Is there such a thing as natural talent? Some say yes, I do not think there is?

tableroll said:
To become a world class pool player or golfer takes hours and hours of dedicated practice. One can not become great on "natural talent". You have to put in the work.
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Of course there is natural talent! Why would pool be different than any other game or sport in the world? And yes, of course, hard work and endless hours of practice will allow anyone to reach their potential, but the operative word is potential. In every sport (or game, or profession) some people will always have a higher ceiling than others. I've had friends try to play the game who absolutely had no clue about geometry and could NOT understand the game at all. Others get scary good very quickly. To me this is a silly question.
 
Tin Man said:
Talent is for suckers. No one on this forum has ever been capped by their talent. Maybe if we talk about what separates the #1 and #10 player in history we could theorize but it’s still a debate. People who point to stories of quick or slow learners are talking about short time durations with a small subset of skills, not an overall career. In reality none of us will ever be limited by anything by other than our own attitudes and effort so I believe in focusing exclusively on what we can control. Almost all champions believe this and I’m glad those who don’t are my competition.
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I have respect for you Tin Man for your teaching , but our abilities have to come from natural, God's will.... This is what I see... Guy
 
sjm said:
Natural talent exists in a big way. Whether it's pool or anything else, if two people make the exact same effort to become proficient at something, one will outachieve the other because they have more aptitude in learning that subject. That aptitude is called natural talent.

Yes, one can become proficient at almost anything with sufficient work ethic, but the path to proficiency will be either shortened or lengthened by natural talent.

When great natural talent hooks up with maximum effort, a level is reached that is unattainable for those with less natural talent.
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Stu I may need to stop saying this, But I see this as God's will... Guy
 
Fatboy said:
Takes both

When talent goes to work, nothing can beat that.

SVB is living proof, Filler, Nick V worked hard as anyone. It’s a short list of talent who really go to work. SVB hits more balls than you can imagine, so did Nick. Filler has played since he was a kid and paid his dues. These guys have all the talent and all the work ethic. Their success proves it. There are more, but this isn’t a list thread. So those are my examples.

Mark Tadd had the talent but didn’t work as hard, he’s my fiend and had he worked as hard consistently as SVB, he would have had that success. Mark worked hard too, but not consistently.

Then there’s guys with less talent who work hard and never make it.

It takes both.

Fatboy<——-didn’t have the talent, but watched a ton of great players come up right past me-effortlessly on talent. And I passed a few guys with hard work-but never “made it”.

Good luck to you
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Eric why is the name Mark Tadd familiar to me ... Guy
 
Yes... I've had this chat when coaching radio presenters on radio. Same goes for a pool I think....... If you try and teach someone that doesn't have the natural talent, sometimes you just get nowhere. And if someone who has the natural talent goes on air without any training they'll get lots wrong and do things that you'd prefer them not too etc.

So train someone with natural talent... You've got a winner!!!
 
Guy Manges said:
Eric why is the name Mark Tadd familiar to me ... Guy
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Mark is a super solid player who’s about 55 years old +/-. He was a champion in the early 90’s from Salt Lake I believe, I have known him for years, He has amazing talent for pool, he can just play good without putting in the work most do.

I haven’t seen him in 7-8 years. He played pro speed and bet sky high, as good as he is at pool, he is equally bad at poker and he bet with both hands at the Horseshoe l playing the poker pro’s. He’s known by lots of people here on AZB. I’d like to see him again.
 
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Haven't read the entire thread.

I think if you put anyone with average hand eye cordination in an isolated room with a pool table,for 8 hours a day, with proper instruction and critical feedback, they could run a 100 balls in a month. No problem.
 
Growing up around pool at an early age when the mind learns easiest is huge.

SVB is a prime example.
His main outlet was pool as well...
He's a real inspiration.
 
topjob said:
Haven't read the entire thread.

I think if you put anyone with average hand eye cordination in an isolated room with a pool table,for 8 hours a day, with proper instruction and critical feedback, they could run a 100 balls in a month. No problem.
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Sure, if that "anyone" is someone with a high run of 80 balls. Zero chance a total beginner is running 100 balls in one month regardless of talent, coaching, dedication, and time on the table. 100 ball runners are A+ players/shortstops and they are very rare in the pool world. There are many people who will play their entire lives with relatively good mechanics and ability to see shots who will never even approach 100 balls.

There are probably 4-5 distinct massive physical/psychological hurdles players must overcome to go from total beginner to A+ player, and each is far more difficult than the last and they are usually overcome years apart. And plenty of dedicated players get tripped up and stuck along the way.
 
topjob said:
Haven't read the entire thread.

I think if you put anyone with average hand eye cordination in an isolated room with a pool table,for 8 hours a day, with proper instruction and critical feedback, they could run a 100 balls in a month. No problem.
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I didn’t get that memo…..😢☹️
 
Fatboy said:
Mark is a super solid player who’s about 55 years old +/-. He was a champion in the early 90’s from Salt Lake I believe, I have known him for years, He has amazing talent for pool, he can just play good without putting in the work most do.

I haven’t seen him in 7-8 years. He played pro speed and bet sky high, as good as he is at pool, he is equally bad at poker and he bet with both hands at the Horseshoe l playing the poker pro’s. He’s known by lots of people here on AZB. I’d like to see him again.
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I have a funny story for ya, Fatty. A neighbor of mine who lives a few houses down owns a power washing business. While they were washing my house and fence one day maybe a month ago, we were conversation and somehow it got on the subject of pool. I told him yes, I love playing pool, showed him some custom cues I own, etc, etc. He asked if I knew Mark O'Brien. Well, Mark O'brien wrote a really good book about St. Louie Louie and lives in St Louis. "Of course" I reply. I have a copy right inside. I'd only met Mark once through Justin Bergman I think, but we were also facebook friends.

My neighbor responds, "OH, well I'm in his book." I was like...what?? Turns out he was in the chapter about Mark Tadd. He was 7th in the World at Foosball and, before becoming friends with Mark, hustled Mark out of $600 playing Foosball and they later became friends. He told me that when they were friends 30+ years ago, Mark Tadd had supreme confidence in himself and the kind of guy who became good at anything he tried. This was before Mark became the 1993 winner of the LA All around and still more unknown. I took this neighbor to hit some balls this past Sunday at Cue and Cushion in St. Louis. It has been 30 years since he went there, but...he brought his cue out and let me tell you - for #7 at Foosball, he played a great, solid game of pool. There was a foosball table in there I had NEVER noticed in 7 years of going to this place, LOL. He's like, oh that's this model, etc, etc. I was like...really...Foosball?? LOL

He still messages with Mark Tadd almost weekly I think.
 
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Matt_24 said:
I have a funny story for ya, Fatty. A neighbor of mine who lives a few houses down owns a power washing business. While they were washing my house and fence one day maybe a month ago, we were conversation and somehow it got on the subject of pool. I told him yes, I love playing pool, showed him some custom cues I own, etc, etc. He asked if I knew Mark O'Brien. Well, Mark O'brien wrote a really good book about St. Louie Louie and lives in St Louis. "Of course" I reply. I have a copy right inside. I'd only met Mark once through Justin Bergman I think, but we were also facebook friends.

My neighbor responds, "OH, well I'm in his book." I was like...what?? Turns out he was in the chapter about Mark Tadd. He was 7th in the World at Foosball and, before becoming friends with Mark, hustled Mark out of $600 playing Foosball and they later became friends. He told me that when they were friends 30+ years ago, Mark Tadd had supreme confidence in himself and the kind of guy who became good at anything he tried. This was before Mark became the 1993 winner of the LA All around and still more unknown. I took this neighbor to hit some balls this past Sunday at Cue and Cushion in St. Louis. It has been 30 years since he went there, but...he brought his cue out and let me tell you - for #7 at Foosball, he played a great, solid game of pool. There was a foosball table in there I had NEVER noticed in 7 years of going to this place, LOL. He's like, oh that's this model, etc, etc. I was like...really...Foosball?? LOL
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did you play him foosball too?
just to see how "rusty " he was... 😂
 
Matt_24 said:
I have a funny story for ya, Fatty. A neighbor of mine who lives a few houses down owns a power washing business. While they were washing my house and fence one day maybe a month ago, we were conversation and somehow it got on the subject of pool. I told him yes, I love playing pool, showed him some custom cues I own, etc, etc. He asked if I knew Mark O'Brien. Well, Mark O'brien wrote a really good book about St. Louie Louie and lives in St Louis. "Of course" I reply. I have a copy right inside. I'd only met Mark once through Justin Bergman I think, but we were also facebook friends.

My neighbor responds, "OH, well I'm in his book." I was like...what?? Turns out he was in the chapter about Mark Tadd. He was 7th in the World at Foosball and, before becoming friends with Mark, hustled Mark out of $600 playing Foosball and they later became friends. He told me that when they were friends 30+ years ago, Mark Tadd had supreme confidence in himself and the kind of guy who became good at anything he tried. This was before Mark became the 1993 winner of the LA All around and still more unknown. I took this neighbor to hit some balls this past Sunday at Cue and Cushion in St. Louis. It has been 30 years since he went there, but...he brought his cue out and let me tell you - for #7 at Foosball, he played a great, solid game of pool. There was a foosball table in there I had NEVER noticed in 7 years of going to this place, LOL. He's like, oh that's this model, etc, etc. I was like...really...Foosball?? LOL
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That’s a 10000% true story, that’s all Mark, he had no limit on his self confidence. I could see him getting robbed at foosball, but that’s what makes Mark great!

Those top foosball guys are scary good, I’ve seen a few “solid” players before. Wow😳.

That’s a great story! 😍😍

Best
And
Thanks

Fatboy <———needs the 4 out playing foosball
 
Texas Carom Club said:

Is there such a thing as natural talent?​

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While I definitely agree that there is natural talent, maybe as many as ½ the population either::
a) does not have any and wonder if others do
b) does not have any and can't believe anyone does.

To these I submit:
1) Einstein had a natural talent in thinking about physics better than anyone of his age
2) Newton had natural talents in mathematics, chemistry, optics, and physics and the time to pursue
3) Jackie Robinson had natural talent in baseball
4) Earl had a natural talent in playing pool
 
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