There are so many amateur players out there that shoot shots to hard or to soft or even not hard enough. Even some pros can struggle with this as well from time to time. From my experience the speed to which you hit the cue ball can only be taught to you with experience and playing a lot. How can you really teach someone how hard or soft to hit the cue ball. I think it's some what of a feel shot more than anything. One of my favorite players Efren "Bata" Reyes plays pool with grace and elegance. He knows just how to hit the cue ball to get perfect position. If you watch him play a match you can almost see the speed of his cue ball. I watch Shane VanBoening doing the same thing in his matches. That nice and deliberate stroke. Knowing how hard and slow to hit the cue ball for position and making the game look very easy. Professional and just good players figure out this thing we call speed. Most amateurs don't know this even exist because we don't talk about it much. Here's a few of my shots that I like to do and practice that helps me.
Example: Hard speed: Hit the cue ball top left English and go three rails behind the 3 ball for position. I like to practice this shot because it comes up a lot in games. And i get the feel for how hard to shoot the ball.
Example:Soft Speed: Place the cue ball on the spot and the one ball on the diamond. Use center ball and lag the cue ball towards the one ball. And gently hit the one ball. After awhile trying this you will get the idea how soft to hit it. "The only reason I do this shot is to get the feel of hitting the cue ball soft. Some player just hit the ball to hard." So to sum it all up the next time your practicing or playing a match pay attention to detail. On your speed,position,safety play,patterns ect. Here's a good example from Joe Nichols from Break Time Billiards
