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Team USA and the future of the Mosconi

J
Cord said:
My gut reaction is, "demand." A great place near me has five beautiful 9' Diamonds, and ten or eleven 7' Diamonds. $6/hr table time; $3 draft pints. On any number of occasions, I've seen all of the barboxes in use, and none of the big tables.
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It’s very hard to tell how many American kids are playing pool. I think there has been an increase in recent years. The internet has made it more accessible and the number of tables in the U.S. goes up every year.

The only thing we know for certain is that it’s hard for young players to find and play on 9-foot tables since most of them are in bars.

The U.S. has as few as 7 million tables in homes or as many as 12 million, based on estimates I’ve seen. I suspect it’s closer to the lower number, but it’s impossible to know, really.

An estimated 700,000 new tables are sold each year, with slightly less than half purchased by residential customers. There was a big surge in sales during the pandemic, but they have slowed back to normal rates.

Between 100,000 to 150,000 new tables sold each year are 9-foot tables, but most are bought by commercial establishments.

Turns out 8-footers are still dominant in the home market. I had an 8-foot table growing up.

Texas and Florida alone account for about one-third of new pool table sales, one research report determined. They represent about 16% of the population.

An estimated 20 million Americans reportedly play regularly, with another 10 to 15 million people being very casual or occasional users.

The APA claims about 275,000 members.
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Team USA and the future of the Mosconi

J
Rocket354 said:
Agreed. A pool table is difficult for a lot of families to dedicate an entire room to, not to mention the actual cost and effort involved in getting one. So the only option is to go to the publicly available pool tables. Most of those are cordoned off in bars where one has to be 21. So it's quite difficult for kids to get regular access to a pool table. Until that happens, pool in the US will lag the rest of the world.

Compounding the issue is that most pool rooms, even those accessible to kids, are just dumps. Anecdotally, the closest one to me and the only one that allows kids (until 7? 9? pm at least) is also the cleanest and most respectable one. It just had a shooting a few months ago, in a town that doesn't get many shootings. One farther away is located in one of the worst parts of town with literal crackheads roaming the area and lots of businesses go on lockdown once the sun goes down.

I tried taking my niece and her friend to go play pool a few years ago, to another pool hall that allowed kids during the day. Going into the bathroom there was literal pornography plastered on the walls.

It is a steep and treacherous uphill climb we face to get pool to where it is accessible and appropriate for kids. I don't know what the solution is, but for now it is a catch-22. Pool is not popular with kids, therefore no one makes it accessible to kids. But because it isn't accessible, no kids can grow up loving the sport and it won't be popular with them.

It is no coincidence that Shane grew up in a pool-loving family with access to pool tables from a very young age. Until that situation is more common for kids, the US will never be competitive on the international stage.
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This is the problem and it is a difficult one. A home table isn’t enough as far as player development. I’m not sure the issue can be solved. I’m old and grew up in a city with pool halls I could have gone to but I didn’t know it until I was about 18. I always was interested but didn’t really have a chance to play. Not saying I would have been great, but I’m getting at the reality and the culture issue. There is zero chance my parents would have taken me to pool halls.

My parents would pay for and drive to all kinds of activities but no way would they have done that for pool. 5:30 AM hockey game in January- no problem. Baseball camp, no problem. Etc…. One of the pool halls where kids could be? No.

The way it might change is with the club model being tried some places. A small town in my area has a new room that is more geared to families and is providing opportunities for juniors. But we are a long way from soccer or similar sports as far as access. Bowling is probably way ahead isn’t it?
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