Mar 9, 20163 min
I talked to him for a bit and again I was surprised at his age; he was polite and well-mannered and just seemed to be a really nice person. He lost the hot seat match but then made his way through the one loss side and double dipped in the finals to become the youngest person since Mike Dechaine to win a New England 9-Ball Series event.
Derrick lives in Gorham, ME, where he is a Sophomore at Gorham High School. He first picked up a pool cue when he was 10 or 11 years old when his grandfather took him to a pool hall. He was immediately hooked; fortunately he was tall for his age and could reach over the rail and thus never needed to use the side arm stroke that other players who started young like Keith McCready still use.
His goal is to become a professional pool player; and he is willing to work hard at it. On average he spends four hours each day playing pool; an hour doing drills and the rest of the time practicing different games like one pocket.
His parents are extremely supportive of him and his goal. His father bought a pool table for the house so he could practice more. They also usually attend his tournaments and have traveled with him to Pennsylvania and Las Vegas for events.
In 2015 Derrick placed fifth in the 15-18 year old junior division at the Super Billiards Expo in Oaks, PA. This qualified him along with the other top 16 finishers to attend the Junior Nationals in Las Vegas.
Derrick lost his final match hill-hill to take seventh place out of 57 players. He is looking to qualify for the Nationals again at this year’s Super Billiards Expo.
When watching a teenager from Maine play pool at the level Derrick does it is hard not to compare him to another former Maine teenage pool prodigy, Mike Dechaine. Both players practiced for hours every day to improve their games. Both began winning tournaments at a young age. They even use the same cue: an OB-121 with an OB-1+ shaft.
The fact that people think he plays similarly to how Mike Dechaine played at 16 years old gives Derrick confidence and inspires him to believe that if he keeps working hard he can play as well or better than Mike someday.
I asked Derrick if he ever feels nervous at tournaments, particularly because he mostly plays with adults, and he said he really doesn’t. He plays loose and calm because he is knows his abilities and has confidence in his game.
This is a quality I’m sure a lot of other pool players wish they had.
Derrick is sponsored by Union Station Billiards in Portland, ME, which he describes as having 18 Gold Crown nine foot tables and a really nice seating area for spectators.
When not playing pool Derrick can be found playing basketball or at his weekend and summer job with a landscaping company.
Sponsored by POV Pool and Jacoby Custom Cues