At what age is a pool player "too old" to be world class?

[LC3]

if you keep healthy and in shape into your 60,s and 70,s you can still compete favorably. if your fat, out of shape, eat badly, smoke etc. when you hit that stage of your life you will be suffering.

In the weight room, I see people in their 60's still going at it strong. Walking past the gym are many people in their 30's who couldn't run a block. Genetics probably play a major in how old you look, but lifestyle is typically the bigger determinant of how you feel and perform.

 

[JC]

No.

No, of course not. You would know if you're going to be world class at something from a very early age.

Stop dreaming - it's the hope that kills you.

Maybe not if you've never tried it. I have tried enough to know exactly where I stand.:smile: I was thinking more of the professional golfer or table tennis player or such who for whatever reason has never hit a pool ball until later in life.

JC

 

[measureman]

Back in the '80s I played at solid short stop speed.I played every day and was in my early 40s. Now at age 65 and only playing a couple times a week. I would say I am at 75 % or so of my former speed. But my eye sight is still just as good as it was then. I think if i could play every day I could get back to that speed or very close.The only differance is back then I could play at top speed for many hours ,now i'm pretty much out of gas after about 3 or 4 hours. But for 3 or 4 hours i'm still pretty tough to beat.So I think it all comes down to how well you age.

 

[Chopdoc]

Well, I'm 85 and I'm just as bad as I ever was. I ran 29 about 35 years ago and it still stands. I've run 28 twice in the last year or so, once in practice and once in a match. I'm still hoping to hit 30 before I hang up the cue for good, which I have no intention of doing as long as I can lift it.

Dave Nelson

Bravo. :thumbup:

 

[pt109]

Ask Efren.

Efren might say that you get what you're looking for....
..if you don't roll over..

Or he might say..."Keep punching till you get lucky."

But he's NOT going to say.."Accept your lot on life."

 

[measureman]

Well, I'm 85 and I'm just as bad as I ever was. I ran 29 about 35 years ago and it still stands. I've run 28 twice in the last year or so, once in practice and once in a match. I'm still hoping to hit 30 before I hang up the cue for good, which I have no intention of doing as long as I can lift it.

Dave Nelson

Take the weight bolt out :thumbup:

 

[pwd72s]

The time varies...but the bottom line is that nobody beats father time.

Nobody.

 

[macguy]

Once earned, it is never lost. That's how I see it. Even if they can't get to the table anymore they can still teach any one of us a thing or two.

If it has to be questioned, then they never earned it. The true greats are "world class" whether or not they can still win a match or pick up a cue. Being world class transcends such things.


If you are speaking about the simple practical matter of being able to play, then I have to say there is no age limitation. You start physically advancing toward old age before you hit 30 years of age actually. I teach Geriatrics. Unlike Pediatrics there is no age that defines the field. It will be different for everybody. Attempting to put an age on such a thing is a mistake IMHO.

There is a built in catch-22. For someone to be a world class player they will have to have been playing at a pretty high level for many years. That in itself becomes self limiting. A person can only keep up that kind of interest and drive for so long before it becomes too much. Even though theoretically they could have the skills, the mental game and drive to compete goes.

I know someone will bring up some player they claim still plays world class but I can assure you, if you could magically match up that player with a younger version of themselves they are not then player they once were. Maybe they will have flash backs at times but what made them the player they once were will be gone. What it requires to remain a world class player and be able to compete with other world class players will become more weight then an older player can lift after a while.

In fact that younger version of themselves that once would rather play or practice more then eat, now after a few hours of hard play will rather go home and go to bed. That mystery thing that made them great is gone at some point and does not come back.
It shows when you stake one of those older players and all of a sudden you can see it in their face. They don't want to play anymore and wish the guy they are playing would just quit. It is just not all that important anymore.

 

[deanoc]

Its probably different for each person.
but for me i think it was around 13 years old

 

[Snapshot9]

Desire

Your desire for the game changes as you age. I am 64, and still enjoy playing, but I do not feel the same way as I did 20 years ago. The killer instinct kind of fades away, and you find yourself beating younger players with experience instead of skill.

Oh, I still play weekly tournaments on the weekend, and get a money match now and then, but I am not driven towards it so much as when I was younger. I've noticed my stamina isn't what it used to be. I played a money match for 7 hours recently, and I was tired when we got done.
I used to play for days when I was younger.

I would say when you hit 70 that maintaining a world class level would be extremely hard. We will have to watch Efren as he ages.

 

[TomHay]

You have the mind the body eye arm co ordination.

It is easy to say "I Can't" at any age, it is a built in excuce. To say "I can
" or "I Will" for hours a day and days at a time that will define the player no matter what age.

 

[Chopdoc]

There is a built in catch-22. For someone to be a world class player they will have to have been playing at a pretty high level for many years. That in itself becomes self limiting. A person can only keep up that kind of interest and drive for so long before it becomes too much. Even though theoretically they could have the skills, the mental game and drive to compete goes.

I know someone will bring up some player they claim still plays world class but I can assure you, if you could magically match up that player with a younger version of themselves they are not then player they once were. Maybe they will have flash backs at times but what made them the player they once were will be gone. What it requires to remain a world class player and be able to compete with other world class players will become more weight then an older player can lift after a while.

In fact that younger version of themselves that once would rather play or practice more then eat, now after a few hours of hard play will rather go home and go to bed. That mystery thing that made them great is gone at some point and does not come back.
It shows when you stake one of those older players and all of a sudden you can see it in their face. They don't want to play anymore and wish the guy they are playing would just quit. It is just not all that important anymore.

Of course. But you can't put an age on it, which was my point.

 

[sjm]

To me, world class means capable of winning an event against the most elite competition, perhaps meaning in the world's hundred best. To call a player world class is a much greater compliment than calling them a professional level player.

The only 60-something playing in America that I still consider to be world class is Jose Parica.

As we know, Joe Balsis was still a monster in his early 60's, Irving Crane was a killer into his late 60's, and others have played well at an advanced age.

Still, I think the answer to the question is, with rarest of exception, about 55. The eyes and the nerves start to go around then for most.

Older players who only occasionally play world class level are not world class level players in my book.

 

[terminal_288]

Age ain't nothing but a number, or your only as old as you feel.

 

[Neil]

............

 

[LAlouie]

30yrs 11mos 18dys

sometimes 11hrs and 12min because can happen (sn*p) like that.

 

[macguy]

Of course. But you can't put an age on it, which was my point.

Not so much an age as a time frame. Players seem to peak in every sport. That time when skills and drive come together, but it is just for a period of time. It is as if they say, " Just how good could I be if I really put my mind to it". But once they hit that peak there is no where to go. They can maintain it for a while but then what? In pool especially it is really a "Then what". All that work for pretty much nothing. Where is the drive to come from then, once that reality sets in? Like the old Peggy Lee song "Is that all there is"?

Like a bad marriage, you wake up one day and say, "I don't want to do this anymore" and that is that. I have known quite a few pro athletes in various sports. They always seemed to have one thing in common. After a lifetime of playing a sport, from the time they were kids and would play from sun up to sun down, till they become pros and play for a living. Their only thought is for the time they don't have to play any more.

This may seem afield from the original question but it is why you are not the player as an older person then when you are young. You just change.

 

[brophog]

When you are old enough to realize that the pot at the end of the rainbow just isn't big enough for you to care enough to chase after it.

I hope I never come to that realization.

 

[pt109]

When you are old enough to realize that the pot at the end of the rainbow just isn't big enough for you to care enough to chase after it.

It's not just the pot of gold, Neil....
...I'm starting to worry about the rainbow itself..
https://www.google.ca/url?url=http:...o+2012&usg=AFQjCNH3JyqfJMjl0Ao42eiSnhbsSw0yQg

 

[Sandbag'nIt]

I think you can play pool at a high level for almost your entire life. However, once you hit your 40s, the eyesight, hand eye coordination, and stamina slowly begins to wane.