There is something quite divine about the fact that despite all our learning, we never really get to the end of full knowledge. The goal of full knowledge always seems just around the corner and out of our grasp. Like in everything, there always seems to be someone who is smarter, stronger, faster, or more experienced. Champions are constantly being replaced by other champions and there seems no end to how good humans will get in any one particular sports discipline. Of course, the same applies to the game of billiards and so it behooves us to keep improving our game and to recognize this fact of life and embrace it.

I know in my case, despite all my training, experience and knowledge of the game, I am still learning to this day and like any truly competitive player I am always leaving my ears and eyes open to any little "nugget of gold" I can pick up along the way. There is good reason why we have two ears and two eyes but only one mouth! Sometimes we just need to know when to be quiet and take in new information. And believe it or not, it can appear in the most unlikely circumstances. I cannot count how many times I learned something from another player, even if they were relatively inexperienced or struggling to handle the pressure of the occasion. There was always something I picked up from them and filed away for another day.

When observing another player we may get all hung up about their fundamentals, or lack there of, and just dismiss this player as someone that we can not possibly learn anything from. However, this would be a huge mistake. Every one of us has something to offer. We are all unique individuals with our own set of unique experiences. No two people are the same, and therefore it follows that no two people have the same set of knowledge or experience to draw from. Granted, some players have more valuable knowledge than others, but we all have something to share. Therefore a wise person knows how to extract these genuine "nuggets of gold" from the oddest places.

Take for example something that happened to me very recently. On the way back from a tournament I went to visit my good friend Jim, who loves pool and is a pretty good player. I was showing him a jump shot that came up during one of my matches. Then Jim showed me another way to play the shot using a different method. I really liked the shot and practiced it at home. I didn’t realize the value of his opinion until a month later when I was playing on ESPN in the WPBA National Championship final against Kelly Fisher. Ironically, in the final game to win the event that same type of jump shot came up. I had to jump over the ball a certain way and I used the method Jim showed me. I made the shot, achieved perfect shape for a carom on the 2-9 to win the Tour Championship and with it the Player of the Year title. The point is that I listened to my friend who wanted to share something he had picked up from playing around on his table. I had an open mind, wanted to listen, and learned a valuable lesson.

I encourage you to be aware at all times and to seek out these "nuggets of gold" in life and in billiards. Never stop learning, for in billiards, or life in general, without the quest to learn our life would be a terrible waste of humanity.

(c) 2008 The Billiards Training Company

By Allison Fisher & Paul (BATman) Turner
Inventor of the Billiard Aim Trainer