Being the Best or One Of The Best...How much table time???

frankncali said:
Jordan, during his days in the NBA, worked harder than anyone in the league. Everything he got from HS on up was through hard work.
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and remember, Jordan's Highschool coach didn't think he could play... since he cut him. I bet the school loved this coach's judgement of talent.:confused:

I will share a little story about Danny Harriman. Danny played the manager of a pool room in Springfield when he was a teenager, The owner of this room also owned rooms in Columbia Mo. as well, Danny beat the manager out of a little money (cheap sets BTW). The manager, being a piece of crap nit sore loser, complained to the owner that Danny was hustling all of the customers. The Manager was the only guy Danny played in there. Everyone in Springfield new of "Lil Danny" he was not hustling he played his speed, giving crazy spots to match up. The owner decides to bar Danny from his rooms, in Springfield, and in Columbia. It just so happens that the rooms in Columbia hosted the "Missouri State 9-Ball and 8-Ball" Tournaments. Danny was never allowed to compete in these tournaments.

This decision really upset Danny. Those were Titles he had set goals to win. After this decision Danny turned this owner's decision into "Pocketing Fuel". He became bound and determined to win titles more prestigious than the MO. State tourneys.


The actions of this room owner were a major key in the driving force for Danny to become the player he is today. Later in life he actually thanked this owner for barring him. He told him if he wouldn't have taken those measures, he wouldn't be the player he is today.
 
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Island Drive said:
Grady said years ago, you need to hit at least 2 million balls, not sure what that translates into, but Grady was and is excellent with numbers. He could go almost anywhere in the country and tell you within a minute when he would arrive in his cadillac for his next billiard appointment/match.
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Yeah, I honestly can't say I've kept track but I don't anticipate becoming a top player any time soon!
 
I dont think anything is more important that hard work from an early age. I think a lot of people mistake hard work for natural talent. And the most talented people are usually the ones that work the hardest.

Lebron James is one of the most amazing basketball players I've ever seen. He is also the hardest worker in the NBA and has been since he was a kid. I think he has one of the most amazing gifts when it comes to basketball, but I dont think he would be where hes at without the hard work.

With pool, I think its the same thing. People who learn correctly from an early age and stick with it, become champs. SVB was born to play pool and after years of hard work.... he is on top.
 
cleary said:
I dont think anything is more important that hard work from an early age. I think a lot of people mistake hard work for natural talent. And the most talented people are usually the ones that work the hardest.

Lebron James is one of the most amazing basketball players I've ever seen. He is also the hardest worker in the NBA and has been since he was a kid. I think he has one of the most amazing gifts when it comes to basketball, but I dont think he would be where hes at without the hard work.

With pool, I think its the same thing. People who learn correctly from an early age and stick with it, become champs. SVB was born to play pool and after years of hard work.... he is on top.
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Jeff Carter I think in POOL is the best example of 'hard work' and great results because of that...he never really had great natural talent, but his work ethic stood out and so did his tournament results.
 
frankncali said:
Jordan, during his days in the NBA, worked harder than anyone in the league. Everything he got from HS on up was through hard work. While he
and Larry Bird might have had different abilities both HAD to have major
natural skills to hone into thier champion form.

Every now and then you find guys like Bo Jackson. He didnt work at it overly hard to get to a high level. However, everyone like him is a freak and the exception to the rule.

If it was just about hard work then there would be many champions in the worlds sporting arenas. Most of the hardest workers I know have no chance of reaching anywhere near Pro level or a few steps below Pro level and that is in all sports.
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I agree. Jordan was cut from his high school team at one point and had to work hard just to make the team. The drive to succeed is what separates the top guys from the rest. There are a lot of guys who look like Tarzan play like Jane.
 
Hard work and dedication.

It's not necessary to start at a really young age, but I think there are three or four things that ARE necessary to becoming a top player. One and most important is Dedication to the game. You have to be dedicated to pool excellence in order to excel. One thing that automatically comes from dedication is practice time. If you don't put in the practice time, then it just isn't going to happen. Practice time and dedication means really trying to analyze what works and what doesn't and developing a pre shot and shot routine that works for you all of the time.

This leads to the third thing that you need, KNOWLEDGE. You need knowledge of the fundamentals and knowledge of shot selection and hundreds of other things, about how to impart english, etc... Some of this can be gained from the first two by some people, but it is always best to find out from someone who has already been there and either figured it out already or been taught by someone else who has.

And or the fourth, or natural ability. I'm not saying this is necessarily necessary, but there are some things that are natural that are necessary. You have to be able to see for one thing, if you're blind you're not going to become a world beater. PERIOD. There are other things that are a little harder to qunatify though. You have to have some measure of visual spatial acuity.
This may be why women have a difficult time being world beaters. Not to sya that there are none, just that they have a difficult time at it. Studies have consistently shown that men on average have better visual spatial accuity than women. For those of you who don't know what that is, visual spatioal accuity is the ability to recognize objects in 3-D space and extrapolate parts of them that you can 't see.

No one will be the best that they can possibly be without having the knowledge the practice and the dedication at a very high level from a time when they are at their physical peak. IT doesn't mean you have to start when you're seven or 10 or twelve. My brother didn't start until he was 21 and at 25, he's shaping up to be a world beater right now, but atleast the knowledge and the dedication has to be there along with some natural ability, and like I said, natural ability is not some savant B.S. about being luther lassiter in a past life or something, no it's about having genetic, mental and physical predisposition toward doing the things that pool requires.

I just found out that I need glasses after having perfect vision my whole life and am waiting for my prescription to be filled. Does this mean that I am no longer able to be the best that I can, YES, because I no longer am at my physical peak when I've gotten the second part of the equation, or the dedication down. Maybe with the correction that the glasses will offer me I will be able to the best that I could be, but I will never know because I didn't keep that dedication when I was younger and didn't have astigmatism in my eyes.
 
Russ Chewning said:
No offense, but as far as "numbers" are concerned, if Grady gave the odds he often spouted in his Accu-Stats videos, he's have stayed permanently broke. :D :D :D "But those aren't booking odds, Billy!"

That being said, he does have a flair for the dramatic, and will sometimes exaggerate greatly. On the other hand, after doing a rough calculation where a player hits a ball every 10 seconds for 10 hours a day, 300 days out of the year, one arrives at about 1 million balls struck per year. His 2 million ball estimation may not be too darn far from the truth! :0

Russ
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If you are going to dominate a field of any sport, you must be committed more than anyone else in your field. Whatever it takes......
For some it takes enormous dedication. For some it takes even more dedication. For others, it is simply impossible. :) Domination is not for sissies and staying on top is for the most talented and most competitive.

It varies from one individual to another. Mr. J, do you want to be a world champion? Do you think you have enough time left in your life to be one? Just curious- your friend - JoeyA
--------------------

Hey Russ,
How about giving us a run-down on how its going over there? I assume you'r back in the Middle East now?

Easy-e and DeadPoked have been kind of quiet since the DCC, licking their wounds after that serious beating you and I leveled on them. :D

Stay safe,

JoeyA
 
Jaden said:
It's not necessary to start at a really young age, but I think there are three or four things that ARE necessary to becoming a top player. One and most important is Dedication to the game. You have to be dedicated to pool excellence in order to excel. One thing that automatically comes from dedication is practice time. If you don't put in the practice time, then it just isn't going to happen. Practice time and dedication means really trying to analyze what works and what doesn't and developing a pre shot and shot routine that works for you all of the time.

This leads to the third thing that you need, KNOWLEDGE. You need knowledge of the fundamentals and knowledge of shot selection and hundreds of other things, about how to impart english, etc... Some of this can be gained from the first two by some people, but it is always best to find out from someone who has already been there and either figured it out already or been taught by someone else who has.

And or the fourth, or natural ability. I'm not saying this is necessarily necessary, but there are some things that are natural that are necessary. You have to be able to see for one thing, if you're blind you're not going to become a world beater. PERIOD. There are other things that are a little harder to qunatify though. You have to have some measure of visual spatial acuity.
This may be why women have a difficult time being world beaters. Not to sya that there are none, just that they have a difficult time at it. Studies have consistently shown that men on average have better visual spatial accuity than women. For those of you who don't know what that is, visual spatioal accuity is the ability to recognize objects in 3-D space and extrapolate parts of them that you can 't see.

No one will be the best that they can possibly be without having the knowledge the practice and the dedication at a very high level from a time when they are at their physical peak. IT doesn't mean you have to start when you're seven or 10 or twelve. My brother didn't start until he was 21 and at 25, he's shaping up to be a world beater right now, but atleast the knowledge and the dedication has to be there along with some natural ability, and like I said, natural ability is not some savant B.S. about being luther lassiter in a past life or something, no it's about having genetic, mental and physical predisposition toward doing the things that pool requires.

I just found out that I need glasses after having perfect vision my whole life and am waiting for my prescription to be filled. Does this mean that I am no longer able to be the best that I can, YES, because I no longer am at my physical peak when I've gotten the second part of the equation, or the dedication down. Maybe with the correction that the glasses will offer me I will be able to the best that I could be, but I will never know because I didn't keep that dedication when I was younger and didn't have astigmatism in my eyes.
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When are you coming to clock my speed? :p
JoeyA
 
Island Drive...Definitely not always. Years ago, Grady was on his way to one of his matches with Allison Fisher in Savannah, GA. He and I happened to meet up at a truck stop about 100 miles away. I told him I was headed to Savannah to sweat the match, and he invited me to come along as his guest, and do a short exhibition for the crowd before the match. Naturally I said SURE, and off we went. Trouble was, Grady had figured wrong on the start time, and Allison, Gerda and the whole poolroom had been waiting two hours, by the time we got there! He was more than a little embarrassed! :eek: LOL:D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

Island Drive said:
Grady could go almost anywhere in the country and tell you within a minute when he would arrive in his cadillac for his next billiard appointment/match.
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Thank you everyone...

Mr. J. here...I started this thread and am very pleased with all the responses and insights and stories..

Looks like you can have many ingredients and paths to becoming One Of The Best...

Are you Serious about pool. Very Serious, Super Serious, or Absoulutely Obsessed To The Point of Madness????

Do you have a Job, Wife, Husband, Kids, other Family, other interrest or commitments????

All come into play...as well as others I have missed...

For Me, I guess I fall into the Serious to Very Serious category...
I have always had bad eyes and had to wear glasses.
I have been on the time clock since 17 years old..
Two girls who are in their 20's now and on their own.
I did not start playing pool until I could get into the bars...21...
Never saw a 9 footer or an unweighted cue ball for my first 10 years...been playing now about 24 years or so..

However in the past 2 years I have ran two 5 packs of 9-ball ...9 footer
Just the other day, I ran a 4 pack of 10-ball...9 footer
Never won, but have placed 2nd and all the other spots in the toughest tournaments for 6 states around as well as Western Canada...

Looks like if I am going get any higher, I need to get to the Super Serious and maybe MAD MAN..category...playing 6-7 times a week minimun...

I like the post about practicing the Right Stuff too...

All in All, I still believe and know that I could be World Champion if I work harder and all the Stars and Planets Line -up for me....

Oh yeah....one more thing...I am half filipino and half mexican...guess that makes me a Mexipino....
Half Rafael and half Efren...ha ha...I do have a friend who calls me Jeffren... too funny...

Thanks again,


Mr. J. :-)
 
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Scott Lee said:
Island Drive...Definitely not always. Years ago, Grady was on his way to one of his matches with Allison Fisher in Savannah, GA. He and I happened to meet up at a truck stop about 100 miles away. I told him I was headed to Savannah to sweat the match, and he invited me to come along as his guest, and do a short exhibition for the crowd before the match. Naturally I said SURE, and off we went. Trouble was, Grady had figured wrong on the start time, and Allison, Gerda and the whole poolroom had been waiting two hours, by the time we got there! He was more than a little embarrassed! :eek: LOL:D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
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Forgot to mention, if Grady is traveling with a woman, then all bets are off on his arrival time. He can't help it tho...he's being just Grady:D
 
i think everything people said here has merit, but one thing i didnt notice (maybe it was said and i missed it) is in my opinion one of the most important things- competition. if you want to achive greatness in any competition, you must compete against people who are already great! anybody who right now is an A or OPEN player has a chance to be great, but the only way to find out is to start playing PRO tournaments, consistently, for about 2 years. i have been playing for about 25 years now and i cant tell you how many players im come across that just have incredible natural ability, but they never throw themselves into heavy competetion for any length of time to see if they got what it takes. they end up being the best guy in their pool room, but nothing more. competition breads champions! JMHO
 
JoeyA said:
Hey Russ,
How about giving us a run-down on how its going over there? I assume you'r back in the Middle East now?

Easy-e and DeadPoked have been kind of quiet since the DCC, licking their wounds after that serious beating you and I leveled on them. :D

Stay safe,

JoeyA
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Hey hey hey! That beatdown was AWWWWWLLLL you, Joey! As I noted before, I was an albatross around your next dragging the matchup down at least three balls.....

Things are going fine here... Fortunately, the huge upgrade I was not looking forward to immediately after getting back is not going to happen for a month or two, so I get to just ease back into the Baghdad grind.

It is kind of looking like I might be stuck here until mid December now, instead of coming home in August, as planned. A new company won the contract, and to keep my jpb, I had to extend with them up until close to Christmas time. I am still going to do my dead level best to bring my wife and son to DCC next year tho.

Haven't hit one ball since I got back.

Russ
 
Russ Chewning said:
Hey hey hey! That beatdown was AWWWWWLLLL you, Joey! As I noted before, I was an albatross around your next dragging the matchup down at least three balls.....

Things are going fine here... Fortunately, the huge upgrade I was not looking forward to immediately after getting back is not going to happen for a month or two, so I get to just ease back into the Baghdad grind.

It is kind of looking like I might be stuck here until mid December now, instead of coming home in August, as planned. A new company won the contract, and to keep my jpb, I had to extend with them up until close to Christmas time. I am still going to do my dead level best to bring my wife and son to DCC next year tho.

Haven't hit one ball since I got back.
Russ
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Just imagine the knots we would put on them if you have a chance to get in stroke. AiEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH! I think we all had a good time that night. It was a lot of fun. I always enjoy giving a good whipping. I can hardly wait to give the GINGERBREAD MAN his. :D

JoeyA
 
That's alright.

JoeyA said:
Too bad, the big tournament is on the 9th of Feb. Ok, stay in touch.
Joeya
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That's alright, I'll be able to play in the Jay Swanson Memorial out here, so it's not a total loss. I look forward to coming out there and then after that, I'm going back up to Everett Wa, so I'm looking forward to that too. I may give Chuckie a chance at me this time after his showing in Reno.
 
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