Why are age and gender factors?

skipbales

skipbales

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am curious if there have been any studies done about the differences in gender and age on pool.

Gender: Pool seems to be the one (maybe only) sport where strength is just not a factor, or at least not much. My assumption as to why the top several spots in world pool rankings are held by men is simply the math. There are a lot more male pool players so the pool of potential is larger. It is possible that the best pool potential player alive is a female but she doesn't play pool. Are there actual physical factors I am overlooking?

Age: At 71 I get I am less capable mentally and physically than when I was younger. Is it mostly mental? I am thinking of things like not retaining the lessons I have learned already and making the same mistakes over again as I forget exactly what I did right or wrong last time. Or am I just likely less coordinated? I know my eyesight is not as good. It is about 20-20 at half a table to full table but not good close up. I used to be 20-15, but I am not sure that is all that important. Am I just not able to train my muscles to respond as well or is it mostly mental?

Why can't a 55 year old man play as well as he did when he was 25? You would think the years of experience would count for more.
 
One possible factor is that there may be some innate biological/brain differences in hand-eye coordination between men and women.
 
In short, I'd look at testosterone. It very much plays a part in orienting an organism to a competitive situation. Confidence, among certain other brain states, seem born in it. The will to win, to not fail, to be dominant, to be the best, to know you're better than your opponent, etc. all seem related to testosterone. These are some of the most important factors in *winning* at pool. This would also very much explain the differences between men and women, and young men and older men. If I were going to design a study on this, I'd research the correlation between testosterone levels and competitive performance.

Just a thought.

KMRUNOUT


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PoolBum said:
One possible factor is that there may be some innate biological/brain differences in hand-eye coordination between men and women.
Click to expand...

Blecccch. Please.

The difference is desire. Many women don't enjoy playing against men, especially the chest-pounders. It gets old.
 
Some years ago in a similar thread I think Mike Page gave the most likely answer to why men dominate pool: because so many more of them play it. His analogy was something like this... if you had to bet on the best player on a random continent vs. the best player in a random city, which would you choose sight unseen? I'd go with the larger talent pool.

pj
chgo
 
Age wise, I assume pool is a “use it or lose it” game. Sure, an A player won’t fall to a C level from taking time off. But the highest levels of play for an individual must be maintained. Top pros put in 4-8 hours on the table every day. Aging pros start to establish other priorities in life and burn out on pool. Perhaps myelin sheaths deteriorate. Perhaps eyesight and stability fails you. Perhaps you’re just not as hungry. Perhaps newer players build on prior knowledge and learn new tricks.


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FranCrimi said:
Blecccch. Please.

The difference is desire. Many women don't enjoy playing against men, especially the chest-pounders. It gets old.
Click to expand...

Blecccch. Science.

"But over the past 15 years or so, there’s been a sea change as new technologies have generated a growing pile of evidence that there are inherent differences in how men’s and women’s brains are wired and how they work."

https://stanmed.stanford.edu/2017spring/how-mens-and-womens-brains-are-different.html

"Research reveals major distinguishers between male and female brains."

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hope-relationships/201402/brain-differences-between-genders

"Men are better in spatial coordination and have a better sense of direction (usually!). They excel in math and are great at interpreting three-dimensional objects. They have a better hand-eye coordination and more precise control of large muscle movement."

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/anthropology/v1007/jakabovics/mf2.html

"According to an anthropology article from the Columbia University website, men are more proficient than women at hand-eye coordination because of their aptitude in spatial coordination."

https://www.reference.com/family/better-hand-eye-coordination-boys-girls-bec4d3844512417
 
I've always thought from a pure physical standpoint there is no reason why a woman can't be just as good as a man. The one physical attribute that men have over women is they are usually taller which helps on some shots, but that's it. Others have commented on the mental factors which surely come in to play but nothing they mentioned could not be overcome from a determined female player. Maybe some female players could weigh in on this.



Most all of the older players I have known cited their eyesight as the reason for their demise.
 
You can ask Earl or Efren on the effects of aging on their pool skills. Efren supposedly said he wouldn't be able to beat the old Efren.

Earl is in his mid 50's and trying to make a living the only way he knows how, by playing pool professionally. Folks here make fun of his cues and the other crutches he wears (weights, headphones, finger splints) rather than look past superficially.

skipbales said:
I am curious if there have been any studies done about the differences in gender and age on pool.

Gender: Pool seems to be the one (maybe only) sport where strength is just not a factor, or at least not much. My assumption as to why the top several spots in world pool rankings are held by men is simply the math. There are a lot more male pool players so the pool of potential is larger. It is possible that the best pool potential player alive is a female but she doesn't play pool. Are there actual physical factors I am overlooking?

Age: At 71 I get I am less capable mentally and physically than when I was younger. Is it mostly mental? I am thinking of things like not retaining the lessons I have learned already and making the same mistakes over again as I forget exactly what I did right or wrong last time. Or am I just likely less coordinated? I know my eyesight is not as good. It is about 20-20 at half a table to full table but not good close up. I used to be 20-15, but I am not sure that is all that important. Am I just not able to train my muscles to respond as well or is it mostly mental?

Why can't a 55 year old man play as well as he did when he was 25? You would think the years of experience would count for more.
Click to expand...
 
Patrick Johnson said:
Some years ago in a similar thread I think Mike Page gave the most likely answer to why men dominate pool: because so many more of them play it. His analogy was something like this... if you had to bet on the best player on a random continent vs. the best player in a random city, which would you choose sight unseen? I'd go with the larger talent pool.

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

Is that the same as saying that if there are more women tennis or volleyball players than men you would select the women to win over the men?

Makes no sense.
 
Are you serious?????

Age AND gender play a huge factor, huge!

Need proof? Put top female pro up against SVB in 10 ball and see how she does.

Or.....

Put the best player you can find in their 70s up against SVB in 10 ball or Dennis O in 1hole.

Snip..........

Rake
 
Beyond doubt age is a factor in every sport.

Experience and knowledge raises with your age and can give you an advantage.

Stamina, eyesight, hand- eye coordination lowers when you get older an it gets harder and harder to keep up your level of play, especially in long tournaments.

Players like Earl or Efren were the top,top players of their generation, exeptional talents and thats the reason why they are still around and dangerous for the modern players.
But all the others, who "just" were top players, are gone or if they still play, they can`t really compete anymore.

I regularly practice with a guy who has multiple European Senior titles and I regularly beat him. I have nowhere near as much talent and knowledge as he has, but his eyes are really bad now, which makes it really hard for him. Frustration is also a big factor, because he knows how to do it, but can`t execute it anymore.
only exeption is 14.1, where his experience is still superior to just shooting straight.
 
Sad but true...Nobody, I mean nobody, beats father time. I'm 75, and it's more than eyesight. Probably eyes more than anything else, but it's also stiff neck, sore back, arthritis, bum ticker, diabetes, and more.

As far as difference in the sexes, yes it's there. However, even the top pros could see Chezka Centano (sp?) sneak up & beat them from time to time. And she's still in her teens or barely out of them.
 
Well...,

jrctherake said:
Are you serious?????

Age AND gender play a huge factor, huge!

Need proof? Put top female pro up against SVB in 10 ball and see how she does.
Or.....
Put the best player you can find in their 70s up against SVB in 10 ball or Dennis O in 1hole.
Rake
Click to expand...

But whats the point where it starts to matter and with what person. This is the first time in history where the age factor will be tested, the gap has already been reduced.

Efren at 60+ can still beat ANYBODY on a given day at any game. Busty is in the conversation as the best all around player in the world and can play even with any of the younger pro's.

So will the best of the best at 70 still be able to play with the pro's that are in there 20's or 30's going forward? That hasn't been the case traditionally, but tradition is changing fast!
 
jimmyg said:
Is that the same as saying that if there are more women tennis or volleyball players than men you would select the women to win over the men?

Makes no sense.
Click to expand...
No, it’s not the same. It might be the same if men had little or no physical advantage in tennis and volleyball and women outnumbered them by magnitudes - like in pool.

pj
chgo
 
KMRUNOUT said:
In short, I'd look at testosterone. It very much plays a part in orienting an organism to a competitive situation. Confidence, among certain other brain states, seem born in it. The will to win, to not fail, to be dominant, to be the best, to know you're better than your opponent, etc. all seem related to testosterone. These are some of the most important factors in *winning* at pool. This would also very much explain the differences between men and women, and young men and older men. If I were going to design a study on this, I'd research the correlation between testosterone levels and competitive performance.

Just a thought.

KMRUNOUT


Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums
Click to expand...

You may be on to something here. I don't know if it is limited to testosterone but I do know If I am 80% to make a shot in practice I may be only 50% to make it under pressure. Perhaps young men are just more "fearless". Although the might also be more rash. Not sure of the net.
 
FranCrimi said:
Blecccch. Please.

The difference is desire. Many women don't enjoy playing against men, especially the chest-pounders. It gets old.
Click to expand...

Good point. Note the difference even between cultures. That killer attitude seems to work good in individual competition but not so good in teams. Look at Tiger Woods and Share Van Boenig. They totally dominate as individuals but have much less stellar records in World Cup or Ryder Cup style events, even when it is in singles play.

The Europeans play their best as teams.
 
Patrick Johnson said:
Some years ago in a similar thread I think Mike Page gave the most likely answer to why men dominate pool: because so many more of them play it. His analogy was something like this... if you had to bet on the best player on a random continent vs. the best player in a random city, which would you choose sight unseen? I'd go with the larger talent pool.

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

yes that was my thought with regard to gender. What about the Age thing?
 
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