Let me start by telling you how I came to be an instructor and why I created this Website.  Somewhere around ten years ago a coworker asked if I knew how to play pool, and if I was interested in joining an APA pool league.  I didn't even know there was such a thing as a pool league but I had been playing pool since I was 10 years old and always considered myself a pretty good pool player.  However, once I started playing  I quickly found out that everything I thought I knew about pool, was  actually that I didn't know anything about pool.  I didn't understand the mechanics, the strategies, or even the rules of the game.  This was a bitter pill for me to swallow.  I grew up with a pool table in my house.  How could I have been so short sighted?  I bought books, DVDs, and watched video after video on you tube., and I did improve, but no where like I wanted to.  So I took a lesson from PBIA Master instructor Scott Lee.  Having been in coaching for nearly 30 years myself I appreciated what Scott taught me.  Fundamentals.  Information that, ironically, were not in any of the training materials I had.  My understanding of what made a good pool player increased and my pool game immediately improved.  In talking with Scott I realized that there was things missing in all those videos and DVDs that I had watched.  Number 1, they were generic.  Made to appeal to as many players as they could.  Number 2, they taught you how to shoot shots but not necessarily how to play well, aka. not fundamentals.  Number 3, some of the videos were so specific that when you tried to apply those particular techniques it actually damaged your game.  The problem I found, as the saying goes, you can't build a house without a good foundation.  Likewise, you can't become a good pool player without good fundamentals.  My favorite coach of all time was John Wooden.  He coached the UCLA Bruins basketball team to many years of college championships.  His philosophy was make the game fun.  To do that you had to teach fundamentals.  When a person understands the game and possesses good fundamentals the game becomes fun and winning just becomes a byproduct.  Coach Wooden said he never talked about winning because he knew if his guys were having fun they were going to play their best.  With that in mind I decided I wanted to help people play better pool and have fun, and with Scott's help I became a PBIA instructor. (Professional Billiard Instructors Association).  This website is an extension of my coaching.  I want to supply those solid fundamentals that are missing in those videos you see online.  I will supply links to some of the better information on the internet.  (There are  some really good videos out there.)  Review new DVDs and training aids.  I will post snippets of matches and players I think will show good fundamentals.  Finally, I intend to create my own videos of my pool lessons that not only my students can use to review but others can benefit from also.  I will try to keep these videos short 5 to 10 minutes each.  If you find things on this page you like, please let me know.  If you find things you think are in error or you don't like, let me know that also.  I am always learning and try to always keep an open mind to new ideas and criticism.  Enjoy the site and let's have some fun playing pool.

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Randal Erickson  -  PBIA Instructor