OUR NEW LEADER
"What's a matter? You afraid to play
me?" He points to his chest.

We don't need this guy in this game.
"You ain't no player man if you can't
play for the cheese".

Get rid of this loser.
"I opened with a six pack on him
and he gagged on his own sweat"

He can't run six balls let alone six
racks. Get rid of him. He is bad for
the game.
"I need you to lose three games
today so your average helps the
team."

This guy has no clue.
"I quit school in the tenth grade
and spent all my time in the pool
hall. That's how I became a winner."

You became a quitter.
"Why do I have to learn English?
Just watch me play".

I don't think so.
"I may have never won a tournament
but I should be paid big money for a
personal appearance."

So says a female pro.
"I robbed that sucker. He gave me
the seven and I could beat him
straight up."

Now that's something to be proud
of.
Professional player: A man or woman who possesses measurable world class shooting skills. (See
Performance of a Master) In all actions he shows consistent respect for the integrity of the game.
He is willing to act as a role model for the good of the sport. Her life reflects the standards of
established strong character with the ability to maintain discipline and respect for training. He is
always striving towards a higher level of excellence.  A professional player sets himself apart from
the average player in that he takes more responsibility for his actions. She has a warrior spirit and
never complains or makes excuses for any action she may take. She has the courage to find
strength and focus when times are hard.      `
Click on the link. You may have
someone you would like to
sponsor on The Monk Pro Tour.
Here is a chance to realize a great
return from your investment.
The Monk pro tour is set up to bring
this game back to the social player.
We see a large market, we set up a
program for them to compete and
we develop their interest. As we
appeal to four million social players
our profits will be substantial. Click
on the link to find out how you can
set yourself up with financial
security by owning a part of The
Monk Pro Tour.
Click on the link to find out how
we will set up a Certified Room in
26 cities featuring our unique
Monk Amateur Social League.
"I hope you don't choke on that
money ball".

There is no room in this sport for
sharking.
The State of the Game
On the cover of Professor Q Balls magazine was a picture of a player no one knows or even
cares about. There are four million players who do not care about players from another
country. They are not going to be fans, nor do they have an interest in what they are doing.
We have some real problems here in the states. Our rooms are going out of business and
players are quitting this game. It is time to focus on our problems as this game is in trouble.

We need strong marketable heroes who will inspire players to play for the simple love of the
game. When a players drops out of school and can’t speak English he is not a hero. We need
a new brand of pool player who will share the fine art of pocket billiards with the four million
social players who play this game today.

I created The Monk Pro Tour with players who work full time for the good of this game. It is
time the gamblers and hustlers, sand baggers and cheaters step aside. It is time to offer
healthy programs for the social player and invite them back into the pool rooms and on the
table. There are four million social players who are totally ignored.

Not long ago I was giving a lesson to a seven year old boy in a pool hall. A guy walked over
to him and asked if he likes to play for five or ten dollars a game. This is typical of the pool
world today. The rooms are filled with players who have no concept of the game and only
think in terms of how much money they can rob from a beginning player. This is the mindset
that has just about destroyed this game.

Pool rooms across this country are closing down at an alarming rate. The social player has
been driven out of the rooms to seek more friendly games. They are taking up darts,
bowling, and other sports that don’t feature the unpleasant element that pool has attracted.
The universities are taking pool tables out of their recreation rooms.  

I am working to bring new players to the game. These heroes will be trained by me to
represent this sport! They are not going to be selfish pool players who expect added money
and then drink water. These heroes will be dedicated to making this sport and the rooms we
associate with as the “place to play.” We understand that the pool room must be supported
and not stripped of table time just because we want to put a league in there.

I have a plan to ignite the billiards industry and bring new players into the game. It is time for
consistent growth. We are wasting all our money seeking the tournament player. We add
money to tournaments and basically fight over the same group of customers who really don’t
spend a lot of money in our rooms. Tournaments are important but if they do not bring a
profit to the room they are a bad investment.

We need to change our approach. We can’t do business as usual.  Players are just not
involved in the game like they use to be. As soon as a new game comes along like darts and
poker our players abandon pocket billiards. The reason players leap to a new game on a
whim is because they have no real connection to anything in this industry.

We need to give this game back to the fans. The truth of the matter is we cannot give the
game back with the players we have at present. Their track record over the past twenty five
years has left them with little credibility. Would you invest a million dollars in our players
today? I may be ready to invest a million dollars in this game, but I would not think about
putting that money into the players we have now.

Those in power today promote pocket billiards in the casinos or civic centers. They have no
time for the pool hall. They draw the players away from the room and this is not good for the
sport.

We need to create a new brand of player who is fully trained to care about the growth of the
sport, a man/woman who is genuinely concerned for the health of the game. This player must
have an education. He must be respectable. He/she needs to appeal to a mass fan base so
we can breathe new life into our pool halls. This new brand of professional player must be
able to earn a good living.

The complete player is the one who cares about the growth of pocket billiards and uses his
game to share the artistic qualities of the sport. It is these artistic qualities that inspire new
players and bring new customers into our rooms. Without this growth, we will continue to
tread water and go nowhere.   In fact we will continue to see rooms hang the dreaded “going
out of business” sign on the door.
THIS GAME IS IN TROUBLE.

Poker, darts and kick boxing, to name a few have pulled many customers from our rooms. Pool halls are closing their doors at an
alarming rate. Even Boston Billiards had to close down. Good Time Billiards, in Boston, which had over a hundred tables, placed
a “CLOSED” sign on their door. Players are quick to leave the sport because we have not sold them an admirable group of
professional players they can follow.  

The Women’s pro tour is now down to just two stops and even that is not a signed deal.

The Canadian tour has just closed it's doors.

It is time to bring the large crowds back to this game.

The Men’s Pro Tour has no credibility. It has had twenty five different organizations in thirty years.  They are never going to draw
fans to the arena. In all these years they have never had a program in place to bring new players into the game. The one question
that has been on their mind for as long as I have known them is “How much added money is in the tournament?” They even go so
far as to dictate the terms of how the game is played with longer races so they have a better chance to win. Fifteen per cent of
the players win eighty five per cent of the money. Long races are boring. They do not care about the spectators. That is why they
can’t get more than a hundred people to yawn their way through a predictable match.
What has happened to our once thriving game?

The bottom line is we do not have genuine heroes. We did not take the time to teach our
players to enjoy learning and developing new skills. It is the discovery of new abilities that
keep one interested in the game.

Pro players go to the local amateur tournaments to take what little money is there. Some
players have used disguises and then bragged about the money he won.  Where is the hero
in this picture? We set up leagues that reward mediocre play and punish those who work
on their game thus we rob pool rooms of valuable table time because no one wants to
improve. We create leagues who expect free table time. The players we have today are
taking so much from the game that we end up with a fraction of what we should have and
the numbers are dwindling.  

Four hundred thousand league players are a fraction of what we could have. The majority of
these players are in the sports bars and not in the pool room.  There are four million pool
players who love the game but they are not attracted to the league system as we know it
today. The money player and stacked league handicap system has driven them from the
game.

It is not the economy that has caused our problems. It is time for a change, time to do
something new. “We have a problem” and we are not going to solve it with the leadership
that got us into this mess in the first place. You don’t solve tomorrow’s problems with today’
s line of thinking.  I’ve watched interest in this game dwindle for the past twenty five years.

This game is about art at its highest level. It is not about getting “two on the wire” and the
“seven and out” and “the five and the break”. A man or woman is captivated by the sheer
joy of hitting a cue ball and then is hustled, cheated and asked to throw games to keep
his/her handicap down. Millions of dedicated players are driven away from pocket billiards.
It is time we said we were sorry and got them back.  

The same concepts that caused this downfall are still a big part of this industry today. It is
time for a bold new move, time to step back and “do it right”, for a fresh approach.

We need a new group of world class players. These players need to be educated achievers,
respectable, people you can admire. They need to understand that the game is more
important than the player. An audience does not come to see the dancer. They come to see
the dance. It is time we danced for our fans and the art of pocket billiards is the dance they
want to see.
IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE.
I will deliver a group of real professionals. His/her skill level will be world class. His character will be impeccable. His love for the
game will shine in his personality. He will play this game at a world class level and also be willing to teach every Saturday in a
comprehensive workshop. The student gains new knowledge and raises their skill level. We will do this at a fraction of what
teachers are charging today. Our new world class player will do personal appearances, as many as eight per week throughout the
city they compete in. They will represent this great game. In effect, we will have ten world class sales persons in the field working
on behalf of the game. This is a new approach, a bold approach and we will talk to millions of social pool players in the course of
one year.

The spectators are what drive this game today. Without the fan we really have no sport. Skateboarding, volley ball and even soft
ball draw more spectators than the professionals in a world class tournament. Less than three hundred spectators showed up for
the US Open Pool Tournament. It is time for reflection.

I had one player tell me that my idea of having a pool player work six days a week for a three thousand dollar paycheck was
ridiculous. “When is he going to find time to practice?” was his question. When I required that my professional player was a non
smoker another player said, “I am losing respect for you because of your judgmental attitude.” This dialogue goes on and on.  
Another common question they ask is “Can I get an ice water?”

We need a series of rooms willing to go after the social player. We need rooms who will say no to the hustler/gambler that has
just about destroyed this game. We need rooms to thrive and realize a healthy profit.
In short, we need a new approach. Time for a change.
WE DEVELOP THE PLAYER
WE DEVELOP THE TOUR
WE DEVELOP THE ARENA
Would you like to make a difference in this game? Would you like to
make a fortune doing things right? Then read this article. It is time we
circled the wagons and made our last stand.
Narrow Your Field of Focus

Players will tell you they lost their concentration and lost the game. They did not work on their concentration skills and thus, lost their
concentration.  

According to Ernest Wook in his book, Raja Yoga, "Concentration is the narrowing of the field of attention in a manner and for a time
determined by the will." Mountain climbers, when they are dangling from high levels tell each other not to look down, but to look directly in
front of them. This way they narrow the field of attention. It is not about falling it’s about holding on and moving step by step towards the top.

When I was playing well, I always took a few minutes before a tournament to lean over the table and stare at the cloth. I narrowed my field of
attention. Or I would stare at the point of contact on the object ball. I would simply stare at it until I was ready to shoot. Once again, I
narrowed my field of attention. There is a lot to be said about concentration. An entire course can be taught on this subject.

The mind is like a searchlight. When you shine it upon an object, it illuminates that object. It does not encompass the entire terrain. If it did,
the searchlight would loose its purpose and illuminate nothing. In order to be effective the searchlight must be narrow, bright and confined
to one purpose. We must increase our focus, shine on one thing, and narrow our field of attention. Do this throughout the day. Focus on
objects. Search for objects. My favorite quote from the Bible is "the word is like a lamp unto my feet". To me, my growth in pocket billiards is
the "word". A lamp unto my feet only shows only one step at a time. It does not light up the entire surroundings.

Many of my students want to learn everything in one easy lesson. When you let the light shine all around, you cannot see where to step.
Shine at your feet and you will always have sure footing.

Recently I was driving through the mountains of New Mexico with my daughter on my motorcycle. We were near Tao's which is well worth
visiting if you are in the area. I did not see the beauty as she did. I needed to focus on the road directly in front of me. At one point I was
mesmerized by the mountains and the Rio Grande River. We were running high above the Rio Grande, and for a moment, with my eyes on the
river, we drifted towards the edge of the road. My heard pounded by the knowledge that we almost went over the edge. I was not focused on
what I was doing. A motorcycle offers no forgiveness for driver mistakes. From that time on, I use the scenic cut outs to do my sightseeing.
Or I travel very slowly.

When you are in a match, do not look around at the environment. Instead, narrow your field of attention, by focusing on the game at hand.

If you have mastered The Monk 101 system, you will always have a specific purpose on all shots. When you are not committed to what you
are doing, you are not going to give one hundred percent. You will be divided. And when you are, Herman the id, and his girlfriend are going to
have their way with you. By using my system, you will be able to identify exactly what you intend to do and have the skills to carry it out.

How many times have you missed your position and then missed the next shot. And the next shot was not that hard to make. It was just not
the shot you expected. It was not the shot you had in mind. And you kept the expected shot in your mind when you attempted the shot at
hand. When I miss position and have to change the way I finish my run, I step back and imagine how I would feel if my opponent left me this
shot and lay out. When I do that, the shot does not look so bad. Then I practice my will skills. Can I shoot this shot with total freedom and the
conviction that I want to make it and keep my run going? What you focus on you strengthen.

How can you focus on the shot you have, when you have another shot in your mind? You have not narrowed the field of focus. And the result
will almost always be a missed shot and missed opportunity. I have missed shots and realized that had I worked harder for the shot, I would
have made it, and ran out.  

We have a lot of work to do. Remember, when you have increased your skills at concentration, you gain your freedom from Herman and his
girlfriend. Freedom is what we seek.

Keep this in mind. "We focus on a spot, for a time determined by the will". Once we master the skills to concentrate, we then need to work
on our will skills.
Our Pro Players will possess great concentration
skills. They will perform with instincts, born from
specific and deliberate practice.