Shoot a Million Balls? Give me a break.

[lfigueroa]

At best, it takes 30 seconds to make one shot. So a million balls takes 30 sec. times 1 million balls equals 500,000 minutes.
500,000 minutes divided by 60 minutes per hour equals 8333 hours.
Let's say you practice for 2 hours per day, every single day.
8333 hours divided by 2 hours per day equals 4167 days.
4167 days divided by 365 days per year equals 11.42 years.
2 hours per day may not seem like much but for every single day for 11 years? That's a grind.
Jim Rempe was born in 1947, started playing at age 6. He turned pro at age 22. He won his first major tournament in 1971. The rest is history.
How about you? A million balls? Maybe at best, 30-40 years? Start playing at age 15? Hey. You hit a million, maybe by 50.
I was told that no one gets as good as Cole, as quickly as Cole without a mentor. And I bet Sax never told Cole to hit a million balls.
And I was told that no one in the Bay Area (San Francisco circa 1966) could beat Cole when he was 16.
Any instructor that says, "Hey bud. Hit a million balls. Stick with me."
Run, don't walk?
You could become a champion in just a few years if you can think like a world class genius.
Or if someone who already knows takes you under his wing.
Good luck.

You gotta do the road work, you gotta do the reps, you gotta put in the time.

I believe the recommended dosage is 10,000 hours of focused time to generally get *real* good at something like sports or doing something like playing a musical instrument. And, whether it was focused or not, I'd guess than many, many guys here passed that milestone quite some time ago. It's not a bridge too far.

Lou Figueroa

 

[Frosty]

And I still stink

Liar liar pants on fire

 

[MitchAlsup]

I see. I don't know what the action is like at bars these days. If you frequent a single bar or only a few, your level of play is well known.

I introduce myself as the "local pool hustler". {Although I don't play for money 99.9% of the time}

Are you in it for the money?

I do not have a gambling bone in my entire body. (Took too many courses in Statistics)
a) winning $5-$100 does me no monetary good at all (rounding error)
b) winning $5-$100 causes me to feel badly for the loser (Christian training)

Many years ago, there was action on bar tables. $5 ring games in 1975. You could make a living, maybe, with your stated skills. Over decades, who knows, you might have a mattress stuffed with a million bucks.

My net worth is over $15M right now, and I only have ~20 years left to spend it all.

Have you reached a plateau? Over how many years? Just a player for recreation?
Why not go for the regulation tables and the big tournament money?

I, personally, don't like to hang around with big crowds. Thus, I only frequent the local bar Sun and Mon when the crowd is lowest.

They say, love conquers all. But your game may still have plateaued.
You sound satisfied.
Good.

I am satisfied--mostly--there are a few things I would like to have done better*.
I worked hard over 40 years feeding and maintaining my family and leaving the wife to grow the money.
Now I get to enjoy retirement where I never have to worry about money again.

(*) of those things I would like to have another chance at--they all require working for corporations--something that I am no longer willing to do.

 

[Banger]

Most people, apparently not all, know that that saying is not meant to be taken literally.

And of course, you'll need a cue that hits a ton.

 

[Black-Balled]

Liar liar pants on fire

Oh, God...I am sure I can prove it.

 

[SmoothStroke]

I have so many hours in the game owes me time and back pay.

 

[Island Drive]

To become great at anything, it becomes an addiction and your ride begins.

 

[mikemosconi]

Dallas West stated in a 1980s video on a 100 ball run that he had already shot over a million balls - he was still competing 20 years later so there you go.
Every great pool player played at a clip that could reach a million balls in a 5-10 year span . Most had a significant stretch of 8 hours a day or more at pool for at minimum 3 to 5 years.

 

[trob]

I play 2 hours every day. It’s not a grind. It’s a pleasure. It’s the best part of my day. work is a grind. Mowing the lawn is a grind lol After 35 years of playing this game I still love it just as much. If it’s a grind may you don’t love the game like you think you do.

If you can go from not playing to becoming a world champion in a few years your an idiot savant. Don’t compare yourself to the jim rempes of the world. Allen hopkins ran 100 balls by the time he was 11 I believe (someone correct me if I’m wrong.. he was a young kid that’s for sure.) That’s not normal. Will hoppie was doing tours of Europe playing snooker before the age of 10 . He became so good they had to change the rules to make it harder. He did that with a terrible side arm stroke that you would never teach anyone to do. Lol these are not normal humans lol

I agree a million balls sound crazy but tiger woods insists he hit 1000 balls a day. He felt it was the only way to make everything as 2nd nature as possible . Take that for what you will.

 

[JolietJames]

This isn't too far off when you factor in the starting talent.
I read Greg Norman shot his very first round of golf as a child at around par.
John McEnroe was a born tennis player. He did not need to hit 1M balls to become a world-class player.
His brother Patrick had about 1/3 the talent John had, but after hitting 1M balls he was good enough to make the tour.
He was never a threat to win a major but good enough to be pro which is an amazing feat in its own right.
I know others who have hit well over 2M balls, never took a lesson, and maxed out at a low-level APA 7.
Natural-born talent is huge and lets you cut corners on the way to greatness.
Others gotta be a Patrick.

 

[gregcantrall]

I bet Sax never told Cole

Oh well you got my attention. I had some interesting interactions with Cole. 3877 is the number scribed in the stainless joint of the cue I purchased from Cole.
My first conversation experience with Cole came when I drove him from Kelso to Seattle in his truck. Oh did I get stories. A perk for a good cab driver.
Any Cole stories are appreciated. Thanks

 

[jasonlaus]

I did many years of 5 to 10 or more hrs/day and always practiced by myself, which more than doubles the amount of balls hit. 1,000,000 isn't that many, I just simply never wanted to be a world champion because of the amount of time and dedication it actually takes

 

[td873]

4167 days divided by 365 days per year equals 11.42 years.
2 hours per day may not seem like much but for every single day for 11 years? That's a grind.

And that's why not everyone is a world champion. If you can't/won't grind for 11 years, you deserve mediocrity.

-td

 

[JolietJames]

And that's why not everyone is a world champion. If you can't/won't grind for 11 years, you deserve mediocrity.

-td

Mediocrity is relative.
At my best I was maybe a 670 (before Fargo existed).
I was still a monster among mice in my area with only a couple bigger fish in the pond.
If you are comparing to world-class pool, that is a world away from the norm.

 

[Island Drive]

Grady, when he moved/opened his pool room in Colorado Springs in the late seventies he always said ''two million''.