Pool should never be introduced to any youth program, this will be a horrible thing. BCA did the right thing. Pool is addictive individualistic game, i am afraid its effect is somewhat similar to drug addiction. Kids that become good at it will tend to forget about school and indulge into it, and the better they get the more desire for intense feelings, and drive them into gambling eventually, and in short time they drop out of school and loose their chance to recover.
One time someone asks Efren, would you want your kids to shoot pool, he said, no no no , they have to finish their education, and stay away from it. This is coming from the what used to be #1 and one that earned lots of money doing it.
One might say, what if kids that are involved in pool has to maintain higher grades A & B in their class, this is ok, but i bet you you will loose those kids because they will drop to C & D level in no time
I could not disagree more.
And in my weak un-educated opinion, what you have stated borders on ridiculous.
It's not about the game(s) at all, its all about
context. The context in which the game(s) is introduced and promoted. And to a lesser but still relevant extent, the public role models* associated with said game(s).
*we hear about the occasional NFL player getting a DUI, or Tiger Woods' troubles with his wife, but the game's good image usually transcends this individual's behavior, and the fan base still remains intact, rather than the fans presuming that it's the norm for that sport.
On the other hand, if little Bobby sees
Pool, Poker and Pain as his future lifelong career, then yes, by all means, Bobby needs a swift kick. But there is so much more to skill games, and billiards in particular, than pandering for money, but unfortunately
the public is not being told or shown this.
Does the 'golf industry' lead you to believe that its all about getting drunk with your buddies, driving around in a mini-car and whacking a ball with a stick...hitting on the beer cart chick, then fibbing about how many strokes you had in the end?
Even though thats what many people do- thats not what golf promotes, and its not what you see on TV.
You want to improve the image? Then improve what the public actually sees and is told about the game(s), and improve the image(s) of the people involved.
When the public sees an industry in disarray*, chock full of money grubbers, swindlers and jerks.... well duh, nobody wants to condone that.
*can anyone even agree on a set of rules?
When the public is shown a 'shady' bar-room world full of hustling drifters with questionable integrity at best.... well duh, the public doesnt want little Bobby or Jane to waste their life on that.
Somebody mentioned the word "clean"....and thats pretty much it. Pool needs a bath and a good scrub behind the ears, then it needs to be taken back out to the masses, like unto golf, with some frikin integrity for once. As the old saying goes: build it and they will come.
Then, bring on the kids, and I assure you, within ten years time, the average champion's age will drop dramatically.
Teach kids that competition is healthy, and is a good way to measure your own skill, progress, patience and concentration.
Teach kids that striving to have the hand-eye coordination of a surgeon is admirable.
Teach kids that billiard games are excellent problem solving exercises which are healthy stimulation for the mind.
Teach kids that there is not a thing in the world "wrong" with playing pool.
Teach kids that it's the "other things" that people do, (just like in any other sport), that make pool players look bad.
But the games themselves are certainly not inherently evil. Thats silly.
There's no smoking in our pool halls, and if anything, it's hurt business even more.
