Hello you lovely bunch

[Cue crafty]

the 20 year old me would absolutely laminate the 42 year old me, the current me would get knackered picking out his balls!

Massive belly laugh lol on that one! He he.

[Cue crafty]

I hate watching someone line up the wrong shot, I know what's going to happen but they're blissfully unaware. I usually play with my dad and he does it every time. I must say I'm guilty of the same though, I think everyone is. The amount of times I've messed up a screwback shot and then thought, "you could've just rolled that in and been nice on the black you twat"

As a kid I was inspired to play snooker because of Alex, I wanted to play shots like him too but realised that was not a good idea after a while. I got great advice from an old guy I used to play with around that time, he said you are trying to screw the nuts off everything when there's a simple "just the weight shot" or a cannon you could play for the next shot. Big eye opener watching him play the cannon shots to create a good position I couldn't even see. Eventually I grew up and took the advice, took a while but paid dividends.

[jonny66]

Picking the right shot is the hardest part of snooker IMO. You can play the wrong shot with perfect technique, it's still the wrong shot.

[acesinc]

As a kid I was inspired to play snooker because of Alex, I wanted to play shots like him too but realised that was not a good idea after a while. I got great advice from an old guy I used to play with around that time, he said you are trying to screw the nuts off everything when there's a simple "just the weight shot" or a cannon you could play for the next shot. Big eye opener watching him play the cannon shots to create a good position I couldn't even see. Eventually I grew up and took the advice, took a while but paid dividends.

Exactly my point! I think some of us probably have some selective memory about how good we thought we were when we were kids. But I can definitively say this. Yes, the physical skills will deteriorate with age, but I don't think really all that much. How can one judge this? I like to do a thought experiment.....take an object ball and place it anywhere on the table. Now, take the cue ball and place it anywhere else on the table. How many times out of ten would the twenty year old "you" pot that ball? Now, how about a few decades later? If you would pot it 7 of 10 as a kid, maybe you will pot it 6 of 10 now. Not really that big a difference. So while your physical skills have deteriorated marginally, if you have been paying attention and learning from life, then your cognitive skills will have increased exponentially and you will be playing much smarter. I believe that intelligent play will win out over a keen stroke (without the supporting wisdom) most of the time. We all marvel at what great shots the pros play, but what is less often considered is how cleverly that shot choice was suited to the situation of the moment.

[jonny66]

Mark Selby