the future of pool..kids

Back when I ran an APA league for an out of town owner, I set up the following for the local youth in the area...

Two Saturdays a month, I arranged for one of the local establishments to open a small group of tables, and I would invite the local youth to come in to play free of charge for two hours.

I would also invite and bring in a different higher-skilled local player each session to join myself and be on hand should any of the kids want instruction. At one point we eventually had so many kids playing that we formed a small league where the kids played simulated matches, while still keeping one table open for those that wanted instruction.

It was amazingly successful in that nearly every kid that participated eventually joined the league when they were old enough. Most of them still play today and many are skill level 7 in APA.

I know they now have youth leagues available, but this was the way (almost 20 years go) that we generated interest while passing on our own love for the game. It helped to grow our league to 48 open, and 16 women's teams in a small town of just over 30,000 residents.

It would be nice to see some of the current owner-operators take a similar initiative.

Nullus said:

Back when I ran an APA league for an out of town owner, I set up the following for the local youth in the area...

Two Saturdays a month, I arranged for one of the local establishments to open a small group of tables, and I would invite the local youth to come in to play free of charge for two hours.

I would also invite and bring in a different higher-skilled local player each session to join myself and be on hand should any of the kids want instruction. At one point we eventually had so many kids playing that we formed a small league where the kids played simulated matches, while still keeping one table open for those that wanted instruction.

It was amazingly successful in that nearly every kid that participated eventually joined the league when they were old enough. Most of them still play today and many are skill level 7 in APA.

I know they now have youth leagues available, but this was the way (almost 20 years go) that we generated interest while passing on our own love for the game. It helped to grow our league to 48 open, and 16 women's teams in a small town of just over 30,000 residents.

It would be nice to see some of the current owner-operators take a similar initiative.

Click to expand...

We've been open 24 years since 1996 and the first 10 years we always had very young players who were first exposed to the game here, that developed in to some of our top players. Sadly since, we no longer have young kids that have stuck with the game for long enough to experience any success at it and get hooked on it, despite having a non-alcoholic family oriented pool room and grill. Our grill is basically the only reason we've been able to stay in business.

I'm thinking of getting to word out to start free junior play and instruction on Saturdays - 11-1 for the 9-13 age group, and 2-4 for the 14-18 age group, then offering 1/2 price pool ($1.50 / hr) for them on weekdays from 3-6pm for those that participate and are truly interested in the game.

Any suggestions from those that have tried or heard of something similar that worked would be greatly appreciated.

I live in Tulsa, Ok. At one time it was hotbed for pool, both recreational and action. There was always a group of kids learning the game and getting better. NO more. There is not ONE person under 18 that can draw their ball. Junior pool is DEAD here. Reasons? Plenty. No places to play, no desire to take it up, other interests/distractions, complete and utter laziness to name a few. Other countries treat pool as a sport and have associations, leagues, good instruction, etc. Look at Poland. There are a BUNCH of top-flight players under 21 there for all the above reasons: a good governing body, instruction, places to play, tournaments, leagues. For the US to have any chance at competing at the top level junior pool needs a major turn-around.

Article: Everett High School Billiards Program

evergruven said:

just curious if where you're at
there are any cool pool opportunities for kids?

I remember growing up there was a table at my local community center
not saying that it saved my life or anything
but when you're a kid, little things can mean a lot
and I think pool has potential to teach kids about a lot of good stuffs
not to mention (I'm mentioning) the future health of the sport

what chall thank?

Click to expand...

Everett High Billiards Club Up and Running for Fourth Straight Year
by Independent Staff • December 19, 2019 • by Shawn Waterman

The Everett High School Billiards program is up and running strong for a fourth year in a row, with more and more students interested this year than ever.

Shawn Waterman was the original founder of the Everett High School Billiards Club that began in November, 2016. The Billiards Club has averaged about 35 students each session for the past three years. Waterman was granted enthusiastic permission from Everett’s Interim Superintendent Janice Gauthier and High School Principal Erick Naumann to run this program for a fourth consecutive year.

Waterman immediately recruited 40 potential players for this year.

This year’s club began on Dec. 7 and will conclude on March 1. The club meets for eight Sundays from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Amazin Billiards in Malden. The students arrive around 10:45 a.m. for complimentary bagels, donuts, and drinks for breakfast that are donated by Mazin Shooni.

Shooni is the owner of Amazin Billiards in Malden. Amazin Billiards now has 12 nine-foot pristine Brunswick gold crown V pool tables. They have magnificent lighting and provide professionally polished pool balls. Two of these tables were just recently added to accommodate more players. Amazin Billiards provides a wonderful environment for high school kids who want to play billiards, and it does not allow smoking and/or alcohol.

Shooni is a world-class 3-Cushion Billiard Champion with a record number of tournament wins. Former president and long-time Board of Directors of the United States Billiard Association, Shooni is currently president and founder of the 3-Cushion USA league. With the assistance of one of his mentors, Kevin VanStry, Shooni was able to fulfill his dream of opening Amazing Billiards, a room dedicated to the professional player and observing strict sportsmanship rules. He is thrilled to have the chance to introduce his sport to the young enthusiasts of Everett High School (EHS).

This year’s EHS Billiards Club currently consists of 40 Everett High School students, and 18 of these students are returning from last year with a pool cue and case they earned previously. The cues and case were donated by Predator pool cues. Waterman plans on giving out more pool cues and cases to those students with perfect attendance for this year’s program; no student can receive a second pool cue, though.

We will be holding a very competitive EHS billiards tournament for a third consecutive year starting January 12, 2020. Everett High School senior David Meninger was the winner of last year’s EHS billiards tournament. The kids who played in last year’s tournament were very enthused and excited. This tournament consisted of both boys and girls with no handicap. The girls held their own, because Janice Perez-Gomez, a current senior, made it all the way to the semi-finals.

Shawn Waterman and Steven Blake both currently teach at Everett High School, and they have been the club advisors since the birth of this program that started in December 2016. Shawn Waterman currently plays in an eight-ball league for North Shore Billiards Association; his team from the Lynn Franco won the 2018-2019 championship. Waterman was the captain of this team, and he won every playoff match to put his team “Rack & Roll” on the top to win the Johnny Marco Cup.

Tom McGonagle, a 1968 graduate of Everett High, is the club pro for Amazin Billiards. He has been playing pool for a total of 56 years and said coaching the youth of EHS is a way of giving back to the game he loves and the people from his hometown. For the past four years, McGonagle has volunteered to teach the students from Everett High School the proper mechanics of the magnificent game of billiards. He is the author of a novel, “Right on Cue”, in which the plot centers around the pool table. In 2016, he was inducted into the New England Pool and Billiards Hall of Fame in Providence, R.I.

McGonagle won the BCA National championship in the Super Senior Division in Las Vegas in 2010.

https://everettindependent.com/2019...club-up-and-running-for-fourth-straight-year/

I live in Ohio and Dee Adkins has a great junior program where I live. He has an 8 stop tour I believe and he has events out of the new Big Money Billiard Parlor in London Ohio. We are also going to have a BEF event in that pool room sometime this year as well. Good stuff.

Pool might have a future if the study the business model of sucessful sports. PGA, LPGA, NHL, NASCAR, MLB, NHL, and NBA. One organizing body, one set of rules, and sponsors galore lining up to pay money for advertising.

Not a bunch of little fish, each with their own little ponds. Willie Mosconi in his book Willies Game stated pool has never been as big as year of his birth 1913, and has been declining since.

Then you have the average Pool players who would refuse to comply to a dress code, and conduct code to attract sponsors. Problem must be over come, like ONE ORGINIZATION. No BAC, BACPL,ACA, APA, just UNO.

I live in a town of a 100k plus,and we don't even have a legit pool hall, so yea, not much future here.

My kid plays outa van wert ohio we have about 20 kids every other week. All of them have active parents, and were trying to grow as much as we can. Brought in an accredited teacher last year and have doubled the amount of play this session and the amount of fundraising tournaments this year. Hopefully any of our kids that make it to nationals wont have out of pocket anything. Well that is at least the goal. Hope other programs are going as well as ours and ours continues to thrive!

http://m.startribune.com/pool-ace-is-in-a-league-of-her-own/166918776/

Daxs Balenger- shooters billiards runs a great jr program.

https://youtu.be/UH8AhvTlH74
https://youtu.be/j6dROsuJ-aU
https://youtu.be/-qT7L7jwNRI
Just a few players who started very young.
Jr pool is alive and well in the midwest.

ChrisinNC said:

We've been open 24 years since 1996 and the first 10 years we always had very young players who were first exposed to the game here, that developed in to some of our top players. Sadly since, we no longer have young kids that have stuck with the game for long enough to experience any success at it and get hooked on it, despite having a non-alcoholic family oriented pool room and grill. Our grill is basically the only reason we've been able to stay in business.

I'm thinking of getting to word out to start free junior play and instruction on Saturdays - 11-1 for the 9-13 age group, and 2-4 for the 14-18 age group, then offering 1/2 price pool ($1.50 / hr) for them on weekdays from 3-6pm for those that participate and are truly interested in the game.

Any suggestions from those that have tried or heard of something similar that worked would be greatly appreciated.

Click to expand...

I think a big key for us was that we had skilled players come in to help instruct the kids. As most everyone on here knows, it's easier to learn good habits from the get-go, than it is to break down bad habits and re-learn them properly. It's great to turn the kids loose and let them play on their own and develop their own love for the game, but try finding a happy medium where you give some instruction first, and that gives them something to try to emulate, or work on.

A key point I always started with, and repeated at least once per session was the simple principle I used myself, when I was learning many, many years ago..."Try to learn and retain one new thing about the game each session you play. You will be amazed at how fast your knowledge of the game accelerates. Then go out and practice it until you are good at it." Many of the kids took that to heart, which worked out well for them.

My son (12 yo) is in a junior APA league. He's doing pretty well in it and really enjoying his time. He just started about a month ago, but it seems to be going well. His APA league is a nineball league.

As an old room owner told me and has probably been said here before...the sport needs a new (good) movie to come out.