What Happens to Your Stroke at a Certain Age?

I think it must have something to do with our slow/fine twitch muscles firing during our strokes. Must be the same reason many senior pro golfers have gone to the long putter. The simple act of a straight back straight through stroke (in golf or in pool) just becomes a real challenge at some point in our advanced age. You look at a great golfer like Johnny Miller - one of the greatest ball strikers of all time. He completely lost his putting stroke at some point in his 40s, and for that reason alone, was never hardly able to compete on the senior tour.
 
Great thread!! At age 68 I sometimes play better, for short periods, than I ever have. But, a lot of the time it's just not there. One of my problems is definitely focus and I only practice for short periods of time usually. One thing I seem to do is miscue more often. When I was younger I might miscue a couple of times a year, now it seems like I miscue at least once when I'm practicing, sometime a couple of times. And yes, the frustration becomes a factor pretty quickly.

Yours is a perfect example of the aging problem.

You miscue more often, I'm guessing, because you don't see the cueball as well as you did when younger.

Therefore, to fix that, you have to add a new ingredient to your shot recipe. One more thing to think about: Take a moment to really look at the tip/cueball positions and align those properly. That's a good ingredient, but when younger it just happened automatically without conscious thought.

By the time we old folks integrate those new conscious thoughts into our shots, another problem emerges that requires the same process. Cripes, can't I just shoot some damn pool without going through all that? Nope.

But...and this might just be a excuse in the making, but....it's what makes the game so challenging, and therefore fun. Fun, I say.:smile2:




Jeff Livingston
 
Biggest thing to me is the inconsistancy, play great than not so great. (great of course is relative). I'm 75 and my usual opponent is 85. The game is one pocket which both of us started playing when we were over 70. My opponent has been missing some shots he usually made a few years ago, he also isn't lasting as long after about 1 1/2 hours he done. I guess it's just natural and there really isn't much you can do about, still enjoy it and will keep playing as long as I can.
 
Everyone is different so what follows is just me at 64.

Nowadays I believe I have more knowledge, and table and stroke awareness, than any time before. My eyesight is corrected reasonably well and nerves are not an issue for me. But two things are:

I’m not in constant combat anymore until 3 in the morning, nor do I give up my weekends to spend them in hours long tournament play. So I’ve lost a big edge thataway. Though I still like to practice on a regular basis, my opportunities to compete are far more limited.

The second thing is physical and something I always took for granted — my footwork and stance. A year ago I tore the meniscus in both knees, the left one more severely. And though I can stand at the table comfortably I can tell it’s different and I’m not creating all the minor adjustments that I used to for different shots. At the Derby this year I played reasonably well my first two matches. Then the toll of sitting down in the chair and then getting back up for each shot over and over took its toll and I played like ca-ca my last two matches.

So buried in there is the fact that unless you’re running marathons in your later years it’s possible that your legs, knees, ankles, feet are not helping the cause. YMMV.

Lou Figueroa


When asked what causes a player's skill to diminish as he ages, Lassiter responded, "the legs begin to go."
 
I’m only 27 so I’m not speaking w experience on the topic but my theory on ones ability to play their best revolves around playing 6 days a week at least and for 4 hours at least daily. I’m not saying the best players do this currently but I imagine they absolutely followed this path closely at some point in the past and have since just maintained. I do however think there’s a few physical factors that with youth come with ease. For example is it physically possible for some older gentleman to put in this much time and focus because it’s mandatory to basically be giving it 100% on every shot so idk how much the physical aspect comes into play but I’m sure it’s easier at 10-30 than at 50+ to play 4-8 hours a day every day for long periods all the while focusing on every shot
 
For myself it's not my Stroke.
I find other things in life more important.
Desire is my fault!

randyg
 
When asked what causes a player's skill to diminish as he ages, Lassiter responded, "the legs begin to go."

Everything begins to go.. I can' see.. I can't hear.. I can't pee. (unless I don't want to)

My 75 year old eyes are the BIGGEST problem. It's blind spots and fuzzy ball edges.

.
 
When asked what causes a player's skill to diminish as he ages, Lassiter responded, "the legs begin to go."

I agree, and unfortunately the room we are playing in is not quite big enough. Even though we have chairs quite often you need to move to not obstuct your opponents shot. Pretty sure the up and down does wear your legs out quicker than if you could just play and sit and wait for your next shot.
 
Everything begins to go.. I can' see.. I can't hear.. I can't pee. (unless I don't want to)

My 75 year old eyes are the BIGGEST problem. It's blind spots and fuzzy ball edges.

.

I just, 2 weeks ago, got a pair of glasses. I hadn't worn glasses since my lasik surgeries 20 years ago or so. Before that I wore them since I was 10 and learned to play with them on. I had lasik specifically to help with my pool game and now I'm right back where I was then. :frown:

It is helping on the long shots on the 9 footers for sure, but it is distracting and a hassle.

But it's fun fun fun. :wink:



Jeff Livingston
 
Everything begins to go.. I can' see.. I can't hear.. I can't pee. (unless I don't want to)



.
the facts:

GOLDEN YEARS
The Eldery Jokes
The Golden Years

I cannot see
I cannot pee
I cannot chew
I cannot screw

Oh My God What can I do

My memory shrinks
My hearing stinks
No sense of smell
I look like hell!
My mood is bad - can you tell?
My body's drooping
Have trouble pooping
The Golden Years has come at last
The Golden Years can kiss my ass.
 
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the facts:

GOLDEN YEARS
The Eldery Jokes
The Golden Years

I cannot see
I cannot pee
I cannot chew
I cannot screw

Oh My God What can I do

My memory shrinks
My hearing stinks
No sense of smell
I look like hell!
My mood is bad - can you tell?
My body's drooping
Have trouble pooping
The Golden Years has come at last
The Golden Years can kiss my ass.

That kinda sums me up lol. In my early 60's now and can't do anything as good anymore, not just pool.

I accept it though and still like to play. Rheumatoid arthritis doesn't help any though and 30 minutes on my home table is about all I want at a time.
 
The legs and knees are the most troublesome items for long sessions. Your eyesight diminishes some and requires better concentration on all shots.

I had a stroke(medical type) some years ago and now, at different times and with no warning, I get a shake in my cue stroke. Stays a little while and goes away.

If I gamble now it is for small stakes. I don't trust my abilities enough to play big sets.

I try to enjoy my time on the tables, realize, at age 73, I cannot play at the level I once did and just focus on shooting as good as I can on that particular day.
 
I can’t speak for everyone but by 19 I had mastered my stroke....with either hand.....and when you work that thumb right..... Oh no I’m blinddddd


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Playing for 54 of my 64 years here on earth, i would add that straight pool for high runners begins to diminish with age as the ability to stay focused past the 30 or 40th straight ball that you pocket is affected by age. Staying focused to run 100 balls or more is difficult for most 60+ year olds- even those in great shape - whereas running a rack of nine, ten, or eight ball and sitting down for five minutes is much easier right now. Longer sets of nine or eight ball will take their toll, as will playing in all day or full weekend tournaments, if you tend to go deep into the tournament.
Proper rest, good eating habits, regular exercise, proper weight control are all factors to help keep you sharp in this game well into your seventies, if you are blessed with good genetics and no other serious mental or physical issues.
 
I'm 51. Been struggling for a while. Two causes.... no longer have a home table. And I am getting far sighted as hell. Have to wear cheaters to read or see anything up close. And they do no good when playing pool. Can't afford a trip to the optometrist..... no vision insurance where I work. Really sucks.
 
I'm 77..Be 78 in May.I'm blessed with good genes..Don't need glasses and am in excellent health...
My only problem is focus..I don't have the killer instinct anymore...That "eye of the Tiger",...Lack of concentration...Sometimes if I lose a game to someone I usually beat it does get me worked up a little and I really focus on my next game and play better....

I play BCA league 2 nights a week...that's it..I used to play league and 5 tournaments a week but don't play tournaments anymore..I'm still working and am just too tired to stay out to midnight playing a tournament..
I still love the game but just lose focus...Frustrating sometimes....
 
So .... everyone has hiccups. We’re growing old gracefully. Enjoy every day. Enjoy every breath of air.... enjoy what you have. And if I do not play great pool today... tomorrow is another day.
 
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For some of us, it hits in your 50 or 60s. If you're lucky maybe not until your 70s. You've still got sharp corrected eyesight, still got solid fundamentals, a solid pre-shot routine, decades upon decades of experience of playing at a certain level of proficiency to draw on. But how can one describe what happens to your stroke when you get to a certain age, and why?

Shots that you've made in your sleep your entire life are no longer a given. No shot becomes too easy to possibly miss, particularly in a tournament situation when there is the added variable of pressure. Is this largely a mental thing, or is there some physical explanation for it, as we enter our latter years, that I just don't understand?

I'm trying not to accept it and to play through it. At times when I'm practicing by myself, I play like I did 30-40 years ago. Even when in a longer gambling session against a evenly skilled opponent, I can generally play pretty well. But something about a tournament and a shorter race, particularly against a weaker player getting a handicap, its just very frustrating to mess up easy outs and feel like I've never played before.

Anyone else in advanced years (60+) experienced this, and if so, have any of you had any luck overcoming this, or is it just something that needs to be accepted that our best years of playing pool are behind us?

We are all deteriorating, once we hit a certain age.
I all but lost my ability to play, because of physical ailments and neurological problems.
One thing that helped, was to shorten my stroke, the shorter the time involved in the shot process , the less chance to have a blip in the middle of it, I guess.
I also limit practice strokes to 3, and if that didn't work , I would just get down and 1 stroke everything, and call it good.
I know my best play is behind me , but I still want to play and have fun, and be as competitive as possible , so I will keep adjusting, and find ways, to get around my problems.
 
Playing for 54 of my 64 years here on earth, i would add that straight pool for high runners begins to diminish with age as the ability to stay focused past the 30 or 40th straight ball that you pocket is affected by age. Staying focused to run 100 balls or more is difficult for most 60+ year olds- even those in great shape - whereas running a rack of nine, ten, or eight ball and sitting down for five minutes is much easier right now. Longer sets of nine or eight ball will take their toll, as will playing in all day or full weekend tournaments, if you tend to go deep into the tournament.
Proper rest, good eating habits, regular exercise, proper weight control are all factors to help keep you sharp in this game well into your seventies, if you are blessed with good genetics and no other serious mental or physical issues.



No one here has mentioned the B word

BORING after so many years.

I've often wondered if the lack of focus is merely being bored, instead of "lacking focus."

I've thought about it quite a bit and I'm still not sure if I'm bored or tired or lacking focus pr my brain isn't working the same or what.

I hope it is not boredom, and the lack of that being mentioned here gives me hope.

Any here bored with the game and that's the problem?



Jeff Livingston
 
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