Bruce,
I can appreciate your viewpoint on this subject, and I have another viewpoint to share. Billiard games are some of the only serious sports in the world where players do not typically have coaches. As a result of that, there are many great players who have horrible mechanics. That is not to say of course that they can't play because they are unbelievable really. The question is though had they had a coach since early on, where would they be now? So while we can see how well they play today, there is no way for us to measure the amount of effort they put into their own games to overcome the obstacles of bad mechanics.
With that said, I am of the mind that coaching and lessons will accelerate the learning process, and help to reduce long term bad habits that creap into your game before you realize it. If someone wants to play the games well, they will do so more quickly and with a greater understanding of the game by having a qualified coach or teacher. And by qualified, I don't mean a certificate from the BCA which only really guarantees that the instructer paid to take a class somewhere. That is not to say that the BCA instructors are somehow bad...only that there are a few in my opinion who are really good and that the program has historically been very easy to join.
Videos and books are great resources and learning sources. What you don't have with those media is the feedback and Q&A if you don't understand something. What you are also faced with is having to weed through all the stuff that may or may not be good on your own. Also, when a technique is shown on a tape, you really have no way of knowing for sure whether or not you have implemented the technique into your mechanics unless you have feedback. Of course you could video yourself, which I always tell people to do. But the problem in learning technique is that the video will only show your problems after the fact.
And as far as the cost issue, in my experience you get what you pay for. A good teacher will have a lesson plan outlining what exactly will be covered in the lesson; shot diagrams or photos of mechanical aspects built into the lesson; a good video camera; a vast understanding of the game and the ability to teach it. If someone can find people like this who charge less than $100 per lesson, book 'em for the next few years! If someone is doing all of this (keep in mind the pre and post work) for less than $75 a lesson, they don't think very much of their own product or they are not doing the work.
As far as the pool school concept, I think it is the best thing to come around for this sport and enthusiasts. Of course, there are good schools and not so good schools. The problem is this- do you go to the best players for learning or the best teachers who might not know what they heck they are talking about. Of course there are people who can teach and who have an understanding of the game but just can't perform. My contention though is that they are few and far between. Great players might not make great teachers, but what they can tell you about the game is real because they have done it, under pressure, and in real situations. A teacher who has never competed, never played well, in my opinion is not qualified to be a teacher or coach. That is not to say that they may have something of interest or value about certain aspects of the game which they might know really well. It is to say that when it comes to teaching the game, how can one teach what they might not really know...and if they think they know, how do they know for sure? So if anyone is attending a pool school, it is important to get feeback from other students. I have heard wildly good feedback about Allison Fisher's pool school (World Champion teachers who can also teach), as well as the one in Vancouver (the Pool School in Paradise). Not having met anyone who has taken lessons from Scott Lee, I can't really comment. However, having met Scott, my impression is that he knows his game. I would certainly avoid any 'celebrity' pool schools that market getting to know the players moreso than learning how to play.
Ultimately, players should try to learn from everywhere. Tapes, books, articles, even watching great players in person is good. Having a qualified (and I mean qualified)teacher or coach will not hurt your game, and the money is well spent if you have it, and even more well spent if you don't have but want to make some playing billiards
Deno Andrews
-just another perspective...
