There's A Young Lion On The Horizon

Bavafongoul

Bavafongoul

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
In case anyone is interested in any future, emerging young players on the pool scene, there's a youngster that is going to garnish a lot of attention before he turns 18.

He competed in last week's WC Mezz tour stop in Ventura, CA and distinguished himself really well. He advanced into Sunday's round and eventually lost to a
better skilled, mature pool player.....but TJ just turned 16 and is only starting to compete on local Mezz stops.

He has a younger brother that's probably got more natural talent than TJ but pool is just amusing for him and music is Connor's real muse, not pool like his brother, TJ.
Oh yeah, his last name is Hill.......TJ Hill, a really respectful teenager that has tremendous promise as a pool playr and also a pleasant surprise on the WC Mezz Tour.


TJ's dad, Tommy Hill, is waiting on escrow to close and the Break Room pool hall in Fresno will be renamed Blue Fin Billiards and then lookout. When you dad owns
a pool hall and was also a touring professional pool player, I predict T.J. Hill will become a force to be reckoned with.

The next WC Mezz stop is in Fresno, CA......June 11th- 12th......Diamond Billiards.



Matt B.
 
Bavafongoul said:
In case anyone is interested in any future, emerging young players on the pool scene, there's a youngster that is going to garnish a lot of attention before he turns 18.

He competed in last week's WC Mezz tour stop in Ventura, CA and distinguished himself really well. He advanced into Sunday's round and eventually lost to a
better skilled, mature pool player.....but TJ just turned 16 and is only starting to compete on local Mezz stops.

He has a younger brother that's probably got more natural talent than TJ but pool is just amusing for him and music is Connor's real muse, not pool like his brother, TJ.
Oh yeah, his last name is Hill.......TJ Hill, a really respectful teenager that has tremendous promise as a pool playr and also a pleasant surprise on the WC Mezz Tour.


TJ's dad, Tommy Hill, is waiting on escrow to close and the Break Room pool hall in Fresno will be renamed Blue Fin Billiards and then lookout. When you dad owns
a pool hall and was also a touring professional pool player, I predict T.J. Hill will become a force to be reckoned with.

The next WC Mezz stop is in Fresno, CA......June 11th- 12th......Diamond Billiards.



Matt B.
Click to expand...

Are they associated with the Blue Fin Billiards that used to be in Monterey? I liked that room.
 
I hope the young fellow does well, but I would be remiss if I didn't ask as to whether he had something to fall back on in case professional pool didn't work out.
And, just out of curiosity, Beva, how old was this young man when he first picked up a pool cue? :)
 
17? The day may come when a young lass starts playing with his shaft and it'll be all over.
 
Glasses wasnt so bad, it was my palms, they were so hairy when I woke up I couldnt even make a fist till I shaved them!!!!!:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

I will be watching for him on AZB and YOUTUBE, good luck!!!
 
You guys are funny. Bava thank you for the kind words. You know how much you mean to myself and my boys. To answer the questions, Blue Fin pools & spas is the name of my construction company so i thought it was a fitting name for the pool room. Never had anything to do with the room in monteray. I played on the PBT and the Camel Pro Tour in the late 80's to mid 90's and i am a current PBIA instructor. My boys first started playing at a very early age. They were competing in weekly tournaments early as 8 or 9 years old. I know the pain of playing on the road, scuffeling around for meal money. Playing tournaments against the best players in the world for crap payouts. Yes my son does desire to be a professional player but he knows very well that only the top few players make a descent living at it. He gets good grades in school. He does want to attend lynnwood college for the billiards program but at least he wants to go to college. He is a good boy and he has heart. Miles and miles of heart, young eyes and a stroke beyond his years. I am very intrested in seeing how far be can go.
 
tommyhill said:
You guys are funny. Bava thank you for the kind words. You know how much you mean to myself and my boys. To answer the questions, Blue Fin pools & spas is the name of my construction company so i thought it was a fitting name for the pool room. Never had anything to do with the room in monteray. I played on the PBT and the Camel Pro Tour in the late 80's to mid 90's and i am a current PBIA instructor. My boys first started playing at a very early age. They were competing in weekly tournaments early as 8 or 9 years old. I know the pain of playing on the road, scuffeling around for meal money. Playing tournaments against the best players in the world for crap payouts. Yes my son does desire to be a professional player but he knows very well that only the top few players make a descent living at it. He gets good grades in school. He does want to attend lynnwood college for the billiards program but at least he wants to go to college. He is a good boy and he has heart. Miles and miles of heart, young eyes and a stroke beyond his years. I am very intrested in seeing how far be can go.
Click to expand...

Excellent! All the best. :smile:
 
Tommy has an extraordinary background.....up until when he tore up his arm as a young pitcher in the Boston Red Sox Triple A organization, he had a very bright future as a pitcher in MLB. He subsequently went on to do a lot of things in life from becoming a head chef, establishing several restaurants, and construction & swimming pool companies, as well as becoming a professional pool player. The boys were not around when Tommy was a touring pro player and were born afterwards. But they know of their dad's accomplishments and that he's one incredible pool player so their interest in pool developed as they grew up. As already noted, it's great to see a young person emerge as a player, develop their skills, garnish some recognition along the way while always exhibiting maturity. TJ has already learned that true champions win with grace and lose with dignity. I also reminded TJ that being gracious is a whole lot more fun than being dignified.



Matt B.
 
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tap tap tap...

Nothing like having a few good mentors, and intelligent elders to help nudge
a young spirit. Hope you all.... dad, friends, and kids.... have fun with it. Always
cool to see your kid doing well.

td
 
tommyhill said:
You guys are funny. Bava thank you for the kind words. You know how much you mean to myself and my boys. To answer the questions, Blue Fin pools & spas is the name of my construction company so i thought it was a fitting name for the pool room. Never had anything to do with the room in monteray. I played on the PBT and the Camel Pro Tour in the late 80's to mid 90's and i am a current PBIA instructor. My boys first started playing at a very early age. They were competing in weekly tournaments early as 8 or 9 years old. I know the pain of playing on the road, scuffeling around for meal money. Playing tournaments against the best players in the world for crap payouts. Yes my son does desire to be a professional player but he knows very well that only the top few players make a descent living at it. He gets good grades in school. He does want to attend lynnwood college for the billiards program but at least he wants to go to college. He is a good boy and he has heart. Miles and miles of heart, young eyes and a stroke beyond his years. I am very intrested in seeing how far be can go.
Click to expand...

Cherish it, Brother. I have been working with my 10 year old for over a year and i cant catch his interest; Cant even get a solid bridge hand out of him. Heartbreaking. :banghead:
 
PocketPooler.....give it a little time......there's school, summer vacation, swimming, intramural sports....soccer, baseball, basketball, football, tennis, volleyball
and just a world of things that distract and amuse your son when he's still so young......When his voice starts to change, as he goes onto the 7th, 8th grades
and then HS, you will witness a change and you may find that you moaned a little too soon......that's been my overall experience.....just keep in mind most dads
tend to judge their children's performance using a yardstick 40" in length.....you just expect more from them which really isn't a fair, true measurement.



Matt B.
 
Good story.

Seems like the son will have a good mentor, dad and a poolhall to mess around in.

Time to put him to work too and help dad polish the cue balls.


Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums mobile app
 
Today is the last day of school for TJ.....unfortunately, that interferes with this weekend.
Now that summer vacation is here, his grandparents invited TJ & Connor to come visit.
So right after school, the boys leave to spend a week out of town seeing the grandparents.

So the young lion I wrote about won't be at this week's WC Mezz stop in Fresno. Tournament
starts tomorrow and I just was cleared to resume pool again but it's way early to think about
entering and I'll just be a spectator for now. I need some table time after a really long layoff.

Hope to meet some Azers at the West Coast Mezz Tournament in Fresno this weekend.



Matt B.
 
I'd say TJ has three......his dad (Tommy) is a tremendous player and is just an incredible one pocket player.
I don't bother playing Tommy one pocket any more. He's a cross bank copy machine or so he makes it seem.
 
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