How does aging affect your game?

B

Bellhemen

Registered
I've heard comments about/from older people not playing like they used too. I don't know if this is an excuse to use for missing shots or is there something to it? I just watched ESPN Classic (again) with Mosconi, Fats and Jimmie. Hard to believe they can run 100 balls much less 500+ shooting like that.

If age really is a factor, what causes it to get worse? The only things I can think of are eye sight, arthritis and maybe memory. I would think as long as your memory holds and you can still bend over a table doctors could fix your eyesight, and tylenol for arthritis you should be able to shoot great your entire life.

Am I missing something here?
 
Bellhemen said:
I've heard comments about/from older people not playing like they used too. I don't know if this is an excuse to use for missing shots or is there something to it? I just watched ESPN Classic (again) with Mosconi, Fats and Jimmie. Hard to believe they can run 100 balls much less 500+ shooting like that.

If age really is a factor, what causes it to get worse? The only things I can think of are eye sight, arthritis and maybe memory. I would think as long as your memory holds and you can still bend over a table doctors could fix your eyesight, and tylenol for arthritis you should be able to shoot great your entire life.

Am I missing something here?
Click to expand...

I'm 41 and I think my mental game has improved over time. I also think that once you hit a certain age that begins to degrade. The biggest problem I have is physical. Given my past activities I find some days I can't even bend over a table. In a couple weeks I have to have surgery on my shoulder as well, that should be fun.

A couple things about the legends matchs:

1. I don't think those guys really cared who won, they were there to see eachother and put on a show for the crowd.
2. They were also moving alot slower (except for Irving Crane :grin:) Probably because they were all 65+
3. They were just having fun, that was obvious. I think they have done just about everything you can do in pool and find it easy to sit back and relax and enjoy the game. You could definately tell that not one of those players was stressed.
 
Good question.

For me, the only thing hurting my game as I get older is changing eyesight. I keep having to di*k around with my contacts prescription. If I could get my vision correct and stable, I don't see a disadvantage vs the younguns (as long as I stay in shape and take care of myself). Actually, with more experience I should have the advantage!

I don't understand why the aging Efren's and Earl's of the world are at a disadvantage and maybe I'm missing something. I look forward to the posts.


Or maybe I don't look forward to posts of reason, because it might plant seeds of excuse in my head! :confused:
 
Bellhemen said:
I've heard comments about/from older people not playing like they used too. I don't know if this is an excuse to use for missing shots or is there something to it? I just watched ESPN Classic (again) with Mosconi, Fats and Jimmie. Hard to believe they can run 100 balls much less 500+ shooting like that.

If age really is a factor, what causes it to get worse? The only things I can think of are eye sight, arthritis and maybe memory. I would think as long as your memory holds and you can still bend over a table doctors could fix your eyesight, and tylenol for arthritis you should be able to shoot great your entire life.

Am I missing something here?
Click to expand...

Bellhemen

Oh yea, You are missing something. It called the Prime of life. Unfortunately we pay for our indiscretion of Youth. From Birth to death your body matures and at some point you go over hill and start losing your Motor and Mental skills. When and how has to do with those Indiscretion of Youth and your Genes. If you can't get in your Jeans you might blame it on your Genes.

Different people handle aging different. I am lucky in the fact as I just turned 69 I am still in great shape and come from a long line of good Genes. While my Pool Game might still be sharp, other things have past there prime. I still have my eyes but my hearing is getting so bad I must be looking right at you to understand.

As for the Old Rail Birds that claim to be former road player, I think a lot of that is pure "Want A Be". I know one guy in his late 50's since he was about 21. He will tell stories about being the greatest hustler ever and he never could hold a Cue Stick. I know an other who is 84 and never claimed to be anything more than a casual player and every so often whips the tar out of the hot shot kids. He also carries a very low handicap in Golf.
 
Bellhemen said:
I've heard comments about/from older people not playing like they used too. I don't know if this is an excuse to use for missing shots or is there something to it? I just watched ESPN Classic (again) with Mosconi, Fats and Jimmie. Hard to believe they can run 100 balls much less 500+ shooting like that.

If age really is a factor, what causes it to get worse? The only things I can think of are eye sight, arthritis and maybe memory. I would think as long as your memory holds and you can still bend over a table doctors could fix your eyesight, and tylenol for arthritis you should be able to shoot great your entire life.

Am I missing something here?
Click to expand...

Aside from any physical problems, the older players simply CANNOT play like they used to play because they CANNOT put in the hours it takes to play the game at a high level.

Also, the older players, like the other poster just stated, don't have the desire anymore. And the older you get the harder it is to concentrate over long periods of time.
 
Aging

The main thing with me is stamina, you begin to tire and reach down for some energy and there's nothing there. although I play as well or better than ever, for about 3-4 hrs. Then it's over and I can't call it back. In the old days I washed my hands , slapped my face a couple of times and toughened up, thats no longer working.
Rod. 09-05-1937
 
Bellhemen said:
I've heard comments about/from older people not playing like they used too. I don't know if this is an excuse to use for missing shots or is there something to it? I just watched ESPN Classic (again) with Mosconi, Fats and Jimmie. Hard to believe they can run 100 balls much less 500+ shooting like that.

If age really is a factor, what causes it to get worse? The only things I can think of are eye sight, arthritis and maybe memory. I would think as long as your memory holds and you can still bend over a table doctors could fix your eyesight, and tylenol for arthritis you should be able to shoot great your entire life.

Am I missing something here?
Click to expand...


Sounds like you haven't reached your forties yet. :D
 
I am not old yet....

For an apricot I'm old, for a head of lettuce even more so, for a mountain, I am not even begun in years, for a man I am just right....

I have noticed a couple of things though as I've gotten older.

My back bothers me more in those long sessions. My eyesight has degraded some, but not enough to have that great of an affect.

The biggest difference is knowledge....as you gain in knowledge, you gain something else too... awareness.

You become aware of what you have to be able to do to win. When younger that lack of knowledge and increased confidence keeps you sharp. When you're aware of what you really have to do, it drops your confidence level and you can't perform at that high of a level. If I can get past that, I might be dangerous...

as they say ignorance is bliss.

Jaden
 
I think the main problem as you get older is the game losing it's draw..What I mean is when you are 15-25 pool is important every shot means something you take your time, you study everything. You may have gotten upset when you missed in your younger years this is not a good thing it is a great thing it shows that you wanted to win. It shows that you hated to make mistakes.

At least for me the older I get the less I care about playing the game...It gets harder and harder to find a reason to go play...I don't mean I don't love the game as much if not more than ever. It is the stopping that gets me. I'll drive all the way across the country and not even stop anywhere to play. When I was 20 I could not go through a major city without stopping and playing. I would drive 15 hours to play a tournament now if it is over a half hour I probably wont go. lol I might, but chances are I'll find an excuse why I won't...

I think I am in my prime and still won't polish my game... I had my first bad day (nothing going well) of my life recently instead of playing the next day I started to drive to the pool hall...That is it I started to go play...lol

I think this is the difference between younger players and older players...
 
For me personally, there are some things that have hampered my game as I age. My eyes are not as sharp as they once were, my hands shake a little bit, and arthritis is settling into the joints. And as someone else mentioned, I can't keep my energy level up for hours on end, so even if I'm close to being in the money, if it's 2AM, my odds of winning a tournament decrease.

On the plus side, I have to huge advantages over some of the younger players. I have accumulated a lot of knowledge over the years, and can often see a way to deal with the table that some of the younger players may not recognize.
The other advantage I have is patience! I can get into a defensive battle, and not get frustrated and end up selling out on a low percentage shot. I will play 20 defensive shots, hoping my opponent will get frustrated enough to make a mistake.
And I never let the score get me frustrated. If my opponent is up 7 to 0 on me, I know that I can win 7 straight games just as easily as he did. I don't quit, mentally or physically.

All in all, I'm having more fun playing now that I was 30 or 40 years ago. And while I may not be the favorite to win a tournament, I can take a match or two from most anybody. Kinda like that country song says. I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was!

Steve
 
Starting to sound to me like "I don't play like I used too" is an excuse your entitled to with age. Within reason. I don't expect somebody 105 years old to be kicking ass on the pool table. Valid excuse might be "I'm tired and need to go take a nap". I understand at some point your body/mind fails (based on your genes) and you just don't have it anymore. But for the older people that walk in to play, that are physically and mentally able to play, I should assume they can play like they were 25 when they want to for at least a few racks just to shut up a young whipper snapper.

More awareness and knowledge make you a better player as long as you can still recollect it. Losing your hearing I would say is another advantage.
 
eyesight & lower back

As I've gotten older my eye sight has faded. My close vision is distorted and I have slight double vision. According to my Ophthalmologist it is not surgically repairable, But can be corrected to some degree with glasses. I've spent hundreds on pool shooting glasses to no avail. They seem to help for awhile but are so uncomfortable I have to remove them after a short time.
Also in the dark environment of my pool hall my eyes don't seem to gather the available light as they used to. This, I am told, is caused by "Macular degeneration" again not surgically repairable according to my Ophthalmologist.
Another problem is "Eye Hand Coordination." I know from other activities of my life that my eye hand coordination is not what it used to be. I don't seem to have the touch and finesse of stroke I used to have.
Back pain is another problem. When I hurt I can't perform. I will say that the continued motion provided by playing pool is overall beneficial to my back problems. But sitting for hours sweating a match will give me crippling lower back pain.
 
Yep

Good Point about the desire to spend long hours of practice. One thing I see here in retirementVille is older players not wanting to play in bigger tournaments. What I mean is they come to play but wait till the last minute to get in. If there are too many people, they drop out not desiring to play for long periods of time. Yet they stay sitting on the bar stool until close.

Last week my League team had a Bye. Tonight will be the first time I play since League two weeks ago. Just the last month or so, I have become more of a home body and haven't played in a small tournament most nights like I used to.
 
Bellhemen said:
Starting to sound to me like "I don't play like I used too" is an excuse your entitled to with age. Within reason. .
Click to expand...

I don't play like I used to....I play smarter now than I ever have.
I win matches against players who are better shooters than I am.
My game is different than it was 40 years ago.

Age isn't an excuse...it's a reason for change.

Steve
 
Bellhemen said:
I've heard comments about/from older people not playing like they used too. I don't know if this is an excuse to use for missing shots or is there something to it? I just watched ESPN Classic (again) with Mosconi, Fats and Jimmie. Hard to believe they can run 100 balls much less 500+ shooting like that.

If age really is a factor, what causes it to get worse? The only things I can think of are eye sight, arthritis and maybe memory. I would think as long as your memory holds and you can still bend over a table doctors could fix your eyesight, and tylenol for arthritis you should be able to shoot great your entire life.

Am I missing something here?
Click to expand...

My answer is really badly !

In fact the problem is that I don't remember how I was playing back then... aging affects my memory for sure ! So, the positive thinking told me to guess I was better. ;)
 
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Age & pool

Well im not worried about my pool game it is mySEX LIFE!!!!!will soon be 72yr and still play them pretty good. thanks to eye surgery & viarga , and that is all im going to say about that!!!! WHAT WAS THE QUESTION ??????:confused::confused::confused:
 
pooltchr said:
I don't play like I used to....I play smarter now than I ever have.
I win matches against players who are better shooters than I am.
My game is different than it was 40 years ago.

Age isn't an excuse...it's a reason for change.

Steve
Click to expand...

Do you play better now than you did 40 years ago? Are you a better shot maker now or play better position? You mentioned your hands shake. I'm guessing that only happens occasionally and when it does your lucky to hit the cue ball?

So the old man I'm playing that uses that excuse "I don't play like I used to" probably just didn't take the time to concentrate and doesn't really care if he beats me bad or not. If that's the case and this old man really wants to win and the desire is there he can hunker down and shoot great pool for a couple hours. Would you agree with that?
 
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