I'm in my 50s now and have gone back to pool just for the enjoyment of it,but from the age of 16 too 22 all I wanted to be was a pro straight pool player (actually my favorite was snooker on a 5 X 9 table but nobody else in area liked it).I went straight to practice after work and stayed there till closing every night.Also weekends from the time I got up till closing.I worked at practice harder than most work period.Problem was I had friends who were hustlers.They hated the game,never praticed and would only play when they needed money.I talked one of them into a game for fun,he ran 86 balls and smoked me.I finally realized that pool like alot of things some people have a gift like a artist who can paint and never had a lesson.I work on electronic.I can look at a tv and usually know whats going on right away,but things like that are my nack.So I think to get to the top it will take work,but you have to have a inborn talent for it also.What you think.I'm I right or did I give up too soon?
art vs skill what you think.
- Thread starter slimjim
- Start date
Purdman
Banned
slimjim said:
I think all the cream at the top has a " nack " in any sport. I also know that it takes effort and practice to reach your full potential. I am 55 and came back to the game because I was pretty good when I was younger and I enjoy it. Keep hitting em and enjoy my friend.
Purdman
I'm learning that there are different types of practice and just practicing one type will not help much in the other areas.
1. Drills.
2. Runout.
3. Competitive.
I played a guy last night who only practices the competitive part. I am strong in the drills area. I noticed this guy was exceptionally good at leaving me with no shot, or moving my balls I had lined up for a runout to nasty places.
I guess he has learned this as a survival tactic. He could have had me, but he is weak in the "making a ball and leaving position for the next shot" area. It was interesting playing him because I have been playing runout players lately. They rarely move any of my balls (8-ball).
Anyway I have noticed that people who are "naturals" at something like to be doing that thing in their spare time. Those who are not "naturals" avoid doing that thing if possible.
Sounds to me like you really like the game. And you're still young (heard of players in their 70's), so you have plenty of time. And that's what I like about this game. No age limit!
1. Drills.
2. Runout.
3. Competitive.
I played a guy last night who only practices the competitive part. I am strong in the drills area. I noticed this guy was exceptionally good at leaving me with no shot, or moving my balls I had lined up for a runout to nasty places.
I guess he has learned this as a survival tactic. He could have had me, but he is weak in the "making a ball and leaving position for the next shot" area. It was interesting playing him because I have been playing runout players lately. They rarely move any of my balls (8-ball).
Anyway I have noticed that people who are "naturals" at something like to be doing that thing in their spare time. Those who are not "naturals" avoid doing that thing if possible.
Sounds to me like you really like the game. And you're still young (heard of players in their 70's), so you have plenty of time. And that's what I like about this game. No age limit!
slimjim said:
Yes to get to the top you have to have talent, whatever the endeavor. But you can get pretty good without the natural talent that the top people have. The best have all the talent and work very hard.
BTW, pool is not an art IMO. People throw the term art around loosely, perhaps because doing anything well takes some talent and requires creative faculties. However, I think art means something else. So while I enjoy watching great players in various sports, I don't really consiser it art. And I am not much of an art aficionado. But there is just a difference about what is going on when you watch Efren play pool or Tiger play golf vs. what happens when you listen to Beethoven or see a great sculpture etc... And there is a difference in what the creator of the thing is doing. Tiger is not doing what Beethoven did and vice versa. Hard to explain concisely I guess, and aesthetic philosophy is not something I have devoted a whole lot of study to. But I don't think pool is an art, although I know a people casually talk about pool or soimilar things being an art or being done in an artistic way.
OldHasBeen
Tom Ferry
The difference is..........
ALMOST all the great players have (at some time or another) played for a living. If they missed, they didn't eat.
That is the seasoning that is missing in a serious but not professional player.
IMO
TY & GL
ALMOST all the great players have (at some time or another) played for a living. If they missed, they didn't eat.
That is the seasoning that is missing in a serious but not professional player.
IMO
TY & GL
first off i'll say i agree 100 percent with OHB...........when you don't eat if you miss then.........you don't miss.
now onto the original question...........i'll just say this.........
why do some top world class players take 10 years to get to that point, and some take less???
why do some top world class players play 4 hours a day and some play 12???
talent helps........but its still not impossible to get to a top level of playing if you have less talent than someone else.........
the true talent lies within the person's ability to dedicate their time and life to becoming a great player.
thats just my .02
thanks
VAP
now onto the original question...........i'll just say this.........
why do some top world class players take 10 years to get to that point, and some take less???
why do some top world class players play 4 hours a day and some play 12???
talent helps........but its still not impossible to get to a top level of playing if you have less talent than someone else.........
the true talent lies within the person's ability to dedicate their time and life to becoming a great player.
thats just my .02
thanks
VAP
OldHasBeen said:
that is so true
i remember a time in my life when i had much disposable income and played about 30 hours a week but never had the killer instincts
i never shot like it mattered
a few years later i was out a job and played 3 hours a week , no money for table time to practice , when money to feed your kid or buy your blood pressure meds is on the line then you are playing serious pool
100 dollars sets is not pressure when you have 15 k in the bank
chalkisfree
Registered
slimjim said:I'm in my 50s now and have gone back to pool just for the enjoyment of it...
I see pool as an art with an element of competition, just like any of the martial arts (karate, judo, etc.). These arts can be enjoyed for reasons other than competition, or because of the competition.
By sharpening their skills, players should obviously get more enjoyment from the competition because they are winning more matches. There are those few who are awesome at these arts but get little enjoyment from them for one reason or other, and in their eyes it is more a job than an art. To me that's sad, because I cannot imagine anyone not loving pool. Judo, maybe... I tried quitting pool several years ago because I wasn't at the level that I felt I should have been at. I lasted about a week, and I returned to pool with a new vigor that has only grown since then. I don't think I was born with any special pool talents, but I have pool in my blood and I believe that I will be competing at the top level one day. If you REALLY want it SlimJim, find out what you need to do to get it, put in the time, work, money, and f**king take what you earned! Otherwise, enjoy the art. Don't quit again.
drivermaker
Banned
vapoolplayer said:
You can dedicate your time and entire life to becoming a great player but without a LOT of natural talent, hand/eye coordination, and a mind for the game...you'll be just another struggling wannabe with big dreams, just like all of us here on this forum. Don't get me wrong, there are some extremely good players on here, past and present, but unless a few world beaters are hiding under a non-descriptive screen name without us knowing, then no one has made it to the top, and we've all worked hard.
You can beat yourself into the ground, but if you don't have the God given physical attributes to throw a 95 mph fastball, hit a 400+ yard drive, shoot par or better almost everday anywhere on the planet, drive a car over 200 mph without having a heart attack, pole vault 20 feet, run 100 meters under 10 seconds, throw a football 70 yards, and run rack after rack of pool balls in any type of game against all comers, it just ain't gonna happen. You'll improve with hard work, but only to a certain point and that's it. Thank God for day jobs.....
I'm a Pool Artist! A lot of people seem to like the color I add to the matches I play. Then there are others who would rather I shut up. The problem with me calling myself a Pool Artist is this. My mother took up painting when she was 72 years old. She painted me a ocean beach scene with a boat. She was sure that I'd love it. So it is on my living room wall. Several people have ask why it is on my wall then I tell them my mother painted it for me. They say, "Oh, OK" So if my mother is an artist, then I'm a Pool Artist regardless of how poorly I play.
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drivermaker said:
i agree, and i disagree.............i've met pro's that (claim anyway) that they were playing at that level after about 5 years, and i've met some that say it took them 10+ years.........
so maybe some of those pro's lucked out with more talent than the other pro.
from what i've seen anyway the people that busted their ass for 20 years.........really didn't bust their ass as much as the other guys.
(not directing this towards you, just using it as an example)
you sad we worked hard............did we play for 12 hours a day? if you did, did we make sure we were practicing the righ shit? did we quit our job and forced ourselves to either win or not eat?
i don't think you find many of those answers yes.........
i think talent does play a part........but the biggest downfall of players IMO isn't there talent.........its their commitment......
but then there's the question if commitment to the game is talent itself
sometimes i look at other people that have been playing for years and still play like shit and i think to myself "yea, you do have to have talent for this"
then sometimes when i'm practicing and learning i think "nah, anyone can do this"
either way it doesn't matter..........you're either going to be good or your not, whether it be because you're talented and/or you worked your ass of..........or you're not talented and/or you didn't do shit to get better.
VAP
drivermaker
Banned
vapoolplayer said:
In my case, to your questions above, the answer is YES to all of them. The answer of YES can also be given to a good number of guys on here. But did they make it all the way to the cream of the crop to be able to hang with them? The answer is NO! Why? I think all will admit...those guys were just better and had more talent. And if you really believe otherwise and think that you're going to make it on hard work alone at your age and the number or years you've been playing....well, I hate to say it but I think you're destined to be a pool room bum chasing a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And everybody knows that there ain't a pot of gold in pool to begin with. Nor any real fame to capitalize on.
vapoolplayer said:i
i think talent does play a part........but the biggest downfall of players IMO isn't there talent.........its their commitment......
but then there's the question if commitment to the game is talent itself
VAP
practice and dedication hone the talent. you also have to consider the level that a player competes at. their talent is enough to dazzle at most levels, but dedication is required to compete at the highest level since they are competing against other equally talented players.
Didn't know I'd get so many responses.Well at the time I worked hard at it.The guy who owned the place was Mike Donnelly.He became a good friend and taught me alot.I think he was in the top 10 billard players at that time.Now I enjoy it more because I'm only in it for fun.Thanks everyone.