Components Necessary to Become a Pro Level Pool Player?

ChrisinNC · Dec 31, 2019

This can apply to anyone at any age, but what do you feel are the most important aspects to create a great young player, and prioritize them in the order of importance. This is not my particular order, but just listed as they came to mind to me. If there are other aspects you guys can think of to add to this list, please include.

1) Natural talent/gift for Pool - varies for all of us.
2). Solid fundamentals - stance/alignment/stroke, that either come to them naturally or have been properly taught to them at a very early stage.
3) Motivation/desire/opportunity to practice and play as much as possible particularly for the first five years
4). Playing with as well as watching and learning from the best players they possibly can in their home pool room.
5). Playing in smaller tournaments and starting to play for $ (within their means) as soon as possible.
6) Observing top pro players perform as much as possible – either live in person or by viewing matches on YouTube, etc.
7) An extremely competitive and absolutely hate to lose instinct/attitude that drives them, that you are likely either born with or learn very quickly. Some have it and some just don’t. This is characterized by an inner drive to never give up in any match situation, regardless of the score or the strength of your opponent.
8) A player that continues to improve every year as opposed to stagnating/leveling off at a certain skill level. Even some players that are really good will level off and reach their max potential at a certain skill level and never get any better - that’s just the way it is.
9) A player that is willing to travel out of town/state to challenge himself against better and better competition, either gambling or tournaments, at the point that he no longer has competition in his own geographical comfort zone.

garczar · Dec 31, 2019

ChrisinNC said:
This can apply to anyone at any age, but what do you feel are the most important aspects to create a great young player, and prioritize them in the order of importance. This is not my particular order, but just listed as they came to mind to me. If there are other aspects you guys can think of to add to this list, please include.

1) Natural talent/gift for Pool - varies for all of us.
2). Solid fundamentals - stance/alignment/stroke, that either come to them naturally or have been properly taught to them at a very early stage.
3) Motivation/desire/opportunity to practice and play as much as possible particularly for the first five years
4). Playing with as well as watching and learning from the best players they possibly can in their home pool room.
5). Playing in smaller tournaments and starting to play for $ (within their means) as soon as possible.
6) Observing top pro players perform as much as possible – either live in person or by viewing matches on YouTube, etc.
7) An extremely competitive and absolutely hate to lose instinct/attitude that drives them, that you are likely either born with or learn very quickly. Some have it and some just don’t. This is characterized by an inner drive to never give up in any match situation, regardless of the score or the strength of your opponent.
8) A player that continues to improve every year as opposed to stagnating/leveling off at a certain skill level. Even some players that are really good will level off and reach their max potential at a certain skill level and never get any better - that’s just the way it is.

Starting a school? Just curious. I think becoming a good player involves all of that. Loving the game and being a competitor would be keys in my book. The rest would just follow in line. I really don't think most players categorize it like this.

jimmyco · Dec 31, 2019

. Funding .

strmanglr scott · Dec 31, 2019

I don't buy into the natural talent thing. To me that's an excuse for those who aren't great. Like it's some mysterious gift that only certain people have and if you weren't born with it, you'll never be that great. Bullsh!t. It also imo, disrespects the person that is great. It diminishes the time, hard work and passion they put in the game.

garczar · Dec 31, 2019

strmanglr scott said:
I don't buy into the natural talent thing. To me that's an excuse for those who aren't great. Like it's some mysterious gift that only certain people have and if you weren't born with it, you'll never be that great. Bullsh!t. It also imo, disrespects the person that is great. It diminishes the time, hard work and passion they put in the game.

True. Natural talent helps shorten the learning curve but its nothing without hard work and dedication.

ChrisinNC · Dec 31, 2019

Yes, love and obsession for the game I did not mention in those terms, although I think that’s kind of proven by components 3-7 on my list. Funding is certainly another necessity mentioned, once a player gets to a certain level and has equipment needs, travel expenses, entry fees, gambling capital, etc.

rexus31 · Dec 31, 2019

strmanglr scott said:
I don't buy into the natural talent thing. To me that's an excuse for those who aren't great. Like it's some mysterious gift that only certain people have and if you weren't born with it, you'll never be that great. Bullsh!t. It also imo, disrespects the person that is great. It diminishes the time, hard work and passion they put in the game.

I disagree. Hard work and dedication is most certainly the most critical aspect for someone to achieve the highest level of any sport but having good hand-eye coordination and the ability to see the shot are the building blocks of pool. Some have it and some do not.

Bob Jewett · Dec 31, 2019

strmanglr scott said:
I don't buy into the natural talent thing. To me that's an excuse for those who aren't great. Like it's some mysterious gift that only certain people have and if you weren't born with it, you'll never be that great. Bullsh!t. It also imo, disrespects the person that is great. It diminishes the time, hard work and passion they put in the game.

Everyone can improve if they work on their games, but some people will improve faster than others with the same effort.

Playing OK can come from either lots of natural talent or a lot of work or a little of both.

Playing well requires some natural talent and a lot of work or vice versa.

Playing at the top level requires natural talent and hard work. Saying that natural talent is required does not insult the top players.

You need to give more lessons. There are lots of people who like pool and are willing to work on their games but are incapable of ever running a hundred balls even if they practice for the rest of their lives. You seem to be saying that everyone has the same hand-eye coordination. They don't.

garczar · Dec 31, 2019

rexus31 said:
I disagree. Hard work and dedication is most certainly the most critical aspect for someone to achieve the highest level of any sport but having good hand-eye coordination and the ability to see the shot are the building blocks of pool. Some have it and some do not.

I grew up with some players from both camps. Some that had obvious natural ability but ZERO work ethic were soon overtaken by guys that outworked them. IMO that " well, he was just born with it" is total bs. I've known a couple monster world-beater action players that took longer to arrive than you'd think possible. Heart-n-desire will outrun natural talent in the long run. Every time.

buckshotshoey · Dec 31, 2019

Bob Jewett said:
Everyone can improve if they work on their games, but some people will improve faster than others with the same effort.

Playing OK can come from either lots of natural talent or a lot of work or a little of both.

Playing well requires some natural talent and a lot of work or vice versa.

Playing at the top level requires natural talent and hard work. Saying that natural talent is required does not insult the top players.

You need to give more lessons. There are lots of people who like pool and are willing to work on their games but are incapable of ever running a hundred balls even if they practice for the rest of their lives. You seem to be saying that everyone has the same hand-eye coordination. They don't.

I argee with this. Natrual talent alone will never get the job done without the work put into it.
No matter how much practice, or how many lessons, I will never play on a pro level. I dream about though. Still play several times a week. But a wife, a house, and a job to keep both going will never allow for the time involved to get that good.... not to mention I'm 53 years old.

strmanglr scott · Dec 31, 2019

Bob Jewett said:
Everyone can improve if they work on their games, but some people will improve faster than others with the same effort.

Playing OK can come from either lots of natural talent or a lot of work or a little of both.

Playing well requires some natural talent and a lot of work or vice versa.

Playing at the top level requires natural talent and hard work. Saying that natural talent is required does not insult the top players.

You need to give more lessons. There are lots of people who like pool and are willing to work on their games but are incapable of ever running a hundred balls even if they practice for the rest of their lives. You seem to be saying that everyone has the same hand-eye coordination. They don't.

Nope, not saying everyone is equal physically. I'm saying they don't have to be gifted in that, they can still be great. 1000s of stories through time of people overcoming odds. I would say many pros, regardless of sport overcame great odds to be where they are.

One person may have the eye/hand coordination but lack somewhere else.

Determination to learn the game. Discipline to apply the knowledge and develop a knowing of the game. A passion to pursue the game to its highest level and an unconditional love of the game that isn't phased by set backs, will trump all else. It would be hard to be great without those things. When you have that in you, natural talent begins to lose meaning.

Black-Balled · Dec 31, 2019

rexus31 said:
I disagree. Hard work and dedication is most certainly the most critical aspect for someone to achieve the highest level of any sport but having good hand-eye coordination and the ability to see the shot are the building blocks of pool. Some have it and some do not.

Same with ability to respond to pressure positively.

Some fold, some don't. All the winners are on one side of that.

Bob Jewett · Dec 31, 2019

strmanglr scott said:
Nope, not saying everyone is equal physically. I'm saying they don't have to be gifted in that, they can still be great. 1000s of stories through time of people overcoming odds. I would say many pros, regardless of sport overcame great odds to be where they are.

One person may have the eye/hand coordination but lack somewhere else.

Determination to learn the game. Discipline to apply the knowledge and develop a knowing of the game. A passion to pursue the game to its highest level and an unconditional love of the game that isn't phased by set backs, will trump all else. It would be hard to be great without those things. When you have that in you, natural talent begins to lose meaning.

That's a fantasy in my view. Determination alone can't get you there. "Overcoming all odds" is a nice movie script. Reality is something else.

Tin Man · Dec 31, 2019

Desire.

People often underestimate desire and overestimate everything else. Desire is the foundation upon which everything else is built. With it amazing things are possible despite deficits in other areas, without it the most amazing constructions of technique and strategy will crumble.

Bob Jewett · Dec 31, 2019

Tin Man said:
Desire.

People often underestimate desire and overestimate everything else. Desire is the foundation upon which everything else is built. With it amazing things are possible despite deficits in other areas, without it the most amazing constructions of technique and strategy will crumble.

Where does that desire come from? Is it a natural part of the individual or does someone give it to them?

Tin Man · Dec 31, 2019

true vs practical

Bob Jewett said:
That's a fantasy in my view. Determination alone can't get you there. "Overcoming all odds" is a nice movie script. Reality is something else.

Bob, this is an often debated topic. My two cents are that there is a difference between what is technically true versus what is beneficial.

Is talent required to play high level pool? Certainly to some degree. A man without hands or sight would be hard pressed to run tables. But to what degree?

Belief that hard work and desire can attain any level is more beneficial to players than the belief that they might be limited by some perceived disadvantage they have no control over. Which belief is more motivating? Which is more useful and practical towards achieving high levels of play? I'd rather be wrong, put aside thoughts of natural talent, and exceed my expectations and reach my personal best.

Granted, if one is delusional they can cause themselves a lot of pain, just like a Karate master that tries breaking a brick and fails. But there is no way to break the brick by being cautious. You have to go all in. For those who pool is a hobby, this is a reasonable debate, but for those who intend to reach the highest levels they have to operate with the unwavering belief they control their destiny.

garczar · Dec 31, 2019

Bob Jewett said:
Where does that desire come from? Is it a natural part of the individual or does someone give it to them?

Desire is simply the want/need to be better. Could be all kinds of reasons that fuel it. One guy i know came from a REALLY fk'd up broken home. Pool was his escape and the desire to be not only a better player but to put his situation behind him was strong, really strong. Hate, love,envy, fear, you name it can stoke one's desire.

Tin Man · Dec 31, 2019

I don't know

Bob Jewett said:
Where does that desire come from? Is it a natural part of the individual or does someone give it to them?

I don't know. I'd be open to hearing other people's ideas, and I can see how it could be interesting to people to speculate how much is individual choice versus a gift. But to me the debate doesn't do much for me. It's like the discussion about whether we have free will or just an endless reaction to a series of prior experiences and genetics. Philosophically interesting to some, but we have to pretend to believe in free will regardless of what the truth is. I don't know the truth, I just know if someone wants to play top pool desire is a better predictor of trajectory than anything else.

Bob Jewett · Dec 31, 2019

Tin Man said:
... Granted, if one is delusional they can cause themselves a lot of pain, ..

And there have been two or three cases reported here of that. People who read Malcolm Gladwell and figured that all they would have to do is put in 10,000 hours and they would be playing Shane, Jayson or a Ko in the finals of the next pro event.

I don't think belief that you can be a champion is nearly as important a motivator for improvement as enjoying playing the game for whatever reason. The journey itself has to be rewarding.

garczar · Dec 31, 2019

Bob Jewett said:
And there have been two or three cases reported here of that. People who read Malcolm Gladwell and figured that all they would have to do is put in 10,000 hours and they would be playing Shane, Jayson or a Ko in the finals of the next pro event.

I don't think belief that you can be a champion is nearly as important a motivator for improvement as enjoying playing the game for whatever reason. The journey itself has to be rewarding.

Yep. You have to love just playing the game before anything else. Pool and golf are my two addictions i think for the simple reason you never master it.

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