no offense intended - but?

dyoung5 said:
How can someone say that golf isnt a sport. have you ever walked a full 18 or hell even 9 holes while carrying a full bag with 14 clubs and 20 balls with other little nip picks in there as well that averages out to be about 35-40 pounds. That can be pretty draining and if you dont think so then go try it. and if its still not challenging then wait till mid july in south georgia and do it. im willing to bet you want pee after the front 9 because your body will be so dehydrated. Pool is questionable but ill be nice and say it is that way i can consider my self a decent athlete:p
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This man knows what he is talking about! Why is baseball more of a sport than golf? All they do is sit on their ass for 3 hours, then stand in the field picking their nose for another 2 hours. The average player has 4 at bats where they stand there and swing at a few, maybe run to first once or twice. The only person getting a work out is the pitcher. Go walk 2 to 4 miles up and down hill at the golf course (were not talking bout ridin in a cart wit your buddies) and take 60 full swings (not including practice swings) PA lease!

I weigh 147 lbs, in great shape and I can work up a sweat playing pool...its a f8$king sport!

Now back on topic... Americans are lazy and we have no youth programs for pool, and its becoming more popular over seas.
 
trustyrusty said:
That is why I mentioned the PARENTS. In the 50's and 60's dads wanted their kids to be pro baseball players. Even if it wasn't 100% money oriented, (I mean the yankee clipper did have Marilyn Monroe ;) ) it was a good goal to have a son be a great baseball player. The Williams sisters (from Compton CA, btw) had a father that pushed them into TENNIS, tennis, in Compton...? I already mentioned Tiger and his dad.

How many father's want to have their kids spending all their free time in poolhalls, with often times, somewhat seedy/shady characters? I know it can be done at home, and I know having a love for all things billiards isn't a recipe for a disastrous life, but I was putting a what would you rather question out there....

If parents have an interest in NASCAR, golf, swimming, heck, even MMA, there's a good chance their kids, being around it, will develop an interest in it as well; same goes with pool. But, as a parent, I would encourage MY kid to pursue interests that keep him out of the, um, less fortunate areas of town, and away from folks that may not have the kids' best interests at heart. Like many, I want my kid to have it better than I have had it, and really would like him to learn life lessons in a less harsh way than I had to growing up.... That may not have ANYTHING to do with sports, or other competitive endeavors, or it might. JMO is all.

The whole $$$$$$ part of my post was referring to seeing real promise in a young-un. More often than not, someone who excels in one thing certainly can in another. Most professional athletes had to choose a road at some point. John Elway was also drafted by the Yankees. Dave Winfield - all Big 10 in BASKETBALL. Babe Didrikson Zaharias could have excelled in ANYTHING. Jackie Robinson, Bo Jackson, Deon Sanders, Jim Brown, Jim Thorpe, etc. were mostly known for just raw athletic prowess, but getting there takes determination and a hunger, that could have propelled them to succeed in ANYTHING.

After all of my ramblings, what I was trying to get at in my first post was...would you want a kid that shows real promise in terms of natural talent and a strong desire to be great at something to put all his/her efforts into pool? Maybe you would....not me
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I agree with you, I just think that main problem is the atmosphere, not the game itself. Pool is a bar game like darts and shuffleboard, very far from a sport and very easy to identify the problems.

If you're working up a sweat playing pool (to the other poster) you either need to turn on the AC or talk to your doctor. I've watched many professional pool players and the one thing I don't see is players sweating or drenched in sweat.

I wish we did more for the youths in pool, but it's unsustainable. The game requires big tables, real estate is expensive and it's not realistic to charge for table time without selling drinks and making it a more adult environment. When they do have pool available to younger public (community centers, YMCA, after school programs, etc) the equipment is all crap and the instructors are missing in action. They just a piece of crap table there and basically say bang away. It's taken as seriously as an air hockey table.
 
ok, I re-read my last post, and it sounds like I'm dogging on pool WAY too much. I'd love to have my kid be able to whip up on me and everyone else on a pool table. That said, I still think pursuing a career in pool isn't the best idea. I'm sure the majority of parents out their feel as I do. IF and that's a BIG if, pool ever got it's act together, and had an even mediocre professional system (like say bowling, though I'd still like to see better than that), then MAYBE more folks would change their opinions on pool as a career. But, the original poster wondered why so few top American pros?....I stand by, there isn't much of a monetary incentive to stay in it even if you show great promise. It SUCKS, but the future of pool is even more uncertain than most things nowadays.
 
All these things aside, there's one economic driving factor: There's no money in American Pool. This effects tables available to kids (bars have tables to stimulate liquor revenue). No youth programs for kids, who even goes to the YMCA these days??? No scholarships for pool. Look at every driving factor of why a kid would get into tennis, none of them apply to pool.
 
laserbrn said:
Again, people don't play golf because pro's make a lot of money doing it.
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I do understand the logic behind this sentiment, but if there were no money in golf, there would be no exciting tournaments to watch every Sunday, there would be no Tiger, and nobody would be playing. And for those who did play and showed promise, there would be no major incentive to improve. That is the key point.

Maybe it's just a difference of opinion thing :) I just have no doubt, if there were money in pool, we'd have a nice crop of grade A, young American players.
 
I've been playing seriously for 23 years now.... Am an addict to the game and I find it less expensive than a therapist would be....

With that being said... I do teach the 13y.o. when she asks but the 11y.o. boy only wants to play video games.... I am actually happy that he shows zero interest in the game because I definitely would not want him spending night after night at a bar like I did for years after the pool only rooms disappeared around here........

I love the game but I also love my camels and Crown Royal and some other things that I take the 5th on... None of the things on the list are things I ever want the kids involved with.... Now if I won't actively push my kids to play what chance do you have of other parents doing it.......

Until there are private clubs/academies here like in Europe and Asia where you can drag the game back into the light of day anyone would be daft to want their kids involved in the sport..... Too many bad elements in most of places where the tables are.....
 
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