In the world of a high school billiard athlete competition can be very tough. Students are constantly seeking an edge in billiard equipment technology or training to improve their performance. Chris Wiseman from the Sachse High School Mustangs Billiard Team is no exception. Chris and his proud father Eric Wiseman have decided it's time to take Chris's game to the next level. They understand that superior equipment performance and professional BCA Certified training will give Chris the edge he desires this year.
Chris is a sophomore this year and is a veteran to high school billiard competition. Last year in the 2005-2006 season, Chris as a freshmen, had played on the Varsity "A" team. The student athletes who competed at the "A" level were extremely competitive. All players were trying to qualify to compete at last summers 2006 BCA Junior Nationals held at the University of Arizona.
Chris has a great mental aptitude and attitude to excel in the sport of billiards. He is an extremely intelligent student ranking 4th in his class at Sachse High School as a sophomore and is ranked in the top 100 students in the Garland Independent School District which is one of the largest school districts in the State of Texas. With one-on-one instruction and good equipment Eric, Chris's father, realized his son has the potential to compete at future National events.
Both father and son began the intensive B.A.S.I.C. Training (Billiard Arts & Science Instruction Course) with BCA Certified Instructor and H.S. Billiard Program Director Earl Munson in February 2007. The plan was to train both Chris and Eric together to improve their knowledge and performance. It also gives the father the tools and understanding of cue mechanics, Billiard Physics, and game strategy to become a coach to Chris. They both trained for three 2 -hour sessions in a three week period.
Once correct mechanics was attained the next step was to bring their cue ball control and positioning skills to a higher level. In order to do this it was imperative to eliminate equipment deficencies that cause unwanted deflection in the cueball. When contacting the cue ball on the horizontal axis (left or right side English) either intentionally or unintentionally it can cause the cue ball to squirt in the opposite direction that English is applied.
It is very important to know and understand why you missed a shot. Was it a mechanical stroke breakdown, aiming mis-alignment, mental distraction, lack of shot knowledge, or equipment failure? By learning correct fundamentals and basic Physics with quality equipment all these factors can be understood, avoided and greatly reduced.
Before Chris and Eric's last training session I had received a call from Royce Bunnell. Royce is one of the founders of the new Plano, Texas based billiard companies that manufacture the high performance OB-1 cue shafts. He had expressed an interest in the high school billiard program Chris is a member of and wanted to know if we could meet. I was eager to meet the inventors of the highly acclaimed OB-1 shaft that is making a buzz in the local Dallas billiard world and now across the U.S. So on a Friday night Margo Keighley and myself had spent several hours together with Royce explaining the engineering and manufacturing processes that go into the OB-1 shaft.
Royce and his partner Don Owens teamed up a few years ago to bring their talents together to build a high quality and high performance cue shaft that would rival the other top shaft manufacturers in the world. After seeing the care and engineering and most importantly getting to test the OB-1 I am excited about the prospects of using this new technology to improve my and my students game.
Last year I was introduced to the OB-1 shaft for the first time and had the opportunity to test one for myself to see just how good they really were. I have to admit I was very impressed with the hit and feel. I have been using a Predator 314 shaft for 11 years and I am a true believer in radial laminated shafts because of their low cue ball deflection characteristics and 360 degree sweet spot. Some non-laminated major cue manufacturers test their cues for deflection then put a red or black dot on the shaft to identify were the least amount of deflection occurs. The negative aspects of these shafts is that it can be distracting constantly turning the cue to find the dot. With the radial laminate cues you can turn the shaft 360 degrees and it will always be consistent low deflection. I have decided to play and test this shaft out for a while and see how much my game will also improve.
The first thing that jumps at you when you see an OB-1 shaft is the way it is designed and manufactured. The ferrule has a totally unique look yet a very important purpose that is also a proprietary in-house fabricated element of the OB-1. The shaft blank is comprised of six "stress relieved" machine segments that are bundled together to make the shaft extremely durable. The research and design of the shaft is to reduce the weight in the front end to lessen the effects of cue stick deflection on English shots or lateral stroke errors. The feel of the cue is what is also instantly noticed as you shoot with this high performance shaft. The "feel" is due to the specially engineered ferrule and high quality and layered Talisman leather tip. The internal construction and engineering were carefully thought out as well with the core being comprised of a vibration dampening material resulting in an exceptionally good feel, sound, and most importantly......a good shot.
In my last training session with Eric and Chris I had explained the basic engineering processes to Chris and Eric on the OB-1 and let them try a demo shaft. It was quickly evident that the shaft was instantly helping Chris draw the cue ball back on a draw shot. He was getting a lot more back spin then was attained with his regular cue shaft. Chris and his father decided to make the investment in a quality shaft that will give him an increased edge in competition. It makes your job a lot easier as an instructor when a student is using high quality equipment to back up the training.
Chris is the first in the Texas high schools to use this latest cue technology to improve his performance. His first night out went well with Chris winning 7 out of 11 games. What made the night special was that Chris got to meet both of the OB-1 founders Royce Bunnell and Don Owens during his first competition using the OB-1 shaft. They were excited about the B.E.T.T.E.R. High School Billiard Program and we were excited about the new OB-1 shafts.
OB-1 is one the official sponsors and a great supporter of the high school billiard program. OB-1 was very generous and donated two shafts to raffle off for a fund raiser for the high school students going to the 2007 BEF Junior Nationals at the Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minn. in July 12th-15th.
Chris is a sophomore this year and is a veteran to high school billiard competition. Last year in the 2005-2006 season, Chris as a freshmen, had played on the Varsity "A" team. The student athletes who competed at the "A" level were extremely competitive. All players were trying to qualify to compete at last summers 2006 BCA Junior Nationals held at the University of Arizona.
Chris has a great mental aptitude and attitude to excel in the sport of billiards. He is an extremely intelligent student ranking 4th in his class at Sachse High School as a sophomore and is ranked in the top 100 students in the Garland Independent School District which is one of the largest school districts in the State of Texas. With one-on-one instruction and good equipment Eric, Chris's father, realized his son has the potential to compete at future National events.
Both father and son began the intensive B.A.S.I.C. Training (Billiard Arts & Science Instruction Course) with BCA Certified Instructor and H.S. Billiard Program Director Earl Munson in February 2007. The plan was to train both Chris and Eric together to improve their knowledge and performance. It also gives the father the tools and understanding of cue mechanics, Billiard Physics, and game strategy to become a coach to Chris. They both trained for three 2 -hour sessions in a three week period.
Once correct mechanics was attained the next step was to bring their cue ball control and positioning skills to a higher level. In order to do this it was imperative to eliminate equipment deficencies that cause unwanted deflection in the cueball. When contacting the cue ball on the horizontal axis (left or right side English) either intentionally or unintentionally it can cause the cue ball to squirt in the opposite direction that English is applied.
It is very important to know and understand why you missed a shot. Was it a mechanical stroke breakdown, aiming mis-alignment, mental distraction, lack of shot knowledge, or equipment failure? By learning correct fundamentals and basic Physics with quality equipment all these factors can be understood, avoided and greatly reduced.
Before Chris and Eric's last training session I had received a call from Royce Bunnell. Royce is one of the founders of the new Plano, Texas based billiard companies that manufacture the high performance OB-1 cue shafts. He had expressed an interest in the high school billiard program Chris is a member of and wanted to know if we could meet. I was eager to meet the inventors of the highly acclaimed OB-1 shaft that is making a buzz in the local Dallas billiard world and now across the U.S. So on a Friday night Margo Keighley and myself had spent several hours together with Royce explaining the engineering and manufacturing processes that go into the OB-1 shaft.
Royce and his partner Don Owens teamed up a few years ago to bring their talents together to build a high quality and high performance cue shaft that would rival the other top shaft manufacturers in the world. After seeing the care and engineering and most importantly getting to test the OB-1 I am excited about the prospects of using this new technology to improve my and my students game.
Last year I was introduced to the OB-1 shaft for the first time and had the opportunity to test one for myself to see just how good they really were. I have to admit I was very impressed with the hit and feel. I have been using a Predator 314 shaft for 11 years and I am a true believer in radial laminated shafts because of their low cue ball deflection characteristics and 360 degree sweet spot. Some non-laminated major cue manufacturers test their cues for deflection then put a red or black dot on the shaft to identify were the least amount of deflection occurs. The negative aspects of these shafts is that it can be distracting constantly turning the cue to find the dot. With the radial laminate cues you can turn the shaft 360 degrees and it will always be consistent low deflection. I have decided to play and test this shaft out for a while and see how much my game will also improve.
The first thing that jumps at you when you see an OB-1 shaft is the way it is designed and manufactured. The ferrule has a totally unique look yet a very important purpose that is also a proprietary in-house fabricated element of the OB-1. The shaft blank is comprised of six "stress relieved" machine segments that are bundled together to make the shaft extremely durable. The research and design of the shaft is to reduce the weight in the front end to lessen the effects of cue stick deflection on English shots or lateral stroke errors. The feel of the cue is what is also instantly noticed as you shoot with this high performance shaft. The "feel" is due to the specially engineered ferrule and high quality and layered Talisman leather tip. The internal construction and engineering were carefully thought out as well with the core being comprised of a vibration dampening material resulting in an exceptionally good feel, sound, and most importantly......a good shot.
In my last training session with Eric and Chris I had explained the basic engineering processes to Chris and Eric on the OB-1 and let them try a demo shaft. It was quickly evident that the shaft was instantly helping Chris draw the cue ball back on a draw shot. He was getting a lot more back spin then was attained with his regular cue shaft. Chris and his father decided to make the investment in a quality shaft that will give him an increased edge in competition. It makes your job a lot easier as an instructor when a student is using high quality equipment to back up the training.
Chris is the first in the Texas high schools to use this latest cue technology to improve his performance. His first night out went well with Chris winning 7 out of 11 games. What made the night special was that Chris got to meet both of the OB-1 founders Royce Bunnell and Don Owens during his first competition using the OB-1 shaft. They were excited about the B.E.T.T.E.R. High School Billiard Program and we were excited about the new OB-1 shafts.
OB-1 is one the official sponsors and a great supporter of the high school billiard program. OB-1 was very generous and donated two shafts to raffle off for a fund raiser for the high school students going to the 2007 BEF Junior Nationals at the Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minn. in July 12th-15th.
