Starting over after 4 years

sneakypete1011

sneakypete1011

stroke it
Silver Member
Hey all, first time posting in this section.

I was wondering, have any of you taken an extended leave from the game and decided to start up again? If so, what is the best way to get back into playing shape so to speak.

Should I just hit some balls around for a few weeks and get back into the flow before resuming my normal drills, then gradually get into a league and some tournaments after that?

I played for a good 6-7 years with my father at the time. He got sick and passed away, making me want to stay away as it reminded me of him. Now that I've accepted what happened, I'm ready to start playing again. Played for the first time last night just smacking a few 10 ball games around by myself and boy did it feel great!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
Hey there, I gave up the game completely for about 15 years after playing for over 20. Getting back then, at age 60, out of shape physically, 2 heart attacks under my belt, along with quite a few cheese whoppers :D. (Phuk it, when I die, I wanna be sick)

Anyway, for me .... it was sitting back watching a ton of Pat's (accu-stats) videos to stir up my desire to play and then just start shooting. Of course I like straight pool and getting a stroke back and learning to focus for me is much easier with straight pool than banging balls with 9 ball, so ..... its coming around. Now I only miss every other shot! :thumbup:
 
Sorry to hear about your Dad. I was off the table for about 8 years. I'm in my 70's and had played for about 50 years before a stroke knocked me down. My advice to you is get a book, DVD, or instuction on the basics, like stance, straight stroke, bridge and so on. You will never find a time that is better to do this.

I played a lot with my Dad too and when I make a bad shot, I can hear him say, "Yes, you deserved that." Johnnyt
 
sneakypete1011 said:
Hey all, first time posting in this section.

I was wondering, have any of you taken an extended leave from the game and decided to start up again? If so, what is the best way to get back into playing shape so to speak.

Should I just hit some balls around for a few weeks and get back into the flow before resuming my normal drills, then gradually get into a league and some tournaments after that?

I played for a good 6-7 years with my father at the time. He got sick and passed away, making me want to stay away as it reminded me of him. Now that I've accepted what happened, I'm ready to start playing again. Played for the first time last night just smacking a few 10 ball games around by myself and boy did it feel great!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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I took over 40 years off. Boy did it feel good to be back in the poolroom. I have been back six months and now playing league and tournaments. My advise is practice practice practice. You'll learn the practice that is best for you. Get to know the people in the poolroom and play with them. You'll get back in shape.
 
I've taken years-long layoffs many times and always come back strong as ever just going back to shooting in games. I was never particularly good at getting shape, I'm just talking about shot-making. I recently got my first table at home and spent a couple of months pretty much setting up "can't miss" shots and concentrated on learning CB control. After a couple months of that I went back to playing games and I was missing most shots that were not patently easy. First time in my life that I couldn't shoot well and it was completely frustrating as I had no idea what was going on. After a few days of frustration, I realized that my eyes were in the habit of looking primarily at the CB rather than the OB. It took about an hour of consciously forcing my eyes to trust my stroke and watch the OB like you're supposed to and all was well again. Just my two cents in case you or anyone else stumbles into this.
 
There is a mountain of stuff on YouTube ... Manning, Tor Lowry, Dr Dave Jimmy Reid & many many others... (you'll find 'em.

When you watch a match, stop-start the TV & learn the pattern shots, that are right there for you to learn...

Good Luck...
 
I took close to 6 years off while I was stationed overseas, but I did play a handful of times while I was in Germany. When I got back to the states and did start playing again, it didn't take me long to get back to where I left off.

I'd suggest that you just start playing again. Join a league if it is something that interests you. Otherwise, find players in your area about your skill level and arrange to play a few times every now and again.
 
I would recommend Darren Appleton's instructional video. Darrens drills, preshot routine etc.. Great video. Shoot a lot of long straight in shots to make sure your stance and stroke are in synch. watch matches on you tube and shoot the same patterns to see where your weaknesses are and focus on those. Good luck
 
itsfroze said:

Try playing, it might work !

Just a wild guess. :shrug:
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I agree with this statement.
If you don't hit a lot of balls. all the knowledge in the world won't help....
...you need your pool muscles back....and your hand/eye coordination.

Every ball you hit, even if you mis, is a step up.
 
Play, play, play!

I played from about age 8 until age 19 and then rarely played until a a good shooting friend got me back into it 4 years ago at age 60. So I definitely missed what would be considered my "best pool years" to play my best pool. My buddy moved and our pool hall closed and I retired. I now have 2 Pat Diveney cues and another on the way and a nice 9' table in my garage that I play on daily. It brings me much enjoyment. I really don't think non pool players can understand our interest in the game. I would jump back into it with both feet and a loud yell. Just have fun with it and play the best you can and don't take loses to seriously. Think of your Dad often, I miss mine too. Best wishes.
 
I've taken a few multi year breaks and the first thing to do is make sure your stroke is straight. Do a straight stroke drill for a little bit and just make sure you're hitting the ball where you want to and that you're not accidentally imparting English. You'd be surprised after a break how much it might be off.

After that you can allow your subconscious to take over and remember where to aim and how hard to hit it etc...

If you get stuck with aiming - like I did last time for whatever reason - just slow down and make sure your head/eye position is where you like it and then start shooting some shots. Straight in and small cuts getting progressively tougher. Flexibility issues or whatever can make you not get down on the ball the same way you used to.

Then it's just play, play, play. And remember trouble shots so you can iron them out when you have some practice time.

You'll probably be playing better than when you left off within a short time.
 
Make it a party

sneakypete1011 said:
Hey all, first time posting in this section.

I was wondering, have any of you taken an extended leave from the game and decided to start up again? If so, what is the best way to get back into playing shape so to speak.

Should I just hit some balls around for a few weeks and get back into the flow before resuming my normal drills, then gradually get into a league and some tournaments after that?

I played for a good 6-7 years with my father at the time. He got sick and passed away, making me want to stay away as it reminded me of him. Now that I've accepted what happened, I'm ready to start playing again. Played for the first time last night just smacking a few 10 ball games around by myself and boy did it feel great!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

I took off 7yrs after my fathers death, it was my intent to take a week or two off and 7yrs later I hadn't hit a ball.

I went to a night club that had a bar table and started playing some guys that were showing off for the crowd, BINGO! That's all it took for the fun to come back to the game.

Its still there, I'm sure you'll get back soon. Good Luck!
 
One of the good things about returning to the game after a few years off is that it's a great chance to get your fundamentals off to a fresh start. Often, we are aware of a significant change that needs to be made, but we shy away from drilling down into it because we dread the short term effects on our play while we're working on the change. When you've just come back, however, you're already out of competitive shape, so there's nothing to lose.

After my long layoffs I do some drills, pay attention to my fundamentals, and play a lot of straight pool. Most importantly, play a lot of people if you can, and have fun being back. Lastly, pay attention to your mental habits. The mind has to get back in stroke as well!
 
My Advice

I was a pretty good player from age 15-26. I ran 54 balls in straight pool when I was 17. Then I quit completely for 26 years. I started playing again 7 years ago. The first thing I did was sought out a qualified instructor because I wanted to start again without any bad habits and have solid fundamentals.

I took lessons from Karen Corr and I think that was the key to rapid improvement...rock solid fundamentals. I recently ran 65 balls playing straight pool at 60 years old. So I would get a qualified instructor and then give it your best shot!!!

Wedge
 
Some incentive

Let me give you some incentive. After my 40 year lay off and 2 years after i started playing again I entered an Intermediate 8 Ball Tournament here in Alaska. There were 64 players and I managed to buy my self for 20 bucks in the Calcutta. I think I played 9 matches that were a race to 4 and 3 of them went hill/hill. Some how I managed not to loose a match and I walked out of there with 1st place and a total of $3,700.00 including the Calcutta. I was probably not the best player, but I think nerves got to a couple of the guys I played. It will probably be the high light of my pool career. But, it bought me a nice table!
 
Ak Guy said:
Let me give you some incentive. After my 40 year lay off and 2 years after i started playing again I entered an Intermediate 8 Ball Tournament here in Alaska. There were 64 players and I managed to buy my self for 20 bucks in the Calcutta. I think I played 9 matches that were a race to 4 and 3 of them went hill/hill. Some how I managed not to loose a match and I walked out of there with 1st place and a total of $3,700.00 including the Calcutta. I was probably not the best player, but I think nerves got to a couple of the guys I played. It will probably be the high light of my pool career. But, it bought me a nice table!
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AK,

You were the best player. Maybe not the best shooter but the best player & I bet you know the difference.

Congratulations & Best Wishes,
Rick
 
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Do some shot making drills and cueball and object ball speed drills,
The speed of the balls is what always went first, and was hardest to regain, the times I took off.
Many thanks to Tres Kane in Arizona for the shot making drill he showed me .
 
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