
I was first introduced to pool as a child with my family's bumper pool
table. Then, as a teenager, I started playing real pool. When I got to
college, I joined the Billiard Club and began to fall in love with the
game. I won a few collegiate 9-ball tournaments and that inspired me to
start taking my pool game more seriously. I began to play competitive
matches and enter weekly tournaments in and around Dallas, Texas, where I
grew up. I was fortunate to be surrounded by some fantastic players,
several of whom were helpful to my game and encouraged me.
I met a group of women in Dallas who introduced me to the regional
tournament circuit and I started playing on the Hunter tour (now the
OB-1 tour). When I played at my first Hunter tour stop in Austin, Texas,
I knew that's where I wanted to live. I talked to the pool room's owner
and got a job in the pool hall. I transferred to the University of Texas
and went to school during the day and worked at night in the pool hall. I
ran a weekly tournament and continued to play while I finished up my
education. Occasionally, my college interfered with my pool (I won a few
qualifiers on the Hunter and couldn't always go because of school
obligations) but I graduated with a degree in psychology. I went on to
work with children with autism and with girls in a residential treatment
center until I landed a job in fingerprints with the State of Texas, but
my dream has always been to be a full-time professional pool player.
Four years ago, I began to achieve my dream. I became the player of the
year on the Hunter tour, which enabled me to enter the pro events for the
following year. I worked on my game with coaches and a rigorous schedule
of play. Now I am in my third year of playing on the pro tour and I have
continued to win tournaments on the Hunter/OB 1 regional tour and the Fast
Eddie.s tour. My schedule revolves around pool, working with coaches,
practicing on my own, playing in tournaments and league as well as playing
competitive matches with local champions.
I now play pool as a full time job, but I also try to have some hobbies
that, while keeping me physically fit, take me out of the pool hall, such
as tennis, golf, and yoga. A few years ago, I also started doing magic
with a magician that I met in the pool hall, and that has helped me learn
to perform in the limelight. In many ways, my hobbies have contributed to
improvements in my pool game. And after all these years, pool continues
to challenge and inspire me. I hope that it does for many years to come!
