Pool player makes a splash

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

POST FALLS — Terry Wigen may not hold a pool cue like other players, but he has still found ways to compete against some of the area's best.

That was evident last week when Wigen, who has birth defects on both hands, won the 9 Ball Tournament at Bob's 21 Club.

He has two small fingers on his left hand.

He has no fingers on his right hand.

With the disability, Wigen has to cradle the cue with his right arm to shoot. In doing so, he uses his shoulder as much as arm to play.

Such a stance, fellow pool player Davon Hendry said, puts Wigen at a disadvantage against other players.

"He has to stand at a high angle," Hendry said. "But his vision makes him a great shooter. He can shoot with the best of them."

Bobby Wilhelm, owner of Bob's 21 Club, said he's mesmerized by how Wigen overcomes the challenges to compete.

"I watch him play pool in amazement," Wilhelm said. "Holding a pool cue correctly is an art in and of itself, and he does it with what he has. He plays a really good game. He won the 9 Ball Tournament against very tough competition."

Wigen, 45, is humble about the accomplishment. He couches it by repeating that he's just another player in an area of great competitors.

"I know the angles (on the pool table) and I'm good at bank shots, but it's nothing special," said Wigen, who has won a few other local tournaments. "My game comes and goes, and that day I just happened to be doing good."

Wigen said a lot of his ability has come from learning from his own mistakes and tips from other players.

"When you miss, you watch where the ball goes," he said. "A lot of people I play also show me a lot of nice shots. It's not like I learned this all from myself."

But Hendry said Wigen, of Rathdrum, also puts in the time to improve.

"Practice, practice, practice," Hendry said of Wigen. "He puts in the time to work on it."

Hendry described Wigen "as gracious as they come."

"He's just an awesome, nice guy," Hendry said.

Theresa Crowder said Wigen is easy to be around.

"He's just one of everybody else, and he wouldn't want anyone to look at him in any other way," she said. "He makes it easier on all of us. He's one of the nicest guys you'll meet."

Wigen said most of the people he plays against are easy to get along with, but he runs into snarky ones every now and then.

"Some people have gotten mad when I've beaten them," he said. "They'll say things like, 'I have all my fingers and I couldn't even beat you.'"

Wigen, who also has a prosthetic right leg, said since he grew up with the disabilities, he doesn't know any different and he's just adjusted with what he has.

"Usually I don't even think about it," he said. "I just see how different people do things, then I figure out how to do it."

In addition to playing pool, he learned to work on vehicles and formerly rode snowmobiles.

Wigen had a rather late start on playing pool.

"When I was a kid, we had a table but I didn't play on it much," he said. "In high school a friend asked me to start."

After high school, Wigen, who graduated from Post Falls High in 1990, played off and on at businesses like Steve's Dugout and the Falls Club in Post Falls.

Wigen said he mostly plays pool to relax.

"It helps get your mind on something else," he said. "I just do it for fun and play when I can."

Wilhelm said Wigen is "uplifting" to be around because he's polite and works to improve.

"He's a guy who's made it through life with what he's got and he doesn't let disabilities hold him down," Wilhelm said. "And, along the way, he's beaten some very tough players."