“An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” – Unknown
Now that I’m a card carrying member of the pain in the neck and sore back club, I’ve discovered that membership does have its privileges. For one, I didn’t spend any money today in a pool hall, and two, I’ve had plenty of time to ponder the future of my pool life. How far have I come in the last year and a half? How much more do I have to go? What are my goals? Am I satisfied with my current abilities? Do I shoot pool for fun, to be social, or is there something more to it? Why do I play in the APA? Should I continue playing in the APA? Should I play in more weekly tournaments? Should I visit other pool halls? Should I hit the road occasionally? Should I insanely pursue drills until I can execute all to near perfection? Do I take lessons from accomplished professionals who know how to teach? (Being a pro player doesn’t mean you can effectively teach someone the necessary skills to improve.) These are just some of the questions I’m currently pondering.
I think I’ve come a long way in the last year and a half since I started this blog. I’ve progressed from being a C+/B- player to being an A-/A player. It’s been a lot of work…more than I originally imagined. Like most things in life, I’ve discovered that the more I learn about pool, the more I realize there is to learn about pool. How much work will it take for me to get from A-/A to AAA or AAA+? I know it will be a lot of work, but if the trend holds, it will be even more than I currently imagine. Call me impatient if you will, but I’m not waiting another year and a half to get to AAA. Something’s gotta change. I need to figure it out soon, because when my back and neck recover, I’m gonna do something with a vengeance.
Angle of Reflection 
so who are the accomplished pros that can teach?
Excellent question! I’ll respond once I get to my keyboard!
I pondered your question as I was driving to work, and realized that I’ve got way too much to say about this to fit here, so I’ll probably follow up with a post about this. The truth is, this is a very difficult question to answer. All I know for sure is that teaching is a skill, just like playing pool is a skill. Just because you can play pool very well doesn’t mean you can teach. Over the last two years, I’ve taken (paid for) lessons from 3 amateurs and 3 professionals, one of which is a hall of famer and another which is a nationally recognized pro/instructor. Which did the best job (able to teach effectively and improve my game)? It’s probably a three way tie between 2 of the amateur players and Chris Lynch, the house pro at Amsterdam Billiards in NYC. I’ll tell you more about it in my post.
some of the best lessons i got are from not-so-famous players that could shoot lights out AND teach. you’re definitely right that a pro card is no merit badge in teaching.