Interview: Maybe all Billiards Players are Actually Mean?

So, we've finally arrived at the expert interview, which was a real struggle for me. Some people have found experts with PhD's or college positions, but as far as I know there isn't really a PhD in billiard sciences. However, what I did find was a college level billiards player, and part time professor with advanced degrees in engineering and science, so I think I came as close to academia as the subject would let me.

For the expert interview I interviewed Mr. Alan Shell, a past member of his college club billiards team at the University of Delaware. He has a Bachelor of Science, and an MBA along with a degree in Quality Science from Drexel, and has worked in predominant companies such as Lockheed Martin and L3 Communications, where he is currently employed as a quality engineer. His time as a billiards player along with his extensive knowledge in the field of science, allowing him to understand the properties of the game and manipulate them to his advantage have made him a great billiards player.

As for his billiards experience, Mr. Shell first learned how to billiards at about ten years old. He used a billiards table in his own basement to play amateur games with his own family before beginning to challenge friends and classmates. This turned into a love of the game leading him to join a prominent club billiards team at the University of Delaware, where he would compete in the game. Now in his fifties, he has won awards and amassed a bit of money as well over the course of his long career.

Now, onto the interview itself. Here I have embedded a few of the questions and some of my commentary. If you would like to read the rest of the interview, I will link it here. 

1. What made you decide that billiards was something you would like to pursue in college? How serious was college level billiards?
I was one of the best in my college, so it was the next logical step. I was the best at my fraternity and was constantly winning competitions in my house, and at one point someone came up to me and asked me to join the club, as he thought we could both really benefit from my being on the team. Being on the team really helped me to step up my game, and I really enjoyed the camaraderie that I experienced on the team. I wouldn’t say it was very serious for me at least, as I was more focused on my education and found it to be more fun than anything else, but for some people it was very intense. I liked to be there as moral support for them, and just be around the team in general.

2. What are your greatest takeaways from college billiards? Has it helped you in any other areas of your life?
The greatest takeaway from college billiards for me is the friendships, as so many people on the team are great people who I still keep in touch with today. We just bonded over a common interest and found that these people who were just like you were funny, and often very fun to hang around with. It has also helped me with my confidence, as when you’re on a team like the one I was on, you get used to winning which is a real ego booster if you ask me. In terms of other areas of my life, besides the friendships and confidence is the ability to keep calm under pressure. I use this all the time, and it is a skill that has really helped me.

3. Okay, final question. What are the top three things I should do to improve my chances of winning the game? Any pregame rituals or billiard traditions I should know about?
Okay, so the top three things are as followed. One, practice, obviously. Two, relax and focus. Three, practice some more. As for rituals, I think it’s more like free throws and see what works for you, not everyone has one, but some people swear by one so you never know. All I can say is just take your time when you’re playing, and don’t always take the first shot you see, as there could be a better shot on the horizon. 

4. Okay, I sense that you’re getting tired of the more in depth questions, as am I. So, do you know any trick shots? What’s the coolest thing that you can do?
I know tons of trick shots! Are you even a real billiards player if you don’t claim to know any? Even the most basic shots could be considered cool trick shots if you pull them off correctly. The coolest thing I can do is putting a ball on top of a beer bottle and shoot another ball so it knocks the first ball off of the bottle and into the hole. I can also balance two balls and hit the bottom ball with enough force that the top ball drops straight down. Physics is extremely important in trick shots, and lucky for me I got my degree in engineering so I know a great deal about physics.

5. Over the course of this project I have been asked about hustling people to win money. What is your opinion on the subject? If not to hustle, then what is the point of the game?
In my opinion, hustling is wrong. I’m more a fan of just winning straight up and shoving it into your face. I love talking smack, and I hate to lose so I enjoyed more dragging the game out and making fun of you as I soundly beat you, if that doesn’t sound too horrible. When I used to see hustlers at bars I would play them in an effort to put them in their place, and sometimes it worked out and sometimes it didn’t, but at least I had more of a challenge. However, I feel that the point of the game is to win, just kidding, but it is nice to win. The point of the game is to enjoy yourself and learn focus and discipline, which can help you anywhere in your life, not just in the game.

To synthesize, I feel that my philosophy on billiards line up with his, which is both reassuring as he is an expert but also somewhat frightening. I would like to thank Mr. Shell for his time and honesty in answering these questions, as it was a very helpful insight to my projects. The most important thing that I have gathered from this interview is that while Mr. Shell played billiards to win, he also made many lasting friendships from his experience, and has come to the conclusion that this is the most important aspect of his journey. To him, the hours he spent in the very beginning of his journey playing with his siblings was the highlight of the game, showing that the point of billiards is to have a good time, but maybe you'll win something on the side as well, which is always a plus.