BCA Ignores Pro Pool and Continues to Fatten Industry Members' Pockets
- Thread starter JAM
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How many different, "organizations", have the players tried to rally under? Have they run out of acronyms yet?
Pool is a very individual sport with one tournament per year, in the Mosconi Cup, that forces them to unite for a few days of play. Scotch Doubles tournaments might be the only other notable exception.
Because of this nature it's hard to get people who don't intrinsically trust others to get together and work together. Look at the uproar over the WPA fines. But that is what's needed; a framework that everyone adheres to. It goes against their grain.
That is not a bad thing either, it's just the nature of the beast. A beast that has to be tamed or nothing will change. Darren is using 8-ball in his events which could bring about more of an audience than 9-ball and 10-ball.
Golfer's play golf. They don't play a completely different game than amateurs. They use the black tees to make it harder, and have more difficult pin placements. Pool can do the same thing: standardize the equipment (everyone plays on a 9') but make the pockets harder (facings and smaller size). If you change the game you lose the audience. So far that's all that's ever been done; random games, random tables, random pocket sizes. It's no wonder no amateur can follow it.
I just dont buy the standardizing of table and pocket size.
Foot ball and base ball both have real grass and artificial turf. Either one can affect a players level of pls on any given day by odd bounces or feet slipping.
As far as standard size.... Well there is a big difference between Fenway park and the astrodome and the size difference can affect whether a hit is a home run or not.
Should they both go to standardized sizes and type of field ? Some how I dont think changing to standardization would make either game more popular than they already are so why would standardization make pool more popular than it is ?
You're kidding, right? You would have one room specifically dedicated to a billiards team. That one classroom would fit 4, maybe 6 tables. If you have practice every day, as all highschool sports do, you would accommodate 12 kids, maybe 24 if you did a second session practice. So, you've lost a complete classroom for a couple dozen kids to use for 5hrs per week. Maybe have 'pool' class to better utilize the room, but now you need another teacher for what would be the lowest attendance class (dictated by number of pool tables) in any school.
If we didn't have standardization you couldn't buy an aftermarket radio for your car. It's DIN sizing. The same as mounting a TV or a monitor onto an arm or a wall mount. Expansion cards for your PC. USB devices. The internet itself relies on all of us using TCP/IP which works across all Operating Systems. Golf is the same game at your local club or on the PGA. Baseball in the minors versus the majors. Dartboards are the same size and shape.
There are industry people who read this silently and pay attention. The problem is that AZ is *not* a good representation of the playing public. We are all, for the most part, gamblers. We play 10-ball, 1-pocket, 14.1. We are not the general public at all; we are the diehards. They just play 8-ball on 9' tables the way their dad taught them. Adjusting the rules a little for ball-in-hand, and no 8's on the break isn't too much of a stretch. Playing Bonus Ball is not going to happen, nor 10-ball: it's just too hard for the vast majority. The players have to stop catering to AZ-types and short-stops and instead realize their target audience are the kids who grew up playing in a basement. Otherwise you're selling ice to Eskimos and we've been doing that for the last 100 years and look at where it's gotten us.
Just because it's a game doesn't mean valuable learning can't be involved. Many things could be taught with and on a pool table
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BCA historical records state NASA used pool tables to get astronauts ready for outer space. Hand-and-eye coordination. :wink:
24 is a realistic number si lets roll with that. How many kids on a high school foot ball team.? 50-60 with a couple acres dedicated to them and a 200.000.00 stadium not to mention locker rooms for theirs and the visiting teams.
How many on baseball teams ? Around 30 ? Not much more than the 24 you mentioned for pool. The same for base bal as football above.
Lets not forget about a dozen coaches also for both teams.
Expenditure for 24 pool players is peanuts compared to the expenditure for a half dozen more base ball players and around twice as many football players.
They could hold weekly matches again other high school for a drop in the bucket compared to other sports. Jays view point is not unrealistic when you think about it compared to the expenses high schools incur running other sports.
Most schools have multiple sports played on their football fields. This includes: Football, Soccer, Girls Soccer, Lacrosse, Field Hockey, Track-and-Field, etc.. On top of that, most schools use these fields for PE most of the year. They are also able to have multiple sports practice on the same fields because practice doesn't require the entire field all of the time.
Many of those sports generally charge an admission fee which helps to cover the costs associated. I think we know how charging for pool tourneys works out.
I had thought of this, but at least in our area, classroom space is really at a premium. Most schools are overcrowded, even in the wealthier school districts so it would likely be a hard sell to get dedicated space. That being said, not every city may be in that situation. I did recently listen to an old ABR podcast where someone did exactly this, got the school to put a couple tables into a space and they had permission to let kids play on lunch time and after school.
I was not only thinking of space consideration, but also maximizing the number of kids playing at one time while helping out local billiard establishments fill some table time in the early evenings. Our local family billiards hall has over 20 tables so they could handle a large number of kids, where 2 tables at a school would be fine for a couple of kids but at a certain point some kids may lose interest if they aren't able to get enough table time. Plus the serious ones would likely be wanting to come more often, bringing friends and/or family to play. I thought this could really help some struggling halls if there were suddenly a half dozen or a dozen high school teams that were suddenly active where there was zero before. I know the place I played as a kid made a lot of money off of us younger players. I think that is why they really supported the under 21 crowd so much with teams and tournaments.
Anyhow, just tossing thoughts out there. I appreciate yours as well Jay. Thank you for all you have done for the community.
Taxpayers cover most of those costs for the sports that city councils "approve."
Pool?..eh, not only don't they get money from the tax pool to build giant ballparks in great locations with all the equipment and coaches and stuff needed--nah, that money is used AGAINST pool, with zoning, age restrictions, licensing, etc. etc. etc.
Jeff Livingston
This thread has gone all kinds of stupid :thud::speechless:
You're very close
I'm in talks with the Athletic Director at a local High School. Not only will it not cost the school a dime (I'm buying both tables, all equipment and will coach the team) and I've still not received the go ahead yet?
It's FREE and they still have not said yes? I don't know what else I can possibly do except actually pay them for the privilege?
I've hit on the points that this brings more folks into sports that might not have been able to play other sports that require speed, strength and size. Also, mentioned possible college scholarships do exist. Not sure if it's a "space" issue or still some bad connotation with the billiard industry ?
You're very close
I'm in talks with the Athletic Director at a local High School. Not only will it not cost the school a dime (I'm buying both tables, all equipment and will coach the team) and I've still not received the go ahead yet?
It's FREE and they still have not said yes? I don't know what else I can possibly do except actually pay them for the privilege?
I've hit on the points that this brings more folks into sports that might not have been able to play other sports that require speed, strength and size. Also, mentioned possible college scholarships do exist. Not sure if it's a "space" issue or still some bad connotation with the billiard industry ?
Of course it costs them something. It costs them a whole room. Space that could be used for learning something other than a damn game.
The school also won't just affiliate themselves with some dude who wants to hang out teaching boys how to use their sticks. The school will have to do background checks on you before they let you spend time alone with the kids.
Before you say it, yes, the schools allow and need volunteers for programs, but those volunteers are always under the supervision of a teacher or other school official.
It must be difficult living such an oppressed life. Seriously, there are better forums to spew your crap.
An entire room is small in the scheme of things. The HS must be at least 150,000 SF or more? That's not "small"
As far as my background as a former cop (20 years ago) but it was not my career, I left early for more moola I've been through the paces, background, polygraph, etc. As far as teaching young "boys", I suspect there will be plenty of girls, but nonetheless I was a High School Baseball coach and certified by the state. And some "dude" is also an ACS Master Instructor.
And I'm not paying for the tables, every person that ever bought Magic Chalk is paying for it and they can and should take credit for it when it is finally realized. Not sure I would have reached in my own pockets to do it, but because of MC it's like a "slush fund" that wife doesn't care about, she just wants my work check
I don't make a lot in the chalk biz (that's why I didn't quit my day job in the insurance biz) But I have no problem putting all the profits back into pool.Not trying to post a resume, but just so you know I'm not a guy who just showed up at the local HS and said "hey, I wanna teach some young boys and girls pool".
They all devolve eventually.
At least this one has some common threads. Associations, growth of pool, business of pool, education, new players, etc.
I hate to say it, because vitriol doesn't solve a lot of problems, but JAM is correct. The BCA, in its current form is not doing the job they say they set out to. Certainly if I wanted to open a room they would offer me statistics showing how many people play, and how to cater my business to bring in more customers. But the reason they do it isn't for the growth of the sport, it is bring revenue into their trade association. That part I'm fine with; the goal of most business is to generate money so I expect it. All I would like is for them to not promote that they are helping to grow the player base, the sport itself, or any aspect of professional pool.
My tangent was about the players (how many times have we heard this...) forming one governing body, creating some rules for conduct, behavior and expectations and actually enforcing them. Sort of like what the BCA should be doing if their mission statement is to be believed. I also made reference on where to focus, the audience, and other associated points. Finally I gave some idea of why the player's previous attempts have failed.
All of these ideas, as well as those of other posters have merit. One day, someone might listen.
An entire room is small in the scheme of things. The HS must be at least 150,000 SF or more? That's not "small"
As far as teaching young "boys", I suspect there will be plenty of girls, but nonetheless I was a High School Baseball coach and certified by the state. And some "dude" is also an ACS Master Instructor.
And I'm not paying for the tables, every person that ever bought Magic Chalk is paying for it and they can and should take credit for it when it is finally realized. Not sure I would have reached in my own pockets to do it, but because of MC it's like a "slush fund" that wife doesn't care about, she just wants my work check
Not trying to post a resume, but just so you know I'm not a guy who just showed up at the local HS and said "hey, I wanna teach some young boys and girls pool".
This is very generous of you, both financially and with your time. My high school golf coach I mentioned was a retired gentleman who volunteered with the school. I hope that this works out and becomes a local success. Perhaps others would follow suit and do the same. Please make a thread if this comes to fruition, I'd love to hear more about it.