Mick Garry of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader wrote an article about Shane Van Boening on August 22, 2010:
"At the beginning, back in 2007, I started traveling," Van Boening said from Syracuse, N.Y., where he played in a tournament this week. "In pool, that means going overseas if you want to play the best players. It's not really like any other sport in that way. A golfer can be best in the world and hardly ever leave the country. I go overseas 10 times a year."
On a list dominated by players from Europe and the Philippines, Van Boening is ranked No. 2 in the world by AZBilliards.com and is somewhere among the top 10 on most any group of elite players you can find.
The journey started when he picked up a cue and hit the ball at the age of 2. He has never really stopped since.
"If it wasn't for my grandfather, my aunts and my mother I couldn't possibly be one of the best pool players in the world," Van Boening says.
The South Dakotan's rise in this cloistered corner of the sports world is highlighted by several unique elements.
No. 1, he is hearing-impaired. Though he communicates comfortably now with the help of hearing aids, he's close to totally deaf.
No. 2, he is conspicuous among his competitive peers for clean living, physical fitness and his single-minded dedication to his craft.
No. 3, he comes from a family of pool players. His grandfather, Gary Bloomberg, is a nationally accredited instructor and jazz musician who continues to perform as a trick-shot artist at age 83. Shane's grandmother, mother and aunt have also won national pool titles....
Read more here: The Natural. [Retrieved 11 September 2010]
"At the beginning, back in 2007, I started traveling," Van Boening said from Syracuse, N.Y., where he played in a tournament this week. "In pool, that means going overseas if you want to play the best players. It's not really like any other sport in that way. A golfer can be best in the world and hardly ever leave the country. I go overseas 10 times a year."
On a list dominated by players from Europe and the Philippines, Van Boening is ranked No. 2 in the world by AZBilliards.com and is somewhere among the top 10 on most any group of elite players you can find.
The journey started when he picked up a cue and hit the ball at the age of 2. He has never really stopped since.
"If it wasn't for my grandfather, my aunts and my mother I couldn't possibly be one of the best pool players in the world," Van Boening says.
The South Dakotan's rise in this cloistered corner of the sports world is highlighted by several unique elements.
No. 1, he is hearing-impaired. Though he communicates comfortably now with the help of hearing aids, he's close to totally deaf.
No. 2, he is conspicuous among his competitive peers for clean living, physical fitness and his single-minded dedication to his craft.
No. 3, he comes from a family of pool players. His grandfather, Gary Bloomberg, is a nationally accredited instructor and jazz musician who continues to perform as a trick-shot artist at age 83. Shane's grandmother, mother and aunt have also won national pool titles....
Read more here: The Natural. [Retrieved 11 September 2010]
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