Last week I invited a friend to shoot some pool with me at California Billiards. He’s a very good athlete in the cycling world, but a true beginner in the pool world. When we began our session, I had to explain the fundamentals of pool: stance, body position, bridging, stroke, aiming, etc. After a brief discussion, we shot pool for a couple hours and had a great time. During the evening, I periodically made suggestions or corrections as needed. What I discovered from this experience is that having to explain the fundamentals to someone else really made me think about my own game. For example, as I was explaining the ghost ball aiming method to him, I realized that I was actually not as disciplined myself in using the aiming method as I needed to be. I was not visualizing the center of mass as I should, and this realization subsequently helped my game in the CPPT tournament in Santa Cruz last weekend.
Is pool really all about angles, friction, geometry and physics? Hardly. If you get too caught up in the math, you run the risk of losing your passion. After my learning experience from last week, I decided to put together an APA League team at California Billiards for the fall session. This accomplishes several things at once:
1. It’s an excuse to get together with friends and do something social
2. It gives me the opportunity to teach others what I know and help them grow
3. It helps out California Billiards by bringing in new customers
4. It helps the pool industry in general by expanding the customer base
5. It’s just plain fun, and is a stress reliever
We are currently putting together the team roster, and need to select a team name. If you have any witty suggestions, please leave a comment. The most important thing to keep in mind is this: when you set goals and are working very hard to achieve them, make sure to include some type of activity to keep it fun and keep yourself motivated to stick with the plan.
Angle of Reflection 
Hi Michael, I have had an APA league team since 2004. The APA has been great for the game, and I am proud to be a membet. I t has also been very helpful in my own game. I’m a skill level 9 in 9-ball as you no doubt will be. This means you probably won’t get to play as much as you would like because of the 23 rule, but I have found that teaching beginning and intermediate players keeps reminding me of my own fundamentals of the game. Outside of that, it’s great fun. I wish you best of luck with your team. Maybe I will get to meet you in Vegas someday. OK, here are some names to prod that creative mind of yours. “Sticks and Stones” “Nine Ballin” “Who’s Next” “Sorry Bout Cha Luck” and “Goin’ Fishin” That should get you started. Best wishes, Ray