Gerry “The Ghost” Kanov and
Shari “The Shark” Stauch combine an unprecedented wealth of professional pool experience and talent. Both contribute to
Pool & Billiard Magazine, the top publication for the sport. They have also played against or worked with most of the top professional pool players and instructors in the world.
Kanov has been playing professional and amateur pool since 1968. He has dozens of local and national top-three finishes and championships, including two national team championships as a player and coach. He is an instructional editor and technical advisor for Pool & Billiard Magazine and has written dozens of instructional articles, including the columns “Ghost” and “Eight Ball Ernie,” both reader favorites.
Kanov was a touring professional on the Camel Pro Billiard series and a coach for several top players. He also has a screen credit: He portrayed a referee in the motion picture The Color of Money. Kanov and his wife make their home in Nashville, Tennessee.
Stauch, a 2007 inductee into the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA) Hall of Fame, was a touring pro on the Women’s Pro Billiard Tour from 1980 to 2004, when she retired to pursue promotion of the sport full time. She was consistently ranked in the top 32 players in the world, even while serving as executive editor of Pool & Billiard Magazine and handling publicity for the Women’s Pro Billiard Tour. She has performed dozens of exhibitions for clients, including ESPN.
Stauch was the founding president of the Billiard Education Foundation, which conducts youth billiard national championships and scholarship programs. Stauch also was involved as a consultant for The Color of Money. Shari resides with her husband and two children outside of Charleston, South Carolina. She is a BCA- and ACS-certified instructor and certified coach.
