For Billiards to get big...it must start from the collegiate level

[duckie]

I find it interesting tha,t in this whole growing pool thing , room owners haven't been mentioned. It seems to me that a orginzation of room owners could be helpful. Room owners would be the ones to really benefit from the growth of pool the most,yet very few.seem to try to do that.

Last year in high school, my daughter tool a bowling class. She had to go to a local alley for the class. I wonder why this could not be done with pool.

Youth city pool leagues would be good. Kinda a kids apa thingie.

The rooms in my area do zip to bring in the youth or evev n families.

Room owners and city rec departsment did to be part of the soluation.

 

[Quesports]

See post #15

I find it interesting tha,t in this whole growing pool thing , room owners haven't been mentioned. It seems to me that a orginzation of room owners could be helpful. Room owners would be the ones to really benefit from the growth of pool the most,yet very few.seem to try to do that.

Last year in high school, my daughter tool a bowling class. She had to go to a local alley for the class. I wonder why this could not be done with pool.

Youth city pool leagues would be good. Kinda a kids apa thingie.

The rooms in my area do zip to bring in the youth or evev n families.

Room owners and city rec departsment did to be part of the soluation.

Hey Duckie, They are a big part of the problem. My thoughts are that leagues and pool halls would both benefit from some collective out of the box thinking. If they worked together and did something to get the younger generations to start playing, pool may have a chance of surviving. They are both in need of younger players!!! JMO of course....

 

[macguy]

Hey Duckie, They are a big part of the problem. My thoughts are that leagues and pool halls would both benefit from some collective out of the box thinking. If they worked together and did something to get the younger generations to start playing, pool may have a chance of surviving. They are both in need of younger players!!! JMO of course....

Heck, most pool room owners won't even put up a flier for a tournament at another room. Maybe they are doing the right thing from their point of view, who knows, but getting them to work together is herding cats. It has been tried. Pool room owners are just trying to survive in most cases, the future of the sport is the farthest thing from their minds, they can't see any farther then next weeks receipts and making the nut.

 

[Marcl3954]

High School is the place to start

No it must start much sooner then collegiate try pop warner football for example. There needs to be a league for kids or high school, that is where it needs to start and that would ensure a future for pool.

I think afternoon leagues with no or minimal cost for High School kids.
Possibly leading to Competition between Schools.

Free Instruction, reduced rates at night for league members on certain nights.

Maybe even an ABCD league so kids can learn from better players

We have to teach and encourage younger players rather than make them feel unwelcome.

 

[broken]

Honest gambling and betters from the rail could have helped pool, but we all know what happened there. KT's business model was also based on generating revenue from gambling.

The hustler mentality will always permeate the pool world. The biggest, newest thing going is TAR and their business model is based on this premise.

Agreed with respect to TAR.

But who was KT and what was KT's business model?

Was that the tournament of champions where everyone dumped to screw over the casino?

 

[Smooth]

I beat this horse to death in another thread, so I will keep it brief. The leagues are already in place! They include all of fathers/mothers/sisters/girlfriends/etc that pool needs to cross over to the younger crowd. There just needs to be a nationally coordinated system, that uses the various leagues as a base, to funnel talent & money upwards into the regional and national levels. Add $5/player on annual dues or take 50¢ week/player or whatever works... it is big money. It can be done and it is already in place.... no NEW anything is required..... just coordination of the various puzzle pieces.

And as a room owner, we did work with the local school system to initiate a Pool Club in our local county school system.... offered to make the room smoke and alcohol free for the afternoons and they could use 10 tables the entire time for free.... even had the President of the teacher's support it ..... the school board shot it down. College clubs have had some success though.... Va Tech comes to mind... just none near us.

 

[Quesports]

Heck, most pool room owners won't even put up a flier for a tournament at another room. Maybe they are doing the right thing from their point of view, who knows, but getting them to work together is herding cats. It has been tried. Pool room owners are just trying to survive in most cases, the future of the sport is the farthest thing from their minds, they can't see any farther then next weeks receipts and making the nut.

Yep your right about them doing almost nothing. Of course if you don't plan on a future you sure won't have one. Perhaps they already know what the future is...

 

[smashmouth]

Just face it, pool is going nowhere. Never has, most likely never will. If you think getting the youth interested will do anything, you are sadly mistaken. The youth of today and yesteryear who had the desire, grew up to the fragmented industry we have today.

Pool is at best a 3rd tier sport. It will never be any bigger than darts, ping pong or bowling. These industries will never be able to compete with any athletic sport period.

People enjoy doing something while drinking booze in the bar. That is one reason pool leagues have prospered. The APA and the Equalizer system works, but they have no financial interest in promoting top level players.

Honest gambling and betters from the rail could have helped pool, but we all know what happened there. KT's business model was also based on generating revenue from gambling.

The hustler mentality will always permeate the pool world. The biggest, newest thing going is TAR and their business model is based on this premise.

Instead of trying to help the pro's make more money, I think I will focus on my career. If I make a couple bucks from a tournament here and there, then fine. It lessens my entertainment budget. For 99.9% of us, pool is only entertainment.

That's my 2¢'s and I want change back.

all correct

the IPT is the only thing in decades that may have changed things but clearly it was shady

smoking, gambling, drinking, both the cultures/lifestyles and associated business sponsorships all banned or frowned upon

kids with zero attention span , internet and home entertainment, top high school athletes all playing for football/basketball scholarships, etc....

what chance does pool have, lol, plus the game is hard as hell to boot,

the game will always be around, we're just never going to have a real pro game and everything that entails

 

[SlickRick_PCS]

It must start here and the current generation of players must promote the game to our youths. If somehow collegiate athletics can recognize the game then it will be a huge success.

Many "Student Unions", basicall a recreation area at colleges, are considered small pool halls. My local university has 20 tables and I am in the process of trying to run tournaments there. Cheap entry fee and you win prizes and not money. If every college does this, then it will cause the athletic program to take notice.

Not only will this grow the sport but colleges may offer scholarships based on skill and talent. This will breed smart pool players and not the bush league tactics that are being done by a certain organization on here.

The industry can pump money to these schools with advertising, what colleges don't like money? This will draw interests from students, thus, spending money on certain pool products....shafts, cues and accessories.

Even if it's small, it still would generate enough interest, an example is the Collegiate Rugby National Championships. Few American colleges have a Rugby program, but the few, got together and formed a Rugby National Championship Tournament.

Perhaps, a collegiate Billiards National Championship Tourney will exist in the future.

No, for billiards to start, you need to get your big butt off the computer and plant the seed. Typing on the computer (vis a vie: saying stuff) will amount to absolutely NOTHING!