CHS teacher Shannon McIntyre has a very hectic schedule, with being the advisor for both The Talon and yearbook, as well as all of the other classes she teaches. But when she’s not teaching or working to meet deadlines, McIntyre has found pool to be an activity she has been enjoying recently.

Pool is a game that is played either 1-on-1 or 2-on-2. Whoever won the last game is the person who breaks the triangle of the balls. Each team is either solid or stripes. But if this is the first time these teams are playing you can just pick somebody at random to break the triangle of balls. If the person who breaks the triangle makes a ball in, let’s say it’s a solid, they can hit again and if they make another solid, then they’re officially playing solids. But if you don’t make in a stripe instead of a solid, the other opponent(s) have an opportunity to take that as well. Essentially, you’re just trying to be the first person(s) to hit all of their designated balls in before the other(s).

Rules differ depending on what was established between the players. “You have to hit your own balls, so if you are solids, you’re not supposed to hit a stripe,” said McIntyre

Another thing McIntyre mentioned is how strategy-intensive the game is. “There is a strategy, I mean, you’re trying to line up all your balls in order so that if you see that you have all stripes, you’re trying to get them all in” said McIntyre. “So when you hit one you’re kind of looking to see where the others are at, so that that way you can plan your next shots ahead of time, kind of like chess, You’re trying to plan it out.”

Though McIntyre hasn’t been a part of the pool-playing community for very long, yet she has established a very impressive skill set in the sport already.“[I’ve been playing for about] 6 months,” said McIntyre. “[I] just [play] in the evening or on the weekends, you know, just to have some fun and it’s kind of a strategy-based game, so that makes it entertaining, in that aspect.”

Throughout the time McIntyre has spent playing pool, she mentioned that it has become a really good bonding experience for her and her partner. “Mostly him and I just play though, that’s fun. We’re spending quality time together, so mostly it’s quality time with my partner, which I really appreciate,” said McIntyre. “[Also,] we’re doing something that we both enjoy together.”

At first McIntyre said that she wasn’t the best at playing pool. “My partner got me into it. He really wanted to play pool and I almost gave up at first because I got really frustrated. Because it’s hard, it’s not easy, and you have to really see the angles, too” said McIntyre.

Despite having had a rough start with the game, McIntyre said that she is glad she didn’t quit because she has gotten exponentially better with practice and she has gotten to the point where she is able to beat those who have had much more experience with the sport than she has.

For anyone interested in playing pool, or trying anything new in general, McIntyre said that the most important thing to remember is to not give up, like she almost did, (as cliche as it may sound) because she has really impressed herself with how good she has gotten at pool and she wouldn’t have known her potential if she had just quit when she first got frustrated. She is also glad she didn’t quit because it has been a really rewarding experience to go from someone who doesn’t know much at all about pool to a skilled participant in the sport.