50+ pro players,cant compete?

[Cyril]

I heard Ray Reardon interviewed once and he said as you get older the nerves don't stand up to the pressure. It bites at you and a little bit of the hard gets smaller and smaller.

This is why players who have played at a very high and achieved a lot in their careers, carry scars. Sometimes an older man who comes in to the game later in his life (or starts to achive better results later in life), lets take Mark Davis or Peter Lines as examples... they seem to defy their age better than many of their fellow 40-odd year olds. It must be to do with them carrying less scars and also still having a fairly full tank of motivation.

[dcrackers147]

Father time waits for no man, getting older your confidence, co-ordination and eyes deteriorate. Also you are not as supple so something like stance may be affected without you realising.

[Peter2015]

Yep magician u hit the nail on the head there u playing well have a nice break going then u miss a sitter and scratch your head wondering what happened there, but then stays with u for the nxt couple of shots.

[magicman]

I think the reasons are numerous, failing eyesight, poorer concentration and as mentioned previously probably lack of quality preparation in the form of practice, both quality and quantity.

I recently had a prolonged break of 6 mths from the game and since I've been back my match game is nowhere. I've been scoring quite well, with 6 or 7 tons in the last 2 or 3 weeks, but I can throw an easy miss in at any time. I'm now 51 years old, and definitely aware of a consistency problem. Years back my A game was strong and my B game still formidable. Nowadays, my A game appears less frequently, is more sporadic even when it arrives, and my B game has devolved into a F game.

[vmax]

LIke stemidd, I was quite a good player in my younger with a HB of 140 and used to average about 1 ton a day and lots of 80, 90 breaks but also was playing a lot. After a few years away from the game and now in my early 50's and in the last few months I have been playing a lot but just cannot get anywhere near a ton break these days. The odd 50 or 60 break maybe but that's about it. My 'ambition' is just to make just one more hundred break but doubt it will happen. I feel as though my eyesight is the same, for snooker anyway, but it can't be. As Terry above says, it must be to do with hand/eye coordination!

You're also playing with different balls now. When you started out it was Super Crystalate balls and now they're Phenolic Resin balls that react differently and your muscle memory is probably still tuned to what you learned and got good with.

[throtts]

weezer,

If you want that ton bad enough you'll get it. This is the definite difference as you get older. 4 days ago my game went up another level in a practice session ( have my own table ), got lots of breaks, long blues flying in the black pocket with stun off the side cush for the black, it was all there, didn't think I was going to miss and the tight CB control was amazing. Felt the next step up the ladder was coming but was just waiting for it too click and by heck it was a big click. Now, if that happened years ago I would have been so hungry for my next knock the day after, but as I say, 4 days have passed without picking the stick up. Just seems as you get on a bit your priorities change big time and you can take or leave a lot of things. Must try and have a boxing day knock tomorrow then :snooker:

[weezer]

LIke stemidd, I was quite a good player in my younger with a HB of 140 and used to average about 1 ton a day and lots of 80, 90 breaks but also was playing a lot. After a few years away from the game and now in my early 50's and in the last few months I have been playing a lot but just cannot get anywhere near a ton break these days. The odd 50 or 60 break maybe but that's about it. My 'ambition' is just to make just one more hundred break but doubt it will happen. I feel as though my eyesight is the same, for snooker anyway, but it can't be. As Terry above says, it must be to do with hand/eye coordination!

[warren132]

I think its all about the concentration levels when we get over 40+ thats why older players start to miss the balls that they would never have missed when younger. Also money must be a factor too...when these players started out they all had nothing then when they stared winning the money just kept getting more and more surley when you have all the money in the world like hendry and the likes then it must be hard to keep doing 8 hrs a day...

[Peter2015]

I will always remember Steve Davis saying that when u get older u only remember the shots you missed and not the ones u potted !

[Ronnington]

It's not the eyesight going, it's the hand-eye coordination going almost completely. Every pro player in his prime had certain 'quirks' which his youthful coordination helped him overcome Hendry used to drop his elbow into his back on the backswing and then bring it back up on the delivery but he was able to manage that quirk until around 35+ years or so.

Whenever a pro had a technique which was close to perfect with no quirks he was able to carry on up to about 50 years or so, Steve Davis is a perfect example of this and so was Joe Davis. Neither had any quirks which had to be coordinated.

Take it from a player who has been there (although not as a pro) that without a doubt the hand-eye coordination does go south past 40 years or so. Yes, the eyesight generally gets worse but that can be easily fixed.

I also think the motiviation plays a big factor too.

Fascinating stuff

[jonny66]

Ray Reardon didn't turn professional till his mid 30's

[Terry Davidson]

It's not the eyesight going, it's the hand-eye coordination going almost completely. Every pro player in his prime had certain 'quirks' which his youthful coordination helped him overcome Hendry used to drop his elbow into his back on the backswing and then bring it back up on the delivery but he was able to manage that quirk until around 35+ years or so.

Whenever a pro had a technique which was close to perfect with no quirks he was able to carry on up to about 50 years or so, Steve Davis is a perfect example of this and so was Joe Davis. Neither had any quirks which had to be coordinated.

Take it from a player who has been there (although not as a pro) that without a doubt the hand-eye coordination does go south past 40 years or so. Yes, the eyesight generally gets worse but that can be easily fixed.

I also think the motiviation plays a big factor too.

[ace man]

I think snooker professionals should look up to Roger Federer. Aged 35, which is quite old for tennis, he's beating up and coming players with ease. The guy works on his game non stop, despite the fact that he has won it all.
Of course, tennis is highly physical, risk of injuries is great as years go by. But a professional snooker player not to be competitive at 40+? I just can't think of a reason why?
Granted, even in non physical sports such as snooker, fine motor skills must decline eventually, but compared to physical sports, participants should have much longer professional life span.

[vmax4steve]

For those over fifty the conditions have changed too much from those they learned with. They used SC balls on well napped cloths and subconsciously play the same game which doesn't work as well with PR balls on very finely napped cloths. The allowances for side spin and drift of the cue ball on the nap is different, the way the PR balls contact is different because they have more friction between them.

You can be aware of this and try to change your game to suit but it's a subconscious game where conscious thought is a killer and one can't walk oneself through every shot thinking 'I must do it differently now because the old way doesn't work, the red will not drift into the centre of the middle pocket with the nap if I aim for the far jaw, it will stay on the far jaw, the cue ball won't swerve as much as it used to when I play with check side, that's why I keep missing them, I will have to stun up for the blue'.

Basically you get down and play what you've always played, and even if you don't set out to, you will occasionally lapse into your old ways and bang, you've missed again.

True you're getting on a bit, but even if your eyesight is still good and though your joints have yet to get creaky your mind is still the same; it would be akin to learning to walk again, you'd still have a little bit of a limp that no one notices but you.

[stemidd]

im now 59, & stopped playing for a long time, i was quite good and a highest break of 106 with lots of 80s / 90s, in the last 6 months ive started to play again (a lot)but struggle with breaks over 40/50, its very frustrating to put your finger on why though and was the reason for my question to you enthusiasts out there