Crazy amount of practice

CocoboloCowboy said:
Truth hurt about Tiger❓

Tiger in his prime brought a lot of new blood to his sport Golf.

All you do here is critics, drive people away, and talk trash. Your like a Pool cancer.

Are your parents proud doing shit job of raising you? That what they did shit job!
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It's ok.

Im a Libra.
 
ChicagoRJ said:
Yup. Everyone thinks if you put in the work, you're a champion. Think of how many former minor league baseball players that played for 20 years, busting it every day, cages, lifting, running, etc and never got the call to the Bigs. I mean, they played little league, HS, college ball, drafted by a Pro team and sent to the Minors.... played in the minors for years. It's tough, you can get better, but without that "special" something, not gonna happen. It's tough in any sport to be among the elite let alone being the best at it.
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Physical skills it's what and how you practice. IOW efficient learning. Mental skills - that's a little more nebulous.
 
ChicagoRJ said:
Not true. You could practice 10 hours a day, it won't make you a champion. You will get better but to reach SVB level. No shot.
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I very clearly never said his practice and dedication was the sole reason, but I still believe that dedication & drive are the MAIN reason he is where he is. My son is a natural athlete. He was ranked in the top 100 kids in the country in his graduating class in his sport & was receiving D1 inquiries as a freshman. He left for college today & isn't playing a sport. I had several friends who made it to the NHL primarily through hard work (their claim, not mine). You need talent AND drive to reach elite levels. The freaks like Randy Moss who can just roll out of bed & be the best are exceptionally rare.
 
terpdad said:
I very clearly never said his practice and dedication was the sole reason, but I still believe that dedication & drive are the MAIN reason he is where he is. My son is a natural athlete. He was ranked in the top 100 kids in the country in his graduating class in his sport & was receiving D1 inquiries as a freshman. He left for college today & isn't playing a sport. I had several friends who made it to the NHL primarily through hard work (their claim, not mine). You need talent AND drive to reach elite levels. The freaks like Randy Moss who can just roll out of bed & be the best are exceptionally rare.
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I never said you did. But, his talent is the main reason, and then his dedication/practice/whatever pulled him through. Without the talent, the rest is just noise imho.

But, if you think Randy Moss just rolled out of bed and could bring it, you're mistaken. I imagine he busted his tail in the gym, in practice and getting great coaching. He just made it look easy ;) lol
 
CocoboloCowboy said:
Most Pro Athletes work at their sport like it is a real job, not 5/15 minutes a day.

Because someone is waiting to take your spot, and will paying position.

Tiger Woods in his prime cold be discerned a work-a-Holocaust,
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Dude, you have found multiple ways over the years to slay the English language. I never gave you crap for it, not even once.

But, you've even outdone yourself here. You really Hitler the mark on this one !!!!
 
ChicagoRJ said:
Dude, you have found multiple ways over the years to slay the English language. I never gave you crap for it, not even once.

But, you've even outdone yourself here. You really Hitler the mark on this one !!!!
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Will paying position.

What more needs to be said?!?!?!
 
middleofnowhere said:
You don't have to be gifted to be good at pool, just put in the time and learn.
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To be SVB or other champions, yes you do. Guys in league can and do get better with proper practice.

But one guy, kind of a weird guy, I gave lessons to him a few years before was telling me how much he is practicing and how much better he will be. I said that's great. he said, yeah, if I keep practicing I can be as good as anyone. I said, "well, not anyone" but smiling as I said it.
I figured he would completely understand my meaning.

But he said what do you mean? So, clearly he really thought he could eventually beat anyone.
I said you can practice all you want but you'll never shoot like Earl, ever. Nor SVB or a host of others.

The dude was near 50 and I think I crushed his dreams. Honestly, had this been a 20 year old I would have smiled and said knock them dead kid. But, we're talking about an overweight 50 year old, that plays at about an APA 5 level. I just assumed he knew he was not going to be the next US Open champion, lol
 
ChicagoRJ said:
To be SVB or other champions, yes you do. Guys in league can and do get better with proper practice.

But one guy, kind of a weird guy, I gave lessons to him a few years before was telling me how much he is practicing and how much better he will be. I said that's great. he said, yeah, if I keep practicing I can be as good as anyone. I said, "well, not anyone" but smiling as I said it.
I figured he would completely understand my meaning.

But he said what do you mean? So, clearly he really thought he could eventually beat anyone.
I said you can practice all you want but you'll never shoot like Earl, ever. Nor SVB or a host of others.

The dude was near 50 and I think I crushed his dreams. Honestly, had this been a 20 year old I would have smiled and said knock them dead kid. But, we're talking about an overweight 50 year old, that plays at about an APA 5 level. I just assumed he knew he was not going to be the next US Open champion, lol
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I'd a told him:
I'm sure you'd win at least one game, if you played long enough.
 
When I was 26 years old, I knew the Snooker community quite well and figured out that I was likely about the 300th best player in the world. Stay in the UK and practice 6 hours a day..,maybe crack the top 128 and get on the World Snooker tour? …’maybe’ one day make the top 64? ‘Maybe, maybe, maybe…one day make it to a quarter final?

Nope not for me . Rather return to Canada and geology research something I enjoyed. Go hiking and fishing, play my guitar.

A half to an hour at the table is optimal for me…still fun and a type of ‘down time’ meditation. Maybe it’s ok to be the 200th best soccer or 100th best cricket player in the world but the 26th at Snooker after dedicating a lifetime…nope. Thr top 5 in American pool..nope. Not for me.
 
terpdad said:
I very clearly never said his practice and dedication was the sole reason, but I still believe that dedication & drive are the MAIN reason he is where he is. My son is a natural athlete. He was ranked in the top 100 kids in the country in his graduating class in his sport & was receiving D1 inquiries as a freshman. He left for college today & isn't playing a sport. I had several friends who made it to the NHL primarily through hard work (their claim, not mine). You need talent AND drive to reach elite levels. The freaks like Randy Moss who can just roll out of bed & be the best are exceptionally rare.
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I lived in Montreal until I was 13, hockey was our life. I had one friend and a school mate who both made it to the N.H.L.

I was as good as them playing ball hockey on the street ( we played everyday). However, on ice they were both on another level compared to the rest of us. Just natural skaters. There were NHL players from our part of Montreal and they would sometimes visit their local boyhood arena or play ball hockey with us when they were in the city. One was a New York Ranger, Rod Gilbert. He’d stay at his parents then come out and play with us until it got dark. He never lost the ‘fun’ of the game.
 
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livemusic said:
I saw something recently where SVB purportedly said he practiced 7-8 hours/day 7 days/week. Also that his fave game is 8-ball. If that is true, for someone to practice that much you pretty much have to be addicted to it. I can't imagine giving that much time. To anything. I know it takes crazy amounts of time for many years to get to top level but to maintain that amount of practice over a long period of time, it just seems super-human. Maybe it's such that the ones at the very top truly are freaks of nature. One-in-a-million talent, yes, but practice dedication that seems unreal?
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I know SVB very well, he stayed at my house in Vegas many times for a week or whatever. It was a huge compound with separate houses and one room was set up like a commercial pool room. Didn’t feel like a home table. It was far away from any “living” parts of the house. Those who have been there know-lots of ppl here in AZB know.

Anyways to my point, when SVB stayed with me for one Rum Runner tourney he would come back to the house and hit balls between matches if there was time. He hit balls 8-12 hours a day on days he wasn’t playing. I’d stand there and set balls out for him to shoot-we never spoke as he was practicing. I’ve never played SVB the time I spent with him at the pool table was helping him work(that what he refers to it as). And I agree woth that choice of words as he’s the hardest working pool player I have ever saw. His discipline & work ethic are solid as it gets and the results show. He’s earned the game he has, I don’t believe he’s the most talented player, he’s the hardest worker that started young and paid his dues TWICE.

It’s not a exaggeration, he still works as hard as ever. I know him well and ain’t going to put any of his biz in public but it’s a fact he does play & practice that much(when he doesn’t it shows). But that’s another topic and rarely he takes much time off.

Best
Fatboy
 
When I did nothing but play pool (for about two years from 1991-1993), I easily played 40-50 hours a week. Most of it was practice (i.e., playing by myself).
 
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