West San Jose Resident

Cover Story

On Cue

Don Frank's students are never behind the eight ball

By Cathy Weselby

It's an unusual rainy Saturday afternoon in September, and six students are learning the basics of playing pool at Campbell Billiards.

First there's the setup: Check the stance and the bridge. Then there's the aim, with a couple of practice strokes. And lastly, the final stroke with the satisfying clack of the cue ball hitting the target ball.

The students come from varied backgrounds, ranging in age from 13 to 75. What they share is an interest in pool and a desire to improve their game.

Peggy Shen, 29, recently moved to Campbell and saw the class in the Campbell recreation activity guide. Even though she's been playing pool for more than two years and plays in American Pool Association leagues, she decided to take the class in order to brush up on the fundamentals.

"It's good to work on the basics, and Don's a great teacher," Shen says.

Instructor Don Frank, 72, has taught "Introduction to Billiards" since 1999. Frank is a strong proponent of mastering the basics.

"If you don't have your stance, grip and bridge down solid, you won't get any better," Frank says.

Karen O'Brien, 52, wants to improve her game so "it's not just luck. I want to actually know what I'm doing," she says.

O'Brien works as an office manager for a high-tech firm and appreciates the social aspect of playing pool.

"I like the fact that we rotate who we're paired up with in the labs," O'Brien says.

Danny Spiteri, 46, has a pool table at home. Lately when playing a friend whom he used to beat in high school, the tables have turned. Spiteri, a math teacher at Los Altos High School, signed up for the class in order to improve his game. During the one-hour practice session before class, he says he's learned more about controlling the speed of the ball.

According to the National Sporting Goods Association, 32 million people play billiards in the United States, ranking the sport 11th in overall participation, ahead of golf, softball and tennis.

Almost anyone can play pool. It's one of the safest sports in the world, and age or physical condition is less of a barrier than with other sports. There are even highly competitive wheelchair leagues.

Frank learned to play pool more than 50 years ago while stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota. His roommate taught him how to play the game by challenging him to make a shot and have the cue ball end up at a designated spot on the table. Frank says that this exercise taught him to think about the strategy of the shots he was making.

After Frank retired from IBM in 1998, he sought out an outlet for his love of billiards. Frank says he's a frustrated thespian who likes to impart knowledge.

Campbell recreation supervisor Misty Booth says Frank approached her with a syllabus for the class, and she appreciated his organization and outgoing personality.

"Don is very personable," Booth says. "I get a lot of feedback from students who say that the class is fun and they enjoy learning from him."

In addition to Campbell, Frank teaches the course four days a week through Milpitas Community Adult Education, De Anza College and East Side Union School District. He also gives private lessons.

By playing pool, Frank says, students can improve their eye-hand coordination, learn sportsmanship and appreciate the complexity of the game.

Some of the more common bad habits that students bring to class are shooting too hard, at which point Frank will nickname the player "Rambo," and not pausing long enough between shots. Frank recommends chalking the cue stick between each shot to slow down and consider the strategy.

"You want to think not only of how will you make the shot, but where do you want the cue ball to end up for the next shot," Frank says.

Students have told him if they learn one thing, like mastering a rail shot, it makes the class worthwhile.

Frank enjoys playing the game because of the competitive spirit. He likens it to a gunslinger when he enters a pool hall saying, "Who wants to draw against me?"

He plays in tournaments as a member of the United States Pool Players Association and captained a team in the American Pool Association.

In the pocket

The game of billiards began sometime in the 12th century and resembled lawn croquet, with wickets instead of holes in the table. Pockets were added in the late 1700s. Famous enthusiasts of the sport include Mozart, Marie Antoinette, Napoleon, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, George Washington, Charles Dickens, Theodore Roosevelt, Lewis Carroll, W.C. Fields, Bob Hope and Jackie Gleason.

In the United States, pocket billiards, or pool, is played on a table with six pockets. The tables are rectangular, and twice as long as they are wide. Pool halls usually have 9-foot tables while tables at home might be 7 or 8 feet long. The fabric covering public tables is made of more durable cloth, which plays slower than a home billiard table.

Frank says pool halls have been very supportive of his classes. He negotiated reduced rates for his students because he tells the businesses that he's "nurturing the gene pool" of pool players.

Campbell Billiards owner Adam Chamberlin says he supports people learning to play the game.

"The more you start learning about the game, the more intriguing it gets," he says.

Chamberlin bought the business a 1 ¹/2 years ago partly because of the fond memories he had of playing pool with his father when he was growing up.

He's in the planning stages of creating a nonprofit for disabled youth and able-bodied youth 15 years and under. Chamberlin's goal is to provide youth with free play time and an opportunity to compete in tournaments.

"It keeps kids off of the streets and out of trouble, and there aren't physical limitations to playing the game," Chamberlin says.

Frank says that anyone can learn to play and anyone can improve his or her game.

He recalls when he had two female students living at a senior housing facility who were lamenting that a male resident was always "hogging the table." The women took two consecutive class sessions with Frank, and later, they were pleased to report their progress.

"Hey Don, we beat the bastard," they told Frank.

A six-week billards-pool course, for those 13 and older, beginner or experienced, starts Jan. 19-Feb. 23. The class meets at Campbell Billards, 1777 S. Bascom Ave., on Saturdays, and Cue Topia Billards, 4700 Almaden Expressway, on Thursdays.

For more information or to sign up for classes, contact the Campbell Recreation Department at 408.866.2105 or visit www.cityofcampbell.com.