boogieman said:

I've only saw chalk do this when it gets wet or oil on it. Weird.

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lfigueroa said:

A player involved in a money match should not be fooking around with the table they're gonna play on.

Have someone else do it if necessary. That's not being a dunce, that's being smart... and fair.

Lou Figueroa

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jlrowe said:

Just wondering does stepping into the shot or stepping back really make any difference....

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lfigueroa said:

Would like to be there when you say that to his face, lol.

Lou Figueroa

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ShootingArts said:

After three days he could juggle!

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sjm said:

[...]

To sum, I agree with you that Savannah is progressing, but I am in a position to compare that rate of progress to that of the many female teen phenoms that I have watched over fifty years. It is my considered opinion that Savannah's progress is slow compared to what I've seen from those that went on to be the giants of women's pool.

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Oikawa said:

Where'd you hear/read about this? Just curious

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gregcantrall said:

Disability vs Inability:
I practiced juggling while sitting the bench at Little League all star game. I didn't have the natural but I had good coaching.
My first coaching was Marine Corp.
It all starts with attitude. Hence my apprentices ass says mint of "Tiger on the front and Rabit on the back" was accurate. Humorously
Oh yeah oh yeah catching at 8 for 12 year old pitchers. A 1950s glove with no web. The black and blue palm forced the necessity of getting the padded part on the ball first but still under control. My best coaching was if you blink you will never be a champion.

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Sheldon said:

I also enjoy watching and playing people who get after it like she does. She makes Kristina look like she's in slow motion.
My favorite people to play are the ones that don't act like robots and we get twice the number of games in that the robots do.

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VVP said:

What a paid to have to listen to George T. commentating. Long past time to put him out to pasture.

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sjm said:

Thanks for your input. This is a well-reasoned and well-presented post. I agree that Savannah, who will be sixteen in seven weeks, is improving and I wish her well. Perhaps she will go on to be a great player, but she is not yet threatening the most elite players and many of the greatest young female phenoms already were at that age.

That said, I was already watching women's pro pool in the 1970s and have probably attended nearly 100 WPBA events live in my life. I have a lot of observation upon which to base my contention that her rate of progress is not as great as what I'm used to seeing from those that go on to be the greatest champions. I mentioned Jean Balukas, Loree Jon Jones, Siming Chen, Han Yu, and Jasmin Ouschan all did major damage on the international circuit as teens. So did Sha Sha Liu, World 9ball champion at 16. Prior to the existence of the WPBA, California's Robin Dodson won two Caifornia State championships as a teen. Cheka Centeno probably played Fargo 725 speed as a teen. Ga Young Kim was already posting wins against the world's most elite players as a teen, too.

The last two notable American teen phenoms were in the 2010s. They were Briana Miller and April Larson, both of whom were very capable cueists posting some solid results by age 17. Neither went on to be a superstar in women's pool, although both play nicely (Briana is #51 and April is #57).

As for your suggestion that the Top 20 today weren't great players at Savannah's age, you are mistaken. It simply means that you do not follow the women's pro game very closely. Looking at a few of them, a) Siming Chen was world champ at 16, b) Han Yu was already winning majors by 17, c) Sha Sha Liu was World champion by 16, d) Jasmin Ouschan was already one of the world's best 9ball and 14.1 players at 16, e) Kristina Tkach won three Eurotour events by 17. Most of the top female players were already doing a lot of damage on the tournament scene in their teens.

Once upon a time, it was America that produced the world's best female players, but now it is Asia. Much has been written of the superb training academies for women's pool players in Asia and how they keep mass producing superstar players. Asia has 34 of the Fargo Top 50 women and not even one of the other 16 is American born. There is little doubt in my mind that both Savannah and Sofia will change this, but if you ask me if I convinced that either will be a Top 20 player in the world down the road, I will say no. I expect that the Asian training machine to continue producing the giants of the game with a sizable contingent from Europe, but for now, I'm not convinced that America is going to produce its share of the world's best women players. Of course, it is quite possible I am wrong here and I will be rooting for both Savannah and Sofia every step of the way.

To sum, I agree with you that Savannah is progressing, but I am in a position to compare that rate of progress to that of the many female teen phenoms that I have watched over fifty years. It is my considered opinion that Savannah's progress is slow compared to what I've seen from those that went on to be the giants of women's pool.

Of course, the bottom line here is that I've been wrong before and will be wrong again, so we'll see how it all develops.

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