BILLIARDS BOOM IGNITED.Byline: Sonia Giordani Daily News Staff Writer As with most things in life, Vivianne Ortiz tells her students, the game of pool is only 20 percent skill. The rest is practice and concentration. One of the most popular teachers at the Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. Teen Center, Ortiz spends Thursday nights giving pointers on the techniques - and the etiquette - of pool. ``Pool's changing. It's not just that game played in dark, dingy dingy used as a description of fleece wool; the wool is lacking in brightness. places,'' said Ortiz, a 26-year-old college student and amateur pool shark from Camarillo. ``It's good for kids. Like any sport, it teaches coordination skills, people skills, mental concentration.'' And since she started teaching at the Teen Center, Ortiz has really pumped up the local pool culture among youths. It was the enthusiasm of Thousand Oaks teens, in fact, that pushed Ortiz to found the Ventura County Junior Billiard bil·liard adj. Of, relating to, or used in billiards. n. See carom. Adj. 1. billiard - of or relating to billiards; "a billiard ball"; "a billiard cue"; "a billiard table" Association. ``These kids really put their hearts into this,'' she said. Alex Garcia
``Vivianne's really good, so she can help us with the advanced shots,'' said Garcia, a Thousand Oaks High School Thousand Oaks High School is a high school established in 1962 and located in Thousand Oaks, California. It is a California Distinguished School, and offers curriculum at all levels for Thousand Oaks students. The mascot is the lancer. sophomore. Thursday nights, a dozen or more students linger about the pool tables and talk to Ortiz in between games. She walks between the center's three pool tables and offers pointers on how to set up and how to think through a game. Ortiz's introductory course in pool instruction was the first 13-year-old Alexandra De Luca enrolled in at the Teen Center. The youth said she'd shot a few games with friends and was hooked. Then she decided to enroll in a class. ``I was the only girl, so at first I felt a little weird. But then my teacher was a girl, so I felt a little more encouraged,'' said De Luca, who has since learned to hold her own in the rec REC - CONVERT room. Jackie Hylton, 14, said she never picked up a pool cue until about two weeks ago, when she dropped into the Teen Center. ``My friends here helped teach me how to play. I'm getting better,'' said Hylton, a La Reina High School La Reina High School is a Catholic college preparatory junior and senior high school for girls. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, La Reina is owned and administered by the Sisters of Notre Dame. student. ``I think it's good for the girls, too. It's fun.'' CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Jackie Hylton, 14, left, and Steve Serrano ser·ra·no n. pl. ser·ra·nos A cultivar of the tropical pepper Capsicum annuum having small, blunt, highly pungent red or green fruit used in cooking. , 13, match their pool skills at the Thousand Oaks Teen Center's recreation room. Myung J. Chun/Daily News |
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