Can Pro players get jobs and still compete?

[PETROBOY]

The beauty of this tour, limiting it to a 32- or 64-man field, is that it could all be accomplished on a weekend, allowing the player to hold down a part-time or full-time job. IOW, they could supplement their pool income by working or, in the case of Mark Wilson's crew, going to school to get an education..

Personally, I'd like to limit membership to Americans only, but I know that won't go very far on this forum.

My reasoning, however, for doing so is to cultivate a new breed of American pros. As I have stated many times, the existing lot of American pros is diminishing. We need to built up our stock. USA, ALL THE WAY!

Well as a Canadian I would love to see some of our top shooters there. The biggest problem I see with North American pros is they don't compete enough against top level competition. You can practice all day everyday but unless you play against world class players you can't get to that level so I think you have to let some world players in to make sure the level of play is the best it can be.


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[nb92]

.....You can practice all day everyday but unless you play against world class players you can't get to that level so I think you have to let some world players in to make sure the level of play is the best it can be.


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Agree with this! A great example of how homogenous play can become and then change rapidly after adding new blood is to watch the pros kicking and safety play before 1985 then watch after 85..... BCM / ACM (Before Cesar Morales / After Cesar Morales) :grin-square:

 

[CJ Wiley]

they can "live like millionaires without the hassle of too much money".

There are many jobs Pros could do other than "flipping burgers or selling hot dogs"......those jobs represent 0.000000000001% of the possibilities.

I started my first business when I was 9 years old selling sno cones. This business was built up through the years to one that required a trailer and a menu of slushies, sno cones, sloppy joes, candy bars, and various sandwiches.

The bar and restaurant business is a more complicated version of the sno cone business. There's still the same basic component of profit centers, service orientation, inventories and management (with a few more employees). Any Pro player could fit into this line of work, I've hired a few Pro players through the years and they did just fine.

The perfect job for a Pro pool player may be in the hospitality industry, or sales. One thing that's always been said about accomplished players is they can "live like millionaires without the hassle of too much money".......'The Game is the Teacher'

But, C.J., your job was in a pool room. That is different than working a 9-5 job flipping burgers or selling hot dogs on the street and trying to keep in stroke to compete in, say, Qatar or Colombia or Indonesia or Korea or Philippines.

I do, however, believe there are some players who maybe have been playing since they were a child and have hit hundreds of thousands of balls in their life, that it doesn't take too long for them to obtain their championship stroke.

Today, though, to compete with Filipinos, Asian countrymen, and Europeans, one has to be pretty sharp with their skills to win. My belief is that a person who's working a job 9-5 and practicing 20 hours a week won't cut the mustard against, say, Thorsten or the Filipino champion of the month. In this regard, why pursue a pool career or profession, one that would cost about 20- to $30,000 per year to compete around the world if you're flipping burgers or selling hot dogs on the street, only to lose when you get there.

IOW, there is no way to make a living in pool if you're making minimum wage in a 9-5 job. Again, most traditional employers would not like an employee to take off every month to attend a pool tournament overseas. I guess it's a Catch-22.

 

[MnHunter]

Absolutely they can. With my job if I want I can be off 6 months of the year and still make 60k plus. It's all up to them but from my experience most pool players that play that good or have the potential to play that well feel they are above working. Personally it's sad to see all the broke young pool players mooching off their friends just to get by till their next big score.

 

[Tony_in_MD]

C.J. I truly believe that you could sell snow cones to Eskimos.
:grin:

There are many jobs Pros could do other than "flipping burgers or selling hot dogs"......those jobs represent 0.000000000001% of the possibilities.

I started my first business when I was 9 years old selling sno cones. This business was built up through the years to one that required a trailer and a menu of slushies, sno cones, sloppy joes, candy bars, and various sandwiches.

The bar and restaurant business is a more complicated version of the sno cone business. There's still the same basic component of profit centers, service orientation, inventories and management (with a few more employees). Any Pro player could fit into this line of work, I've hired a few Pro players through the years and they did just fine.

The perfect job for a Pro pool player may be in the hospitality industry, or sales. One thing that's always been said about accomplished players is they can "live like millionaires without the hassle of too much money".......'The Game is the Teacher'

 

[Birriards]

But, C.J., your job was in a pool room. That is different than working a 9-5 job flipping burgers or selling hot dogs on the street and trying to keep in stroke to compete in, say, Qatar or Colombia or Indonesia or Korea or Philippines.

I do, however, believe there are some players who maybe have been playing since they were a child and have hit hundreds of thousands of balls in their life, that it doesn't take too long for them to obtain their championship stroke.

Today, though, to compete with Filipinos, Asian countrymen, and Europeans, one has to be pretty sharp with their skills to win. My belief is that a person who's working a job 9-5 and practicing 20 hours a week won't cut the mustard against, say, Thorsten or the Filipino champion of the month. In this regard, why pursue a pool career or profession, one that would cost about 20- to $30,000 per year to compete around the world if you're flipping burgers or selling hot dogs on the street, only to lose when you get there.

IOW, there is no way to make a living in pool if you're making minimum wage in a 9-5 job. Again, most traditional employers would not like an employee to take off every month to attend a pool tournament overseas. I guess it's a Catch-22.

I don't know that the answer to this changes whether a pro is working or not. At this point in time, there really isn't any money in pro pool anyways. Seems to be less than a handful are really making it this way so I would think the answer to it is the same regardless, falling along the lines of love of the game and competition, wanting to be the best, etc. It really is more of a passion than a money making venture for most of the pros out there as it is.

I think CJ's post was a good example of some practical ways that a pro can make both work. To further his example, I know a girl that is trying to qualify for the winter Olympic team in 2018 in luge who moved to Lake Placid to train. Some of her money comes from donations/fundraisers, but she has to work in a local restaurant to make ends meet. Her time requirements aren't any less than those of a pool player between weight training and time on the track. It is possible.

 

[genomachino]

Takes allot of organization skills and discipline........

In order for a pro player to be at his best you need to put in the hours for sure.

Not hours after work when your totally beat. Time when your at your potential as far as skill level and peak peformance are there.

You need to play tired also to get used to building up your endurance but not all the time..

It is a balancing act for sure.

There are so many players in the world that are capable of playing on the professional level but just can't get to that level because of other commitments involving life.

It's not hard to see who has put in the time and who hasn't. The one that hasn't just can't get there when that one shot has to be made for all the bananas. The player that has fires that shot in right on the money.

 

[JumpinJoe]

In order for a pro player to be at his best you need to put in the hours for sure.

Not hours after work when your totally beat. Time when your at your potential as far as skill level and peak peformance are there.

You need to play tired also to get used to building up your endurance but not all the time..

It is a balancing act for sure.

There are so many players in the world that are capable of playing on the professional level but just can't get to that level because of other commitments involving life.

It's not hard to see who has put in the time and who hasn't. The one that hasn't just can't get there when that one shot has to be made for all the bananas. The player that has fires that shot in right on the money.[/QUOTE]


Some of them that put in the time still can't fire it in when all the bananas are on the line.

 

[CJ Wiley]

No amount of ordinary practice will guarantee which one

Yes, indeed.....no matter how much time someone puts in they will still fit into one of the two categories:

1) Those that develop a system to come with it for "all the bananas".

2) Those that {find a way to} slip on the peels of "all the bananas".

No amount of ordinary practice will guarantee which one the player "falls" under.

In order for a pro player to be at his best you need to put in the hours for sure.

Not hours after work when your totally beat. Time when your at your potential as far as skill level and peak peformance are there.

You need to play tired also to get used to building up your endurance but not all the time..

It is a balancing act for sure.

There are so many players in the world that are capable of playing on the professional level but just can't get to that level because of other commitments involving life.

It's not hard to see who has put in the time and who hasn't. The one that hasn't just can't get there when that one shot has to be made for all the bananas. The player that has fires that shot in right on the money.[/QUOTE]


Some of them that put in the time still can't fire it in when all the bananas are on the line.