Youngest Billiard Player-world record
set by Keith O'Dell Jr
GLOVERSVILLE, NY, USA --25 months old Keith
O’Dell Jr., is precocious at billiard, a game he has played
for only four months-setting the world record for the Youngest
Billiard Player.
Keith O’Dell Jr recognizes
the numbers on the balls and is not bashful about calling
them as he shoots. Lately, his father said, he is picking
up other pool lingo.
The Youngest
Billiard Player plays for two to three hours a day
and his parents say as long as he's having fun, he can keep
at it. "He's doing it on his own,” Courtney said. “We're not
helping him too much. He's just got it."
"He started with one ball out, two balls
out, he's doing 15 balls on a run now. He's doing combo shots,
bank shots, kick shots. He's got a whole slew of shots in
his pool bag and he doesn't even have one yet," said Keith
O’Dell Sr.
"His face, when he makes a shot, he is so
excited. If he, we actually have one of the videos where he
scratches and you just see this scowl on his face. It just
brightens up everything," said Courtney O’Dell, Keith’s mother.
He and his parents, Keith Sr.
and Courtney O’Dell, recently traveled to New York
City for an appearance on Rachel Ray’s talk show.
In the last few weeks, O'Dell and his wife,
Courtney, have been approached by Oprah Winfrey, Bonnie Hunt
and Rachael Ray, all of whom sought an interview after seeing
Keith Jr. shoot pool in a video on YouTube.
Since
the post weeks ago, there have been imitators, but no one
is quite like Keith Jr., his father said. It's mostly kids
using a stick to hit the balls into the pockets. No one seems
have the fine motor skills Keith Jr. has.
Though it wasn't a complete surprise when
Keith Jr. started playing pool, Keith Sr. and Courtney's first
date was at a pool hall and they've been playing together,
and with him, ever since. "My wife plays, my mother-in-law
plays, my father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law," said
Keith Sr.
As his father tells it, Keithy has advanced fine
motor skills. He can throw a football, and his parents recently
bought him a toy set of golf clubs. Who knows what he’ll do
with those.
“We want to keep it fun and make sure he
enjoys it,” Keith Sr. said. If the boy shows signs of
losing interest, his father said the phenomenon will end.
For now, though, Keithy appears to like his game.
“I love the game and I want to make sure he loves
the game,” his father said, emphasizing that they will take
the spotlight away if Keithy is no longer having fun.
Keithy spent much of his young life sitting in
his child seat watching his father practice nine-ball on the
regulation table the family had in their previous home.
At Christmas time, Keithy spotted a toy
table in a local store and was obviously drawn to it. Probably
from studying his father’s play all those months, the boy
grabbed the miniature cue and demonstrated almost perfect
form.
Not only is Keithy precocious at a game
he has played for only four months, but the game may make
him a mathematician. He recognizes the numbers on the balls
and is not bashful about calling them as he shoots. And who knows what the future holds
for young Keith’s 4-month-old brother, David, who now owns
the child seat in the living room, right in front of Keithy’s
pool table.
Having a 23-month-old who can play pool
does have its downside, though, O'Dell said. "Now, when I
miss a shot, the line is, 'your son could have made that,'"O'Dell
said, laughing.