A Lifelong Passion for Pool
My purpose is to promote Straight Pool.
My goal is to help players improve and score their first Century run.
The Beginning
Bit by the pool bug at 18 years old, I knew I would be a pool player all of my days. Learning pool fundamentals and the intricacies of the variety of games provides endless challenges and fun.
My pool player journey began in 1980 on Brunswick Gold Crowns at a bowling alley.
Practiced Straight Pool on 9-footers during the day, played 8-ball on 7-footers at night.
A regular on the Denver tournament scene playing 9-ball, 10-ball and One-Pocket.
Playing Vegas teams and singles.
My first golden Charlie!
Teaching Pool
Straight Pool always remained my passion, earning many 1st Place finishes in the Denver Straight Pool league, a league high run of 99 and over a dozen personal Centuries. After a multi-year break from pool, a league clinic evolved into my book, A Shortstop On Straight Pool with David Sheesley (league director) . March 14, 2021 marked my start on Youtube with Rack of the Week #1.
A 2019 Straight Pool clinic with John Schmidt and David Sheesley. Honored that John wrote the forward to A Shortstop On Straight Pool.
Shortstop On Pool on Youtube in 2021.
The first Rack-of-the-Week series pool instruction video.
Learning Pool
My return to pool in 2019 was on my terms, no more small table leagues or 9-ball. I wanted to learn to play my best and that meant doing it right. My first lesson with Mark Wilson opened my eyes to the demanding and precise world of high-performance pool. Lessons with Jerry Briesath and Straight Pool coaching with John Schmidt contributed to accumulating 35 centuries by 2025.
An invaluable personal lesson with Jerry Briesath.
John Schmidt explaining the finer points of end patterns. A photo just after John's new personal high run of 820 balls (I was racking).
The Right Way
Working with John Schmidt evolved my understanding of Straight Pool like I never knew possible. Since working with John I have added over 30 more Centuries in only 10 months. My Rack-of-the-Week series now numbers over 270 videos. And Shortstop On Pool on Youtube has over 60,000 subscribers.
Screenshot from The Right Way online video Straight Pool course.
The beginning of my personal best high run of 206.
Shortstop On Pool
ShortstopOnPool is dedicated to helping pool players think, see, and execute the game at a higher level.
Founded by Bob Keller, ShortstopOnPool focuses on practical, real-world instruction rooted in experience, disciplined fundamentals and knowledge learned from elite USA instructors. The goal is simple: help players improve faster by understanding why things work—not just what to do.
Learn Straight Pool
Shortstop On Pool on Youtube