Shane Van Boening took the Billiard University (BU) Playing Ability Exams!

JoeyA said:
Johnnyt said:
Thank you DR Dave and Shane for allowing this test to go public. If you notice Shane was one and two stroking most shots. That to me says he wasn't trying 100%. I think if there was money for the highest score, his score would be much higher ;).
I do think it's a great test and would like to see more of the top pros of the world take it in a 6 man round robin. Appleton, Ko, Shane, Shaw, Alex, and one more...WITH CLOCK. I think they would be very interesting scores. Thanks again for doing all you do and all the work you put into teaching this great game. Johnnyt
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That's a good suggestion Johnnyt.

I wonder how long the test takes to complete.

Also, if the players knew in advance, they could prepare for the Exam, maybe participating at DCC for a money prize that would interest them.

Maybe Greg Sullivan could take some of that buyback money at the DCC and use some of it for the BU exams "contest" and make it worth their while.

Shane could probably influence some of the other elite players, imo.
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Joey,

I agree that a live and/or streamed event might be fun, but the two exams do take 40-50 minutes each to complete.

The Challenge I will announce soon will involve online video submittal; so, hopefully, we will get lots of entries from around the world. I think the competitive juices will kick in when top players see other top players going for the money.

Regards,
Dave
 
dr_dave said:
New drills can help keep things interesting, but I certainly think the BU Exams are worth practicing often, especially the drills you haven't mastered yet. The Exams help you improve every important skill, and they provide a measure of your improvement over time.


I think this applies to any serious pool player. If you can master all important skills during practice, you will be more likely to be able to execute in real game situations that call for the skills.


Not true. In fact, after his first time through Exam I, he asked to do it over again, and he was really intense. He was definitely trying to do well. Now, after he started missing easy shots in Exam II, I think he lost his interest and focus a little because he knew his score would not be that great.

Concerning something being "on the line," Shane did have a financial incentive to do well because we will be announcing a BU Exam Challenge soon, where we will offer money prizes in different categories. If nobody beats Shane's scores, Shane will make some decent cash. Shane is also allowed to attempt to improve his scores while the Challenge is in effect. I will announce details soon.


I think he most definitely gave his best in the 2nd attempt at Exam I, but he did lose focus during Exam II.


When you do the Exams, please consider posting your scores (and videos if available) on the AZB BU sticky thread as other members have done.

Good luck,
Dave
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Thanks for your replies Dave. I really want to find a tripod for my camera, so I can take a video of myself doing the tests. The drills in part 2 of the test look by far the most difficult. Part 1 looks pretty easy, but I think part 2 will really challenge me. The test with all of the balls in the rails looks to be one of the most difficult, but many of the others look difficult too. Anyways, thanks again for posting this thread. I hope I can eventually do good on the test (after a lot of practice).

By the way, I wonder how the pool scene is out there in Fort Collins. I wonder if there are many strong players, and good weekly tournaments. That is such a beautiful area. I imagine that is a great place to live. Sorry for going off topic.
 
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dr_dave said:
Shane Van Boening recently took the Billiard University (BU) Playing-Ability Exams. Here are his videos:

Exam I - Fundamentals

Exam II - Skills

Here's how Shane scored:

F1:10 + F2:10 + F3:10 + F4:8 + F5:8 + F6:7 + F7:16 + F8:15 = 84
S1:10 + S2:15 + S3:14 + S4:14 + S5:7 + S6:4 + S7:1 + S8:3 + S9:5 + S10:4 = 77

BU Score = Exam I:84 + Exam II:77 = 161 (Doctorate of Pool)

If you want to try the exams and see how well you can do compared to Shane, everything you need is available for free on the BU website.

Enjoy, and good luck,
Dave

PS: If you try the exams, please post your scores (and videos if available) on the AZB BU sticky thread, as other AZB users have done.
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I wonder if laminating the printed out materials would be best, so that I would not need to keep reprinting the tests out (every time I wanted to put down my scores). So I can easily remove the markings from the laminated paper. I have never done this before, and just thinking about the best way to get the tests ready to take. I know I will want to take them many times over again. I assume maybe a copy shop would offer a laminating service, but I do not know. Thanks.
 
@Justin: Tripods are cheap, just check 'em out on ebay, I keep mine in the car. Get a 72" and nothing less.
Also I use a binder and insert the papers into the clear sleeves, that's way easier for me and it's a lot of paper if you print out all of them, I keep that in the car also the camera stays in the house.
 
justinb386 said:
Thanks for your replies Dave. I really want to find a tripod for my camera, so I can take a video of myself doing the tests. The drills in part 2 of the test look by far the most difficult. Part 1 looks pretty easy, but I think part 2 will really challenge me. The test with all of the balls in the rails looks to be one of the most difficult, but many of the others look difficult too. Anyways, thanks again for posting this thread. I hope I can eventually do good on the test (after a lot of practice).
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Both exams contain different challenges for different people. FYI, Best Buy sells cheap tripods. Again, after you take the exams, please post your scores (and videos if available) on the AZB BU sticky thread, as others have done.

justinb386 said:
By the way, I wonder how the pool scene is out there in Fort Collins. I wonder if there are many strong players, and good weekly tournaments. That is such a beautiful area. I imagine that is a great place to live. Sorry for going off topic.
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Northern Colorado is an awesome place to the live, and the level of pool play is fairly strong, especially in Denver.

Catch you later,
Dave
 
justinb386 said:
I wonder if laminating the printed out materials would be best, so that I would not need to keep reprinting the tests out (every time I wanted to put down my scores). So I can easily remove the markings from the laminated paper. I have never done this before, and just thinking about the best way to get the tests ready to take. I know I will want to take them many times over again. I assume maybe a copy shop would offer a laminating service, but I do not know. Thanks.
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You can also forego paper altogether and just use the spreadhsheet or online webapp available on the BU Exam resource page.

If you do the lamination thing, please let me know how that works out.

Regards,
Dave
 
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