SPetty
05-26-2005, 12:48 PM
You have to register to get to this story, so I'm copying and pasting for your reading pleasure... These schools are all in the greater Dallas, TX area.
---------------------------------------
A pastime a team can bank on
Teacher hopes billiards can add learning to students' free time
08:50 PM CDT on Wednesday, May 25, 2005
By ELIZABETH LANGTON / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
Sam Jolly's classroom at Berkner High School is part computer lab, part pool hall.
Yes, pool hall.
Mr. Jolly sponsors Berkner's billiards team, an after-school program with 23 official members who compete in a league against three area schools. Dozens more students flock to the classroom to play after school and during free periods.
"It's a good place for the students to come and stay rather than hanging out in the halls," he said.
Earl Munson, a Billiards Congress of America certified instructor who started the league four years ago, said Berkner was the first high school in Texas to make pool an after-school activity and possibly the first in the country with pool tables in a classroom.
"We're the pilot program," he said.
Mr. Jolly said he considers pool an alternative sport for kids who don't play football, baseball or soccer. He brought the tables into his classroom because they can also be used as teaching tools.
"You can sit them down in a classroom; you can teach a student to memorize. But if they have no concept of where it's applied, how it's applied, they can't apply it to a new problem," he said. "The problem with life is, there is more than one variable. And I can show them that on the pool table.
"It works. It opens the kids' eyes up."
Mr. Munson volunteers his time to coach the student pool players.
"If we can give these students another opportunity to participate, it's going to make them feel better about school and be more involved," he said.
Hundreds of students at the four participating schools tried out in the fall, Mr. Munson said. His daughter, Katie, plays on the Sachse High School team. Mr. Jolly's daughter, Samantha, has been on the Berkner team for two years.
"I've been fascinated by it," 16-year-old Samantha said.
Plano Senior High and Rockwall High also have teams in the program. This year, Berkner won the league's 8-ball championship, dubbed the Texas Billiards Congress of America High School Championship. Mr. Munson, who administers the league, is looking for more schools to join next year.
Mr. Munson attributes Berkner's success to the school's tables, which allow extra practice time.
Howard Kincaid, a Berkner staff member, donated the school's first table – a 50-year-old, 7-foot snooker table. Mr. Kincaid, an avid player, often challenges the student players after school.
Tai Vo, the father of a team member and owner of a billiards business, then gave the school two 9-foot Brunswick tables.
"A lot of us got a lot better," sophomore Timmy Vo said about having the tables in the classroom.
Practice and consistency yield good pool playing, Timmy said, but he also believes in having a feel for the game.
"It's more of an art for me," said the 16-year-old, who's been playing since about age 5. "I can visualize the shots, see what's going to happen next."
D.J. Pruitt, a Berkner team member who will compete next month in the Junior and Collegiate 9-Ball National Championships, said he works on his game three times a day. He perfects shots by trying to grasp the physics and geometry behind them.
"Understanding the things I learned in school made me a better player," the 16-year-old said.
After the championships – June 15-19 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor – D.J. will hold a national ranking as a junior player, Mr. Munson said. The contest attracts the country's best young players.
"The level of competition is pretty strong," he said. "Texas has not done very well in the past because there's virtually no junior programs."
But the profile of billiards is rising, Mr. Munson said. Many colleges include billiards as a sport, and the Billiards Congress of America offers college scholarships to high school seniors.
The International Olympic Committee came close to including billiards as an exhibition sports in the 2004 summer games, Mr. Munson said, and supporters hope to win approval in 2008.
"The social stigma of the game – the smoky pool room – that's gone," he said.
Although the students seem to enjoy the pool tables, Mr. Jolly said his motives for their presence remain serious. Students must maintain academic eligibility to play, which motivates them to stay interested and stay in school, he said.
"I do not intend to have the lovely sport of billiards spoil what I'm trying to do," he said. "My whole goal here is to have students go on to higher education or be successful in the workplace."
Elizabeth Langton is a Plano freelance writer. E-mail elizabeth_langton @yahoo.com.
---------------------------------------
A pastime a team can bank on
Teacher hopes billiards can add learning to students' free time
08:50 PM CDT on Wednesday, May 25, 2005
By ELIZABETH LANGTON / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
Sam Jolly's classroom at Berkner High School is part computer lab, part pool hall.
Yes, pool hall.
Mr. Jolly sponsors Berkner's billiards team, an after-school program with 23 official members who compete in a league against three area schools. Dozens more students flock to the classroom to play after school and during free periods.
"It's a good place for the students to come and stay rather than hanging out in the halls," he said.
Earl Munson, a Billiards Congress of America certified instructor who started the league four years ago, said Berkner was the first high school in Texas to make pool an after-school activity and possibly the first in the country with pool tables in a classroom.
"We're the pilot program," he said.
Mr. Jolly said he considers pool an alternative sport for kids who don't play football, baseball or soccer. He brought the tables into his classroom because they can also be used as teaching tools.
"You can sit them down in a classroom; you can teach a student to memorize. But if they have no concept of where it's applied, how it's applied, they can't apply it to a new problem," he said. "The problem with life is, there is more than one variable. And I can show them that on the pool table.
"It works. It opens the kids' eyes up."
Mr. Munson volunteers his time to coach the student pool players.
"If we can give these students another opportunity to participate, it's going to make them feel better about school and be more involved," he said.
Hundreds of students at the four participating schools tried out in the fall, Mr. Munson said. His daughter, Katie, plays on the Sachse High School team. Mr. Jolly's daughter, Samantha, has been on the Berkner team for two years.
"I've been fascinated by it," 16-year-old Samantha said.
Plano Senior High and Rockwall High also have teams in the program. This year, Berkner won the league's 8-ball championship, dubbed the Texas Billiards Congress of America High School Championship. Mr. Munson, who administers the league, is looking for more schools to join next year.
Mr. Munson attributes Berkner's success to the school's tables, which allow extra practice time.
Howard Kincaid, a Berkner staff member, donated the school's first table – a 50-year-old, 7-foot snooker table. Mr. Kincaid, an avid player, often challenges the student players after school.
Tai Vo, the father of a team member and owner of a billiards business, then gave the school two 9-foot Brunswick tables.
"A lot of us got a lot better," sophomore Timmy Vo said about having the tables in the classroom.
Practice and consistency yield good pool playing, Timmy said, but he also believes in having a feel for the game.
"It's more of an art for me," said the 16-year-old, who's been playing since about age 5. "I can visualize the shots, see what's going to happen next."
D.J. Pruitt, a Berkner team member who will compete next month in the Junior and Collegiate 9-Ball National Championships, said he works on his game three times a day. He perfects shots by trying to grasp the physics and geometry behind them.
"Understanding the things I learned in school made me a better player," the 16-year-old said.
After the championships – June 15-19 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor – D.J. will hold a national ranking as a junior player, Mr. Munson said. The contest attracts the country's best young players.
"The level of competition is pretty strong," he said. "Texas has not done very well in the past because there's virtually no junior programs."
But the profile of billiards is rising, Mr. Munson said. Many colleges include billiards as a sport, and the Billiards Congress of America offers college scholarships to high school seniors.
The International Olympic Committee came close to including billiards as an exhibition sports in the 2004 summer games, Mr. Munson said, and supporters hope to win approval in 2008.
"The social stigma of the game – the smoky pool room – that's gone," he said.
Although the students seem to enjoy the pool tables, Mr. Jolly said his motives for their presence remain serious. Students must maintain academic eligibility to play, which motivates them to stay interested and stay in school, he said.
"I do not intend to have the lovely sport of billiards spoil what I'm trying to do," he said. "My whole goal here is to have students go on to higher education or be successful in the workplace."
Elizabeth Langton is a Plano freelance writer. E-mail elizabeth_langton @yahoo.com.