I started this thread for almost 3 months ago, after feeling sick of pool for almost a year. "I'm sick of pool" http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=213757
Well, things have changed a bit since then
As some of you know I'm living on a small island with only 500 people, but I've rented a place where we have three 9-foottables and one 8-foottable. Since the Summer I've kept open for people wanting to play, and the way it is organized is that members of the poolclub ($40 a year) plays for free. This is a non-profit thing I am doing, and the poolclub is getting money from both the local council and private companies to fund tables, equipment and in time, sending the youngsters to tournaments.
Every Monday we have a ranking-tournament (double elimination, race to 2, cost $ 3 to join), and every Wednesday people can practice. I've done this for months even though it has bored me to death, but we have 40 members in our club, and between 15 and 20 on every tournament, so it's really popular. Did I mention we have 500 people living here?
Well, now my nephews, turned 11 and 13 one month ago, have been playing for 7 months, and during the last 2 months they both got bored of just banging balls around with no purpose. They wanted to learn to play good, and were willing to put in more hours to practice.
So, I've spent hours with them and a handful of their classmates teaching them new things every week, and even brought them to a few regional tournaments. Now we will have open on Sundays too.
They are improving real quick, and picking up a lot with such a speed that I've realized that I need to practice myself again, if not they will be better than me within a few years
So, I'm finally back practicing again, and man, how fun it is to practice together with the kids. They really enjoy it, and the look in their face when they manage to do the stuff I tell them to do is priceless.
My youngest nephew is the one who seems to have the most talent so far, and it looks like he also have the desire to listen more carefully and practice a little bit harder than the rest. I spent 15 minutes with him teaching him some bankshots the other day, what english to use, speed etc., and minutes later he played a 9-ball match against another guy and banked 3 balls in the same rack like he had done nothing else his whole life
After the tournament today we practiced on making balls frozen to the rail. I put 8 balls on the rails (2 on each head-rail and 1 on each side-rail), and told him to make one and play position for another. He used 3 tries before he ran 7 of the 8, and hanged the last ball. Next time he will make all 8
So, I'm of course proud, and I'm really looking forward to see how good he and his friends can get!
To be continued, just wanted to share a feel-good thread since so many people in here post threads like "pool is dying" etc.
The key to make pool grow is simple - show the kids how to play
My nephew Kristian (11)
Well, things have changed a bit since then
As some of you know I'm living on a small island with only 500 people, but I've rented a place where we have three 9-foottables and one 8-foottable. Since the Summer I've kept open for people wanting to play, and the way it is organized is that members of the poolclub ($40 a year) plays for free. This is a non-profit thing I am doing, and the poolclub is getting money from both the local council and private companies to fund tables, equipment and in time, sending the youngsters to tournaments.
Every Monday we have a ranking-tournament (double elimination, race to 2, cost $ 3 to join), and every Wednesday people can practice. I've done this for months even though it has bored me to death, but we have 40 members in our club, and between 15 and 20 on every tournament, so it's really popular. Did I mention we have 500 people living here?
Well, now my nephews, turned 11 and 13 one month ago, have been playing for 7 months, and during the last 2 months they both got bored of just banging balls around with no purpose. They wanted to learn to play good, and were willing to put in more hours to practice.
So, I've spent hours with them and a handful of their classmates teaching them new things every week, and even brought them to a few regional tournaments. Now we will have open on Sundays too.
They are improving real quick, and picking up a lot with such a speed that I've realized that I need to practice myself again, if not they will be better than me within a few years
So, I'm finally back practicing again, and man, how fun it is to practice together with the kids. They really enjoy it, and the look in their face when they manage to do the stuff I tell them to do is priceless.
My youngest nephew is the one who seems to have the most talent so far, and it looks like he also have the desire to listen more carefully and practice a little bit harder than the rest. I spent 15 minutes with him teaching him some bankshots the other day, what english to use, speed etc., and minutes later he played a 9-ball match against another guy and banked 3 balls in the same rack like he had done nothing else his whole life
After the tournament today we practiced on making balls frozen to the rail. I put 8 balls on the rails (2 on each head-rail and 1 on each side-rail), and told him to make one and play position for another. He used 3 tries before he ran 7 of the 8, and hanged the last ball. Next time he will make all 8
So, I'm of course proud, and I'm really looking forward to see how good he and his friends can get!
To be continued, just wanted to share a feel-good thread since so many people in here post threads like "pool is dying" etc.
The key to make pool grow is simple - show the kids how to play
My nephew Kristian (11)
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