Short Stop Speed!!!!

Heckler

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Ok, I see this mentioned all the time in various posts but am yet to see a clear explanation of what means.

How good is a player who plays short stop speed?

How do you tell if you are close to that?

lol....

Sorry for asking but being an English man living in North America I would like to be clear on it...
 
Probably a really simple question to you experts...lol.....but would appreciate an answer
 
IMO, shortstop speed is a upper echelon local player, who is one of the better players in his/her local area, but cannot compete with Road players, top regional players, or touring professionals for that matter. Every town I have been to, usually has at least 5 to 10 shortstop players, depending on the size of town or city, or popularity of pool there. Hope that helps.
Regards,
Ian
 
I would think that a good example will be the best player in your area that is not a pro tournament winner but can easily win regonial tourneys. A shortstop may only need the breaks to gamble with a touring pro exspecially in his home room on his favorite table, is this the level you play at ?

Leonard
 
There has been a constant ongoing debate...

Heckler said:
Probably a really simple question to you experts...lol.....but would appreciate an answer


It's not as simple as it may seem. To some people it can range from solid B to A+ semi pro level.... It comes from the region and how the term short stop got started, but I think that the majority believes it to be semi pro or just below pro.. It can also be a term to denote a road player that makes a "Short stop", takes peoples money and is on the road again.
 
Ok, thats a nice explanation of where it came from...

I have always looked with some bemusement on the many different regional ways of rating a player...a player can be a A ranked in one city, go somewhere else and he is an C+....lol......i guess it keeps things interesting.....

I have always been able to tell by watching a player if I can realistically compete with them or not, and generally speaking I feel as though I can compete with most.
 
I'm sure someone else will be able to explain it better than myself, but in the meantime here is how I understand it.

Shortstop is essentially semi-pro. They can compete at the pro level, however not consistently. They would be an underdog matching up against the top players. However they can win against run of the mill pro players.

The only way you can tell if you are at shortstop speed, or any speed for that matter, is to match up with them and see how you do.

I guess this leads to another question though, what is it that seperates shortstop players and pro players? Pattern play? safety play? Shotmaking? Position play? All of the above?
 
Best local yokel.
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mental game consistency...

Cameron Smith said:
I'm sure someone else will be able to explain it better than myself, but in the meantime here is how I understand it.

Shortstop is essentially semi-pro. They can compete at the pro level, however not consistently. They would be an underdog matching up against the top players. However they can win against run of the mill pro players.

The only way you can tell if you are at shortstop speed, or any speed for that matter, is to match up with them and see how you do.

I guess this leads to another question though, what is it that seperates shortstop players and pro players? Pattern play? safety play? Shotmaking? Position play? All of the above?


I think the only thing that separates shortstops from pros is the ability to focus all the time and especially when it counts.. Of course the pros can't keep their focus all the time, just look at some of the break downs Earl's had, but they are the ones that can keep it on track the majority of the time and when it really counts...
 
I think it depends on your area somewhat. I mean I'm around lets see here.. Larry Nevel, Jeff Abernasty, Tony Watson, Mike Davis, Ron Park, Kelly Fisher, Sparky Ferrel, etc. etc.

Most of them are pros or always get top 3 in regionals. i think they're better than shortstop but a shortstop here would get beat by them regularly in regional tourneys :D
 
Ok...so as a short stop heading down to NYC....who should I be playing? not necessarily for $$$, although I am interested in a few games...but also just for a good game....will play anything 8 ball, 9 ball.....learning 14.1 as we speak
 
Heckler said:
Ok...so as a short stop heading down to NYC....who should I be playing? not necessarily for $$$, although I am interested in a few games...but also just for a good game....will play anything 8 ball, 9 ball.....learning 14.1 as we speak


PM Jude Rosenstock
 
The Shortstop is usually the first guy to try out the road player who has just arrived in town. And the road man doesn't have to always like it. :D
 
BPG24 said:
PM Jude Rosenstock


Thank you for mentioning me. Honestly, I don't know what shortstop speed is simply because it's not a term often used in New York. I mean, nobody is ever described as a "shortstop". We say, "open speed" or "A+" but not "shortstop" so I don't know.
 
jay helfert said:
The Shortstop is usually the first guy to try out the road player who has just arrived in town. And the road man doesn't have to always like it. :D

I agree with this definition whole heartedly:) .
 
Cameron Smith said:
I guess this leads to another question though, what is it that seperates shortstop players and pro players? Pattern play? safety play? Shotmaking? Position play? All of the above?

I think what separates the shortstop from the pro player is that the shortstop misses more shots ;) :D :D :D !!! LOL

Maniac (always a smart-a$$)
 
mikepage said:
Here's a little ditty I wrote a while ago that has a fictional Fargo player more-or-less answering this question.

http://myweb.cableone.net/fargopage/FTM.htm

My pool game can also be compared to the Great Lakes story about following a bucket of water.

About 20% of all the worlds fresh water is located in the Great Lakes. My bucket of water is swirling around somewhere in the Niagara River Whirpool about 3 miles below the Falls. :D
 
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