Do people like SVB improve?
- Thread starter ktrepal85
- Start date
I honestly think that if they can improve, it would be of minimal difference. but I suppose practicing to maintain is never a bad thing either.
Sometimes equipment can make a difference. A different tip or shaft size or weight may make a difference. I remember when pro players began going to thinner shafts.
I heard more then one say they liked the difference. Danny D said Lassiter used to say, "How do you guys play with those fat shafts" and when Danny went to a thinner shaft he said Lassiter was right.
This would be a great question to hear Darren's opinion on.
I suspect the answer would be yes.
I suspect the answer would be yes.
I think so, at least in small ways if they are dedicated to finding and improving on their weaknesses. I want to say it was Neils Feijen who spent a lot of work on his kicking and safety play a couple years ago and attributed that to winning his world 9 ball championship in 2014. I think many of the average pros try to maintain, with some trying to do what it takes to get to the top. I'm pretty sure the guys near the very top (or who were at some point), like Shane, Darren, Earl for example work really hard on the finer points of improving cueing action, stroke, break, safety play and do regular maintenance as well. I know a lot of the foreign guys have coaches, but not sure of the US guys that do? With the state of pool compared to other sports, having a coach is a tough nut to cover. Everything I said beyond Neils Feijen is more of a guess or observation of sorts, that may or may not be accurate. This is the way it is in a lot of sports though, where the guys at the very top have to fight tooth and nail to stay there.
Some years ago I read an article about Nick Varner. He was a great player already and he decided to see just how good he could play. For a time he totally devoted himself to pool.
Result, he won 7 tournaments that year I assume through the extra effort. I wish people like him posted here at least once and a while, so they could talk about things like this.
Oooh that's a tough one. I think it is rare to be "in the zone" where you're feeling fast and loose, as they say, and you're just doing it because you just know. Well, it's rare for me anyway and when it happens I can't tell why. Their "zone" is different than ours, obviously, and I think they hit it more often than we do and their goal is to always be in it. A lot of times what we call our search for improvement is our search for consistency of high play. Boy if we could play at our best every time we stepped up to the table. How enjoyable would that be?
If they want to stay on top they have to keep improving and learning new tricks or remembering old ones.
I'm sure there is a kid out there watching videos and practicing and being coached by some of the best players, dedicating all his free time to pool with all the support he can get. This kid might also bring new techniques to the game that very little people consider.
Just my thoughts.
I'm sure there is a kid out there watching videos and practicing and being coached by some of the best players, dedicating all his free time to pool with all the support he can get. This kid might also bring new techniques to the game that very little people consider.
Just my thoughts.
I would love to have more of a "pro" influence on this forum. It would be great to have their actual opinion instead of hear-say. (by no means saying your quote up there is hear-say btw)
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown
This is relevant to those folks that are at the top tier of their particular profession.
If you don't practice for one day, you will know.
If you don't practice for two days, your friends (team mates) will know.
If you don't practice for three days, your opponents will know.
Those folks with the ability to breath that truly rarified air understand that mere talent is not going to get them to the top of the heap and all the accolades from fans and peers will not keep them their.
The singlemindedness of purpose needed by these individuals to achieve success as they define it is often hard to watch and understand when they are away from the table. Their actions in their personal lives often leads to very tumultuous relationships with the people they interact with on a a daily basis.
Bottom line...world class anybodies work very hard to make it look easy, Harder still if they still want to maintain that status.
Tommy
This is relevant to those folks that are at the top tier of their particular profession.
If you don't practice for one day, you will know.
If you don't practice for two days, your friends (team mates) will know.
If you don't practice for three days, your opponents will know.
Those folks with the ability to breath that truly rarified air understand that mere talent is not going to get them to the top of the heap and all the accolades from fans and peers will not keep them their.
The singlemindedness of purpose needed by these individuals to achieve success as they define it is often hard to watch and understand when they are away from the table. Their actions in their personal lives often leads to very tumultuous relationships with the people they interact with on a a daily basis.
Bottom line...world class anybodies work very hard to make it look easy, Harder still if they still want to maintain that status.
Tommy
Well, there is an old saying that goes something like ... if you're not constantly improving, you're falling behind. So, yeah I believe anyone can always improve but what has already been stated is someone like SVB is sooooo good that any improvement would probably not even be noticed by us mere mortals. I don't think SVB practices 8 hours a day just to stay even! I would love to hear his response to this question.
I think it's different for everyone. Some are still improving. Some have plateaued. Some are getting worse. I'll say this though, no matter how much you know, there is always more to learn.
I see a marked difference from SVB's performance in 2007 US Open in comparison to 2014 US Open. I believe that a player with a good work ethic will continue to improve until his physical abilities decline from age.
I think you will constantly learn things as you continue to play. Whether they improve your game or not is another question.
There is not now and never was a perfect pool player. Even the best players make 5-10 errors per 100 shots, be it a missed ball, position error or foul. ALL players can improve their games and that's why you see the best players practicing so much. They know there are young guys hoping to dethrone them. No one today works harder on their games then Dennis O. and Shane. It's no accident they have as much success as they do.
I think the top pros do improve. But, the areas where their game improve is more in their heads than in their arms. Their improvement comes more in their mentality and focus from the experience they gain tournament to tournament, and match to match. The mental growth is then gonna carry over to their performance. Even when it appears their physical ability has seemed to plateau or deteriorate with age, their knowledge of the game will always increase. A couple of good examples would be Jayson Shaw and Scott Frost.
Jayson when he first came to America was an extremely talented shot maker, with other decent skills. But, as he gained experience and his knowledge increased, he then became able to gain the maximum potential of his already existing physical ability. Now Shaw is one of the most feared players in a tournament that he enters.
Now Scott on the other hand, was, and is, one of the best one pocket players in the world. His nine ball abilities on a pro level were considered mid-level pro. But, in the last year he has set his mind to wanting to earn a spot on the Mosconi Cup team. He has devoted much of his time to playing more nine ball and less one pocket. What has the result been? He has won the Rum-Runner, which is one of the toughest bar table tournaments and one that SVB participated in, and is in the top tier of the Mosconi Cup standings. But the most improvement in his abilities is up stairs in his head which allows to execute his physical abilities at a higher level. His physical abilities in nine ball has increased, but it first had to come from his mind and his determination.
The mind is where players will always improve, unless they develop alzheimers or something to that effect, even after their physical abilities begin to diminish. For a lot of players it's just a matter of honing of their mind while while keeping the confidence in their physical abilities.
Jayson when he first came to America was an extremely talented shot maker, with other decent skills. But, as he gained experience and his knowledge increased, he then became able to gain the maximum potential of his already existing physical ability. Now Shaw is one of the most feared players in a tournament that he enters.
Now Scott on the other hand, was, and is, one of the best one pocket players in the world. His nine ball abilities on a pro level were considered mid-level pro. But, in the last year he has set his mind to wanting to earn a spot on the Mosconi Cup team. He has devoted much of his time to playing more nine ball and less one pocket. What has the result been? He has won the Rum-Runner, which is one of the toughest bar table tournaments and one that SVB participated in, and is in the top tier of the Mosconi Cup standings. But the most improvement in his abilities is up stairs in his head which allows to execute his physical abilities at a higher level. His physical abilities in nine ball has increased, but it first had to come from his mind and his determination.
The mind is where players will always improve, unless they develop alzheimers or something to that effect, even after their physical abilities begin to diminish. For a lot of players it's just a matter of honing of their mind while while keeping the confidence in their physical abilities.
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Yes until they peak and eventually decline. For example, Shane's bank game has improved remarkably since I first started watching him. This added an entirely new dimension to his shotmaking arsenal.
Players often lose interest in practice and that's the real danger.
Players often lose interest in practice and that's the real danger.
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I think they generally hit a peak. Is SVB better now then a few years ago when he ran the 7 pack and 2 6 packs on Alex in the TAR match on the Fatboy rails in 10-ball? I don't think so.
They of course can learn a new thing or two. They might tweak a break, learn a new way to make a kick with a certain bit of English, but they reach a point pretty quickly where 99.9% of their total ability is already there.
They still deal with the highs and lows. They have moments where they are on, and moments when their game is not at the peak. TBH right at this moment I do not think SVB is at his top level given his last few outings. He has not been as dominant as he was in the past and I am not sure the loss of the race to 100 action matches has helped him, those were an awesome way to stay in stroke and keep your confidence up.
They of course can learn a new thing or two. They might tweak a break, learn a new way to make a kick with a certain bit of English, but they reach a point pretty quickly where 99.9% of their total ability is already there.
They still deal with the highs and lows. They have moments where they are on, and moments when their game is not at the peak. TBH right at this moment I do not think SVB is at his top level given his last few outings. He has not been as dominant as he was in the past and I am not sure the loss of the race to 100 action matches has helped him, those were an awesome way to stay in stroke and keep your confidence up.