Whats a Champion ?

S

supercue

supercue
Silver Member
I just spent about four hours with my grandson,Shane Van boening, who
had just arrived on a plane from Florida and had a chance to share some thoughts of the events that transpired over the last couple of weeks
Needless to say, I'm oh so proud of him,not only for his pool skils,but the
Manner in which he handles his personal life. A true champion.
As an infant, of about one and a half, I would secure him in a captains
chair and he would watch me play by the hours as if to be mismerized by the balls. At Xmass, I bought him a 2' x 4' pool table and took the wrap off,he dropped all his other gifts,grabbed the cue and crunched his fingers around to get a proper bridge and took a near perfect stance. It was amazing and he has been amazing every since. He was doing trick shot shows with me when he was eight and, as a student,he has such great comprehention for the game.
Most of all ,he is so motivated in the way he practises along with the mental aspect of the game. He is going to be here in Rapid City for a few days and ,as usual , we will spend some time on his game.
Shanes Mother ,Timi Bloomberg,Aunt Gari Jo Jensen,and his grandmother Jeanne Bloomberg, also hold national pool titles (BCA and VNEA) and have been a great inspiration for Shane . Me ,Ijust turned 80 and still like teaching and reminiscing of the days when I was hitting pretty good . Shane has the right formula for becoming a champ and ,you know, all athletes have become great useing the same formula Shane has followed.
 
a chamioon is like an solar/lunar eclipse everything has to fall into place at the right time to be a true champion(proper training when your young, hungsr, natural talent ,drive, and not letting your self get distracted by golf or other gambling) when these and more all line up then you might create a champion, some guys just dont have it or miss something along theway., and might be a good player in spots for like 6 months(then they disappear), and the allignment of all the attrubutes and bearing the burden of being a champion must stand the test of time, staying power, Efren-who has been on/near the top for 20 years. is not a one hit wonder-thats a true champion and there arnt many of them, perhaps 10-20 guys maybe. no ups and down like earl who is gifted for 9B as good as anyone but sometimes his allignment falls out of line. Cool calm collected no matter the circumstances, Mark tad had it for a while and got distracted-thus he isnt a champion-sure one day he is the next day he isnt-thats not a true champion, champons dont faulter over time.
 
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supercue said:
I just spent about four hours with my grandson,Shane Van boening, who
had just arrived on a plane from Florida and had a chance to share some thoughts of the events that transpired over the last couple of weeks
Needless to say, I'm oh so proud of him,not only for his pool skils,but the
Manner in which he handles his personal life. A true champion.
As an infant, of about one and a half, I would secure him in a captains
chair and he would watch me play by the hours as if to be mismerized by the balls. At Xmass, I bought him a 2' x 4' pool table and took the wrap off,he dropped all his other gifts,grabbed the cue and crunched his fingers around to get a proper bridge and took a near perfect stance. It was amazing and he has been amazing every since. He was doing trick shot shows with me when he was eight and, as a student,he has such great comprehention for the game.
Most of all ,he is so motivated in the way he practises along with the mental aspect of the game. He is going to be here in Rapid City for a few days and ,as usual , we will spend some time on his game.
Shanes Mother ,Timi Bloomberg,Aunt Gari Jo Jensen,and his grandmother Jeanne Bloomberg, also hold national pool titles (BCA and VNEA) and have been a great inspiration for Shane . Me ,Ijust turned 80 and still like teaching and reminiscing of the days when I was hitting pretty good . Shane has the right formula for becoming a champ and ,you know, all athletes have become great useing the same formula Shane has followed.
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You must be so very proud of Shane. How rewarding it is to see him shine brightly in the pool world. Thanks for sharing a few tidbits about his background.

It's kind of nice to see the fruits of his lifelong labor in pool pay off not only in a monetary way, but in the sense that he has a future in the sport. I consider Shane an American thoroughbred champion, something we should all be proud about. I look forward to seeing him play and reading about all of his accomplishments in times up ahead. Congratulations to Shane. :)

JAM
 
Supercue , thank you kindly for the post. Shane is a thoroughred without doubt , your post enlightened me to the pedegree , thanks for all you have done to bring us one of the worlds premier pool players.

Kev
14and1.com
 
Great thread! congrats to a proud pool family. Shane is lucky to have such excellent support from his family......something I think is lacking in our great sport. How many of us had to "sneak" off to the pool room?:o

Gerry
 
Every time I read the title of the thread rather than having words go through my head I get pictures.... pictures of Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Gary Player, The Miz, Efren, Buddy. The list goes on and on.

Desire, commitment, talent, integrity.
 
Shane seems to be a great person and player. I had the chance to meet him and to watch him play in a tournament a few years ago. You could see the game then, but now it looks as though he his starting to reach his potential as a player.
Were you his only coach?
 
JimS said:
Every time I read the title of the thread rather than having words go through my head I get pictures.... pictures of Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Gary Player, The Miz, Efren, Buddy. The list goes on and on.

Desire, commitment, talent, integrity.
Click to expand...

This is a great thread and a great question.

"Desire, commitment, talent, integrity," JimS said.

I certainly agree that a true champion has to exhibit all of these qualities. To be a true champion, it is not enough for a person to win at their chosen sport (or profession), but they must be successful in their personal life as well.

Nowadays, when our youth are bombarded with "Reality" TV programs that make people famous and reward them for bad behaviour (Real World is one), and they constantly see athletes cheating to get ahead (without consequences in most cases), or athletes and movie stars misbehaving in every conceivable way - all the while being lavished with huge contracts, the definition of a champion clearly is muddled and misconveyed.

Why are we so willing to spend money or worship these jackasses that rake-in their millions of dollars, then become a menace to society and contribute nothing back?

Lately, John Lennon's song "Working Class Hero" has played every day on the radio here in Puerto Rico.

It is my anthem, my theme song, because I will never be a champion by the modern definition. However, I am striving to improve myself every day... not only at my hobbies (including pool), but at work, and as a father, son, and husband.

So, even though we usually equate big money and obvious victory in head-to-head combat with being a champion (the modern definition), take time to look at the real champions in your life. Take time to recognize a relative or teacher or mentor that believed in you and lit the fire in your heart to chase your dreams. Take time to recognize the person that put food on your table against staggering odds. Trust me when I say that there is no hardship on the court that an athelete has to overcome that comes close to some of the smallest obstacles your parents fought through to feed and house you.

In my eyes, Supercue is a "Working Class Hero" and has played an important role in raising some fine people.... so in my opinion, he is a champion in his own right.

Maybe the truest champion is the person that pushes forward against all odds, improving the lives of the people around them, and does it all without the recognition, fame, and million-dollar contract as a reward.

So, let's add a little to JimS' definition and make it:

Desire, commitment, talent, integrity, and altruism.

And remember: "A working class hero is something to be!"
 
I didn't

realize what a Pool family Shane has, no wonder Pool is in his blood! ... LOL

Having that kind of support can make a big difference to his career. He definately earned his win in good fashion.

I would like to know when is Shane's birthday? I like to compare champion's birthdays to their sign to analyze what positive attributes they bring to the game. (BTW, my son's name is Shayne, named after the northern River in Scotland).
 
Congratulations on winning your first major Shane! I'm going to have to start practicing :)

I'd also like to thank Chuck M. of Sioux Falls for helping to sponsor Shane over the last couple of years. Folks like Shane's Grandfather and Chuck are great to have in your corner.

BTW, Shane's birthday is 7-14-83

Good Luck at the Summit in Vegas!

Jason
 
this makes a champion

this is a picture i found in an article about shane in a i beleive to be local newspaper.
 

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Wow what an awesome thread! The last few weeks have been pretty good for Shane and it is great to see him reach his full potential in a sport where there tends to be alot of wasted talent. There is no question that Shane will be a true champion...it is only a matter of time, he has all the attributes that other champions in the sport have (Efren and Varner come to mind) and most importantly he seems to have the drive, something alot of his peers appear to be lacking.

He's certainly made a believer out of me in recent times! Congratulations to Shane and best of luck to him in the future!
 
Why must we always stigmatize the word "champion" with meaning you must win at something or recieve a monetary award for being one? I know a few "champions" in my life that have never won a damn thing in their lives or ever recieved any money for anything except bustin' their tail in the workplace everyday! My wife and my father quickly come to mind. True champions, the both of them!!! And believe me, there are PLENTY of others.

supercue, it sounds as though you yourself have a "champion" grandson in Shane. It speaks volumes for the young man that he even enjoys spending time with his 80 year old grandfather when he has the chance. And, what a darn good grandfather you have been to him! You, my friend, are a champion too, at least in MY eyes!!!

All the best to you and Shane!!!

Maniac
 
billiards102 said:
Congratulations on winning your first major Shane! I'm going to have to start practicing :)

I'd also like to thank Chuck M. of Sioux Falls for helping to sponsor Shane over the last couple of years. Folks like Shane's Grandfather and Chuck are great to have in your corner.

BTW, Shane's birthday is 7-14-83

Good Luck at the Summit in Vegas!

Jason
Click to expand...
Cool - we have the same birthday just a different year. I didn't realize he was that young. WOW he is only going to get better. Congratulations and good luck.

BVal
 
shane

i watched him play in vegas back some time ago in the vnea league.he played late hours in the action room and i got a chance to watch him a bit then.i told quite a few people about him afterwards and it wasn't because he was playin lights out because he wasn't then.i just noticed he had a stroke that you could do anything with.i knew he would be a great player.i hope he keeps it up and learns as many games as possible to build the kind of knowledge that will make him excell in the game.
 
Thanks for posting! I had the pleasure to watch Shane take down the New Mexico Open last October, and knew then that he had what it takes to be a major presence in the pool world. He has great character, too. Good luck and congratulations on your first major! :p
 
Any Chance?

You could get him to go to Sacramento next week? That is where they are playing the old summer Reno Open. Also will be a 1p event and much more. I saw and talked to Shane in a recent Reno open and was very impressed which is hard to do with an old grump like me. He reminds me of my son who was a heck of a pool player too but sort of went the poker way. Shane is a Champion in more ways than one.
 
supercue said:
I just spent about four hours with my grandson,Shane Van boening, who
had just arrived on a plane from Florida and had a chance to share some thoughts of the events that transpired over the last couple of weeks
Needless to say, I'm oh so proud of him,not only for his pool skils,but the
Manner in which he handles his personal life. A true champion.
As an infant, of about one and a half, I would secure him in a captains
chair and he would watch me play by the hours as if to be mismerized by the balls. At Xmass, I bought him a 2' x 4' pool table and took the wrap off,he dropped all his other gifts,grabbed the cue and crunched his fingers around to get a proper bridge and took a near perfect stance. It was amazing and he has been amazing every since. He was doing trick shot shows with me when he was eight and, as a student,he has such great comprehention for the game.
Most of all ,he is so motivated in the way he practises along with the mental aspect of the game. He is going to be here in Rapid City for a few days and ,as usual , we will spend some time on his game.
Shanes Mother ,Timi Bloomberg,Aunt Gari Jo Jensen,and his grandmother Jeanne Bloomberg, also hold national pool titles (BCA and VNEA) and have been a great inspiration for Shane . Me ,Ijust turned 80 and still like teaching and reminiscing of the days when I was hitting pretty good . Shane has the right formula for becoming a champ and ,you know, all athletes have become great useing the same formula Shane has followed.
Click to expand...

He is special and really had no shoice.

I knew Timi back in the early 90's and she could play. I might add, very attractive as well. SHe was fun to be around and loved having a good time.
 
Maniac said:
Why must we always stigmatize the word "champion" with meaning you must win at something or recieve a monetary award for being one? Maniac
Click to expand...

Probably has something to do with the dictionary definition of champion. Not meaning to be a smart-ass.... it's just that the word champion does mean the winner of something.
 
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