Ken Bour wrote... (snip)
> My problem is having the discipline to work on the
> above. It seems that I would rather just toss 5 or
> 6 balls on the table and try to run them in sequence.
> When I miss, I curse, mutter, and stammer. When I make
> them, I toss another 5-6 out there... (snip)

I've always been pretty bored with drills as well, but I also realize that just throwing the balls out and shooting them in is not the best practice. I've started to combine the two methods like this:

1. Throw balls 1-9 and the CB onto the table so that each ball has at least one pocket - no tight clusters.

2. Use ten hole-reinforcement stickers to mark the balls' positions.

3. Run the balls without missing, getting way out of shape, or hitting any other balls unnecessarily. Don't cheat, even if you're kicking at the one. If you screw up, put the balls back and start the run again, making changes to your plan as you see fit.

4. Once you've successfully ran out, throw the balls back onto the table. Put the one on the closest spot, the two on the closest empty spot, and so on. The CB gets the last unoccupied spot.

5. Repeat steps three and four until you're learned about all you're going to learn from those spot positions. About 10 times seems to be average for me. Then take off the spots and go back to step one.

I've found this to be really good practice. Many times I've found myself kicking at the one because it's the only way to get on the two. It's really reminded me of the importance of planning ahead. And if (when) I do make a mistake I can just respot the balls and start over.