Tales of Terry

[itsnoteasy]

Yep I get you Terry, to be honest it would do my head in if I played at your standard and then couldn't get it back, I very rarely throw a dart now as I didn't make it to the big time so I had to walk away, I couldn't take mediocre lol.
Snooker is different as I love it but I am never going to be really good at it, so I can just enjoy it, how do you feel about it now , it's obvious the fire is still burning.

[lesedwards]

I'm in my late forties and I am a far better player now than I was fourteen months ago , and I am improving a little bit all the time, I can just feel its getting closer. J6 I play the old guys at snooker when the leagues on, and I know what you mean, they may stand up a bit on the shot but they cue beautifully right through the ball and commonly stick in fifties(not all of them mind ) and as for the billiards they walk the league every year, five man team with a total age of around three hundred and fifty lol.
I didn't play the game fourteen months ago

Maybe we need to start a new post. OLD PLAYERS AND STILL IMPROVING....lol a place where guys can go and submit there improvements. I am back working on a bunch of routines which I am getting from the Stephen Hendry App on my iPad. I am having fun. Tomorrow I am going up to visit Terry and I am sure he will clobber me but playing better players will always make you a better player no matter how old you are.

[itsnoteasy]

If I lived near Terry I would hound him lol, not just for tips but for tales of the good old days, I love listening to others life stories, everyone has a book in them , as the old saying goes.

[j6uk]

That's also the thing I'm dumbfounded by, the fact that you actually started playing really in your early 40's and managed all those achievements while in the UK against top quality opponent and, a max too boot.. What where they feeding you on that ship?

If I started now I think I'd be a 30 break merchant with the odd 50/60s within three years, maybe

j6uk (& all):

Don't forget I didn't play at all while in the Navy for 23 years, then started in the late 70's.

Terry

[Terry Davidson]

itsnoteasy:

The reason I quit in the 90's was initially because I was pissed that I couldn't achieve the level I had in Britain. I had a full time job then but I also had a nice old table in the house I bought when I returned from the UK. Then I was offered a job in the US at 2-1/2 times the take-home pay so we moved to Virginia and I didn't play at all down there, not even pool.

I'm not trying to get back to my 80's standard now but I am trying to get to the point where I can knock in a century if the balls are there. One of the biggest problems here is the condition of the tables is really bad and it's tough to even knock in a 50 on some of them. I do manage the odd century these days when I'm practicing on my own table on which the conditions are superb.

j6uk:

Just iron will, determination and motivation. I got the certification as a Master Coach so I could coach myself (not always the best idea) or even just to be able to tell where I was going wrong when analyzing video of myself. When I started playing again in 2005 I was 60yr old but determine to try and be the best that I could be. (Besides which, now that I'm retired I think it's good to have an activity which keeps me active and keeps the brain working. They say that's how you keep the 'oldtimer's disease' away).

Around here they are putting pool and snooker tables into retirement homes to keep the old duffers active instead of sitting around playing cards all day long or watching TV.

Terry

[alabadi]

Well like you I'm in my midish 40's but I believe iv maxed my potential

i never believe your too old to improve, it all come down to commitment, a will to learn and to put the effort in. I myself in my late 40s have been improving year by year, although only playing for 4 1/2 years and currently with a high break of 48. i'm confident that i will make a ton one day. either in a few years or many years from now.

as long as i still have a love for the game which i always will then i'm sure ill make it.....one day

Alabbadi

[lesedwards]

Cheers my thoughts exactly. Down in my billiard room practicing right now, going to see Terry tomorrow morning and check out some cues.

[alabadi]

Some familiar names on that list Terry in particular Alan Trigg who is a coach now, he was the first coach i had down at the Sheffield snooker academy. he coaches in the Ukraine and comes every summer to Sheffield for a couple of months.

[humperdingle]

i never believe your too old to improve, it all come down to commitment, a will to learn and to put the effort in. I myself in my late 40s have been improving year by year, although only playing for 4 1/2 years and currently with a high break of 48. i'm confident that i will make a ton one day. either in a few years or many years from now.

as long as i still have a love for the game which i always will then i'm sure ill make it.....one day

Alabbadi

I played once a week for a couple of years in my teens, max break about 30, i'm now 41 years old.

Of course when you're young, you know it all and frequently don't listen.

I wish I did, as I've improved from that 30 to mid 80s since starting snooker again in May.

Purely down to researching good technique and sticking at it.

Snooker begins at 40

[lesedwards]

That is awesome. I have my own table for just about a year and spend on an average of 1 hour a day and my high break is 31. Very frustrated with my game. I can go down and pot balls from anywhere but put me in a drill such as a line up and I am lucky if I can run more then 20. I am grasping at straws most of the time. I have gone through the Snooker Gym, Stephen Hendry App and the Whirlwind App along with taking lessons, I played professional golf and I cannot believe this game can be so tough or maybe I am just making it tough.

[j6uk]

j6uk:

Just iron will, determination and motivation..

Terry

..and plenty of canned spinach

[j6uk]

Snooker begins at 40

Maybe not
I believe starting in your 40s with some natural ability, a bag load of hours of quality coaching, practice and sparing 6-10 hours a week seasonally. It could be possible to make a 100 in practice after five years.

[mythman69]

Maybe not
I believe starting in your 40s with natural ability, a bag load of hours of coaching from top coaches, practice and sparing 6-10 hours a week seasonally. It could be possible to make a 100 in practice after five years.

That is good to know . . . playing 20 hours a week for 18 months . . . some coaching (fingers crossed for the hundred)

[mythman69]

Snooker begins at 40

Yes it does !!!

[j6uk]

Not meaning to get anyone's hopes up.. No pressure

That is good to know . . . playing 20 hours a week for 18 months . . . some coaching (fingers crossed for the hundred)