Podcast: Professional women’s billiards troupe ‘The Rack Starz’ step into the studio

Welcome to episode three of the OTB podcast Harassing the Pros With Josiah Schlatter. This week we feature Supadra Geronimo, Yomaylin Feliz, Gail Glazebrook, Jennifer Barretta, Alison Fischer and Liz Ford, who are known as ‘The Rack Starz’, a group of professional billiards players who travel the world beating people at pool. For those without speakers, we’ve included some highlights below. For the audio inclined, you can find the podcast here. Excerpts below:

Can you tell me if billiards is a talent you’ve been born with, or did you have to develop it?

Fischer: I happen to know a lot of these girls personally, and a lot of them started because they wanted to beat a guy they knew, most of the girls started like that. We all couldn’t hit, we practice almost every day, just the fundamentals. We have to practice so we can hit the ball. You forget sometimes.

Ford: I see every one of us in this room, when they first started, taking a back table and hitting the same shots over and over after missing a tournament. That dedication, that really improves skill.

Glazebrook: You have to be completely dedicated to be great, because if you don’t, pool will never come to you naturally. It takes hard work.

Geronimo: It takes talent, combined with hard work. Talent alone will never take you to a professional level. You have to combine them, one way or another, with dedication and hard work. It’s never easy.

You guys seem to be champions. Most people when they’re trying something, start average and are okay with being average. Is this true?

Barretta: Oh yeah, perfectionists and control freaks. (Laughs) To be good at pool.

Fischer: Well, to get to a high competitive level you have to surround yourself with players are already extremely skilled. All of us have put in the time to play players we knew we’d get beat by, to go through those steps to improve things. It’s not always about playing players you know you could beat. A lot of people get discouraged when they’re losing all the time, but you’re really only going to get better if you’re challenging yourself. I’d say to anybody trying to get better at the game, I’d find a coach and a place with a lot of strong players you can compete with.

Have you guys helped each other a lot, as a group?

Geronimo: We help each other, I think what helps us the most is the friendly competitiveness. When we practice, we still compete, we still have that sense of “We want to win”, even though we’re friends. And that’s good practice.

Glazebrook: We’ve all rooted for each other. We’ve sat on the sideline and watched a fellow Rack Star compete, and be their cheering section.

Do you guys think the sport is more fun because you have a team behind you?

Fischer: Oh, it’s definitely true. A number of us have played on teams together. Six of us in rack starz have won national championships together.

Geronimo: The thing that helps is we usually play in the same tournament, and practice in the same pool hall in Amsterdam. At some point we sit down and talk about our opponents before we play, and that certainly helps.

What’s the best part about pool skills? Do you like to go to bars at night and get mocked by all the boys for not knowing how to play pool and then destroy them? Is that one of your favorite hobbies? Because if I were you guys, it’d be mine.

Ford: I’ve turned that into a job. I run a pool league in a rural area, and my best sales technique is to go into the bars and shark.

Ford: I talk to somebody, put my quarters up on the table and I, uh.. I get a lot of numbers out of that!

Feliz: That’s pretty cool.

So it’s good to be a pool shark?

Glazebrook: We get a lot of cheerleaders! I think boys are always cheering us on, they want to see a pretty girl kick their ass. I don’t know why, but they like it, so… Oh yeah!

You have that big cheering section behind you, do you think that helps when you’re competing? When I had family watching from the stands when I played sports, I always felt like it raised my game.

Geronimo: Absolutely. It’s always good to have a backup, keep you warm when you’re missing shots. I had friends when I was losing, I’d make a mistake and see their faces saying, “That’s okay!”, and that really helps. When you’re thinking together and getting through matches together.

Glazebrook: I think every one of us can say when we’re playing our best there’s a swagger when we’re going around the table. Best feeling ever!

Geronimo: You’re not even walking correctly! You forget which legs to walk with first half the time.

Fischer: It’s important to have people behind you, but the most important is to bring it out of yourself in the heat of the moment.

Do you have a specific swagger walk you guys bring out when you’re winning, like, “Emily’s swagger walking! It’s over!”

Barretta: Yes! Definitely. I have seen all of them do it.

Geronimo: I don’t know!

Barretta: I stomp around the table.

Glazebrook: Oh yes, I’ve seen you stomping around the table. Hands gliding, I’ve seen it on video.

Rack Starz Members:
Jennifer Barretta, “9MM”: 2011 Predator Tour Open 10-Ball Champion

Gail Glazebrook, “g2”: 2010 National 8-Ball Champion

Emily Duddy: 2010 WPBA Rookie of the Year

Borana Andoni: 2010 Predator 9-ball Tour Female Player of the Year

Alison Fisher, “The Quiet Storm”: Wisconsin State Team Champion

Caroline Pao, “Capow”: 2010 Mezz Tour Female Player of the Year

Supadra Geronimo, “Supa Girl”: 2011 Mezz Women Tour Champion

Yomaylin Feliz, “Smiley”: 2009 Tri-State Tour Champion

Michele Li, “Shelly”: 2011 BCA National 9-ball Runner Up

Liz Ford: Top Women’s Professional Billiards Association Player

Neslihan Gurel, “Nes”: 2010 Tri-State Champion

Olga Gashkova, “OG”: 2010 Women’s Trick Shot Champion.

***
Photo credits:

(Top photo, top row L-R) Neslihan Gurel, Alison Fischer, Supadra Geronimo, Jennifer Barretta, Michele Li, Yomaylin Feliz and Liz Ford. (Bottom row L-R) Borano Andoni, Caroline Pao, Gail Glazebrook, and Emily Duddy. — Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images for Rack Starz International.

(Second photo) Emily Duddy. — Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images for Rack Starz International).

(Third photo) Jennifer Barretta. — Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images for Rack Starz International).