Is there a peak age for playing billiards?

Vision

IMO - Its 20 and 30's.

The worse thing is the declining vision, and while I have had Lasik, it is that those young eyes. The 20-30's are seasoned, healthy, limber, verses us old fat guys.

Years ago, One Pocket allowed those with much pool knowledge but lessened skills to "out move" the eagle eyed, straight shooting, young guns. But in the last 10+ years more younger players are playing and dominating it.

JMO

Ken

In my opinion your output is based on the quantity of quality input you’ve given your game. Most professionals have spent some part of their life playing 8-12 hours a day for an extended period of time. Kids can get away with that without day jobs and their minds are most fertile to learn, especially if they have masters around them. After that they can make the jump to being a professional in their early twenties and will continue to have enough time to play 6-8 hours a day. That gives them the bump needed to jump from low-tier to mid-high tier.

As they age, vision and stability start to slip and the risk of pool burnout kicks in. Perhaps they want to focus on relationships, family, fishing, fun, or work away from pool. That’s why Ralf Souquet is so unique in that he still has the discipline and interest to stay honed in later years whereas someone like Archer may still be very active but probably not grinding 10-12 hours anymore.

The rest of us can have similar experiences at a significantly diminished level. The difference is that if you were a banger for decades, it’s too late to go pro but it’s not too late to drastically improve your game. But if you were a master in your twenties, it may be hard to keep your game growing later in life.

So ultimately the best age for pool is probably 20-30 but there are exceptions.


Respectfully, Matt
(I don’t take myself too seriously. I hope you can return the favor.)

justnum said:

The amount of time I used to spend practicing when in my 20s was higher.

In my 30s the practice time dropped a lot, but my wins were more.

In the 40s, motivation for a match win is lower, but can still pocket a decent shot every now and then.

Is there a peak age of performance for playing billiards?

Click to expand...

No reason you can't play strong pool in to your 50s and even 60s if your eyesight and fine twitch nerves hold up, but likely for shotmaking your 20s, 30s and 40s are your prime. It's crazy these days how good some of these players are and how much they know, and are still teenagers!

ChrisinNC said:

No reason you can't play strong pool in to your 50s and even 60s if your eyesight and fine twitch nerves hold up, but likely for shotmaking your 20s, 30s and 40s are your prime. It's crazy these days how good some of these players are and how much they know, and are still teenagers!

Click to expand...

Damn... what a shame I wasted all those years working and making money. :frown:

During the '80s when i was in my 40's and playing the best pool of my life every day I could give my now 71 year old self the 8 in 9 ball and rob the old me.
Probably the 7 would have been fair.

I probably play my best now at the age of 61. Not sure if that's a statement on me working harder on my game over the last few years or how badly I sucked when I was younger.

justnum said:

The amount of time I used to spend practicing when in my 20s was higher.

In my 30s the practice time dropped a lot, but my wins were more.

In the 40s, motivation for a match win is lower, but can still pocket a decent shot every now and then.

Is there a peak age of performance for playing billiards?

Click to expand...

I think I play better now at mid 40s than I did any other time I can remember. At least my knowledge of what I am doing is higher as well as strategy and safety play. I can't remember how well I shot fully in my 20s but seems to me it was not as good as now.

For me, my stroke is still smooth, my knowledge is still there, I just don't have the drive or the concentration I once had.

I know my game, and for me to play close to my high gear, I need to put in 30-40 hours a week. I currently am taking a break from league and only bang balls in the garage a few hours here and there. The fire just isnt there right now. :frown:

I’m hoping my best year will be 62, if not maybe 63.

Poolhall60561 said:

I’m hoping my best year will be 62, if not maybe 63.

Click to expand...

Lol … Happy Birthday! Don't fret if you don't get what you want for your birthday, as there is always 64 to look forward to.

I passed my peak because at 71... it's the Golden Years.... but I'm learning 1Pocket.


THE GOLDEN YEARS HAVE COME AT LAST,

I CANNOT SEE, I CANNOT PEE

I CANNOT CHEW, I CANNOT SCREW

MY MEMORY SHRINKS, MY HEARING STINKS,

NO SENSE OF SMELL, I LOOK LIKE HELL,

MY BODY'S DROOPING, GOT TROBLE POOPING.

THE GOLDEN YEARS HAVE COME AT LAST,

THE GOLDEN YEARS CAN KISS MY ASS

I am hoping it's sometime after 70

Is there a peak age for playing billiards?

Click to expand...

Yup. Next year. :wink:

Just keep believing that. :smile:

.

I don't think these ages are fair to pool. Pro level I would agree 20-30 yrs old but since there's a huge gap between amateurs and professionals I would think an amateur could still be improving in his or hers 70's! I believe at an amateur level it's more about table time and lessons learned than age! But on the pro side of things, the skill set is very similar from one pro to another and physical attributes are more crucial! Such as eye sight, muscles, stamina, etc. so there's no reason us bangers cant get better!

Depends on how long you can be Peter pan.

lakeman77 said:

I am hoping it's sometime after 70

Click to expand...

Ghees, I didnt start playing until I was 72 just now hitting my peak at 79. Cateract surgey help my vision and game tremenously. So there hope!

No peak age. Just the motivation decreases i would say for some