The young promises of World’s Billiard

I am fascinated to see how well some kids play billiard. No more than 8 years old, but they run shots as if they were 25. From very young they have grown up with the sport and now billiard is already part of their short lives. They were born to play billiards. Innate talent, training and practice make them great billiard players in small bodies. In today's article I wanted to share with you some videos of these prodigious kids that now make us drool and which someday will become world champions.

I will write about four children, two which dominate Pool and two others that are incredibly good at Snooker. The first is the New Yorker Keith O'Dell Jr. This young Pool billiard player will now become eight years old but when in 2012 his parents uploaded his most famous video (accumulated nearly nine million visits) he was just five years old. His whole family has played billiards, so he has inevitably followed the same path. This is his fantastic history.

From New York we travel to the Philippines, fertile ground for the practice of Pool, where there are many young billiard players trying to become some day like his idol, Efren Reyes. One of them is Kyle, now 13 years old. Barefoot, he cleans 9 ball tables like no one else. Soon he will become a Carlo Biado or a Jeff de Luna.

Taking into account the technique and precision required for Snooker, seeing these playing like this is even more fascinating. This Asian boy, 3 year old, just comes to the table with the brackets installed by his father. If he does not lose the rhythm and routine, how will this kid play when he becomes 16?

Westley Cooper is still very young, but he can tell all his school friends he is participating in the Snooker Legends and has played with Stephen Hendry himself. Again we are faced with an innate talent, a billiard prodigy who in a few years we may enjoy on the professional circuit.

What fascinates me about these billiard players is their kindness and authenticity. They just play billiard. I wish I could go back a few years ago to return to being the kid who played billiards on a box of Cokes.

Write in the comments what you think of these precocious talents and how old you started playing.