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thedrifter
03-24-09, 06:56 AM
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — For some, the game of pool is nothing more than an enjoyable game played at a bar or arcade. For a Marine in 2nd Maintenance Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, billiards is more than a simple past-time; it’s filled with life lessons.

For Lance Cpl. Aaron Close, a heavy equipment operator with Motor Transport Maintenance Company, pool is what shaped him into the person he is today.

Close competed in a 9-ball pool tournament, here, March 20. He placed third in the preliminaries. Unfortunately, only first and second place moved on to the championship.

“If you don’t get beat you are never going to learn,” Close said. “I’ll play anybody, of any experience level. To get better you have to be willing to play anyone.”

Even though Close was not able to play in the finals, he still showed up to the last day of the tournament to support his platoon sergeant, who placed first the day prior.

“Even if you’re not playing you can learn a lot just watching the other players,” Close said. “If you see them mess up on a shot or overcome a bad set-up, you can learn from them. Every shot is a learning experience and an opportunity to get better.”

The native of Brookhaven, Miss., comes from a family of pool players. He has been playing since before he can remember.

Everyone from his grandparents to his sister is avid pool players. His mother took second in a Texas state tournament when she scratched on the 9-ball, Close said.

However, skill is not the only thing Close’s family passed down to him.

“I have a fifty-year-old stick that my grandfather gave me. It’s a four-piece Muccie,” he said. “I used it until I realized that it was an antique.”

Close now uses a custom pool stick given to him by the owner of a pool hall from his hometown. He cherishes his pool sticks almost as much as a Marine values a rifle and even relates pool to the fundamentals of marksmanship.

“The tip would be your barrel and your back hand would be your trigger finger,” he said. “You have to control your breathing and have power over your muscles. Each shot needs to almost be a surprise.”

Close said aside from winning making friends and just shooting pool is what he enjoys most of all.

“I’m a competitive person, as many Marines are, but in the end we can’t let competition get the best of us because we all go overseas and fight the same fight, and we need to have each others back. We can’t let competition get in the way of camaraderie,” he said.

Sgt. Don Simms, Close’s platoon sergeant, said Close knows his job just as well, if not better than he knows pool.

“He is a good Marine with a lot of potential,” Simms said. “He will go far in this career and as a pool player. If he continues to play in competitions or for recreation, I feel sorry for his opponents.”

Close’s love for pool has grown since enlisting in the Corps, which has granted him several opportunities to become a well-rounded pool player.

“I have played people from all over the country,” Close said. “It’s amazing the things you can learn from people with different experiences with the game.”