Who taught you???

[Fast Lenny]

I was taught by Joe Sabia and we played at Classic Cue in Middletown NY. I managed that room monday-friday for a year because I had been playing for 6 months and just could not get enough of the game so I went to a poolroom to learn. Joe was one of the few players that played good there and he taught me the game, made me a player. He was also more then just a mentor in pool but a mentor in life, sadly he passed away a year ago before we could play one more game, I was due to go back to visit him in NY and spoke to him 2 days before he passed away, had to fly in early for the funeral. I would do anything for one more game of pool or one more game of poker with my mentor, best friend and closest thing I had to a father. RIP Joe, rack them up and I will be there to see you.

 

[ShootingArts]

mostly the hard way

Most of what I learned was the hard way. A little watching, mostly throwing my money on the table and having at it. I lost a lot when I started!

The closest thing I had to a mentor was Jessie Mills. I'm not sure how he spelled his first name and was only told recently that his last name was Mills, perhaps that is in error. He was just Jessie, that owned Shoppers Pool Hall last before it died. Jessie mostly minded his own business but would come from behind the counter to show absolute beginners how to hold a stick or make a bridge mostly in defense of his tables and cloth.

I never saw him try to help anyone improve their game further. However, I lived in the pool hall. If I wasn't in school or working I was playing pool or asleep and I was rarely sleeping in my teens. I had been coming to Shoppers and spending a lot of money as such things went at the time for several years before Jessie bought the tables and leased the building. Jessie started coming over to my table and showing me a couple of things. About the third time he did it I shot a resentful look at him because I had a youngster's pride and I have to admit I felt slapped for him to be showing me things because it seemed to be putting me in the same category as the raw beginners that were the only other ones that I ever saw Jessie help.

Jessie never came to my table and showed me anything again. However it was a rare trip that he didn't come over to my table and "show" whoever I was with a thing or two. Occasionally it was something basic to help them, usually it was something advanced to help me. We never said anything to each other about it but when I used what he had shown later that day or a day or two later I could always look over to the counter and catch Jessie grinning. When I started doing things that perhaps only Jessie and I knew my game well enough to know I had pulled a deliberate move it was the same way. I would look over to the counter and catch Jessie grinning.

Jessie is long dead now and I never thanked him. These posts are as close as I can come.

Hu

 

[pooltchr]

I couldn't begin to list all the people I have learned different aspects of the game from. Over the years, there have been hundreds. Every time I teach, I usually end up learning something new, whether it be from fellow instructors, or students. Whenever I am at the table, I am always learning something.

That being said, without a doubt the number one influence on my game was RandyG. With over 30 years experience playing, Randy showed me things that I had never even considered. Taking his class was the biggest boost to my game I ever had. I have also spent some time at the table with Scott Lee, and gained a lot from that experience as well. The things I learned from Randy was what really got me involved in teaching pool. I was so impressed with the things I learned in his class, I knew I had to become an instructor to share that same information with others.

I also had the pleasure of learning one-pocket from an older gentleman many of you may have heard of, Clyde McKinney.

Steve

 

[randyg]

"Blackie" was my coach for the first ten years, then I found the best Instructor in the World, Jerry Briesath.

Jerry is my Mentor, Coach and Friend. I had to unlearn quite a few things that "Blackie" showed me. I visit Jerry every year, and that's not enough.

Now I continue to learn from every student who enters our doors.

BCA Master Instructor
Randy Goettlicher

 

[murphy]

Terry Osborne

I've seen many great players. But the player I learned the most from was Terry Osborne. I watched and asked many questions. He would often be grumpy but he would share his know how. He practiced hard and played with great discipline.

 

[pulzcul]

Luther Lassiter
Stan Shuffett

Luther? Come on you gotta have acouple stories about Luther!:smile:

 

[Koop]

Hal Houle
Drivermaker
Cannonball - upstate NY world beater who has since passed away

 

[skor]

I'm still learning.....

Most of my knowledge I picked up by myself from watching others, books, videos and magazines and lots and lots of table time.

 

[pulzcul]

Way cool guys!!! Keep 'em cumin'.

 

[Matt Stockman]

This is a fantastic thread.

 

[Blackjack]

Cisero Murphy
Cisero Murphy was one of my early teachers and he has had a big influence on how I teach the game. He really loved the game of pool and he loved to give back - and learning how to give back was the most important lesson he ever taught me.

Buddy Hall
I learned a lot by watching Buddy Hall play some of the best 9 ball ever played during the 1980's. I used to watch him at tournaments, watching his stroke and cue ball control for hours - then when I got home, I would try to emulate the way that he controlled the rock. I'm still trying, and nowhere close to being half as smooth as Buddy.

Cowboy Jimmy Moore
I had the awesome privilege of becoming good friends with Cowboy Jimmy Moore. He taught me more things about the grip and the stroke than my brain could handle. He was so knowledgeable, and that knowledge enabled him to play the game at a world class level for his entire life.

Danny Harriman
As far as shot-making and decision-making at the table, I have learned a lot from Danny Harriman. The knowledge that Danny possesses is immeasurable and if you ever get a chance to meet him and pick his brain about the game, take advantage of it. He really is as good of a teacher as he is a player.

Tony Robles, Randyg, Tommy Kennedy
I learned a lot about "attitude" from Randyg, Tommy Kennedy, and Tony Robles. Most of what I learned from all 3 of these men was directly applied to my life away from the table. If you're ever in search of a good role model, looking at these 3 men is a pretty good place to start, IMO.

 

[sjm]

Three people figured most prominently in the development of the knowledge I have about pool:

Dad
My father introduced me to pool at a very young age, and I was sweating matches of world class players by the age of eight. In February, 1969, when I was about to turn eleven, my father bought a Gold Crown I from his friend Mike Eufemia, and he then taught me how to play. I probably played 2-3 hours per week with my father from 1969-76, all of it straight pool.

Jack Colavita
I began driving in 1976 and, during the summers, I went to the Golden Q in Queens, NY, five days a week, always in the evening. I became quite close with New Jersey sharpshooter Jack Colavita. The Golden Q wasn't Jack's home room but he often came by. I often played straight pool with him (back then he went to 125 while I went to 40 for $5 a game, and he had a one-inning win on a few occasions). Though we were betting, Jack always taught me things as we played, and he taught me much of what I know about straight pool.

Irving Crane
I saw Irving as a kid, having seen him play on a few occasions, but had never met him. At the ACUI straight pool championships in March 1978, our paths crossed again, and I took the trouble to introduce myself, noting that I'd watched him as a kid. He was very friendly and a close friendship was the result, one that last for about eight years. In particular, we spent lots of time together during the PPPA World Straight Pool Championships over the years. Irving loved to talk about pool, especially defensive and tactical theory. and sensed my enthusiasm for those subjects. His classy demanor and style impressed me greatly, and nobody had a greater influence on the way I conducted myself at the pool table than Irving.

So, who taught me the most about pool? Was it dad, Colvita, or Crane? The answer is none of them. Most of what I've learned about pool I learned by frequently attending pro events, which I've done for over thirty years. I've surely attended pool tournaments in twenty five different cities, and have taken notes on the play for years. My guess is that I've watched tens of thousands of hours of pro level play live. There is no substitute for watching the pros, and the ones I've watched for all these years are all, to be fair, mentors of mine.

 

[paksat]

Some dude at the college that use to always come in and shoot when he got out of class in our game room.

I could hardly hold my stick straight when I first started playing him, but after just 3-4 months, I had learned all the basics and was no surprise running 5-6 balls or even the table.

He never taught me a damn thing. I just learned from watching him, his stroke, and his attitude.

He was probably a strong B player, maybe even an A on some days.

I don't think he even knew he was a pretty strong player either.

 

[pulzcul]

So, who taught me the most about pool? Was it dad, Colvita, or Crane? The answer is none of them. Most of what I've learned about pool I learned by frequently attending pro events, which I've done for over thirty years. I've surely attended pool tournaments in twenty five different cities, and have taken notes on the play for years. My guess is that I've watched tens of thousands of hours of pro level play live. There is no substitute for watching the pros, and the ones I've watched for all these years are all, to be fair, mentors of mine.


Well written SJM

 

[Sam Waltz]

Teachers...

Danny Harriman brought me into this "pool" world and a friend named
Rob Moreno brought me over to the SPF way of thinking while I was over
in Okinawa, Japan. Look either up for top notch instruction and
knowledge.

Oh yeah...there is also my friend Darren Everett, who I've learned many
a lesson from both pertaining to pool and life. Let's just say he's got
his marbles in the right place.

 

[NYC cue dude]

George Mikula
Ginky
Thorsten Hohmann (approx 3000 hours of shared table time/lessons over nearly 2 years). Undoubtedly, he's my greatest pool influence, but more importantly, my closest friend.

Rg

 

[crawfish]

Every swinging di#$ that has ever beaten me out of a quarter.

 

[CrownCityCorey]

Here is your chance to praise or curse [as the case may be] whomever taught you to play this wonderful infuriating game. I think all of us in this forum would love to hear stories of our teachers and I'm sure that those same teachers could use some praise.
I'm gonna throw most of my thanks to Little Joe V. and to all the guys that shoot better than me at home. I'm still learning. Thanks Don:thumbup2::thumbup2:

I am self-taught; however I have learned a great deal from watching the greatest players and reading instructional material - primarily from magazines.

For game specific strategies (8-ball, Straight Pool, and One-Pocket), I have sought out and learned a great deal from Frank "DaBarber" Almanza (forum member).

 

[blah blah]

Hugh Tallant
He taught me: stroke, englishes, safety, position, heart, fearlessness, never give up, you get a whole lot more by making people laugh than you do by making them mad, "where the hell are you going with that cb/ are you sure you want to play pool and not take up crochet?" and: there is no money in pool. After 5 years of hard constant lessons and travel, I quit pool and got a degree in political science.

once i got a degree and a career going, 6 years later, I fell back into pool, but by then he was long gone...

bob smith
using rails- lots of them- to get position, always staying in line rather than crossing it, getting back in line within at most three shots when approaching a new layout, and: "relax into intensity." Trust yourself.

"filipino gene"
extreme english: the subconcious will scream and you may aim for extreme but then amazingly fire at a completely different place on the cb. (!) you must breathe and trust, hit with extreme. follow through. and: there is no money in pool.

"r"
hair's breadths on the cueball make huge differences. practice getting the cb to absolutely everywhere. (pockets are bigger than a cb: with a combination of cheating the pocket and using english, you should be able to get anywhere.) and: there is no money in pool.

one- armed dude with long red hair
some guys really do play better and better the longer the night goes on. Even dawn doesn't wear them out. Me, though, i have the amazing, supernatural ability to turn into a brainless zombie. and: you can lose money at pool.

andrew
slow players suck. they suck the life out of you and they suck the money right out of the game. is it really better to make sure that all money goes right to the house in table time no matter who wins?!? and: there is no money in pool.

young chong
ego can break the very best players right down to my level.

little miss low- cut and high heeled boots
seriously great players will miss the stupidest shots against you for the money. but i won't. : ) and: the little money you get at pool is worth so very much more than the spending power.

this is fun!
: )

 

[tom mcgonagle]

Every player, I watched for hours at a time, in Razz's poolroom in Everett, Ma. What I looked for, was things they did, that I had no idea could be done on a pool table. When they stopped playing I would set up the situation they were in and I would play, the shot, that impressed me, until I did it as well, if not better, than they did.

I had to learn fast. I was always playing for money.

______________________________

http://tommcgonaglerightoncue.com

Some of the things, I teach, are in the story.