Hello All. I am new to this site. In fact it has only been about 30 days since I joined. But in the short time I have been on here I have interacted with many really great people. I have read about many great experiances that make me proud to be a pool player. Earlier this week I wrote a post about people's heart and where did it go? I thoroughly enjoyed all the threads that came in. I was reminded of "heart" today...
Andy Schmidt is a pool player in Springfield, MO. I met him a last year when I was talked into playing Tap league. He was on my team. Week in and week out he is a 3. He didn't ever win much but he showed up every single week. He stayed late, helped out where needed. He never lost his temper that I saw, and even though he was beaten more than he won, he kept coming back week after week. He would ask me things about strategy and the game in general. He always tried to learn. He was never going to be a "champion" on the table, at least not how most define champion. But a Champion he is.
Andy developed a brain tumor during our last session. Even though it was debilitating he still tried to come in and support his team, all the while he was taking his chemo and fighting the cancer. The end came today. And as is usually the case, it was not pretty. I am glad I got to know Andy, he reminds me of what is good about our game. My one regret is that I did not get to know him sooner.
Please take a minute to think about him and those that he left behind. Be thankful that we have players like him. We were all there once, and we will all be where he is someday.
Thank You.
Andy Schmidt is a pool player in Springfield, MO. I met him a last year when I was talked into playing Tap league. He was on my team. Week in and week out he is a 3. He didn't ever win much but he showed up every single week. He stayed late, helped out where needed. He never lost his temper that I saw, and even though he was beaten more than he won, he kept coming back week after week. He would ask me things about strategy and the game in general. He always tried to learn. He was never going to be a "champion" on the table, at least not how most define champion. But a Champion he is.
Andy developed a brain tumor during our last session. Even though it was debilitating he still tried to come in and support his team, all the while he was taking his chemo and fighting the cancer. The end came today. And as is usually the case, it was not pretty. I am glad I got to know Andy, he reminds me of what is good about our game. My one regret is that I did not get to know him sooner.
Please take a minute to think about him and those that he left behind. Be thankful that we have players like him. We were all there once, and we will all be where he is someday.
Thank You.
