Who are the billiard instructors for the pros?

Billy_Bob

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Which billiard instructors have had some of their students go on to become winning pros?

Name of instructor ------------------- Name of student/winning pro
1.
2.
3.
etc.
 
Spoke with Jennfer Barretta's mother at Valley Forge and I believe she said Jenn gets together with Jose Garcia for practice and help with things. Maybe she can verify this.
 
I know Burt Kinister has coached Nels Feuen, and (don't quote me) has worked with Danny "Kid Delicious" Basavich as well. I don't know the speed of their games before working with Kinister, if your trying to find out if Kinister, in fact, made them champion players.
 
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Billy_Bob said:
Which billiard instructors have had some of their students go on to become winning pros?

Name of instructor ------------------- Name of student/winning pro
1.
2.
3.
etc.

Hal Mix (deceased) ---------------------- Nick Varner.

Hal did have a book published before he passed on; Secrets of the Pros. I found some tidbits helpful.
 
most are themselves........some natural talent and others lots of hours by them selves.....i know that accustats and books have helped many....
 
I know for sure that Allison F. & Karen C. went to randyg's school. Heard of other possibles but I dont have actual facts.
 
Some that come off the top of my head: Bert Kinister, Fran Crimi, Randy G., Mark Wilson, and Jerry Briesath.
 
Icon of Sin said:
Spoke with Jennfer Barretta's mother at Valley Forge and I believe she said Jenn gets together with Jose Garcia for practice and help with things. Maybe she can verify this.

Jennifer was already a great player (definitely an"A") before she even met Jose Garcia. Jenn's formula for success has been workaholism. Nobody works harder. All those who figured in Jenn's success are from the New York City area. Let's not spread a myth here. Jose knows who taught Jenn, and has been very, very generous in paying compliments to them for a job extremely well done.

Having said that, however, Jose does work with Jenn from time to time, and if Jenn reaches the next level, meaning becoming a Top 8 ranked player on the WPBA, Jose will surely deserve some of the credit.

Jose is a scholar of the game, not to mention a fine player and a really nice guy. I saw him play for the first time in the mid-1970's, when he could compete with the truly elite at 14.1.
 
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Jerry is the best at turning b and c's into A's.....turning A's into AA or Master's or pro's comes from inside each player......worlaholism is right :) i don't think there is one instructor that can say they made this pro or that pro a "pro pool player" ....there are thousands of A level players or master lever players so to speak......but there are only a hand full of top pro's that will ever win a MAJOR pro tourney........they are not seperated by anything other then what they have inside ....IMO :)
 
sjm said:
Jennifer was already a great player (definitely an"A") before she even met Jose Garcia. Jenn's formula for success has been workaholism. Nobody works harder. All those who figured in Jenn's success are from the New York City area. Let's not spread a myth here. Jose knows who taught Jenn, and has been very, very generous in paying compliments to them for a job extremely well done.

Having said that, however, Jose does work with Jenn from time to time, and if Jenn reaches the next level, meaning becoming a Top 8 ranked player on the WPBA, Jose will surely deserve some of the credit.

Jose is a scholar of the game, not to mention a fine player and a really nice guy. I saw him play for the first time in the mid-1970's, when he could compete with the truly elite at 14.1.

Hasn't Jenn also worked with Tony Robles?

A recent rumour I heard is that Jerry Breithsath and Mark Wilson are two favorites amongst the pros.Who they've schooled, I have no idea.

Kinister as mentioned has worked with Niels feijen and Basavich and also with Tony Robles and some pro named(check spelling) Ramperstad. If I'm not mistaken he may have worked with Fabio Petroni as well.

RJ
 
It seemed a bit curious but I know Deno Andrews worked with Allison Fisher concerning her break.
Bert Kinister is a fine instructor (I have all his material) but my good friend went to take private lessons...he told him that with his talent, he should take up bowling. Quite pricey too I may add. That may sound funny until I tell you that this guy plays jam up. He studied Bert's tapes for years before he went for lessons...so I assumed he was way ahead of the game. Bert was yelling at him so bad that my friends wife went outside to cry. My friend is an APA 7 in eightball & a 9 in nineball and a truly fine player. He wins almost any local tourney he enters. In fact I witnessed him destroy Mike Davis at a big tournament. So yes...for a non pro, non roadie...he plays superb. I immediately canceled any thoughts of Kinister lessons.
 
time_is_now said:
Jerry is the best at turning b and c's into A's.....turning A's into AA or Master's or pro's comes from inside each player......worlaholism is right :) i don't think there is one instructor that can say they made this pro or that pro a "pro pool player" ....there are thousands of A level players or master lever players so to speak......but there are only a hand full of top pro's that will ever win a MAJOR pro tourney........they are not seperated by anything other then what they have inside ....IMO :)

Its about teaching, at least that was what the thread asked, and Jerry and Mark are "the" teachers. Jeanettte and Jennifer B. and others have used Jerry and I hear that Mark is also sought after by the pros when they are off. I would have to say that if your technique is flawed, your chances of becoming a pro are limited. Removing that flaw would increase your chances and that is what teaching/learning from them is about. You can be the pro, but winning is about the other things in the recent thread about the killer instinct and heart. You need both to be a winning pro.
 
Deadon said:
Its about teaching, at least that was what the thread asked, and Jerry and Mark are "the" teachers. Jeanettte and Jennifer B. and others have used Jerry and I hear that Mark is also sought after by the pros when they are off. I would have to say that if your technique is flawed, your chances of becoming a pro are limited. Removing that flaw would increase your chances and that is what teaching/learning from them is about. You can be the pro, but winning is about the other things in the recent thread about the killer instinct and heart. You need both to be a winning pro.
not sure i agree with that..........some of the pro's......actuall quiet a few don't do it by the book..........look at efern...probably the best or one of the best there is or will ever be....look at the angel of his elbow (stance/form) comparitively speaking to "the book".....
 
Varney Cues said:
It seemed a bit curious but I know Deno Andrews worked with Allison Fisher concerning her break.
Bert Kinister is a fine instructor (I have all his material) but my good friend went to take private lessons...he told him that with his talent, he should take up bowling. Quite pricey too I may add. I immediately canceled any thoughts of Kinister lessons.


I have many of Bert's tapes and have talked to him a few times on the phone. He seemed to be a pretty easy going type guy. Hopefully Bert was just joking with him but I wouldn't like the yelling part. I know a person that paid thousands to Bert for instructions when he was living in Chicago. His game is not that good (APA 5) for what he paid out. I don't know how much he practices though so he may think that all he has to do is take lessons.

I think Bert is more for the big name or money type guys. Look at the people he uses in his tapes.
 
time_is_now said:
not sure i agree with that..........some of the pro's......actuall quiet a few don't do it by the book..........look at efern...probably the best or one of the best there is or will ever be....look at the angel of his elbow (stance/form) comparitively speaking to "the book".....

I hear this argument all the time, and it's seriously flawed: "good technique is not what you need to become a pro; look at how many pros don't have good technique".

Of course any instructor Efren went to for help on his game wouldn't teach him the classic sort of stroke they'd teach someone who was just starting, because Efren is already a world-beater with an unconventional stroke. You'd have to break down all that learning and muscle memory to teach him a classical style, and in doing so you'd be destroying the world's best pool playing ability.

But that does not mean that us beginners aren't going to go a lot further if we get good instruction than we would if we didn't. You can learn the hard way or the easy way; just because Efren succeeded doing it the hard way doesn't mean the easy way isn't easier.

The "by the book" method teaches, I believe, fundamentals that won't hold you back. Efren's fundamentals, if you tried to use them as a beginner, would hold you back, in my opinion. You'd be struggling against your arm motion, trying to figure out, as Efren has over tens of thousands of hours, how to get a straight, repeatable, efficient, and accurate stroke out of a funky alignment. Meanwhile another guy who started at the same time modelling his fundamentals after Ralf Souquet or Buddy Hall, has a lot less to struggle against, and in effect has a head start.

-Andrew
 
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