Amazon.com: PAT - Pool Billiard Workout: Includes the Official WPA Playing Ability Test Level 3: For Pros (PAT-System Workout) (9783981040074): Ralph Eckert, Jorgen Sandmann, Andreas Huber, Litho-Verlag E.K., Tobias Kim: Books

Book Description

Publication Date: November 18, 2005 | Series: PAT-System Workout

PAT stands for playing ability test. What exactly does that mean? The answer can be found in another form of sports - martial arts. In martial arts the combatants measure their abilities in special tests. Successful combatants are allowed to wear a certain coloured belt, showing his technical level to all others. The PAT system works in a similar way. If you are successful in the playing ability test, the billiard player may wear a certain coloured emblem. Playing ability test - There are 4 different tests for different technical levels, ranging from amateurs to top players in the world elite. Each PAT is made up of 10 single exercises which document and evaluate special billiard skills. For example stroke quality, aiming and position play.Each exercise results in a numerical value correlating to the result as a percentage (0 to 100 points or per cent). Because you can achieve more than 100 points in each exercise you don't have to achieve 100 points in each exercise to get 1000 points for a complete test. You might have 80 points in exercise one and 130 in exercise two. This makes it possible to get more than 1000 points in your result. The emblem system Emblems rewarding achievement stand out as shining examples and can be very motivating - as we know from school sports or martial arts. The World Pool Association (WPA - officially recognised by the IOC) has therefore developed a special colour emblem system. PAT world ranking list - Playing ability tests can be officially conducted by licensed PAT instructors. The test results are published (if the player wants) in the official world wide ranking list on the PAT company website. The online publication of a world ranking list allows every sportsman and woman to view the results achieved by fellow players. Thanks to PAT a world-wide comparison is possible, based on different selection criteria (continental, national, ladies only, men only, youth only, etc.). One world - One test! A world-wide net of PAT instructors is needed. Join the PAT community! PAT and motivation. The motivating effect of rewarding achievement has already been mentioned, but there are other reasons to test your playing ability. Everyone wants to know the answer to the question: 'How good am I really?'. The strive for perfection is one of the driving forces in technical sports such as billiard. The motivation to do a PAT will always be intrinsic and not extrinsic. It's not just about the prize money. You do it because you love to play. You want to make progress. And you want to measure yourself against others. You are aiming for perfection. Every sports psychologist will confirm that intrinsically motivated sportsmen perform better than extrinsically motivated.

#outer_postBodyPS { display: none; } #psGradient { display: none; } #psPlaceHolder { display: none; } #psExpand { display: none; } PAT stands for playing ability test. What exactly does that mean? The answer can be found in another form of sports - martial arts. In martial arts the combatants measure their abilities in special tests. Successful combatants are allowed to wear a certain coloured belt, showing his technical level to all others. The PAT system works in a similar way. If you are successful in the playing ability test, the billiard player may wear a certain coloured emblem. Playing ability test - There are 4 different tests for different technical levels, ranging from amateurs to top players in the world elite. Each PAT is made up of 10 single exercises which document and evaluate special billiard skills. For example stroke quality, aiming and position play.Each exercise results in a numerical value correlating to the result as a percentage (0 to 100 points or per cent). Because you can achieve more than 100 points in each exercise you don't have to achieve 100 points in each exercise to get 1000 points for a complete test. You might have 80 points in exercise one and 130 in exercise two. This makes it possible to get more than 1000 points in your result. The emblem system Emblems rewarding achievement stand out as shining examples and can be very motivating - as we know from school sports or martial arts. The World Pool Association (WPA - officially recognised by the IOC) has therefore developed a special colour emblem system. PAT world ranking list - Playing ability tests can be officially conducted by licensed PAT instructors. The test results are published (if the player wants) in the official world wide ranking list on the PAT company website. The online publication of a world ranking list allows every sportsman and woman to view the results achieved by fellow players. Thanks to PAT a world-wide comparison is possible, based on different selection criteria (continental, national, ladies only, men only, youth only, etc.). One world - One test! A world-wide net of PAT instructors is needed. Join the PAT community! PAT and motivation. The motivating effect of rewarding achievement has already been mentioned, but there are other reasons to test your playing ability. Everyone wants to know the answer to the question: 'How good am I really?'. The strive for perfection is one of the driving forces in technical sports such as billiard. The motivation to do a PAT will always be intrinsic and not extrinsic. It's not just about the prize money. You do it because you love to play. You want to make progress. And you want to measure yourself against others. You are aiming for perfection. Every sports psychologist will confirm that intrinsically motivated sportsmen perform better than extrinsically motivated.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ralph G. EckertProfessional Class Pocket Billiard Player- How it began...-In 1982 Ralph started playing in a newly opened Billiard CafeA in Ludwigshafen on the Rhein, Germany. At that time, Ralph was 17 yrs old. Actually, he was waiting at the Bus stop across the street from the A"now openingA" invitation, for a bus that wasn't on time. His curiosity got the better of him and so he decided to look into this brand new billiard parlor instead. The proprietor and owner of this establishment - to which incidentally, now belongs among the finest Billiard parlours in Germany - understood quickly the diligence Ralph showed during play, to include his lack of talent at the time. A"The diligence, together with his bit of intelligence will be enough to turn him into a Top Player soon!A" was how the proprietor formulated the A"BetA" back then! Which was the reason why the one (Tobias Kim) and later another (Bernd Woitanowski) troubled themselves increasingly more towards the advancement of Ralph's personal skills.- His Training -One must realize that both Proprietors at that time, belong to the best players in the country and Tobias Kim was an academic in Heidelberg (studied Physics, Mathematics and Anglo Saxon in England, USA and Heidelberg) and could convey knowledge to him that no other could have given. Consequently, Ralph not only practiced very diligently but also trained consolidated and wise, which not only provided him with sound technique and a good feel for the game but also the knowledge about the finer points of Tactics which would reveal itself and help him greatly as time went on. After only three years of intensive training A"4 - 8 hrs a dayA" and not uncommonly 12 hrs and more at a time! Ralph reached, with his Team (BF Ludwigshafen 1982) in 1985, placement in the Major National League.- First Trick shot show -1985 was the year he introduced his first Trick shot show. This took place in the Officers Club at Ft Westerburg, German Army Barracks, where Ralph was assigned until March of 1996. For Ralph, it became a question whether or not the Officers Club had enough room for a pool table so he could practice daily (off Duty!). The Trick shot presentation would give him a chance to demonstrate his ability. As it had to happen, the presentation was a complete success! This moved the Brass to allow this regular Army Private, be allowed to come in the Officers Club as an exception to the rule! A recreation center of Today's Army would still take a long time in coming.- First big Milestone -The following year showed much signs of further practice. Whereas Ralph, in 1986/87 because of a small quarrel with his Mentor, a one year switch to another Club (PBV Schwetzingen) was met and mastered and he invariably helped the Team to reach the National League level. However, after returning to his home Team in Ludwigshafen, the real breakthroughs were accomplished. By 1988, Ralph was 2 time Baden Wuertemburg State Champion and in this Season moved on to become German Vice Champion in 9-Ball. He began playing in Tournaments in foreign countries that had International Top Players at the start. In Sweden and in Switzerland, where Ralph won more experience. Through a switch in the ranks of the Presidio DPBB (German Pool Billiard Federation; restructured in 1990), in 1988 Ralph was nominated as a possible choice for the German National Team, for the first time.- Drawbacks -Ralph's Mentor Tobias Kim was the reason for this chance, but being the highly qualified, innovative and progress oriented person that he was, he made the functionary officials already on the board, begin to squirm in their seats. This developed further into mistrust and discomfort between certain board members. Which eventually led to Kim's Billiard business, where they would trip him up as well as they could, when ever they could. It got to the point where any proposal or suggestion Kim made, be put off as dream Fantasies. His proteges (next to Ralph another up comer, Norbert Lang) and their careers, were also thwarted as much as possible.Some of these drawbacks had a very long reach and wounded Ralph deeply, not only on a National, but County and District levels as well. The story behind these individual cases would fill another book and for that matter would be only shortly lived. Now, it is put off in general as A"Yesterday's Snow StormA" and forgotten. As it turned out for Kim however, his activities were reduced to nothing important and anything that had to do with Billiards would be purely a little business on the side. Today he has completely retreated from the Billiard scene and seems to enjoy this perfectly.Ralph on the other hand was for years on end, barred from playing in important National Tournaments through diverse disqualifications and over qualifications which robbed him of any further intensive development and caused irreparable damage to his career. But enough of this, Ralph still was able during this time to attend and win many Open Tournaments which at least allowed him to still be looked upon as a Top Contender among the better players.- Successful Trick Shows -Between 1988 and 1993, Ralph enjoyed fantastic success with his Trick Shot Presentations. He gave an innumerous amount of Events at Grand Openings, Parties and Billiard Fairs. His great presentation on Television at the start of the 1991 German Championships and at the Saarbruecker Saarlandhall 1992 for the Casino Cup. Another in 1993 during the Spanish Championships in Alicante and the Danish Championships in Copenhagen.In this year, Ralph showed for the first time at a Billiard Fair in the USA, the MEGA-JUMP shot (Tobias Kim showed him this shot in 1984). He got the shot to work even though his shaft was shattered in the process. This happens on occasion, due to the massive amount of force required. The shot has to do with a correctly administered jump shot where the cue ball must jump over a ball that is only about 3.5 cm away. Ralph does this with a completely normal length cue and is to date the only person know who can control this shot effectively. However, due to the material damage that sometimes comes about, he shows this shot only very seldom.His favorite Trick Shots are his version of A"Chinese PoolA"; A"Masked MarvelA"; A"Lady-ShotA" and the A"Pool Pyramid, Evil Knievel StyleA". Along with this, he has his own Trick Shot arrangements in his repertoire. These are the A"typical 8-Ball situationsA". Because of the complexity in the ball arrangement at the beginning of the Trick Shot, he is very fond of these as well.- Other milestones -Nobody knows or will say for sure, the reason why Ralph - for him a complete surprise - was again nominated in 1993 for a spot in the German National Team and again in 1995 and 1996. And even when Ralph, in 1994 because of a job workshop could only play every now and again. The workshop was a Godsend, as overproduction created unemployment and the economic market at the time was in the basement. Commissions for Trick Shots were few and far between at this time as well, but even through all this turmoil, Ralph was still able to keep his place under the Top Ten in Germany.- Ralph becomes Author -In 1995 Ralph laid his first book A"Modern PoolA" on the Open Market. Ralph worked almost two years on it before having to throw it all in the bottom drawer for over a year because of computer problems, script problems and lastly finding the right publisher! Since 1985, Ralph had given training now and then. During this time he would always note these training incidents down in a notebook, with self made graphic illustrations that would help him further. Somewhere along the line, Ralph decided it would be a good idea to write a commentary to each of the illustrations he used in training. As he did this he realized that it wouldn't take much more to finish a complete book on this subject and began forthwith to this work at hand. At a Billiard Fair in Hennef, Germany where Ralph presented his first Book, all copies brought at that time were completely sold out. The insured reservations and the rest of the copies from the first print were completely sold out in a matter of 8 months! Therefore, in 1996 a revised version of A"Modern PoolA" was completed. This second edition had naturally a greater amount in stock than the last version did.In this book he could show one vividly what one needed to do, with even lesser talent, to press into the ranks of the better players. Through his professionally initiated A"Training conceptA" in the Billiard Parlor in Ludwigshafen, his determination and discipline, and his distinguishing mark of diligence during play, were all keys to his success!- Self-supporting as a Billiard Player? -Through the ensuing demand in the area of training, Ralph decided in 1997 under the banner of A"Billiard ActivitiesA" to start his own business as a professional Billiard Trainer and maybe reach a higher level of Attainment in this Sport as a Player at least on the teaching side of the fence, but it didn't want to start out easily.Lessons for an official Trainer license at this day and age were very seldom. An acknowledgement from the DBU (German Billiard Union) in the past, were given only under special circumstances to which was something Ralph, at that time wouldn't agree with. For the moment it seemed his fate was sealed.- or as a Billiard Trainer?... -Through this newly won free time, since Ralph had joined the ranks of the self-employed, he could train more on his own game. This gave him again the courage he needed, to attend bigger tournaments more often and for the first time the European Tournament Series, the EURO TOUR. This is how he came into contact with the EPBF (European Pocket Billiard Federation), the official Institute for Pool Billiards in Europe! Here he found that they badly needed a good player that was able to give good training in English! That is how it came about that Ralph Eckert in 1998 by the way of honoris causa became the first official Europe Trainer. Ralph found himself in a somewhat, peculiar situation. On the one hand he was the official trainer for Europe, given in writing and backed by the most important Billiard alliance in all of...