Golden years goal: Playing as a pro

TEWKSBURY -- The ``For Sale" sign goes into the ground in 2013.

That's the decision Randy LaBonte and his wife, Karen, made recently. The Tewksbury couple plans to sell their sprawling estate seven years from now and make the road their home as Randy attempts to make a living on the senior tour of professional billiards.

``I've been practicing two to three hours per day since 2000," said LaBonte, 53. ``I'm going to try and spend my senior years as a professional pool player."

Such a declaration would typically be met with cries of discouragement from rational minds, but few are doubting LaBonte's ability to make this a success. While he's still a relative beginner at the sport, his dedication is unmatched and it helps explain his meteoric rise on the pro circuit.

Even his wife isn't concerned.

``From the very beginning, I was really psyched," said Karen LaBonte, who works in the Andover school district and acknowledges that trying to attend Randy's events is a challenge, since most big tournaments take place during the school year.

``I look forward to traveling. . . . I'm able to attend some tournaments in the fall and winter on three-day weekends, but the time I'm off in the summer, the pool season really dies down."

Now she attends as many tournaments as she can, cheering him on while chatting with nationally ranked female players like Julie Kelly and Karen Corr, whom she has become friendly with on past trips.

So what exactly makes the LaBontes so confident this will work? Maybe it's because there is no better example that practice makes perfect than Randy LaBonte.

At the age of 5, his mother sat him down at the piano and he would spend one hour a day there for the next 11 years. Today, he remains an accomplished pianist, and a baby grand sits just beyond LaBonte's billiards room in their Tewksbury home.

When he turned 21, LaBonte turned his attention to tennis. Caught up in the sport's popularity explosion fueled by Jimmy Connors, LaBonte picked up a racket every day for the next decade and would be ranked as high as No. 1 in doubles and No. 7 in singles for his age group in New England.

Needing a sport with less wear and tear on the body as he's grown older, LaBonte rekindled a love of billiards. By 2000, he had decided this would be the sport he would pursue in his golden years.

``After my father saw Paul Newman in that movie, he bought the family a pool table," said LaBonte, referring to Newman's 1961 role as Eddie Felson in ``The Hustler."

``I believe I was about 9 at the time, and we'd be hacking it around this cheesy little table with all the neighborhood kids and I seemed to have a knack for cutting the ball. I remember telling those guys, `No, you gotta hit it here.' "

Nothing came of those talents until the turn of the century when LaBonte started taking lessons in hopes of accelerating the development of his skills. His friends and competitors acknowledge that he's come a long way.

``Randy is an A player," said Methuen native Michael Barbagallo, a professional player who has played against LaBonte. ``Randy reads magazines and does all the little things. But he really puts in the practice time. He's so dedicated to the sport."

That dedication doesn't mean he has to cut into family time. The pool room is located right next to what LaBonte dubbed ``Karen's Kitchen."

She says its a bit of a misnomer.

``Randy still does the cooking. It's another one of his talents," said Karen LaBonte, who still plays tennis but hasn't been bitten by the billiards bug just yet. She and their 13-year-old daughter, Jillian, just laugh when they see how focused and intense Randy LaBonte is around the table. Ironically, Jillian's name came from a bit of foreshadowing in 1992. She was named after the pool palace near Fenway Park.

``We were driving into Boston on our way to the hospital and we were still trying to pick out a name," said Karen LaBonte. ``We saw the big neon sign from the highway and thought that was perfect. Until the age of 10, she thought that was her pool room."

Pool wasn't on the LaBontes' mind then, but it is now. Randy LaBonte has experienced a great deal of success on the pro tours that have taken him across the country so far, but there are a lot of miles ahead of him.

So is he worried at all about this venture?

``Oh sure, there will be a little more pressure standing over a shot," said LaBonte with a laugh. ``I won't want to over cut the gas money. But I have seven years to make it on to the senior tour and I'm confident I can get to that world-class level.

``Every day I practice and every day I get better."