Instructor Certification?

Dan White

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I wanted to post this because of Fran saying that she put in the blood, sweat and tears to get to where she is. That rang true to me because I know there are certain things in my game that nobody can teach me. You just have to put in the time to know certain things.

I don't know anything about pool instruction certification like how many "sanctioning" bodies there are -- BCA? PBIA? others? or what is required to become certified as a "master" or whatever.

I know in tennis and most likely in golf to become a teaching pro you must pass a performance test. In tennis you must be able to hit ground strokes down the doubles alley x out of 10 times, or be able to hit a spot in the service box, and so on.

Are there any performance requirements to become a legit teaching pro in pool? I don't mean win x number or tournaments, but more like a Dr. Dave list of drills to prove proficiency. If my instructor can't draw the cue ball straight back to the cue tip with regularity then to me that is a problem. An instructor doesn't need to be a world class player to be a good teacher, but IMO if they don't have certain basic skills then they may not know about some of the difficulties in achieving the goal. For instance, if he can't draw back to his tip from say 2 diamonds away consistently then he might not really understand all the ways there are of doing it wrong and how to know you are finally doing it right. Can I draw the ball back perfectly and still be doing it wrong? and so on. Many pool motions are too small to be seen even on video (and I would argue even on digicue type devices) so the instructor needs to have gone through the process of learning how to draw the ball perfectly so he/she can "warn" the student of the various pitfalls they may encounter.

Anyway, if a performance test is already part of the certification process for BCA or PBIA (are there any others?) then ignore this post. If there isn't, then why not? It seems like a performance test would add credibility and reduce the amount of arguing about who is qualified to teach and who isn't.
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
The PBIA is the primary instructor training and sanctioning body in the US. The program is described on the PBIA website which is http://playbetterbilliards.com under the "Instruct" menu pick. There are four levels of PBIA instructor certification.

Currently there is no required playing performance test for instructor certification. That area of the instructor trainee's abilities is left up to the trainer to judge. I think the general requirement is that the trainee play well enough to demonstrate all of the techniques they will be teaching.

I have a set of playing tests that I require instructor candidates to perform before any training starts. I have had a few potential candidates decide that they are not ready to be instructors at that point. Those tests are progressive practice drills and equal offense.

But the ability to analyze problems that a student is having and figure out what to try to fix the problem is far more important than being able to run out 10-ball 30% of the time.

One thing that most people who think about instruction don't realize is that the majority of people seeking pool lessons are unable to run a rack of anything in ten tries or draw the cue ball four diamonds. Think APA 4 and below.
 

Dan White

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The PBIA is the primary instructor training and sanctioning body in the US. The program is described on the PBIA website which is http://playbetterbilliards.com under the "Instruct" menu pick. There are four levels of PBIA instructor certification.

Currently there is no required playing performance test for instructor certification. That area of the instructor trainee's abilities is left up to the trainer to judge. I think the general requirement is that the trainee play well enough to demonstrate all of the techniques they will be teaching.

I have a set of playing tests that I require instructor candidates to perform before any training starts. I have had a few potential candidates decide that they are not ready to be instructors at that point. Those tests are progressive practice drills and equal offense.

But the ability to analyze problems that a student is having and figure out what to try to fix the problem is far more important than being able to run out 10-ball 30% of the time.

One thing that most people who think about instruction don't realize is that the majority of people seeking pool lessons are unable to run a rack of anything in ten tries or draw the cue ball four diamonds. Think APA 4 and below.

Thanks, Bob. I read through that website. Interesting. IMO, if you are going to be a Master of anything you need to be able to perform in the sport at a high level be it tennis, golf, or pool. Your point is well taken that most people taking lessons are not particularly advanced players, though.
 

Dan White

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
American Cue Sports certifies Instructors at IV Levels.

randyg

Randy - I noticed that you were friends with Richard Rhorer. I knew him back in the late 90's in Houston. He had a fantastic set up in his home. Is he still around?
 

BC21

https://www.playpoolbetter.com
Gold Member
Silver Member
I believe it's good to have integrity and conformity in professional instruction. That's what makes governing bodies like the PBIA good and trustworthy.

With that said, anyone can form their own professional instructor organization. If you're a good and knowledgeable teacher, and you want to be a "certified" instructor, you can pay your fees to an already established instructors organization, follow their apprenticeship program and work your way up to become a master instructor.... or you can start your own organization, build up a good teaching reputation, then eventually start charging fees to have other interested "instructors" become certified within your organization.
 

BilliardsAbout

BondFanEvents.com
Silver Member
I believe it's good to have integrity and conformity in professional instruction. That's what makes governing bodies like the PBIA good and trustworthy.

With that said, anyone can form their own professional instructor organization. If you're a good and knowledgeable teacher, and you want to be a "certified" instructor, you can pay your fees to an already established instructors organization, follow their apprenticeship program and work your way up to become a master instructor.... or you can start your own organization, build up a good teaching reputation, then eventually start charging fees to have other interested "instructors" become certified within your organization.

One reason I haven't certified with a body is I cannot in good faith commit to "X stroke works for everyone" or Y aim or Z stance, etc. All stick-and-ball sports have top players with "unorthodox" methods.

The best teachers IMO have good systems that work for most players then adapt methods for unusual situations. For example, it's like trauma to tell someone who has been using a loop stroke for 50 years that he MUST change to a pendulum to improve--and that if he doesn't improve instantly as the teacher watches, he must practice the pendulum for three hours a day for six months to improve! No wonder some say their method works for everyone if everyone needs 600 hours to "master" it!

Rather, people who've enjoyed the game for many years usually need subtle tweaks to what they already do to improve VERY fast. For me, it's moving a foot a few inches over or fixing the bridge hand and then they often say, "Gee, this is easy."

I've had a few students ask me to teach my methods and I let them but they have to first understand what tweaks from the template are for them, not their students.
 

BC21

https://www.playpoolbetter.com
Gold Member
Silver Member
One reason I haven't certified with a body is I cannot in good faith commit to "X stroke works for everyone" or Y aim or Z stance, etc. All stick-and-ball sports have top players with "unorthodox" methods.

The best teachers IMO have good systems that work for most players then adapt methods for unusual situations. For example, it's like trauma to tell someone who has been using a loop stroke for 50 years that he MUST change to a pendulum to improve--and that if he doesn't improve instantly as the teacher watches, he must practice the pendulum for three hours a day for six months to improve! No wonder some say their method works for everyone if everyone needs 600 hours to "master" it!

Rather, people who've enjoyed the game for many years usually need subtle tweaks to what they already do to improve VERY fast. For me, it's moving a foot a few inches over or fixing the bridge hand and then they often say, "Gee, this is easy."

I've had a few students ask me to teach my methods and I let them but they have to first understand what tweaks from the template are for them, not their students.

I believe most accredited or "certified" instructors would not suggest a complete overhaul of an experienced player's stroke.
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
I believe most accredited or "certified" instructors would not suggest a complete overhaul of an experienced player's stroke.
And that is certainly not part of the PBIA curriculum, which is currently being revised. PBIA instructors are not required to teach in a specific way.
 

BilliardsAbout

BondFanEvents.com
Silver Member
And that is certainly not part of the PBIA curriculum, which is currently being revised. PBIA instructors are not required to teach in a specific way.

Thanks for the heads up. I look forward to seeing the revised curriculum. In the past, I've been very uncomfortable with the materials I've seen from a number of organizations.
 

goettlicher

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Randy - I noticed that you were friends with Richard Rhorer. I knew him back in the late 90's in Houston. He had a fantastic set up in his home. Is he still around?

Hi Dan

Richard and I were great friends.

I think he passed away a few years back, heart.

randyg
 

FranCrimi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I wanted to post this because of Fran saying that she put in the blood, sweat and tears to get to where she is. That rang true to me because I know there are certain things in my game that nobody can teach me. You just have to put in the time to know certain things.

I don't know anything about pool instruction certification like how many "sanctioning" bodies there are -- BCA? PBIA? others? or what is required to become certified as a "master" or whatever.

I know in tennis and most likely in golf to become a teaching pro you must pass a performance test. In tennis you must be able to hit ground strokes down the doubles alley x out of 10 times, or be able to hit a spot in the service box, and so on.

Are there any performance requirements to become a legit teaching pro in pool? I don't mean win x number or tournaments, but more like a Dr. Dave list of drills to prove proficiency. If my instructor can't draw the cue ball straight back to the cue tip with regularity then to me that is a problem. An instructor doesn't need to be a world class player to be a good teacher, but IMO if they don't have certain basic skills then they may not know about some of the difficulties in achieving the goal. For instance, if he can't draw back to his tip from say 2 diamonds away consistently then he might not really understand all the ways there are of doing it wrong and how to know you are finally doing it right. Can I draw the ball back perfectly and still be doing it wrong? and so on. Many pool motions are too small to be seen even on video (and I would argue even on digicue type devices) so the instructor needs to have gone through the process of learning how to draw the ball perfectly so he/she can "warn" the student of the various pitfalls they may encounter.

Anyway, if a performance test is already part of the certification process for BCA or PBIA (are there any others?) then ignore this post. If there isn't, then why not? It seems like a performance test would add credibility and reduce the amount of arguing about who is qualified to teach and who isn't.

Dan, in golf there are teaching pros. In pool there aren't, technically, although I think there should be. I've always felt that the pro player organizations should work with the teaching organization in order to establish true teaching pros. One of the issues, of course, is what constitutes professional playing status. When does a player officially earn the 'pro' designation? There were times in the past when it was clearer but I'm not so sure now.

But for now, 'Master' in this program doesn't mean high level player.

As for me as a teacher, I like instructors to keep playing and competing as they advance through the program. It can only help their teaching skills. I have performance requirements when candidates come to me for training and testing. For me, it goes a little farther than beyond knowing how to demonstrate the basics. The thing I really like about the PBIA program is it's allowance in diversity. Teachers have a loose teaching guideline which allows them to spread their wings and not be forced to conform to what someone else thinks is fact. After all, the only facts we really know are the scientifically proven ones. The rest are theories and opinions --- some more reliable than others.
 
Top