There are pool sharks and then there are pool Sharkettes

SUN CITY – There are ladies in the pool hall!!

Back in the day, this shout would often spark protests and pandemonium in pool halls (ahem, billiard parlors). Proper ladies wouldn’t want to be seen in one. Even if they did, the guys probably wouldn’t let them in.

Sun City resident Marty Brenner of N.33 founded the Sharkettes, an informal division of the Cue Club for female players. (Photo by Chris LaPelusa/Sun Day)

But in Sun City, the ladies are welcome. Some of them play as well as men, and it’s all about fun – not gambling, hustling, or $1,000-dollar games. If any men have a problem with it, they are referred to Marty Brenner, who is a tiny but energetic leader of all this social and recreational change.

In her home in Neighborhood 33, Marty is a social, gregarious, enthusiastic woman. At the Cue Club’s “pool hall” (playing facility) in the Millgrove Woodshop, she is a “Sharkette.” And she usually has more than a dozen “Sharkettes” with her. They form the informal ladies division of the Cue Club, which has been up and running for a few months.

Male Cue Club members Clark Jones (far left) and Chuck Volpi (far right) helped Brenner form the Sharkettes. (Photo by Chris LaPelusa/Sun Day)

She is truly a Renaissance woman. She is a retired teacher of autistic children, an accomplished professional violinist, she likes to run and jog and walk her two pet poodles, and she likes to shoot baskets. She must be beside herself when she’s sitting down; she prefers to play a sport, even if it’s all by herself. Oh yes, she also bikes a lot around Sun City and does yoga 3-4 times a week.

“When I came here, I found out there was a Cue Club, and I thought maybe I had a chance to get involved in it,” she said. “So I went over to the woodshop one day when I knew they were playing. I walked into a roomful of more than 60 men, and I almost walked right back out. But they welcomed me and explained how I could get involved. They even said I could practice with some of the men who could teach me about the game. 

“My late husband played a lot,” she said. “But he never encouraged me to play. I guess that was the culture of the game back then.”

Marty, being a naturally social person, saw how much the club members enjoyed socializing as well as playing, and she talked to some of her female friends. “Pretty soon, we had a group of women playing regularly, and the guys set aside time for us every Tuesday. Somebody used the word “Sharkettes,” like the old idea about pool sharks.

“We are mix of beginner and experienced players,” Marty said. “The men are all surprised that so many women have stepped forward and showed interest in the game. We play mostly eight-ball, but sometimes we play some billiards. We’re blending in with the Cue Club, and it’s going great. More and more women are finding out that pool games and socializing go together very well. Clark Jones and Chuck Volpi, club officers, especially have been very helpful.”

The “Sharkettes” include Kathy LaValla, Rita Price, Kathy Takasaki, Jean Chervenak, Nancy Vosconte, Geri Biedron, Phyllis Combs, Muriel Riedesel, Dorothy Cronin, Esther Auster, Judy Cieciva, Jan Orton, and Eve Kolasa.

Marty’s background is diversified and impressive. She played for the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and the Milwaukee Ballet ensemble, and taught autistic kids in public schools for many years. Today, she bikes and jogs daily, and frequently goes over to Diecke Park in Huntley to shoot baskets on warm days. She also keeps in close touch with her daughter and grandchildren in the Huntley area and other family members in Knoxville, Tennessee.

She and the other “Sharkettes” are truly people you should know, and they are truly unique.

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