Are you really not active but still like to be competitive? Billiards is your game. It trains the mind and body, lets men and women compete on the same stage, and provides a sense of community.
For those that are still wondering what this is, it's what most people know as "pool" played on a table with sticks and fifteen colored balls. If you still don't know, we have a team here on Lindenwood's campus. We can be found practicing all week in our billiard arena located next to the book store.
In case you're wondering, the team does more than practice, we have events just like any other sport. When Mark first put the team together they lost every match in the first year. Since then the generations of students have kept up a staggering total of wins. The first event of this semester will be the Durbin Cup played on September 15th in Sullivan, Illinois.
This is a huge annual tournament that the Lindenwood Lions have claimed many wins at. Later this month, the match against "Melton's Maulers" will be played on the 29th in our billiard arena on campus. Their team is put together out of my hometown of Poplar Bluff, Missouri and this will be my first match playing with the Lions instead of the Maulers.
For head coach Mark Wilson, his job is about more than teaching students a great game, it's about teaching life lessons and strategies that will go far beyond college years. As far as the sport is concerned he demands it be given the respect it deserves.
"This is a hard game," he tells his students, not to discourage but to let us know that to be great we need to work at it. This sport truly is for everyone and new people are always welcome to come to watch or learn to play.
