Toddler's talent reaches every corner pocket of the globe
Eight months ago, our reporter Kaitlyn Ross and videographer Shawn Hilleboe brought you the story of 2-year-old Keith O'Dell - a pool-playing prodigy who had been amazing his family and friends for months. Shortly after our story aired, he won hearts around the world as well. After being featured in hundreds of newspapers and television shows, Capital News 9 caught up with the O'Dell family again to find out where their little pool shark is now.
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
AMSTERDAM, N.Y. -- "He's been in over 200 newspapers, I think like 60 magazines," said dad Keith O'Dell Sr. "It seems like every day somebody's like, oh, he was in this one, and then we do the mad, frantic search trying to find it.
But they're not very hard to track down. A quick search of the toddler's name yields thousands of results, from national morning show appearances to articles in written in Japanese.
"Every time I think he can't get better, he gets better. He's like a sponge," said O'Dell.
And now that he's internationally known, he's improving other players' games as well.
"She was standing with her feet too close together and Keith looked at her and he goes, no, no, no, no, stand like this. And he stands how she goes to stand with her legs open. He actually shows my friends how to bridge," said O'Dell.
"You don't really find kids finding out what they really enjoy to do at 2 years old. You really don't," said mom Courtney O'Dell. "So it's surprising and exciting and overwhelming all at once."
Little Keith might be helping other pool prodigies find their calling now though. All the attention has earned him his own cue line sponsored by McDermott.
O'Dell said, "The line goes from a baby, like David's age who is 10 months - I hope he doesn't pick up a cue tomorrow - all the way up to an adult my size that can use a cue."
The new cue line will be out in time for the holidays, so while you can expect a lot of child/parent duos, there might be another O'Dell combo on the way.
"You'll hear a clunk when he's crawling around on the floor, and I'll be like, he's got pool balls in his hands," said mom.
Move over Manning family, we've got a new brother act in town.