Does the future of pool in the US look grim?

J

justinb386

Banned
I get the feeling that there are not nearly as many young people playing pool anymore as there used to be, and if I am right, then I wonder if those numbers keep falling every year.

I do not know, but I wonder if the numbers of juniors entering the BCA junior tournaments and qualifiers has gone down over the years.

I remember the qualifier that I went to (to try to quality for the BCA junior nationals) in Chesterfield MO when I was 16 (that was back in 96 or 97), and I think there were only like 12 entries in that qualifier, and that was a qualifier that was near a big city (St. Louis).

I imagine that number of entries would have been much higher if it had been a junior qualifier in any city of Germany for example.

I just wonder what the state of junior pool is these days.

And even if more kids were interested in playing the game, where would they be able to play at?

Most of the pool rooms these days are also bars.

We need as many juniors playing the game as possible for there to be a future for the sport of pool.

I also wonder what the numbers of the entrants in the ACUI (college) pool championships have fallen over the years.

Where are all of the juinior players at? Just curious, because I have rarely seen any over the years, when I visit the pool rooms (mostly just see middle age pool players).

I am just worried that this sport is dying in the US.

What do you foresee for the future of pool in the US (lets say 30 years from now for example)?

Will pool ever be anything more then a social gathering event (as something to do while having a beer and talking with friends)? Sorry to go off subject.

Will there ever be any real pool halls ever again in the US (that are meant for just pool, with nothing more available other then a juke box)?

A place where juniors can come to shoot pool without parental supervision, and without worry about violence over gambling and anything else you can imagine that has given pool a bad image.

Thanks for any thoughts about this.
 
justinb386 said:
Will there ever be any real pool halls ever again in the US (that are meant for just pool, with nothing more available other then a juke box)?

A place where juniors can come to shoot pool without parental supervision, and without worry about violence over gambling and anything else you can imagine that has given pool a bad image.
Click to expand...

The "real" pool halls were all about gambling, violence and "anything else you can imagine."

Not a place you want your kids hanging out.
 
bdorman said:
The "real" pool halls were all about gambling, violence and "anything else you can imagine."

Not a place you want your kids hanging out.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that is true, but the pool hall that I grew up playing in was a pretty safe place (it had 12 8 foot valley tables, and a a nice sized arcade). There was just pool, a juke box, and the arcade. Was a great place for kids to go to shoot pool. Not many were really serious about the game though. It was mainly just a teenage hang out. The owner was a player though, and loved the game. He re felted the tables like every 6 months. I understand the real pool halls were not for kids though. Places like the the pool hall in The Hustler.
 
Thats not all true...,

bdorman said:
The "real" pool halls were all about gambling, violence and "anything else you can imagine."

Not a place you want your kids hanging out.
Click to expand...

Most people wouldn't want their kids at a bar or a night club, but 99% of them end up at one or both every weekend, so the bad rap on Pool halls is somewhat over stated.

I've seen just as many fights at clubs/bars as I have Pool halls..., alcohol.

If the APA continues to grow, as the non-players get better or 2's become 4's and bring their kids into the game, we might see some growth?
 
bdorman said:
The "real" pool halls were all about gambling, violence and "anything else you can imagine."

Not a place you want your kids hanging out.
Click to expand...


I have been going to poolrooms since I was a kid. I learned a lot hanging in poolrooms. It was an education you cannot get in schools. In the 60's and 70's poolrooms were different and you saw all types, the good the bad and the ugly, as they say. To this day I feel more comfortable in a poolroom than anywhere. I bring my 7 year old granddaughter to the poolroom with me often. It is up to us to keep the poolrooms alive by bringing young people in. The bars with tables are replacing the poolroom culture with little 7 footers and that is a shame to my way of thinking.
 
justinb386 said:
I get the feeling that there are not nearly as many young people playing pool anymore as there used to be, and if I am right, then I wonder if those numbers keep falling every year.

I do not know, but I wonder if the numbers of juniors entering the BCA junior tournaments and qualifiers has gone down over the years.

I remember the qualifier that I went to (to try to quality for the BCA junior nationals) in Chesterfield MO when I was 16 (that was back in 96 or 97), and I think there were only like 12 entries in that qualifier, and that was a qualifier that was near a big city (St. Louis).

I imagine that number of entries would have been much higher if it had been a junior qualifier in any city of Germany for example.

I just wonder what the state of junior pool is these days.

And even if more kids were interested in playing the game, where would they be able to play at?

Most of the pool rooms these days are also bars.

We need as many juniors playing the game as possible for there to be a future for the sport of pool.

I also wonder what the numbers of the entrants in the ACUI (college) pool championships have fallen over the years.

Where are all of the juinior players at? Just curious, because I have rarely seen any over the years, when I visit the pool rooms (mostly just see middle age pool players).

I am just worried that this sport is dying in the US.

What do you foresee for the future of pool in the US (lets say 30 years from now for example)?

Will pool ever be anything more then a social gathering event (as something to do while having a beer and talking with friends)? Sorry to go off subject.

Will there ever be any real pool halls ever again in the US (that are meant for just pool, with nothing more available other then a juke box)?

A place where juniors can come to shoot pool without parental supervision, and without worry about violence over gambling and anything else you can imagine that has given pool a bad image.

Thanks for any thoughts about this.
Click to expand...

All the above is up to the Big Country.
It is after all an American game. :thumbup:
 
justinb386 said:
I get the feeling that there are not nearly as many young people playing pool anymore as there used to be, and if I am right, then I wonder if those numbers keep falling every year...
Click to expand...

Justinb, there are actually MORE young people picking up the game now than say, in the 70s, 80s, and even 90s.

The world as a whole has embraced the game like never before.
There are thousands upon thousands of teens and 20-somethings playing in Philippines, China, Europe, and the Middle East.

For those who look at pool only through the lens of America: you have a very skewed picture of where the game is and where it's going. No way, the future of pool does NOT look grim!!

The game is just fine. Yes, it has evolved just as it always has, but just as important, the interest has merely "spread" throughout the world and in bigger numbers.

I'm sure some of the foreign players (to the U.S.) in the 80s and 90s were saying, "If I want to play competitive pool on a weekly basis, I have to go to the U.S.,"

NOW Americans are beginning to say similar things.
If you want to play, you have to travel just as those foreigners did. If you're serious about playing, do likewise my friends.
 
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For me, I think pool needs to stop being just a game and treated like a sport.

At my Elks club the guys there play pool as a game (to pass the time). They don't work on their game or do any training that lasts more than 2 or 3 balls pocketed (or missed). But it's a game.

But the guys from the pool room that do the tournaments (the ones that place that is) approach or used to approach the game like a sport.

So if you want young people to pick up the game, then their needs to be little leagues for pool I think.
 
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