GEAR: What’s in my case and why

Samm Diep is the host of this month’s PoolSynergy topic.  Samm is a pool player, writer, instructor, reporter, competitor, entrepreneur, and ambassador who lives and breathes pool in Denver, Colorado.  This month, Samm wants to know what’s in everyone’s cue case.  I’ve decided to provide a photographic tour of the items found in my cue case, and also provide a little information about each piece.  If you want to see what’s in the cue cases of other PoolSynergy authors, visit Samm’s blog here.  Hope you enjoy!

Items found in Michael Reddick’s cue case:

1. Whitten Cue Case.  Ok, I know a cue case cannot be located inside itself, but this is where the story begins.  My case holds 2 butts and 4 shafts.  It has a black leather exterior with 1 small pouch.  I bought the cue case several years ago.  I think I bought it at the Chattanooga Billiard Club, but I’m not sure.

   

   Exterior and Interior Views

2. Playing Cue – McDermott model D7 cue made with Birdseye maple, red/black nylon wrap, and 12.5mm shaft.  I bought it at a billiard supply store in Norcross, Georgia over 20 years ago, and it still has the original factory tip!  It retailed for $135 brand new back then, but I got a great deal on it for $80 since it had been a floor model and the butt had some dirt, plaster, chalk, etc. ground into the wrap.  I was nearly broke and in college at the time, but I scraped together the money and bought the cue.  After spending the next three hours picking ‘trash’ out of the wrap with a needle, it was just like new!
3. Break Cue – Hand made by Tony Bautista from the Philippines.  The shaft was 13.5mm with a medium hardness tip.  The butt has a leather wrap and 8 hand spliced sharp points.  I recently had Ken Mendoza turn the shaft and reduce it to 12.5mm to more closely mimic the playing characteristics of my McDermott.  The shaft is still very stiff and deflects the cue ball a little more than I like on shots with english, but I love the cue, so I decided to use it as my breaking cue.
   

   Top Cue: McDermott. Bottom Cue: Bautista.

4. I found a set of cue stick joint protectors in my cue case pouch.  These should be protecting my cues, but alas, I found them living in my pouch.  I always wondered where they went!
5. A Tip Pik tip tool which is “missing” its protective cap.  One day I just got tired of pulling off the cap, so out it went!
6. A Cue Cube tip shaper tool – Several years old, but still works like new.
7. A stack of personal cards to stay in touch with people
8. A bottle of 5 Hour Energy drink for those long playing sessions or late night games.  Otherwise, I would probably fall asleep around 9pm.
9. A small tin of Altoids – with mints inside.  Usually needed after eating bar food.
10. A large tin of Altoids – No mints.  This tin contains red dot stickers to mark ball locations when I’m doing drills.  Also contains a set of earphones for use with my iPhone.  When I’m in serious practice mode, I put on the earphones and listen to music.  It tells everyone: “Don’t interrupt me!”  I learned this trick from Samm Diep.
11. A Sure Shot three fingered nylon glove.  No, I normally don’t use one, but in certain situations like buildings with no A/C coupled with high heat and high humidity, it’s just easier to wear a glove rather than constantly reach for chalk.  Some people say if you wear a glove it means you probably can’t shoot a good game of pool.  I say, if you believe that, great!  Rack’em up!
12. 1 nylon and leather shaft cleaning/abrasion pad.  I probably should use it more often, but I rarely do.  My jeans are so much easier and more convenient to use!
13. 1 hand powder bag – I purchased this hand powder bag over 20 years ago when I first played in the APA.  I got it from the Chattanooga Billiard Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  I never use it anymore, but I just can’t get rid of it.  It has so many fantastic memories!
    

    Contents of my case pouch

PoolSynergy: What’s your story?

This month’s PoolSynergy topic is “What’s your story?”  About eight months ago, I kicked off a two year mission to dramatically improve my pool playing skills.  In preparation for this effort, I did a little research on skill development and the factors that influence a person’s ability to develop world class talent.  My journey has required me to do a fair amount of soul searching, and as such I began questioning not only my own motivation for playing the game, but also the motivation of other players who have achieved success in the sport.  Why do some people love the game?  How did they initially get hooked on the sport?  What keeps them coming back to the table again and again?  In essence, what’s their story?

Welcome to Volume 9 of PoolSynergy, a monthly collection of some of the greatest writing in pool.  On the 15^th of each month a group of writers publish articles based on a common theme, and a host publishes a summary page with descriptions and introductions to each article.  This month I’m hosting, and I decided to pose a question to the PoolSynergy authors:  “What’s your story?”  Why do you love the game and what keeps you coming back?

The Contributors

Several authors contributed to this month’s topic.  First off, we have Alison Fischer, Editor and photographer for NYCgrind.com.  Alison describes growing up with a Brunswick Gold Crown III pool table, and her mom teaching her the fundamentals of the sport…the bridge, the stance, and how to aim.  She and her mom played match after match in the basement, and from there the obsession set in.  You can read Alison’s story here.

Gail Glazebrook, the 2010 BCAPL Women’s Open National Champion, also describes growing up with a pool table, a 9 foot Renaissance.  Her dad taught her the fundamentals of the game, and it wasn’t long before she was giving the guys a run for the money.  You can read Gail’s story here.

John Biddle, founder of the Pool Synergy project, describes his current relationship with pool as “a more mature, long-term love relationship, rather than the hotter, more lust based attraction of my youth.”  John talks more about his relationship with pool here.

Mike Fieldhammer, founder of BilliardCoach.com, tells about spending every holiday and summer learning from his grandfather.  He subsequently honed his skills during college, practicing all night on one of four regulation size tables at 25 cents an hour.  You can read Mike’s story here.

Melinda Bailey, author of the blog “Pool is a Journey”, describes her start in pool during high school.  She played lots of video games, and “…became so good at the video games I got bored…so I ventured over to the pool tables to fill my time and satisfy my thirst for staying busy.”  You can read her story here.

Johnny, author of the blog “A Journey Into Billiards”, preaches the educational value of pool as part of his attraction to the sport.  According to Johnny, “ Whoever said you don’t learn anything in a pool room has obviously never spent any time in one. There’s interpersonal politics, business and finance, psychology, physics and geometry, spatial reckoning and mental prowess.”  I couldn’t have said it better myself.  You can ready Johnny’s article here.

Jarno Virtanen, author of the blog “Caroming the Combination”, describes several memories from his early pool life, and how his learning experiences in darts and table tennis led to a life of pool.  A friend of his bought a pool table and put it in a private club.  Of course, he joined the club to be with his friends, but as Jarno puts it, “…my main motivation was the pool table.”  You can read Jarno’s story here.

The author of the p00lriah blog blames his addiction to pool on television.  He watched a trick shot exhibition by ”machine gun” Lou Butera, and was hooked.  According to p00lriah, pool is one of the “…few games that combine deep logic with complete chaos…no matter how good you get, you can never completely master the game”.  You can read p00lriah’s story here.

Jake Dyer, who writes the blog “Untold Stories: Billiards History”, tells us that his first exposure to pool came during college via a book a friend gave him, “Hustlers, Beats and Others”, which describes the sociology of pool hustling.  He later traveled to Costa Rica for some time, where he witnessed old-school pool hustling first hand, and he fell in love with both the game and the culture.  You can read Jake’s story here.

For a complete list of PoolSynergy editions, you can visit John Biddle’s website at PoolStudent.com.  I hope you enjoy this month’s addition of PoolSynergy.

How to Fix Pool?

This article is part of Volume 8 of PoolSynergy, a monthly collection of the best writing on pool. After you read it, be sure to check out the rest of the June 2010 edition of PoolSynergy for other great articles over at Untold Stories: Billiards History.  The theme for this month is “How Can We Fix Pool?”

R.A. “Jake” Dyer is the host of this month’s PoolSynergy topic.  For volume 8 of PoolSynergy, Mr. Dyer has challenged us to come up with ideas to “Fix Pool,” but what does he mean by the phrase “Fix Pool?”  I presume he is referring to the unenviable financial state that most top pool players find themselves in.  Over the years, several polls have established the fact that billiards is one of the largest participation sports in America.  Does this broad grass roots support translate into nice salaries for the top players in the game?  Consider salaries taken from other top participation sports in America.  The following numbers are average 2009 salaries (medians) for professional athletes in their respective fields:  Baseball: $3,000,000.  Basketball: $3,000,000.  Football: $800,000.  Golf:   $549,000.

Not too bad huh?  How much can a professional pool player hope to make?  $200,000?  $300,000?  $500,000?  Guess again.  The most talented players, even the ones at the very upper echelon of the pool food chain, only manage to bring in about $53,000 per year on average in tournament winnings. With those kinds of numbers, it’s no surprise that most top pool players are forced to supplement their ‘normal’ earnings from tournament winnings with income from other sources, such as corporate endorsements, books, lessons, gambling, or (gasp!) a regular job.  Why is there such a disparity between these sports, and how do we fix the situation?

Let’s take a closer look at the sports listed above and ask the following question: “Where does the money come from to support these salaries?” Asking this question may help us determine why the same revenue streams are either completely absent or not present at a reasonable level for the billiard industry.  Some people believe the answer to getting more money into the industry coffers is to try to land movie deals, TV deals, cable programming slots, newspaper coverage, corporate sponsorships, etc.  I disagree.  These are all items that could help bring in money for a very select few in our industry, but all of these ideas are driven by a single purpose: to make money for someone who is outside the industry.  Think about it.  Why do beer companies advertise during baseball games?  Is it to promote the sport of baseball?  NO!  IT’S TO SELL BEER!  Why do BMW and Mercedes-Benz advertise during golf tournaments?  To support golf?  NO!  IT’S TO SELL CARS!   These corporations are simply trying to send a message to the baseball or golf fans of the world to try to get them to buy their products.  Now, let’s bring this knowledge home:  Who outside the billiard industry is trying to sell to us?  Are we really a good target market for someone else’s marketing department?  Think about it.  What would make some Coca-Cola or other Fortune 25 company marketing executive stand up in a crowded boardroom and exclaim, “Hey, I’ve got a great idea!  Why don’t we market our (fill in the blank) to all the pocket billiard fans out there?” Hummm…not likely to happen.  Think about pool from an outsider’s point of view.  What does pool have to offer to a company that is OUTSIDE our industry?  Are we the type of people that a company would want to market their products or services to?  Do we have money to spend?  Do we have buying power?

While you ponder those questions, allow me to share some of my own observations and present recommendations for action that could potentially lead to a better financed pool industry.  This in turn could lead to larger tournament payouts that are supported by higher participation levels, sponsorships, and advertising.  This could even lead to (gasp!) some stable salaries for our top touring players.

Observation 1:  What do baseball, basketball, football, and golf have in common?  For one thing, they all have very large and diverse fan populations. Women and men, young and old, people who have played the game, and people who have not, rich and poor. What is the allure?  What appeals to such a diverse group?  Why do people attend pro games, watch them at crowded bars, or with large groups in their homes? In my opinion, the answer is simple: Food, Conversation, and Community. For most people, the game itself is not really the draw.  The truth is, you can watch most professional sports games from home by yourself and get a much better view of the action.  The allure is really more about community and making connections with other people.  And what do these people do while they are talking, laughing, and having a good time?  They’re spending money.  They’re buying tickets, buying drinks, and buying food.  They’re also being bombarded with advertisements from folks outside the industry.

Action 1: Let’s change the demographics of the pool industry.  We are currently mostly men, mostly single, and I would argue, mostly broke.  Wow, that doesn’t sound like an appealing demographic for most marketing executives.  We need more women in the game.  We need more kids in the game.  We need to build up a bigger fan base and make pool fun and entertaining for the masses. How do we do that?  Maybe we need our own marketing campaign.  How about “One reaching One?”  If each of us sought out just one new person and got them involved in the game, we would immediately double the entire industry population.  Wow, that was easy!    We also should do more to promote league play.  It’s a great way to get more people in the door.  We could also actively pursue local companies and ask them to form and sponsor a pool league team as one of their company’s team building activities.  This could introduce the game to a whole new set of people, and bring in deeper pockets.

Observation 2:  A lot of major sports figures appear to be somewhat accessible to the fans.  The fans feel a connection.  Is this true of most top echelon pool players?  Let’s take a quick look at professional baseball and how it connects to fans.  Each professional baseball team has at least two or three ‘farm’ teams that are used to develop talent and get the players ready for the ‘big time.’  It may be an unintended consequence of this system, but the farm teams allow players to get closer to the fans.  Most farm team games feel more like high school or college games – very energetic and the fans can get close. There’s an opportunity for the players to make a connection with the ‘common folk’.  The players also often attend local charity events and occasionally interact directly with the fans.  What could we learn from this? 

Action 2:  Professional pool players need to be more accessible to the fans. Be friendly, be open, in simple terms, become an ambassador for the sport.  If you are a pro, you can take action locally, join a league, do pro bono work, work with up and coming talented kids, do community outreach, work with disadvantaged kids and be a big brother or big sister, or just simply promote league play.  Here’s the rub: You can’t fake it.  To be an ambassador, you must really love the game AND genuinely want to promote the game and help others.  As a pro, you are in a special place and have an opportunity to mentor others and greatly expand the industry.

Observation 3:  Playing pocket billiards requires a lot of skill, maybe too much.  Compare billiards with bowling.  After your first throw in bowling, there are only a handful of possible states that the pins can be in.  With billiards, the possibilities and the complexities are quite literally limitless.  Is it possible to simplify pool so that the barrier to entry for the unskilled player is less imposing?  Consider the following baseball analogy:  hitting and playing baseball requires a lot of skill, too much skill in fact for many to play.  How do you simplify baseball to make it more accessible to the masses?  Simple.  You make the ball bigger, you slow down the pitching, and you don’t allow players to steal bases.  Next, you change the name to “Softball.”  Is there a similar analog for pool?

Action 3: Make the game easier for beginners.  NO, I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT HANDICAPS!  Why not provide beginner tables which massive pockets?  I know, I know, I can hear your screams from here.  I am not a fan of big pocket tables either, but I must admit that I’ve seen more than a few newbie’s give up on the game just because the base skill level required to pocket balls or make a couple balls in a row is too high.  Why not lower the bar, widen up the pockets and open up the sport to a much bigger audience, then allow them to move up the skill ladder as they get accustomed to the new sport?  They can always advance to regulation tables later on once they develop their basic skills.  On the other hand, they may just stay on the ‘easy’ tables while chatting with their friends, having a drink, enjoying a bite to eat, and all the while spending money at your establishment. 

In order to expand the industry, we need to help build a community.  Most people are looking for connections and a place to belong.  Instead of opting to go to Cheers where everybody knows your name, why not visit the local pool hall?  We need to expand and diversify our demographics.  We need to help others “join the club.”  This will change our demographics and attract more interest from outside investors and advertisers.  Well, that’s my two cents.  Be sure to check out the rest of the June 2010 edition of PoolSynergy for other great articles over at Untold Stories: Billiards History.

The Most Important Thing

This article is the second post that I’ve written in coordination with other pool bloggers.  On the 15^th of each month, we write articles based on a common theme.  This month’s theme is “The Most Important Thing.”  To see articles written by my fellow bloggers this month, visit Mike McCafferty’s host page.

I died at 2:30 in the afternoon.  That much I know for sure.  It may have been a week ago, a month ago, or even a year ago.  I’m not quite sure since there are no mechanisms here to track the passage of time.  When I arrived at the pearly gates, I was told to stand in a special line: the line for those souls who were granted the privilege of sharing one last message with the world before passing away.  No one in Sunday school told me that Saint Peter would ask me one final question before making a decision on my passage through the gates. 

Saint Peter had asked each of us in line the same question: “What did you communicate with your last words?”  The gentleman in front of me had visited his family and encouraged them to set aside their differences and work together in harmony.  A woman told of communicating with missionaries to save lost souls in a far region of the world.  Both of them were granted passage to the promised land.  Me?  Well, when I told Saint Peter what I had said with my last few words, he shook his head and told me to wait here with rest of the pool players.

I still remember my last few minutes on Earth.  The Doctor had given me only a few hours to live.  “You should go home and rest,” he said.  Instead, I went to the pool hall.  My nephew was shooting in a tournament and I wasn’t going to miss it.  When I arrived, he was practicing at a table in the corner.  After rolling up in my wheelchair, an Angel of the Lord appeared to me and whispered in my ear that it was my turn to climb Jacob’s ladder, but the Big Man upstairs had granted me the privilege of sharing one last piece of wisdom with the world before I expired.  The only catch?  My message had to be conveyed in 20 words or less.

The clock was ticking.  What words of wisdom should I share?  To whom should I share them?  I watched as my nephew struggled at the table, trying in vain to make improvements to his game.  Hummmm.  What could I share with him?  What was the most important thing?  What could I convey that would radically change his game for the better?  I considered the options.  I could tell him to work on fundamentals such as developing a balanced stance, creating a solid immovable bridge hand, shooting with a level cue, or using a smooth stroke, but there were plenty of books on the market that covered these topics.  Maybe I should tell him to just relax, enjoy the game more, be more social.  Or better yet, I could recommend that he hook up with a professional and take some lessons.  As I pondered the last words that I would deliver, I watched him bang balls around.  He hit shots with amazing force, sending object balls flying around the table at high speeds.  Bank shots were coming up short, object balls were rattling in the jaws of pockets, and he was working up a sweat with his frenetic pace.  As I sat and watched, I got more and more irritated and could no longer contain myself.  I blurted out, “Stop hitting the balls so damn hard!  Ninety percent of your shots should be characterized by very gentle clicking sounds… ahhccckkkk!”  And that was it – I had used up my twenty words and kicked the bucket.  Was it the best use of my final words?  Maybe so…maybe not.  Oh well, what’s done is done.

Now I sit with the other misfits, waiting for the Big Man upstairs to make a final decision on my fate.  No one seems to be in any hurry, which suits me just fine.  Three or four thousand fellow miscreants are gathered around that old pool table in the sky, watching Mosconi and Greenleaf play one final match of 14.1 continuous in a race to 1,000,000.  Greenleaf is ahead 834,766 to 831,995, but Mosconi is on a high run of 2,645 points and shows no sign of slowing down.  I guess there are worse ways to spend eternity.

A Modest Proposal

In 1729, Jonathan Swift published a satirical essay in which he offered a simple yet unique solution for resolving hunger among the starving Irish population.  His essay, most commonly referred to by the simplified title “A Modest Proposal,” provided a rather grotesque and shocking solution that would have made Hannibal Lecter proud.  His “solution” was offered in jest, yet it sent shockwaves through the tightlaced British culture.  In a similar vein, I have “A Modest Proposal” for the billiard industry.  By enacting the following recommendations, I believe we could ignite a pool renaissance unlike any other in recorded history and change the face of billiards forever.  So buckle your seatbelts, hold on to your hats, and get ready for a bumpy ride!  Here is my proposal for improving the image of the industry, and pushing pool into the mainstream.   You may not agree with me, but hopefully my proposal will get you thinking.

1. Clean up the Rooms

I’m tired of encountering dark, dingy bastions of ill repute, where honest people who want to find a good game of pool are forced to knife their way in and shoot their way out.  On many occasions during my travels I’ve walked into rooms and immediately turned around and left.  Why?  I figure if an establishment is so dark that you can’t see into the corners of the room, there must be something the owners are trying to hide.  Come on.  Are electricity bills really that bad?  Please, turn the lights on!  And while I’m on the subject of pool room environments, could you also please put a little more space between the tables?  How would you like it if you were in your shooting stance, about to make a game winning shot, and some oblivious player from another table poked you in the back with a pool stick?  Also, please turn the music down.  Huh?  What was that you said??

2. No Tables less than 9 Feet

Imagine Roger Federer or Andy Roddick being forced to play tennis on a ping pong table.  Sure, the ping pong table has a net and a green surface lined with white trim just like a tennis court, but it’s not the same game.  What if Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson were forced to play golf on a child’s mini golf course?  Again, a mini golf course may have eighteen holes and lots of grass (albeit fake grass), but it’s definitely not the same as the real game.  Likewise, why should pool players be forced to play on 8 foot, 7 foot, or (gasp!) 6 foot tables?   Blasphemy!  I certainly mean no disrespect to the fine folks at VNEA.  They’ve done a wonderful job building up a membership of over 100,000 people in a league that plays almost exclusively on 7 foot tables.  Great people and a great league.  I just hope someday they’ll promote REAL pool!    (Uh oh, I’m probably going to hear back about this one!)

3. Dress Codes

Guys, no more cut-off sleeveless t-shirts, PLEASE!  The only place I want to see hairy underarms is at the zoo!  Now, I’m certainly not advocating that we all wear tuxedos because I’m a jeans and T-shirt kind of guy myself, but let’s try to at least look presentable.  And Ladies, please button up the blouses!  You’ll garner much more attention (and respect) if you keep it buttoned up and just play a great game of pool.  Look at professional golfers, tennis players, or even baseball players.  There’s always a dress code.  Enough said!

4. No Smoking

When I lived in the Atlanta, Georgia area, I played in the APA.  I loved the weekly tournaments and the team camaraderie, but I abhorred the smoky bar room environments that we were forced to play in.  When my team traveled around town to play teams at other locations, we once parked outside a bar, walked up to the front of the place and opened the door.  Literally, a rolling cloud of cigarette smoke billowed out from the entrance into the night sky.  It was the most filthy miserable pool experience of my life.  I’m not saying your patrons can’t smoke, just please install smoke eaters, or have a smoking patio outside.  Your lungs and I will thank you.

5. No Gambling

WHAT?!  NO GAMBLING!!?  Yep, you heard me.  “But that’s the lifeblood of pool!,” you might say.  Okay okay, hear me out.  Why is it that pool has such a bad image?  I have many theories on this, and maybe I’ll cover them in a future post, but for now, just try this experiment: approach the average person on the street who has no association with pool, and ask for their opinion of the game.  In a majority of the cases, the term “Hustler” will come up.  Do we really want this image associated with our sport?  I must admit, I actually like the idea of being a skilled enough player to become a hustler, but it’s really not what I want to do.  I just love the game for the game’s sake.  I’m not looking to make a living.  I’ve spoken to many players who gamble, and a few who hustle, and the reason they do so is to either supplement their income or make a living because it’s all they’ve ever known.  (And what a tough living it is.)  Step back for a moment and consider:  The reason there’s no BIG money in pool is because the corporations that have deep pockets refuse to assume the risk of advertising in a sport that could tarnish THEIR image.  As long as we keep up with the smoking, drinking, gambling, and other nefarious activities, large corporations with deep pockets will not come close to us with a nickel.

How do we go about improving the reputation and image of our beloved sport?  We need to strengthen the professional tours.  Over the last decade the women of the WPBA seem to have a fairly good track record of maintaining a clean image, promoting the sport, and getting some TV time.  Maybe we could all learn a thing or two from them.  The professional tours need our support, but without an extensive grass roots system of pool players feeding new talent and money into them, the professional tours can’t flourish.  In the United States alone, there are more leagues and organizations than I can count.  We have the WPBA, UPA, IPT, APA, BCA, VNEA, Joss tours, Predator tours, Mezz Pro-Am tours, USPPA, WorldPPA, and a veritable alphabet soup of other organizations so confusing that it makes my head spin.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could all collaborate, form a coalition, and speak with one unified voice?

This article is not about moral judgments, it’s simply my (somewhat) objective opinion about the changes that I believe could kick start an effort to repair pool’s image.  Remember, it’s all about perceptions and marketing.  Is pool’s image beyond repair?  Are there any examples that I can cite to provide hope that I’m not on a Don Quixote-esque quest?  Sure.  Just take a look at the skateboard industry.  What started out as a bunch of rebellious misfit adolescent teens has now morphed into the X Games.  Lots of money, tons of sponsors, and a whole lot more attention and national coverage than pool could ever dream of. 

So there you have it.  My humble opinion on steps necessary to move pool into the mainstream.  Let me know if you have any comments or ideas.  Also, please check out the other excellent articles written on this month’s PoolSynergy topic at NYCgrind.com.