Billiards: Born to run (the table

By Lynn Taylor Rick, Journal staff | Sunday, November 04, 2007

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Shane Boening picked up his first pool cue at the age of 2.

Twenty-two years later, the Rapid City native used that lifelong experience to win the 2007 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship.

Van Boening, who now lives in Sioux Falls, took home the $50,000 purse on Oct. 20 in Virginia. He beat the reigning world 9-ball champion in a 13-10 final.

“I knew I was going to do well, but I didn’t know I was going to win,” Van Boening said. “I’m playing real good this year.”

Van Boening comes by his pool skills genetically, raised in a family of pool players. His grandmother, grandfather, mother and aunt have all been pool champions, both state and national.

Van Boening’s grandfather, Gary Bloomberg, owned several pool halls during Van Boening’s childhood. That’s where he first developed his talent.  

“He grew up in a pool hall,” said his mother, Timi Bloomberg of Rapid City. “He’s been around it since he was just little.”

Gary Bloomberg, also of Rapid City, remembers handing his toddler grandson a pool cue. He was surprised to find that, even then, Van Boening understood the correct way to hold it. “He was doing absolutely everything perfectly,” Gary Bloomberg said.

Over the years, Van Boening played in various tournaments, competing in the men’s state tournament at age 9 and taking second place in the junior nationals at age 12.

In his teens, he began to contemplate a career. “When I was about 16, I realized that I could be on the pro level,” Van Boening said.  He waited until age 19 to make the move.

Known for a calm demeanor and killer focus, Van Boening also prides himself on a powerful break. “That’s the key to the game. Once I break, I have control of the table,” he said.

Gary and Timi Bloomberg give credit to Van Boening’s laser focus. “When he’s playing, there’s nothing else but he and the table,” Gary Bloomberg said.

Van Boening, who has a hearing impairment, usually turns off his hearing aid during matches, his grandfather said. Bloomberg believes that helps his grandson to hone in on the game. 

Timi Bloomberg agrees. “Some of the other players, they are interacting,” she said. “Shane is pretty focused. Just waiting; waiting to get at the table.”

Although focus plays a huge role in his success, Timi Bloomberg believes her son was born with both natural ability and dedication.

“He plays every day, for hours …. And probably has since he was 8 or 9,” she said. “He’s devoted a lot of time to it, and he puts a lot of work into it.”

That work ethic has paid off.

In addition to his U.S. Open win, Boening also took home the Predator World 10 Ball title in May. He competes in the World 9-Ball Championship in Manila, Philippines, today. He has been chosen to represent the United States at the 14th Mosconi Cup, joining four other players who will face off against a European team. The tournament will be held in December in Las Vegas.

While Van Boening is hard pressed to toot his own horn, his proud grandfather and mother aren’t. The fact that his grandson has come this far doesn’t surprise Gary Bloomberg. “In the last year or so, he’s dominated the scene, really,” he said.

Timi Bloomberg has the same sense of pride about her champion son.

“I don’t think any of us are surprised by it,” she said of his accomplishments.

But can she still beat the son she helped to train? Timi Bloomberg laughs at the question.

“He would never let me win. … I always tell him I can beat him,” she says. “But I don’t know that there are very many people in the world that can (beat him) anymore.”

Contact Lynn Taylor Rick at 394-8414 or lynn.taylorrick@rapidcity journal.com.