For those who don't know I am really into pool, or billiards.
I have always loved the game ever since I first played it at my great aunt and uncle's house when I was 11. I played a lot in high school, DJ and Brandon Cochran both had tables. I played so much that when I was 17 I bought myself a cheap Mizerak brand cue at the sports store Copeland Sports (no I am not at all related to them). That store has since closed down but I still remember where the cue was. It was on the second floor just to the south side of the escalator. I really liked that cue and I still have it, though it is now just an extra cue I lend to someone if they don't have a cue to play with.
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| Rick Skinner |
I continued to play pool in college and as a freshman I took a pool class which I really enjoyed. It was taught by Rick Skinner (pictured to the right), a BCA (Billiards Congress of America) certified instructor. Rick did a great job teaching the official rules to the game and also teaching the basics of form (that is right good pool playing is all about form). Right after returning from my mission I started to play again and even considered trying to join a team. At that time I was dating a girl and taught her to play. Well, that didn't work out and I stopped playing pool for a while.
Then, in the spring of 2010, my good friend and fellow biological engineer Myles Thomas wanted to take a pool class. As we had almost the exact same schedule I took the class too and started to teach Myles what I knew about pool. He got better fast and I am sure that if he hadn't of moved to Purdue that he'd be even better. It was in that class that I remembered how much I really liked playing pool. I decided that I wanted to be more involved so I gave my number to Chris Crook, Mike McIntyre and Brittany Stainbrook and told them I would be interested in being involved with whatever club or team that they were thinking of creating.
At the same time I asked Rick and the rest of the people who were in the club what type of cue I should look at if I really wanted to compete. Most of them recommended Mcdermott brand cues. After looking and thinking and saving for a couple months I bought a Mcdermott M94G Brasilia cue. Oh it was, and is, gorgeous, made from Brazilian rosewood, the same wood used in the interior of the São Paulo temple. Here is a picture of it.
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| The Mcdermott Brasilia Cue (just so happens I served in the Brasilia Mission) |
The next fall, I became the secretary of the USU Billiards club, joined the USU Billiards team and joined Mike McIntyre and Brittany Stainbrook on their Cache Valley Pool League team. I loved it. In competing at small tournaments and also against other teams in league play, I found myself getting better at a faster rate than I ever had. In the spring of 2011 I got two amazing pool related opportunities. First, Rick had left for Arizona and had given up his teaching post. That post was given to Mike but he could not teach in the mornings due to his schedule. So I got the chance to teach three different pool classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. It was a blast and it gave me a chance to learn how to teach something I loved. The second opportunity came in February when our USU Billiards team, through much trial which would take another entry to explain, got to go to Arizona to compete in the ACUI (don't know what that stands for actually) Regional Tournament. I didn't do so well, but I had a blast with the team and several fun experiences (again, I'll right another entry on this later).
The USU Billiards Team
Overall I have loved the game of billiards and the many people I've gotten to know while playing. I wish that other people would also pick the game up, maybe I'll write a Cameron Recommends on it one of these days. Anyways, that is how and why I am so into pool. Enjoy!
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