Instructors & Hall Of Fame

While I admire and respect pool instructors to the end of the earth, I'm not sure that instructors should get in for teaching excellence alone. Surely, there are no hitting instructors or pitching coaches in Cooperstown (Baseball HOF), though a few are counted as legends in these crafts, and taught more than a few baseball legends.

That said, some pool instructors are far more than instructors, and as pool has a meritorious service category, deserve consideration.

The instructor that, in my opinion, is most deserving of being recognized for meritorious service is Jerry Briesath, who is one of the game's truly great ambassadors. Letting Jerry in would set the right precedent for future recognition of others who have followed in Jerry's footsteps.

Stu...You're correct about Jerry. He definitely deserves entry under the meritorious service catagory. That is only voted on every other year, and some kind of stupid politics has kept Jerry from getting the award. 3 years ago the PBIA Executive Committee voted unanimously to form a PBIA Hall of Fame, with Jerry as the first inductee. That was put down immediately by the BCA Executive Board of Directors. Their reasoning was that it would be confused with the BCA Hall of Fame, which is ridiculous. There is already a 1p HOF, a 14.1 HOF, a Trick Shot Artist HOF. One more would cause no more confusion, imo. Our HOF was renamed the Jerry Briesath Instructor of the Year Award, over our committee objections. Randy Goettlicher was the 2018 recipient, and I was the 2019 recipient. Still no personal award for Jerry, which is maddening and very sad for someone who has contributed so much to the sport. :angry:

Scott Lee
2019 PBIA Instructor of the Year
Director, SPF National Pool School Tour

sjm said:

While I admire and respect pool instructors to the end of the earth, I'm not sure that instructors should get in for teaching excellence alone. Surely, there are no hitting instructors or pitching coaches in Cooperstown (Baseball HOF), though a few are counted as legends in these crafts, and taught more than a few baseball legends.

That said, some pool instructors are far more than instructors, and as pool has a meritorious service category, deserve consideration.

The instructor that, in my opinion, is most deserving of being recognized for meritorious service is Jerry Briesath, who is one of the game's truly great ambassadors. Letting Jerry in would set the right precedent for future recognition of others who have followed in Jerry's footsteps.

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Scott Lee said:

Stu...You're correct about Jerry. He definitely deserves entry under the meritorious service catagory. That is only voted on every other year, and some kind of stupid politics has kept Jerry from getting the award. 3 years ago the PBIA Executive Committee voted unanimously to form a PBIA Hall of Fame, with Jerry as the first inductee. That was put down immediately by the BCA Executive Board of Directors. Their reasoning was that it would be confused with the BCA Hall of Fame, which is ridiculous. There is already a 1p HOF, a 14.1 HOF, a Trick Shot Artist HOF. One more would cause no more confusion, imo. Our HOF was renamed the Jerry Briesath Instructor of the Year Award, over our committee objections. Randy Goettlicher was the 2018 recipient, and I was the 2019 recipient. Still no personal award for Jerry, which is maddening and very sad for someone who has contributed so much to the sport. :angry:

Scott Lee
2019 PBIA Instructor of the Year
Director, SPF National Pool School Tour

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The opinion of yet another great ambassador of pool means a lot, Scott, and I think we need to find a way to get that door open by inducting Jerry B, so that guys like you, Randy G and Mark Wilson can follow.

sjm said:

The opinion of yet another great ambassador of pool means a lot, Scott, and I think we need to find a way to get that door open by inducting Jerry B, so that guys like you, Randy G and Mark Wilson can follow.

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1,000% agreed - every one of them you mentioned belongs in the HOF.

DrCue'sProtege said:

Is there any chance some of these instructors could get elected to the Hall of Fame?

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Why not? Robert Byrne was inducted in 2001. Not so much a hands-on instructor, but certainly responsible for a lot of top notch instruction.

Saturated Fats said:

Why not? Robert Byrne was inducted in 2001. Not so much a hands-on instructor, but certainly responsible for a lot of top notch instruction.

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Well said.

Byrne was surely inducted chiefly based on his legendary published pool materials, but he was also a great commentator, a capable instructor and a great ambassador for cue sports. His books revolutionized and popularized the game, as did those of fellow HOFer Walter Tevis. Byrne certainly has equals as a pool author, with George Fels and Phil Capelle coming to mind, but he's so much more than a great pool author.

... and guys like Jerry Briesath, Randy Goettlicher, Scott Lee and Mark Wilson are so much more than just great instructors, which is why they would all make deserving HOFers.

Thanks for the kind words Stu, but for me personally, getting Jerry into the BCA HOF would be the greatest triumph for me, and very likely all three of us...Randy, Mark and me! Jerry is so deserving it's ridiculous that he hasn't gotten in yet. :thumbup:

Scott Lee
2019 PBIA Instructor of the Year
Director, SPF National Pool School Tour

sjm said:

Well said.

Byrne was surely inducted chiefly based on his legendary published pool materials, but he was also a great commentator, a capable instructor and a great ambassador for cue sports. His books revolutionized and popularized the game, as did those of fellow HOFer Walter Tevis. Byrne certainly has equals as a pool author, with George Fels and Phil Capelle coming to mind, but he's so much more than a great pool author.

... and guys like Jerry Briesath, Randy Goettlicher, Scott Lee and Mark Wilson are so much more than just great instructors, which is why they would all make deserving HOFers.

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Don't forget

Our own " Dr. Dave "

why don't the instructors form their own hall of fame

By the way ,isn't Ray Martin in the hall of fame and a fine instructor and author as well

i would start with Dr Dave for all of the work he has done,the videos are quite a body of work in themselves

deanoc said:

I would start with Dr Dave for all of the work he has done, the videos are quite a body of work in themselves

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The thread raises the matter of whether instructors merit consideration for the BCA Hall of Fame in the meritorious service category. The general feeling is yes, because some of them do so much more for the game than just teach.

I'm a very big fan of Dr Dave and love his materials, but to even mention him in the same breath as guys like Jerry B, Scott L, Mark W, and Randy G is ridiculous. These four, and possibly a few others, are foundational instructors upon whom the profession of pool instruction has been built in America. They have developed the greatest training methods, mentored the great coaches, mentored and developed the great players, and have helped to set the agenda for pool instruction in the United States for decades. As a group, both directly and indirectly, they have influenced millions of players and dozens of top pros.

At the rate Dr Dave is going, he may one day merit consideration on similar grounds to those upon which the well judged induction of Pat Fleming was based --- that is, for creating a wealth of extremely important video resources for those who wish to study the game.

Speaking of Pat, I came across this last night.
It has it all.
Hall of famers, instructional material, and Pat.
https://youtu.be/_29seYTp-0Q

I couldn't agree more about Jerry.

deanoc said:

why don't the instructors form their own hall of fame

By the way ,isn't Ray Martin in the hall of fame and a fine instructor and author as well

i would start with Dr Dave for all of the work he has done,the videos are quite a body of work in themselves

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Yes but he went in mainly for his championship playing record.

i really don't know much about the hall of fame or the relative merits f instructors

i have been very impressed with dr dave and his videos on here

DrCue'sProtege said:

I am just curious here. We have a lot of fine instructors here on AZB that have never really won a lot in the way of tournaments. Their main contribution to our time honored sport is not playing, but rather teaching. Is there any chance some of these instructors could get elected to the Hall of Fame?

What would need to happen for them to be elected?

r/DCP

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They would go through the Meritorious Service committee, generally every other year. Jerry Brieseth has been on the candidate list for the past few Meritorious Service committee review. Next year would be the next soonest.

deanoc said:

why don't the instructors form their own hall of fame

By the way ,isn't Ray Martin in the hall of fame and a fine instructor and author as well

i would start with Dr Dave for all of the work he has done,the videos are quite a body of work in themselves

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Dean

Dr. Dave has done a tremendous amount of work gathering information from other Instructors. His videos are second to none. In time, we would hope that Dr Dave would be elected to a HOF, if there is one.

randyg

goettlicher said:

Dr. Dave has done a tremendous amount of work gathering information from other Instructors. His videos are second to none. In time, we would hope that Dr Dave would be elected to a HOF, if there is one.

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Thanks Randy!

I have most certainly learned a lot from a many great instructors over the years, including:
- you (Randy Goettlicher)
- Jerry Briesath
- Bob Jewett
- Tom Ross
- Tom Simpson
- Mike Page
- many others (too many to list)

But I have also learned and shared a few things on my own. Examples include:
- 30 degree rule peace sign
- trisect (3-times the angle system) for draw shots
- System for Aiming With Sidespin (SAWS)
- Billiard University (BU) and the BU Playing Ability Exams (with others)
- table difficulty factor (TDF) system
- "vision center" concepts and resources
- complete documentation of all important squirt, swerve, and throw effects
- online Pool Rules Quiz (with Bob Jewett)
- extensive online resources at billiards.colostate.edu
For those interested, these and other things I have contributed are listed here:

Dr. Dave's pool biography

Thanks again to you and others who mentioned me in this thread,
Dave

randy is a great face for pool
he seems to always have something positive to add

i am sure he desrves ome professional recognition for taching

my hat is off to all of you guys