How to classify if someone is talented at snooker, disregard of age?

[liliput]

someone who can do things that others only dream about

Sums it up

[Slh]

http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/21/maga...olvin.fortune/

[poolqjunkie]

I played Mark Selby at Wille Thorne's club in Leicester when he was 13. He was about 4 foot tall (grown up a lot since!), his stance was laughable, he moved all over the place, he jabbed at the cueball instead of feathering it smoothly, he barely knew any safety shots - in short, his cue action, style, and technique were absolutely terrible.

Honestly, it was so bad you would think it was a kid off the street who had never played the game.

He beat me 3-0 in about 25 mins, potting every ball he went for.

Talent is intangible and indescribable.

I love this story, thanks for sharing. :-D
Cannot imagine Mark Selby being only 4 feet LOL.

[eaoin11]

I played Mark Selby at Wille Thorne's club in Leicester when he was 13. He was about 4 foot tall (grown up a lot since!), his stance was laughable, he moved all over the place, he jabbed at the cueball instead of feathering it smoothly, he barely knew any safety shots - in short, his cue action, style, and technique were absolutely terrible.
He beat me 3-0 in about 25 mins, potting every ball he went for.

This really reminds me of how much I loved sports and games as a kid. Whether it was skating, football or whatever, I always thought I'd die of disappointment if there was a cancellation and I guess most kids are like that. When you get older there are so many other priorities and distractions, perhaps that could sometimes make it harder to learn something with the same intense focus that kids have when doing something they love.

And that makes me think back to Jimi Hendrix, having nothing else, playing guitar must have been his only outlet, escape and entertainment. Imagine just how good his practise would have been with that kind of motivation and enjoyment. Just a thought...

In my answer to the OP I included really loves the sport, and I guess this is why. Walter Lindrum practised 14 hours day, Donald Bradman also practised a great deal from an early age. If you're trying to pick a young player who might go far I guess it's not a bad indicator if they want to play it every minute of the day.

[inevermissblue]

Anyone that manages to make their first century break within 1 year of playing has an obvious natural talent(against an opponent obviously!). This is by no means rule of thumb, but it seems to indicate a players progression in terms of ability.