The Coach

Hi my name is Paul Potier!

I was a Touring Professional Pool Player from 1991-2008. Although I was always an athlete and very competitive I was just an average pool player for many years. I started playing pool at 13 years old. My parents bought the family a 4’x8′ chalkboard bottom snooker table for Xmas when I was 13. I spent a lot of hours on that table and because everyone else that I played was really bad, I thought I was really good. At 18 I enrolled in Physical Education at the University of Manitoba. I spent lots of time in the campus pool room and met a few students who were as good as or better than me. One of those students was Marty Tascona. He told me about a pool room downtown that had over thirty 6’x12’ Snooker tables and many really good players. I was intrigued and eager to see that pool room and its players. After the first visit I was hooked! That was 1973 and for the next 4 years I found myself playing Snooker every chance I got. There was always someone at the pool room that was close to the same level as me so I always found a game. I was very competitive and hated to lose. There weren’t any instructors in those days and even if there were I probably wouldn’t have paid for lessons because my ego was too big. I never had a coach for any of the sports that I excelled in so I didn’t see the value in one. Getting better was pushing your way up the ladder by beating better players. To do that you had to play them for money or they wouldn’t play you. I lost a lot of rent money that way! I remember going home many times where I was angry with myself and swore that I was going to quit playing, but that didn’t happen.

Throughout the years, through a lot of experimentation and practice, I have been able to develop my game and an understanding of pocket billiards and snooker that have allowed me to compete on the highest levels.

I have coached many people to reach their personal goals, including becoming top professionals. I enjoy helping people with their pool game and my constant goal is to make my next lesson the best one I’ve ever taught. When I am teaching, my focus is not to merely teach, but rather to help the student learn.

This is my favorite famous quote:

“If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day,

you teach a man to fish you feed him for life”.