Having not even reached its third birthday, a local pool league has represented Eastern North Carolina twice on a national stage that’s been around 22 years.
Southern TAP, a branch of TAP Pool’s Amateur Tour league, started in February of 2011.
Nine teams totaling 78 players shoot at various businesses throughout Lenoir County on Tuesday nights, preparing for cycles of 16-week pool seasons. Nearly a dozen league members recently returned from playing in the national tournament in Chicago, as team STR8-N finished ninth out of 78 8-ball teams in the country.
“We’ve got a lot of talent and a lot of players on my team who really care about what they’re doing,” STR8-N Capitan Jared Boone said. “We wanted to do our best; it takes heart and talent.”
He admitted the team was going for the top spot at nationals, which were held last week.
Last year, the Southern TAP team finished at No. 17.
“It’s a great accomplishment,” said Chad Bostic, Southern TAP owner, “especially for this area — to actually be able to represent Lenoir County and Eastern North Carolina in a national championship.”
Bostic finished seventh in his division and his wife, Joy Bostic, came in fifth place in the nation for 8-ball singles. Southern TAP member Oscar Barker finished seventh in the 8-ball singles. Joy said she wanted to advance further than last year, which was a goal she achieved.
“To be able to go and finish the way I did was a big accomplishment for me,” said Bostic, who didn’t place last year.
“When we went to Chicago, there weren’t a lot of people or teams from North Carolina,” she said. “We were able to go, get our name out there, meet new people, market the league and get some ideas about how to help us grow.”
She and Chad are on team CLEAN-SL8 which currently has a 26-14 record.
Having a slot in the “fastest-growing amateur pool league in North America,” according to Bostic, Southern TAP is looking to expand into at least 13 teams.
Local perspective on sport of pool
Chad Bostic has been shooting pool 25 years, with an 8-ball inked on his hand to show for it.
He said to become successful at pool, one must practice the game.
“(It takes) practice and watching players that are better than you and learning from players that are the best in the area,” said Bostic, noting playing both offense and defense is essential in pool as it is any other sport.
His wife, Joy, had the best individual record among the league members during the championship run.
“It’s a good time for us to get together, have time together and do something that we enjoy doing,” said Joy Bostic, who is the captain of CLEAN SL8.
And while negative stereotypes may be associated with the sport of pool because billiards are mostly found in bars, Southern TAP members say the location is simply that — a location.
“Unfortunately (pool) is around bars,” Chad Bostic said, “but that’s because that’s where pool tables are. We have a lot of Christian players who play with us that don’t drink. I for one don’t drink.”
Bostic said you can find a lot of sportsmanship and enjoyment within pool.
“It’s a dying sport,” he said. “I really love it, and I’m trying to get people back into it because it’s a lot of fun.”
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.