If con man Harold Hill from "The Music Man" told folks in Rockwall that they have trouble with a capital T because there was a pool table in town, he might get run out on a rail.
That's because the table in question resides in the Rockwall High School library, presided over by librarian Nicole Redmond, who sponsors, coaches and plays on the coed Rockwall High billiards team.
Many students who don't otherwise find interests outside the classroom shine at billiards. Most are not traditional athletes. And the no-pass, no-play discipline encourages many of them to hit the books, Redmond said.
"I've had nothing but great responses from other teachers, too," she said.
The Texas BETTER High School league – (Billiards Excellence Through Training Education and Recreation) – is sanctioned by the national Billiards Education Foundation but not the state University Interscholastic League.
That means that players qualify for the annual BEF Junior National Championship and foundation college scholarships, but they don't letter.
Redmond says billiards is like chess because it demands that players think two or three steps ahead. Mastering angles is important, too.
"It helps a lot with geometry and physics," Kimmons said. "My math grades have gone up since I've been playing."
Earl Munson, an official with the Billiards Education Foundation, said Texas was the first state to make billiards a school sport in 2001, but other states are following suit.
"We're in the pioneer stage of the sport," Munson said.
It may be the only school sport in which coaches also play, often against each other but sometimes against students.
Source: Billiards lets students rack up fun, learning at Rockwall High School [Retrieved 12 November 2009]
Bravo to Texas!
That's because the table in question resides in the Rockwall High School library, presided over by librarian Nicole Redmond, who sponsors, coaches and plays on the coed Rockwall High billiards team.
Many students who don't otherwise find interests outside the classroom shine at billiards. Most are not traditional athletes. And the no-pass, no-play discipline encourages many of them to hit the books, Redmond said.
"I've had nothing but great responses from other teachers, too," she said.
The Texas BETTER High School league – (Billiards Excellence Through Training Education and Recreation) – is sanctioned by the national Billiards Education Foundation but not the state University Interscholastic League.
That means that players qualify for the annual BEF Junior National Championship and foundation college scholarships, but they don't letter.
Redmond says billiards is like chess because it demands that players think two or three steps ahead. Mastering angles is important, too.
"It helps a lot with geometry and physics," Kimmons said. "My math grades have gone up since I've been playing."
Earl Munson, an official with the Billiards Education Foundation, said Texas was the first state to make billiards a school sport in 2001, but other states are following suit.
"We're in the pioneer stage of the sport," Munson said.
It may be the only school sport in which coaches also play, often against each other but sometimes against students.
Source: Billiards lets students rack up fun, learning at Rockwall High School [Retrieved 12 November 2009]
Bravo to Texas!
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