incorporating drills from “The Advanced Pro Book” to enhance my training program.
Ok, there you have it. I have the shots, I have the drills, I have access to a pool table, and I have a plan. Now all I need is about an hour a day of serious deep practice, and I should be on my way. I’ll give you periodic updates on my progress during the week.
Angle of Reflection 
