This is something that my instructor set up for me to do in addition to my regular regimen. Mark Wilson is a amazing instructor, if you ever get a chance to take lessons from him I highly advise it. I will be doing a article solely about him in the near future so be sure to check that out.
Break Shot- 30 minutes
Mark advises having someone rack the balls for me while I concentrate on the break shot. All you do is break and rack over and over. The main thing is to concentrate on hitting the head ball square, controlling the cue ball all while maintaining perfect fundamentals. Do this for 30 mins., this is not a competition to see how many times you can break in 30 min but rather to attack the break shot with solid focus and control. Even if you only break once per minute, the main thing is that you maintain your fundamentals on every attempt. I make a note in my practice journal what percentage of the time I made a ball, how well I controlled the cue ball and if I scratched. (Scratching is the main thing to avoid, it is more important than making a ball.)
9 Ball Ghost (BIH) 10 Games
This is my favorite part. You rack up a game of 9 ball, break and then start with BIH (Ball in hand) You attempt to run out, if at any point you miss or scratch that rack is over and that game goes to the ghost. You then re-rack and start all over. If you run out, you win! I play 10 games of this and record my score. I also make note of how long it took me to play 10 games. (If I am doing well it will take over 1 hour)
Playing Safe- 30 minutes
This is pretty simple to do but very worth while…and humbling! Put a ball on the table and try to hit it and move the cue ball to a pre-determined place on the table. I use a dollar bill as my target. Move the target around randomly, try different speeds and distances. You really need to push yourself. If your not hitting the target at all than try a easier set up. But really push yourself to get that pin point control. You will see this pay off big time in a match. It’s worth every second.
15 Ball shoot until you miss- 10 racks BIH
Here you rack all 15 balls, break, then take ball in hand and shoot in any order. You keep shooting until you miss, scratch or make all 15. You get a point for every ball made. If you miss or scratch your run is over. Record your score and re rack. This is done 10 times and then you add up your points. Log your average, this is a good indicator of your improvement. It will help you with patterns, shot making and shot selection.
This entire workout takes me 3-4 hours on average per day.
MOST IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER-
While doing this or any other practice routine it is paramount to make sure that you are consistent. Be disciplined in your fundamentals. Don’t allow yourself to become lazy or complacent. Make sure you take your time, look at the shot,study it. Then get down on the shot and take slow deliberate strokes. Only pull the trigger when you are confident in the shot.
If you are just strolling up to the shot poking at it and moving on to the next, save yourself the time and aggravation and take up poker. If you want to truly improve, practice with purpose. Be diligent, stay focused.