Yes. Although Pool School has only been around since 1995, its teaching pool history goes back to the mid 1980's after league play and having many players interested in learning how to play better pocket billiards.
After attending quality pool schools in Dallas, Texas and parts west I began developing and testing my own instructional concepts, mostly out of frustration with the inconsistencies and obscurities in much of the material on the market at that time. Using my concepts and trial and error with volunteer students I decided to dedicate a school for instructional purposes only.
I continue to revise the curriculum guided by suggestions from students and my research work as well. As we all know teaching is about communication. In light of this, Pool School instructors endure a long apprenticeship to train communication skills and general understanding of course content.
Much of the research for pool school material is done with psychologists and physicists. Aside from liaison meetings with various other professionals, Pool School instructors enroll in classes with other pool schools to garner even more information.
We know each student is an individual with unique qualities of both mind and body. For this reason, Pool School does not believe in teaching a "style of play". Instead definitions have been established describing the goal of any given skill. These are then customized by the students to suit individual needs this allows a student to learn more quickly since each aspect is guided by that person's own comfort.
We've derived a base list of competencies for beginning to advanced players including:
- Orientation including pool terminology
- Equipment basis (cue sticks, balls, tables, etc.)
- Mechanics of grip, bridge, stance
- Stroke development and advanced stroke technique
- Basic ball pocketing
- Mechanics and advanced grip, bridge and stance concepts
- Building consistency
- Ball address
- "Centergistics"
- Cue Ball Quantification
- Speed Control, Sighting and Aiming
- Stop Shot and Tangent Lines
- Pool Science and Physics
- Elastic collisions, Friction
- Practice, Psychology, Physiology, "Choke Syndromes"
- Shape/Pattern Play
- Strategy and Tactics: Safeties, Banks, Kicks, Breaking
