Have many of you used pool as a therapy tool?

Ronoh

Ronoh

1 brick at a time
Silver Member
The reason I ask is that over the past year(s) I've been witness to quit a few people who have used pool as a form of therapy. My first hand experience was with my mother-in-law after her second husband died. She's from the old school where the only thing she knew how to do was cook, clean, worry. She didn't even know how to balance a check book.

When he died, she was a basket case. I had her join my wife's APA team to try and help get her mind on something else other than grief and over the next few months I saw major improvements. At age 68, she's no pro, but she's getting better and better at pool.

I even witnessed a man (not sure of his illness) take on a known good pool player in the local area and clean his clock by running a table in 2 or less innings. He looked as though he had multiple scerosis by his manerisms. His practice strokes where the worst, but when he did his final stroke, he was (more often than not) dead on and had position for next shot.

Just goes to show that billiards is one of the few sports that a man, woman, child, or handicap can play and enjoy.
 
Ronoh said:
The reason I ask is that over the past year(s) I've been witness to quit a few people who have used pool as a form of therapy. My first hand experience was with my mother-in-law after her second husband died. She's from the old school where the only thing she knew how to do was cook, clean, worry. She didn't even know how to balance a check book.

When he died, she was a basket case. I had her join my wife's APA team to try and help get her mind on something else other than grief and over the next few months I saw major improvements. At age 68, she's no pro, but she's getting better and better at pool.

I even witnessed a man (not sure of his illness) take on a known good pool player in the local area and clean his clock by running a table in 2 or less innings. He looked as though he had multiple scerosis by his manerisms. His practice strokes where the worst, but when he did his final stroke, he was (more often than not) dead on and had position for next shot.

Just goes to show that billiards is one of the few sports that a man, woman, child, or handicap can play and enjoy.
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I often do the same shot over and over, and find it soothing when im stressed out. And i just focus on how my body feels when im stroking the ball. So yes it helps to relieve my stress.

Mack
 
Ronoh said:
The reason I ask is that over the past year(s) I've been witness to quit a few people who have used pool as a form of therapy. My first hand experience was with my mother-in-law after her second husband died. She's from the old school where the only thing she knew how to do was cook, clean, worry. She didn't even know how to balance a check book.

When he died, she was a basket case. I had her join my wife's APA team to try and help get her mind on something else other than grief and over the next few months I saw major improvements. At age 68, she's no pro, but she's getting better and better at pool.

I even witnessed a man (not sure of his illness) take on a known good pool player in the local area and clean his clock by running a table in 2 or less innings. He looked as though he had multiple scerosis by his manerisms. His practice strokes where the worst, but when he did his final stroke, he was (more often than not) dead on and had position for next shot.

Just goes to show that billiards is one of the few sports that a man, woman, child, or handicap can play and enjoy.
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There are many stories just like the one you have told. The most amazing story is that of WPBA player Maureen Seto. She has literally been to hell and back.

LIttle Mo

Here is something I wrote about Maureen several years ago on RSB:

Maureen Seto is quite possibly the most amazing story in the world of professional pool. In 1982 she was involved in a terrible motorcycle accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down. After a year in the hospital, she fought to regain the use of her legs, but a fall to the floor broke her back once more. This time she endured several more operations and was once again confined to a wheelchair. Maureen was told that she would never walk again.

She played pool - from a wheelchair - for 5 years. She began entering
tournaments and placing very well. She traveled playing both pool and snooker. Miraculously,she regained the use of her legs in 1987. Over the next several years she became a force to be reckoned with at qualifying events. In 1995 she gained her status as a professional. An unlikely achievement for a woman who never says "I quit".

Three years ago I was at a WPBA event watching Maureen play. The
gentleman sitting next to me quipped, "She ain't got a snowball's chance in
hell!" Maureen was playing Allison Fisher. As the match went on, the man kept saying how Maureen didn't belong on the same table as Allison. Though Maureen was unsuccessful in her attempt to win the match, she remained poised, and gave her best every time she got a chance at the table. At the conclusion of the match, Allison extended her hand and gave Maureen a hug.
The gentleman then snickered, "Why did she even show up?"

I turned to him and said quite simply, "Sir, if you only knew." Then I told him what she had been through.

After the match, Maureen talked to several people in the crowd, many of
whom wished her luck in her next match, including the gentleman I was sitting next to.

Maureen Seto earns a victory every day she gets out of bed and gets to her feet. The scars from her past have not hindered her desire or dedication one bit, in fact those scars have made her stronger. Win or lose at the table, she has my respect, my admiration, my encouragement, and my prayers. Maureen Seto is definitely a shining light for our sport. We can all learn a lesson in determination from her amazing story.

For some people, they measure a player's worth by their victories at the table. Maureen Seto scores a victory with every single step she takes.

I have Parkinson's Disease, and though I can no longer play like I used to, I still get up to the table and do my best. For me, it's a way to forget about whats wrong with me, and concentrate on what's right. During the time I spend at the table, I forget that there is anything wrong with me. The doctors are convinced that it is the best therapy for me. I agree.
 
I am at the club every morning and prefer to just push the balls around by myself. I find it very relaxing and don't have to impress anyone. When I had bypass surgery my desire to get back to the table helped me recover faster.

Jake
 
Any time I call in to work sick I go to the pool hall and all of the sudden I am not really feeling that sick any more!! :D

On the serious side though I find that once I step through those doors I dont have a care in the world when I play it makes me forget about all my troubles that might of happened at work or at home. I do find pool to be very relaxing! Even when I am playing for money. God I love this sport!!
 
If I get stressed at home or work I MUST escape to the snooker table by myself. Just rolling the balls in blanks out everything, and one easy miss is all it takes to make me snap my cue and the sense of release is amazing. I probably don't need to kill again for weeks.

Boro Nut
 
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Blackjack said:
I have Parkinson's Disease, and though I can no longer play like I used to, I still get up to the table and do my best. For me, it's a way to forget about whats wrong with me, and concentrate on what's right. During the time I spend at the table, I forget that there is anything wrong with me. The doctors are convinced that it is the best therapy for me. I agree.
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For me pool really is therapy, even when I am struggling with my mechanics like I always do. Even when I am down on myself, I get inspired to play this game by legends such as Dave Sapolis and a couple of others. On those days when I just can't fix what is wrong with my mechanics I get really frustrated, and after I relax, I start to just enjoy the game for what it is, and suddenly I am pumped up and ready to practice some more until I fix all of the kinks. When I fix them, I'll just practice twice as hard lol.
 
Brought a smile ..

Vonn31 said:
I tend to NEED therapy after I play
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Made me laugh ... I am sure quite a few players could identify with your
feelings .....

Think of it this way, if you use your brain more before and during when
you play, you won't have to use it so much after you play .... lol

One of my most inspirational players was a guy in Vegas BCA, playing with
1 arm and 1 leg, on opposite sides of his body. He had various little tools that he made, or been made for him, that he used in playing. Special little tools that allowed to stroke the cueball off the rail smoothly, special little crutches he used on various shots, ingenious things that allowed to be the seriious player he is. And serious he was, running the table 2 out of 5 times, and running 2 other tables except for 1 ball. He was good, and had adapted well with the assistance of his tools.

From my hometown, we had a player with 1 arm that played out of a bar that I played league out of for 14 years. Sonny went to Vegas and played on his team there. I went home, gathered support, had 2 of the tools made for him to help him shoot, did a official certificate for most improved player, and all team members and others gathered around while I presented him with the certificate and tools we made for him. The look on his face, and the fact that we showed our support for him as a player was greatly appreciated, and it more than made our effort more than worthwhile.
 
Pool helped me gain confidence in myself. As a child I was extremely shy, petrified to be noticed by anybody.....even in college, if I was late for a class, rather than face the humiliation of being stared at as I entered I simply wouldn't go at all. I also struggled with the feeling that I had no control over my life, for I was unable (or unwilling) to take responsibility for the things that happened to me. After I decided to play pool professionally, it became quite obvious that I would need a serious change in attitude! :p The first couple of years playing in front of crowds was very intimidating, but I finally got comfortable with it. And although it sounds cliched, learning to control the cue ball helped me learn how to gain more control over my life. Today I can honestly say that pool was instrumental in the elevation of my self-esteem. :)
 
I have a 9' Gold Crown in my shop. My usual morning routine includes a few racks of "one pocket" type shots first off, to loosen up before I start making sawdust!

Sherm
 
cuesmith said:
I have a 9' Gold Crown in my shop. My usual morning routine includes a few racks of "one pocket" type shots first off, to loosen up before I start making sawdust!

Sherm
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Tsk Tsk Tsk......What a job. :p
 
In the 28 months since I got out of prison, 7 members of my family have died. The most recent was my niece, Ashley, 19 years old, two weeks ago on Mothers Day. I was playing 9 ball when I got the call from my sister and I unscrewed as soon as I hung up the phone. 2 days later I was playing again and I couldn't make a ball. Before this, playing pool was an escape for me but I think this has changed. Getting the call about her death while I was playing has not only hurt my game, what's left of it anyway, but when I open my case to take my cue out, a sense of dread overcomes me. I think this will pass, in time, but until then, playing pool isn't my escape anymore. I don't do drugs anymore and I rarely drink, so those self-destructing escapes aren't an option either.
So, I guess the answer to the question of the thread is, Yes, playing pool as a therapy tool has been used in the past for me and will probably be used again. At least, I hope so.
Peace, John.
 
I think pool is great theraphy for those that are getting up in age. Some of the older folks who used to be strong shooters, still practice and play with pure enjoyment. Some have told me that even though they do not play as well as they used to, they still look forward to going to the pool hall and playing. This is something we all have to look forward to. Billiards has so much to offer, very sad for the rest of the world that doesn't play.
 
I had a pretty rough emotional childhood and picking up a cue when I was 13 gave me new kind of feelings I had never felt before. Before that, I always felt out of place and never really felt comfortable in life. Luckily, I wasn't getting into trouble back then. But after I started practising, I felt I could get out of all worries and troubles in my head by practising pool. Tournaments on weekends felt like holidays, I could travel some other city and forget all my worries ! Without pool, I would've been hanging around in my homecity and very likely picking up bad habits and getting into trouble during my teens. With pool in my life, I was able to miss all that, because I spent quite a lot of my freetime at the pool room.

Nowadays, if I feel down, I might go to the pool club and just shoot some balls, not to practise. Sometimes the bad things creep into my mind and I start playing like sh*t and get very angry and annoyed. Sometimes I don't even realize what's bugging me, but after I blow a fuse, I start to think that there might be something else bothering me besides the fact that I totally suck in pool... :rolleyes:
 
Four out of five psychiatrists surveyed think pool is a good thing -- it's good for business!
 
If you were to spend all of your waking hours face to face right next to the woman in your life, do you think she would eventually drive you crazy (regardless of how much you loved her)? If escapism to the pool table is "therapy" from being driven crazy, then I guess I use it as therapy. :eek:
 
I personally think most Therapists are in Therapy, and in need of some recreation to Chill Out. Be it Pool, Motorcycle Riding, Bicycling, Swimming,etc. most are better than Work that drives many people Nuts. Pool is CHEAP THERAPY, and one not need make a Reservation/Appointment in most place for Table Time. :D
 
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