How do I decide how to select an instructor?
Here’s a good place to find well-respected and well-known instructors. Word of mouth from past students is probably the best way know if an instructor is good for you or not.
An instructor obviously must be knowledgeable and understand all of the intricacies of the game, and certainly have enough experience to appreciate those intricacies. An instructor must also be a good teacher and communicator and know how to connect with various types of people. Also, a great instructor should be a total “student of the game” (i.e., read everything, discuss and debate stuff on forums, communicate professionally and open-mindedly with other instructors and players, etc.). Great players are often not great instructors. Only people completely dedicated to playing pool can put in the amount of time necessary to be great. See more here: what it takes to play like a pro. Great instructors must have enough playing experience to understand everything that is important in the game, but they must have also spent lots of time time learning how to teach the game. Most great players have not done this.
The true value a coach or instructor provides is not information. Lots of great information can be found in good books and videos and online. The most important value an instructor offers is the ability and experience to work with a player as a unique individual, catering the instruction to best help that person improve.
For more information, see Joe Waldron’s article: “Who is a Teacher?“
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