Age started playing cuesports?

J

jac1

New member
Hi,

I'm quite new to playing pool but am interested in playing more. My question just for curiosity is what age you guys started playing pool or any form of cue sport for the first time?

What are the best players that you know of that started at a late age?

How long does it take to get to a respectable standard?

Just curious as a beginner because you'd think it wouldn't matter what age you start, but i guess it does.

what age is considered late for a pool player to start playing?

thankyou.
 
I started playing when I was 14 and played for about 7 years until family and work got in the way. After about a 10 year break, I have been playing again for about 4 years.
I don't think there is a time that is to late to play. There is a lot to be said for being more mature and being able to handle situations better.
Respectable standard is completely relative and would depend on how you view respectable. Some people are happy winning local weekly tournaments while others aim to be a touring pro some day. If you are happy with the level you play at, then that's really all that matters.

Btw, welcome to the boards :thumbup:
 
I'm 21 and up until recently haven't played much at all. I've always been interested though and have always watched a lot of pool.

I enjoy the game so I'd like to get to a standard where I can compete at a high level, although I'm not expecting to become pro or anything.

Just starting to enjoy the game but wondered if it was one of those sports that you need to grow up playing from being a kid to get very good.

Are there any pros on the scene that started late? What would you consider a late starting age for a pool player?
 
I didn't start until I was about 27. I got a late start, but put a LOT of practice in.

the worst thing about starting late, is that life gets in the way. It's easy to spend hours upon hours, days upon days playing in your teens and twenties, but when you gotta make a living, raise a family, ect, it's very difficult hard to keep devoting the amount of practice and play time.

and no, 21 is still young :) never too late
 
hey bud, dont feel bad I was 27 until I ever picked up a cue stick. I am 38 now and I feel that I have learned a whole lot in a short period of time. It is possible to get to a respectable level fairly quick if you are serious about doing so. I bought books, videos, played on 2 different leagues, and played 6 nights a week i also found a pretty knowledgeable older guy to give me advice and watch my flaws. this has helped.

now I understand that some people cant put in the time but It can be done if you're willing to put in the time.
 
I started about 1948 at 7 years old. It's been a love hate thing...mostly love. Johnnyt
 
I started playing at the age of thirteen. It helps to start early in life because you have far less inhibitions.

Pool is a game that requires taking risks. A lot of people that start later in life aren't as willing as they need to be to take these risks.

The bottom line is: No risk no reward.
 
I've played competitive sports all my life, but it's got to the point where an injury is starting to prevent me from playing the one sport I am totally obsessed with! So being the ultra competitive guy I am, I need something to fill the void once my injury stops me from playing my main sport at the level I want to play at.

Kinda like how a lot of pro athletes take up golf once retired to feed their competitive drive I guess.

Pool is enjoyable and isn't as physically taxing on the body as most sports.
 
I started playing when I was 24, which is pretty late. Most top pros began playing very young. The latest that I know of a top pro starting was around 17 or 18. I'm not saying that it can't be done, just haven't seen it. I am hoping to get to a good shortstop level. I would love to get to a higher level than that, but the time constraints to get to top form are tremendous.
 
Taking up pool later on in life

jac1 said:
Hi,

I'm quite new to playing pool but am interested in playing more. My question just for curiosity is what age you guys started playing pool or any form of cue sport for the first time?

What are the best players that you know of that started at a late age?

How long does it take to get to a respectable standard?

Just curious as a beginner because you'd think it wouldn't matter what age you start, but i guess it does.

what age is considered late for a pool player to start playing?

thankyou.
Click to expand...



Terry Bell didn't start playing pool until he was 21yrs., and he attained a professional level well before he was 30, but I think each individual person will progress due to their own natural talent, desire and drive to play the game.

I suggest getting on a local pool league and going from there!


David Harcrow
 
I started playing at 5 years old. But Ill tell you, if I knew then, what I know now...... WOW.
There is a huge amount of knowledge that goes along with the hand eye coordination. Find a good instructor in your area and start off right. It will take years off of your learning curve.
Chuck
 
brandoncook26 said:
I started playing when I was 24, which is pretty late.
Click to expand...

Oh boy, am I in trouble....

I started at 46. Last year.

Yikes! :eek: :D

No aspirations here. Having a ball, learning all the time. I might even be able to hit a draw shot someday soon.
 
I first played when I was ten. First time I ever picked up a cue I ran 10 balls and it seemed like it took about a year to do it again. lol honest to god.
 
I was introduced to pool at 16, but didn't start playing regularly until 17. Started playing 3-cushion at 18 and that quickly became my game of choice. Were I to do it over again, I would have played more pool when younger to learn how to make balls fearlessly, thean learn 3C later on. I did learn to control the cue ball playing 3C, but once I got interested in pool later in life, shot making is still a struggle.

Dave
 
Believe I started playing in about 57 or 58 but can't be certain at this point. I would have been 7 or 8 years old. My cousin and I mostly played nickel-nickel pool at the start. He was only 23 days my junior but he had to stand on pop crates to see over the edge of the table. I could see over the edge but had to play an "over-arm" stroke for a year or so. We played just enough to know we liked it at that point.

By the time he and I were 12, we were playing fairly serious snooker. At 13 and 14, we were beating most of the adults in partner snooker - often enough to win several local tournaments. At 15, I caught a gear for some reason and left my cousin in the rear view mirror so far as level of play. I didn't know much of anything but could make darn near any shot on the table. In my teen years here in SW Missouri, pool was pretty much regarded as a game for smaller kids and very old men who could never play snooker well.

If you want to improve your pool game shot making abilities, play snooker if you possibly can. You will be forced to refine and hone your own aiming abilities as you play snooker. Cue ball control on a snooker table shares basic fundamentals with pool, but you will have to switch to pool to get old whitey under control on a pool table.

There is, of course, such a thing as natural talent for the game. You will learn very quickly if you have any natural talent and aptitude for playing the cue games. If you lack such abilities, you can still eventually play very well by learning it as a mechanic. Some mechanics play very good pool but they can never best what I call the artists of the game (the naturally talented greats).

Nothing can substitute for hours and weeks and years of practice. Practice in whatever form it comes is the key to mastering any game or sport. Quietly study superior players while taking mental notes and filing them away to be used and practiced later. Develop your own style and don't be trapped by people who think their way is THE way. Find your very own comfort zone. For example, many of the best players I've ever seen would surely have been unable to tell you what "aiming system" they used. They simply did it.

Through the years I've met people that started young and never improved much at all, if any. I've met those that started later in life and improved remarkably in very little time.
 
Started playing in 1961 at age of 8. My brother took me to my first pool hall. My folks bought an 8 foot table for me the next year (it was a piece of crap with a plywood bed, but it was something to hit balls on which I did every day). By the time I was 11 was beating all his high school friends.:p Got married at 21 and stopped playing for 22 years. Got divorced and have been playing since the divorce.
Went to Legend Billiards in League City Texas after the divorce and was introduced to the game of one pocket by some old verterans (they beat me unmercifully). Been hooked on one pocket ever since.
 
There are no answers to your questions.:confused:

I started at about 20;

Some people never get to a 'respectable standard', some do it in a shockingly short time span.

jac1 said:
Hi,

I'm quite new to playing pool but am interested in playing more. My question just for curiosity is what age you guys started playing pool or any form of cue sport for the first time?

What are the best players that you know of that started at a late age?

How long does it take to get to a respectable standard?

Just curious as a beginner because you'd think it wouldn't matter what age you start, but i guess it does.

what age is considered late for a pool player to start playing?

thankyou.
Click to expand...
 
12squared said:
I was introduced to pool at 16, but didn't start playing regularly until 17. Started playing 3-cushion at 18 and that quickly became my game of choice. Were I to do it over again, I would have played more pool when younger to learn how to make balls fearlessly, thean learn 3C later on. I did learn to control the cue ball playing 3C, but once I got interested in pool later in life, shot making is still a struggle.

Dave
Click to expand...

Promises, promises!

My song is bakcwards from yours. Pool before 3c for me...and I think that is easier than the other way around too- though I only have one stroke, which is kind of a problem...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top