It's a tragic thing that so many pool players stop improving at some point, and even more so if they stop enjoying the game. How do people get so far astray? Is it simply because they've reached the end of their road and can go no further, and since enjoyment is linked to improvement this dead end sucks the joy out of their past time?
I think the vast majority of pool players are capable of continued progress and a fulfilling journey but unrealistic expectations lie in their way. Unrealistic expectations of their rate of improvement, and unrealistic expectations as to how often they win.
When a player first picks up the game they see rapid improvement. It's daily and it's visible. Records continuously fall, new shots are being learned and mastered, problems that would've stopped you yesterday are now being overcome. It's an exiting time of growth! It's addicting! As your skills develop you find yourself competing against other players that aren't keeping up, and due to a decisive skill gap you are winning all the time. In handicapped tournaments you are continuously underrated and getting to the money. It seems like a video game where you are constantly leveling up, first playing a higher level of player and losing, then hanging with them, and then trouncing them consistently.
Based on the experiences above, players extrapolate how this will play out in the future. They will keep keep moving up to higher levels of players, keep getting better day by day, and will continue to dominate, all the way until they are the best in the world. Right?!?
Then things taper off. They haven't seen improvement for a while. In fact, it seems like they've been playing at the same level for some time now. Meanwhile they aren't winning all the time. In fact, it seems like they are having a hard time winning as often as they did in the past. And there are all these younger hot shots coming up. It's hard to keep up, much less get better. What happened?
This is the point at which most people are defeated. They had a vision of how things were supposed to go, and little by little that vision popped like a balloon. But is this really evidence that the road comes to an end? Or was it just that the road ahead doesn't look like we expected it to?
In my experience the road doesn't end, it just evolves. Progress IS much harder to achieve after a certain point. Once you've picked the low hanging fruit on the learning curve it's hard, hard work to keep moving forward. And the win rate will fall. That is because you are seeking out better and better opponents, adversaries who have devoted equal amounts of time and energy into the game if not more.
So the road from beginner to advanced is paved with improvement and wins. The road from advanced to master is paved with plateaus and losses. Most people look at this and assume they are on the wrong path, or they don't have what it takes. That is because they are comparing it to what the road looked like in the beginning. Maybe if they understood this is normal they'd be better prepared for what lies ahead, and would enjoy it rather than being frustrated or discouraged.
It's like a relationship. In the honeymoon stage there are butterflies and endorphins. A text message can alter your mood, and everything seems vibrant and amazing. After a few years past that evolves into something else. A more mature relationship. One based on shared history, better understanding of each other, deeper levels of appreciation and trust, etc. Maybe you miss the rush you got when you received a text message, but instead you find that your partner replaced your pair of slippers that were worn out before you even realized you needed a new pair. It's not infatuation, it's a real relationship. It's a shame when people abandon genuine relationships chasing a rush, and it's a shame when people quit pool because the honeymoon phase doesn't last forever.
For me personally, I was playing very strong over 10 years ago. I had been pretty dominant in my local area, had scalped a number of champions in pro tournaments, and was hitting the balls pretty well. It was very, very hard to get better. I saw no visible improvement for years. The universe couldn't have done a better job trying to convince me I couldn't go any further. But I didn't stop. I kept working. Working harder, working smarter. The specifics are for another post. But here's the thing: While I didn't see improvement day to day, or even year to year, looking back at the last 10 years I can see that I have improved. I can see that in my game. I can see it in my results.
I hope a better understanding of what the road ahead looks like allows people to avoid discouragement and frustration, and instead enjoy the challenge of the journey and the deeper relationship they can achieve with this game. It gets harder, but it's only more satisfying when it comes, and if you learn to love the adversity then it doesn't get any better.
I think the vast majority of pool players are capable of continued progress and a fulfilling journey but unrealistic expectations lie in their way. Unrealistic expectations of their rate of improvement, and unrealistic expectations as to how often they win.
When a player first picks up the game they see rapid improvement. It's daily and it's visible. Records continuously fall, new shots are being learned and mastered, problems that would've stopped you yesterday are now being overcome. It's an exiting time of growth! It's addicting! As your skills develop you find yourself competing against other players that aren't keeping up, and due to a decisive skill gap you are winning all the time. In handicapped tournaments you are continuously underrated and getting to the money. It seems like a video game where you are constantly leveling up, first playing a higher level of player and losing, then hanging with them, and then trouncing them consistently.
Based on the experiences above, players extrapolate how this will play out in the future. They will keep keep moving up to higher levels of players, keep getting better day by day, and will continue to dominate, all the way until they are the best in the world. Right?!?
Then things taper off. They haven't seen improvement for a while. In fact, it seems like they've been playing at the same level for some time now. Meanwhile they aren't winning all the time. In fact, it seems like they are having a hard time winning as often as they did in the past. And there are all these younger hot shots coming up. It's hard to keep up, much less get better. What happened?
This is the point at which most people are defeated. They had a vision of how things were supposed to go, and little by little that vision popped like a balloon. But is this really evidence that the road comes to an end? Or was it just that the road ahead doesn't look like we expected it to?
In my experience the road doesn't end, it just evolves. Progress IS much harder to achieve after a certain point. Once you've picked the low hanging fruit on the learning curve it's hard, hard work to keep moving forward. And the win rate will fall. That is because you are seeking out better and better opponents, adversaries who have devoted equal amounts of time and energy into the game if not more.
So the road from beginner to advanced is paved with improvement and wins. The road from advanced to master is paved with plateaus and losses. Most people look at this and assume they are on the wrong path, or they don't have what it takes. That is because they are comparing it to what the road looked like in the beginning. Maybe if they understood this is normal they'd be better prepared for what lies ahead, and would enjoy it rather than being frustrated or discouraged.
It's like a relationship. In the honeymoon stage there are butterflies and endorphins. A text message can alter your mood, and everything seems vibrant and amazing. After a few years past that evolves into something else. A more mature relationship. One based on shared history, better understanding of each other, deeper levels of appreciation and trust, etc. Maybe you miss the rush you got when you received a text message, but instead you find that your partner replaced your pair of slippers that were worn out before you even realized you needed a new pair. It's not infatuation, it's a real relationship. It's a shame when people abandon genuine relationships chasing a rush, and it's a shame when people quit pool because the honeymoon phase doesn't last forever.
For me personally, I was playing very strong over 10 years ago. I had been pretty dominant in my local area, had scalped a number of champions in pro tournaments, and was hitting the balls pretty well. It was very, very hard to get better. I saw no visible improvement for years. The universe couldn't have done a better job trying to convince me I couldn't go any further. But I didn't stop. I kept working. Working harder, working smarter. The specifics are for another post. But here's the thing: While I didn't see improvement day to day, or even year to year, looking back at the last 10 years I can see that I have improved. I can see that in my game. I can see it in my results.
I hope a better understanding of what the road ahead looks like allows people to avoid discouragement and frustration, and instead enjoy the challenge of the journey and the deeper relationship they can achieve with this game. It gets harder, but it's only more satisfying when it comes, and if you learn to love the adversity then it doesn't get any better.