One of the first influential memories I have from my childhood is my Dad teaching me the proper way to hold a pool game cue. Dad would never admit to being a 'shark' or to 'hustling' but as I got older the evidence became clearer. After, what seemed to be years, of staring longingly at the cues hanging majestically on the wall I was finally being given the chance to learn how to use one. My Dad had long since reached the caliber of player where he could make, what I now know to be simple shots, using almost any cue stick. This was not to say that he didn't realize the magnitude of the importance of picking the best pool cue. This was not a privilege to be taken lightly and lessons where to have my up-most attention.
I had listened, with starry eyes, to stories of Dad going to the pool hall, as a young adult, perfecting his craft and walking away rewarded with extra jingle in his pocket. You can imagine the wonder of a child - someone was paid for playing a game! Really? This I had to know more about.
First things first. Dad instructed me to pick a pool stick cue out of the rack. Knowing that he had his 'special' best pool cue, I clued into the fact that this choice held some importance. I picked up a 42 inch, one piece cue with diamond etching on the shaft and looked to Dad for approval. His response was, 'How does it feel?' It felt like I was holding the holy grail! I was still overwhelmed by the privilege and not really understanding what he meant by 'feel'.
He showed me how to form a 'crook' using my hand placed on the table with my index finger raised and together with my thumb forming a circle for the cue to slide through, making sure that as I drew it backward and forward the cue stayed true and did not wobble. Like many things, this was much harder to do than what my Dad made it look. In doing this he was teaching me the importance of manipulating the cue smoothly to complete a clean shot. At this point I was not actually hitting a cue ball, just practicing my stance, hand position and stoke. He told me, 'the pool stick cue should feel like part of you, imagine it's your third arm, act as one unit to hit the cue ball.' Here ended his first lesson. I was left to practice hitting the imaginary ball.
Over the following months I looked forward to my lessons. Learning the different hand positions, angle shots, bank shots, etc. As I young teenager I could proudly proclaim that I had perfected the fluke shot! Next lesson was that most games did not allow flukes and call shot was the usual rule. I learned the importance of the angles on the table and suddenly geometry didn't seem so boring! As I grew up playing pool with Dad was our bonding time. It became the place for him not only to pass on his love and knowledge of the sport, but where he told stories of his youth and gave advice to problems that just seemed easier to discuss when pocketing the eight ball.
After the last fork full of dessert of a holiday meal had been swallowed the question always followed: 'Whose up for a game of pool?' We'd all line up and head down to the pool table to claim our spot on the score board. Dad spent many hours teaching his children and in turn their children (even a couple of great-grandchildren) how to play pool. We all realize what a wonderful privilege it was and we all treasure the beautiful memories we have of bonding with him over a variety of games of Snooker and Billiards, that became such a family tradition.
I had listened, with starry eyes, to stories of Dad going to the pool hall, as a young adult, perfecting his craft and walking away rewarded with extra jingle in his pocket. You can imagine the wonder of a child - someone was paid for playing a game! Really? This I had to know more about.
First things first. Dad instructed me to pick a pool stick cue out of the rack. Knowing that he had his 'special' best pool cue, I clued into the fact that this choice held some importance. I picked up a 42 inch, one piece cue with diamond etching on the shaft and looked to Dad for approval. His response was, 'How does it feel?' It felt like I was holding the holy grail! I was still overwhelmed by the privilege and not really understanding what he meant by 'feel'.
He showed me how to form a 'crook' using my hand placed on the table with my index finger raised and together with my thumb forming a circle for the cue to slide through, making sure that as I drew it backward and forward the cue stayed true and did not wobble. Like many things, this was much harder to do than what my Dad made it look. In doing this he was teaching me the importance of manipulating the cue smoothly to complete a clean shot. At this point I was not actually hitting a cue ball, just practicing my stance, hand position and stoke. He told me, 'the pool stick cue should feel like part of you, imagine it's your third arm, act as one unit to hit the cue ball.' Here ended his first lesson. I was left to practice hitting the imaginary ball.
Over the following months I looked forward to my lessons. Learning the different hand positions, angle shots, bank shots, etc. As I young teenager I could proudly proclaim that I had perfected the fluke shot! Next lesson was that most games did not allow flukes and call shot was the usual rule. I learned the importance of the angles on the table and suddenly geometry didn't seem so boring! As I grew up playing pool with Dad was our bonding time. It became the place for him not only to pass on his love and knowledge of the sport, but where he told stories of his youth and gave advice to problems that just seemed easier to discuss when pocketing the eight ball.
After the last fork full of dessert of a holiday meal had been swallowed the question always followed: 'Whose up for a game of pool?' We'd all line up and head down to the pool table to claim our spot on the score board. Dad spent many hours teaching his children and in turn their children (even a couple of great-grandchildren) how to play pool. We all realize what a wonderful privilege it was and we all treasure the beautiful memories we have of bonding with him over a variety of games of Snooker and Billiards, that became such a family tradition.
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