BEF Professional Player Spotlight April Larson

April Larson, current touring pro player (and longtime BEF protégé) , with such accomplishments as; 2021 Ladies Rated Fargo Champion, 2019 Collegiate 9-Ball Women’s Champion, 2017 WPBA Masters Soaring Eagles Tournament Top 4, 2016 NAPT Division 1 Summer 10-Ball Classic Champion, 2016 Junior Valley National 8-Ball Champion, 7-time Team USA player at WPA Jr World Championships, 5-time BEF Junior National 18&U(G) Champion, the only 5-time Atlantic Challenge Cup Team USA member and 2015 Atlantic Challenge Cup MVP, took time to sit down and answer some questions about growing up playing pool, the Billiard Education Foundation and what it takes to be successful in this sport.

When did you begin shooting pool?

I was 9 years old, and I began shooting pool with my dad. I hardly ever saw his side of the family and I went with him one night to pool league and realized if I continued to go with him every week, I would see them all the time! I absolutely loved the thought of that. The pool room had 64 pool tables, so what did I do? I picked up a pool cue and the rest is history.

What players did you look up to in your youth?

Allison Fisher, Kelly Fisher, Jeanette Lee, Loree Jon Jones, Karen Corr, Johnny Archer, Nick Varner, Mark Wilson, and Fred Goodman

How did the BEF aid in improving your game and prepare you for professional competition?

Competing against the best in your age group helps prepare you to compete against the best all-around when you age out. It also introduces you to immense pressure, high stakes, intense nerve, and the expectations that you put on yourself and how to, as Mark Wilson says, “adapt to adversity!”

What does the BEF mean to you?

The BEF means everything to me. Without it, there would have been no exposure for me, not many chances to meet professionals and create relationships with them and to learn so much at such a young age.

Can you share some words of wisdom for today’s younger players hoping to compete competitively?

Please, please, please practice confidence. It doesn’t matter if everyone on earth believes in you, you must believe in yourself to make anything happen not only in pool, but in life. I struggled with that theory my ENTIRE junior career. But now I know I can’t control how my opponent is going to play so I am simply confident in what I am capable of. When I get to the table, all I focus on during a match is what I able to do. This is one of the most mental games in the world, so that is what I am constantly trying to improve, more than anything else, my mental game.