What I See in this Video (Drill by Daren Appleton)

I saw this video the other day from Darren Appleton:

1-15 rotation one pocket drill brutal.. Completed it 4 times but 3 of them wasn't clean slightly nudged a ball so I kept going till I did it without contacting a ball... Great drill one of the toughest I've ever done .
Posted by Darren "Dynamite" Appleton on Wednesday, February 17, 2016

I am not sure what others see in this video, but what I see is GREAT fundamentals!  I realize the drill is a good drill and tough, don't get me wrong, but what I what really stuck out for me was these two KEY very important points:

1. Darren stays down and follows through on every single shot.
2. He chalks his cue every single time.

What does this mean?  It means he treats every shot the same and has fabulous fundamentals.

What people don't understand is it's very easy to get lazy on drills.  And also because there is no pressure practicing by ourselves, we rush our shots.  So, it's refreshing (and this is why he's a Champion) to see Darren taking his time on each and every shot.  He also has the slight pause each time, staying down REALLY well on each shot, following through beautifully, and doing his pre-shot routine on every shot (looking at the shot as he chalks his cue and steps INTO the line of the shot).

I mean, seriously, how many times have you practiced by yourself and not chalked your cue because you were just "hitting" balls around?  Treat every shot even in practice with the same due-diligence as if you were competing. 

The reason this particular video is also good to show how important fundamentals are, is you can see how long his cue stays still after he shoots each shot (that great follow through).  From the angle of the video, it looks as tho he is laying his cue on the table after each shot - that's how well he stays down and follows through - the keys to great pool.  :)

Enjoy!