Pool is a great game and very popular with both wheelchair users and TABs.

You don’t have to be ironman to play and you don’t need very much in the way of gear. It’s played indoors so weather is never a problem. You can play in a group or alone and it’s affordable. With some luck you may know someone who owns a table that you can mooch a couple of games off of. Maybe even a brew or two out of their fridge to keep you loose.

It’s actually the perfect sport for wheelchair users who want to get back into it or start into it. Except for the downsides- It’s almost always a tough shot to make from a wheelchair, especially if the player has some upper extremity involvement. Unless the ball is near the edge every shot becomes a much harder to make long shot which means reaching way out, maintaining control of the cue, and getting a good accurate swing, all from a wheelchair. Steadying the cue stick is not always the biggest problem though. Many wheelchair users manage that or subsidize it with a bridge. It’s getting a good accurate cue swing with the right amount of force and the right angle that often messes things up.

Here’s a new product that is not purposed as assistive technology but one that may be a good solution for wheeled wannabe pool hustlers. NixStix is a pool cue that is unlike conventional cues. You don’t need to swing it at all. NixStix has an actuating tip that is triggered to pop out with a user adjusted amount of force. In other words, no swinging/pushing it. You adjust to the desired thrust at the bottom of the cue, position and steady the cue, press the activator button and the tip thrusts out and hits the ball.

Aside from being very manageable from a wheelchair or for those with compromised upper extremity strength or dexterity, the NixStix can also help improve your game. Here’s what the manufacturer states:

• Allows you to better focus your attention on lining-up/targeting your shot “more accurately”.
• Allows you to better manage/control “English” (spin) on the cue ball.
• Eliminates over-powering the cue ball “off the table”
• Makes “longer reaching shots” more manageable
• Eliminates “back swing bumping” (into objects or people)

Check out the manufacturer’s website for more info.
Check out the National Wheelchair Poolplayers Association

Hey, betcha five bucks you can’t make this shot.

Be cool,
Ziggi