old players vs young players

oldplayer

oldplayer

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
do i keep practicing or just quit? i am 65 yrs old and have played off & on since i was 18 yrs old....so i am an old player. i learned from a very good player, the best in my town. we played 1 pocket, bank and straight pool. i got very good.....no one wanted to play (you know the drill). then i quit for a number of yrs and started back in my late 30's....i was even better...really at a pro level. (banks, jump shots, nothing really hard to make)...then, after 10 yrs or so, i quit again. i started back 2 yrs ago (age 63)......what happened? i see these players like archer, varner and others getting older and losing the "touch". i practice, buy dvds etc. and although i am about 75% of what i used to be, i just seem to not get back where i was. and there lies the question...at an old age, do we just lose the touch or our muscles can't remember what to do? the younger players need to reap while they can! do i keep practicing or just quit? i just love this game! :)
 
Things change for everyone.
Ask yourself the question of why do you play pool?
If you play only to compete with the best in the world, then I think you will be disappointed as you age. I think we all will.

If you play because you love the game. Then I think you can still enjoy playing. I would encourage you to keep practicing. Have a qualified person/instructor/friend etc. video tape you and analyze your mechanics, check your eye pattern, examine your pre-shot routines.

I don't see a good reason for you to give up.

We all have days, weeks, months etc where we don't play at our "best level". Sometimes it's just mental, we don't focus due to other issues going on in our lives.

Pool in my opinion is a lifetime sport, may we all live to be a hundred so we can enjoy it that long.

Wishing you the best,

oldplayer said:
do i keep practicing or just quit? i am 65 yrs old and have played off & on since i was 18 yrs old....so i am an old player. i learned from a very good player, the best in my town. we played 1 pocket, bank and straight pool. i got very good.....no one wanted to play (you know the drill). then i quit for a number of yrs and started back in my late 30's....i was even better...really at a pro level. (banks, jump shots, nothing really hard to make)...then, after 10 yrs or so, i quit again. i started back 2 yrs ago (age 63)......what happened? i see these players like archer, varner and others getting older and losing the "touch". i practice, buy dvds etc. and although i am about 75% of what i used to be, i just seem to not get back where i was. and there lies the question...at an old age, do we just lose the touch or our muscles can't remember what to do? the younger players need to reap while they can! do i keep practicing or just quit? i just love this game! :)
Click to expand...
 
As long as you still have the love for it keep going.
I know for some that it is about the thrill of competition and winning.
Some just hate to loose no matter what the situation is.
Then continuing to play could be frustrating.
I hope you continue to play.
I respect those who came before me and have seen and experienced more than I.
I feel they/you add a lot to the game.
 
You have to realize this is a young persons sport. Most players tend to peak in their late 20's to mid 30's. That doesn't mean us older folks should hung it up at age 40. The game is still a challenge and enjoyable. The thing about pool is you can play it for 50 years and still learn new things.

I say don't quit but if you do, be sure they put you out to stud. :)
 
oldplayer said:
do i keep practicing or just quit? i am 65 yrs old and have played off & on since i was 18 yrs old....so i am an old player. i learned from a very good player, the best in my town. we played 1 pocket, bank and straight pool. i got very good.....no one wanted to play (you know the drill). then i quit for a number of yrs and started back in my late 30's....i was even better...really at a pro level. (banks, jump shots, nothing really hard to make)...then, after 10 yrs or so, i quit again. i started back 2 yrs ago (age 63)......what happened? i see these players like archer, varner and others getting older and losing the "touch". i practice, buy dvds etc. and although i am about 75% of what i used to be, i just seem to not get back where i was. and there lies the question...at an old age, do we just lose the touch or our muscles can't remember what to do? the younger players need to reap while they can! do i keep practicing or just quit? i just love this game! :)
Click to expand...

I'm 64 and have followed the same path as you. I am back to playing at about 75 % of what I once was. The only thing differant is that now I play a couple times a week instead of every day. If I really try hard and bear down I can still run some racks but it is much harder now to constantly bear down then it was 20 or so years ago. I am also lucky that I can still see the balls very well.
 
I'm 62 and believe that I shoot better now than I ever have.

Age allows us to become a more knowledgeable student of the game... provided we have spent our cumulative playing years truly learning the game.

When the student is ready, the master will appear.


I credit my current improved ability on the fact that I have a 9' Pro Am in my garage. The table demands respect and my full concentration.
 
I'm in my mid-40's, so I guess by today's standards I'm an "older" player as well, considering that in 4 short years I'll be eligible for the senior division in Valley Forge. :( Mentally, I'm 25, though. The problem is that the faculties are starting to fail. My left knee is shot (and ultimately needs to be replaced), my back is bad, and my vision certainly isn't what it was in my 20's. Needless to say, I don't play anywhere near what I did in my early 20's, either. The brain still sends the signal, but the body part responds to go F myself. It's called getting older and eventually everyone does. Too bad we all can't be Benjamin Button. It just doesn't work that way. :sorry:
 
oldplayer said:
do i keep practicing or just quit? i am 65 yrs old and have played off & on since i was 18 yrs old....so i am an old player. i learned from a very good player, the best in my town. we played 1 pocket, bank and straight pool. i got very good.....no one wanted to play (you know the drill). then i quit for a number of yrs and started back in my late 30's....i was even better...really at a pro level. (banks, jump shots, nothing really hard to make)...then, after 10 yrs or so, i quit again. i started back 2 yrs ago (age 63)......what happened? i see these players like archer, varner and others getting older and losing the "touch". i practice, buy dvds etc. and although i am about 75% of what i used to be, i just seem to not get back where i was. and there lies the question...at an old age, do we just lose the touch or our muscles can't remember what to do? the younger players need to reap while they can! do i keep practicing or just quit? i just love this game! :)
Click to expand...

As another older player (72 in July) I think 75/80% of your best game at age 65 or older is pretty good. We have to keep working at it to keep it up there at all. I know many things I used to take for granted, I have to work and concentrate on. Simple thing like stance and gripping the cue are not automatic anymore.

My biggest problem is cue ball speed. I still pocket balls well but my postion play is weak and then that effects the pocketing and confidence I need to play my best. So touch is something we lose with age IMO. Some days I have it, other days it is impossible to find.

I used to play all games but it is pretty much one pocket now, and it is the only game I will gamble at except for a little golf on a snooker table from time to time.

I know I can't go back, so I do get some satisfaction from still being a competitive player. As long as you love it, keep playing.
 
Older vs younger

Well, I cannot speak for everyone over 50 years of age but I have noticed a big change in my playing. I, also layed off from pool for 20 or so years and started back up a few years ago. I ask myself the same question -- "What the heck happened?"

Lately, I have been shooting everyday and my game has improved. It is no where near the game I had 30 years ago. Of course, thirty years ago I was thinner, to a point stronger, and more agile. I used to average about 30 balls a run in straight pool; now, it is my high run.

I have noticed my eyesight is not as keen; I creak when stretching across the table; and my endurance is about two to three hours long. Now, I play for the love of the game but do shoot competitively with the younger players. I feel I have one distinct advantage over them -- experience. Once in awhile, I'll have a flashback and pull some shot out of a$$ that impresses the younger players because I have seen this shot numerous times and have done it numerous times. Another problem has been mentioned by others and that being getting the experience out of the head and into the arms and hands.

Somewhere in the attic is boxes with old trophies, plaques, awards etc for pool playing in my earleir years. When I see them, it rekindles the fire and desire to excell and compete. I am not ready to pass the torch yet and will still try to improve and learn the game. Eventually, I'll have to say, "Here's what I have done. Come and beat it if you can. (which won't be hard...lol). It is refreshing to see others over 50 still posses the same desire to improve their game.

Perhaps Aristotle said it best, "Youth is wasted on the young." I'll always play and I'll remember another old saying, "Age and experience will beat youth and strength everytime." If I can't outshoot them -- I'll outsmart them. The problem is, I haven't been able to do this...lol.

Best regards.:grin:
 
Geezerville

cigardave said:
I'm 62 and believe that I shoot better now than I ever have.

Age allows us to become a more knowledgeable student of the game... provided we have spent our cumulative playing years truly learning the game.

When the student is ready, the master will appear.


I credit my current improved ability on the fact that I have a 9' Pro Am in my garage. The table demands respect and my full concentration.
Click to expand...

They say wine gets better with age. In actuality I think I whine now more than ever! We older fellows do lose some of our stuff but I think I still learn this great game. I think I learn better than some young guys cause they think they have arrived at their destination. Older guys certainly do better in the mental game. Been there done that. It's all relative. I may not beat the really great players but beat lots of players. I knew at a young age this is a game you can play all your life. It's a passion. I hate when people quit playing cause they can't kick butt like they used to.
 
Game

I am 63 now, and I enjoy the sport as much as always, but I don't play as often, and when I do, it is just mostly for fun and a little competition. I don't seem to have the drive towards it like when I was younger. And trying to stay on top of my game seems to be harder to do, not to mention all the young guys that are getting better and better everyday.
 
As long as you don't have health problems that prevent you from doing the basics, you still love the game, you have the time to practice and WANT to get better...you can. Sometimes you have to start at square one again. Good luck to you. Johnnyt
 
Snapshot9 said:
I am 63 now, and I enjoy the sport as much as always, but I don't play as often, and when I do, it is just mostly for fun and a little competition. I don't seem to have the drive towards it like when I was younger. And trying to stay on top of my game seems to be harder to do, not to mention all the young guys that are getting better and better everyday.
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Me too. Good post
 
never discount age and cunning!

I used to think that I could beat almost anyone at almost anything. Now I still score some wins but I pick my battles much more carefully. You can play any game on any table if you want to compete with yourself. If you want to compete with others choose your game, table, and format to give yourself the best chance.

Age and cunning can beat youth and skill, at least in the short run and sometimes that is enough!

Hu
 
oldplayer said:
do i keep practicing or just quit? i am 65 yrs old and have played off & on since i was 18 yrs old....so i am an old player. i learned from a very good player, the best in my town. we played 1 pocket, bank and straight pool. i got very good.....no one wanted to play (you know the drill). then i quit for a number of yrs and started back in my late 30's....i was even better...really at a pro level. (banks, jump shots, nothing really hard to make)...then, after 10 yrs or so, i quit again. i started back 2 yrs ago (age 63)......what happened? i see these players like archer, varner and others getting older and losing the "touch". i practice, buy dvds etc. and although i am about 75% of what i used to be, i just seem to not get back where i was. and there lies the question...at an old age, do we just lose the touch or our muscles can't remember what to do? the younger players need to reap while they can! do i keep practicing or just quit? i just love this game! :)
Click to expand...

You never stop playing if you enjoy it. Your game will just take on a new normal. Probably not what it once was but as we get older none of us are what we once were.
There is a famous story that was told by Mickey Mantel. He had agreed to play in an old timers game. He was standing out there in center field and a ball was hit his way. He took off after it and it dropped a good 20 feet from him before he could get to it. Later he told a reporter he thought he had it all the way. For those few seconds when that ball was hit he was not an old man any more as he chased it down, True he didn't catch it but to experience that feeling again for a fleeting second was I am sure worth it. Why would you want to quit. You still have more personal bests to achieve, they will just be different..
 
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I'm 60 and my eyesight has degenerated pretty badly. I can still test 20/20 looking at a wall chart but those don't much apply to pool tables. Since I used to test easily at 20/10, 20/20 isn't so hot. My near vision is horrible, can't read my watch part of the time and can never read a cell phone. Glasses can't help me so far as pool playing, I've proven that to myself at some considerable expense.

My game has started coming back since taking it up again about a year and half ago - after a 14 or 15 year absence due to health issues. I would say I'm no better than 50-60% on the shot making so I'm trying to compensate by just playing smarter (which is tough for me to swallow). At my best, I could make nearly any possible shot and not fear missing. Those days will never return.

I'll keep playing and trying until I can't.
 
I'm younger than a lot of contributors to this Thread (48 last November), but I would consider myself an old player. Been playing since I was 12.

I'm not sure it's my game that has failed me as much as my memory. I think most of the time we remember things as faster, stronger, better than they really were.

The way I remember it, I was a world beater and could give Buddy Hall the 7 out. Well, at least that's the way I want to remember it:grin:

Steven
 
oldplayer said:
do i keep practicing or just quit? i am 65 yrs old and have played off & on since i was 18 yrs old....so i am an old player. i learned from a very good player, the best in my town. we played 1 pocket, bank and straight pool. i got very good.....no one wanted to play (you know the drill). then i quit for a number of yrs and started back in my late 30's....i was even better...really at a pro level. (banks, jump shots, nothing really hard to make)...then, after 10 yrs or so, i quit again. i started back 2 yrs ago (age 63)......what happened? i see these players like archer, varner and others getting older and losing the "touch". i practice, buy dvds etc. and although i am about 75% of what i used to be, i just seem to not get back where i was. and there lies the question...at an old age, do we just lose the touch or our muscles can't remember what to do? the younger players need to reap while they can! do i keep practicing or just quit? i just love this game! :)
Click to expand...


Get some contacts for your eyes.:D
 
I'll be 62 in June. When asked how well I play by someone, I generally reply " better than average " I never have played with the notion of making money or becomming a champion. My biggest game was probably the one time I played for $50 and half of that was somebody elses money and idea. I do love this game, recently I made the decision to take some lessons. I'm doing this because I want to play to the best of my ability, whatever that may be. I fully realize that time/age takes it's physical toll on each of us, my time to quit will come when I take the cue out of the case and can't remember why I did it...Dan
 
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