Five Coaching Lessons That Made the Biggest Difference to My Snooker…I’m Passing Them On…

Two of them are mindset principles…

Since 2015, I have been fortunate enough to receive coaching from one of the game’s top WPBSA coaches. Over the years we worked on many aspects of technique, practice and mindset. Looking back, there are five lessons that stand out above all others.

1. Find a Method and Trust It…

One of the most important things my coach taught me was that there is more than one way to approach a shot.

Over the years we experimented with different walk-ins, approaches and sighting methods. Eventually, he introduced me to SightRight.

Since mid 2024 onwards, I have committed to that method and stuck with it. The results speak for themselves. I won a league title using it and have since reached a doubles final using exactly the same approach.

The lesson wasn’t simply SightRight itself. The lesson was finding a method that works and having the confidence to trust it.

GO HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND CHECK OUT THE METHOD…

2. The Basics Will Always Win…

This wasn’t a technical drill or a complicated system.

It was a simple comment my coach made during a phone conversation:

“The basics will always win.”

The phrase stuck with me.

In a game full of theories, systems and sometimes so called quick fixes searched for, the fundamentals remain king:

• Keep your head still.
• Deliver the cue smoothly.
• Pause before the final backswing.
• Accelerate through the cue ball.

When things go wrong, the answer is usually found in the basics. Stick with those and you won’t go wrong. Keep your mindset telling you this “the basics will always win.”

A bit like cooking basics. Stick with the fundamentals of cooking – and you cannot go wrong. It’s simply a question of keep doing.

3. The Scoreboard Doesn’t Get to Decide How I Perform

This has become one of my favourite principles. This is something he told me early on. Forget the scoreboard until later on in the frame. Maybe two reds from the end. I have slightly modified it and generally try not to look at the scoreboard at all and just play a frame of snooker. It is very difficult to do but in certain matches where I have focused solely on just playing – I have had much success…

Too many players allow the scoreboard to dictate how they feel and how they play.

If they’re behind, they panic.

If they’re ahead, they tighten up.

I’ve tried to do the opposite.

I focus on playing the shot in front of me and competing as hard as I can regardless of the score.

This was particularly evident in the Team Cup Final. Despite being behind, I kept battling, made a 21 break and finished the frame with pride. I could have given up but I didn’t.

The result mattered, but my performance mattered more.

In one of the practice frames last weekend – I was 30 behind, laid some good snookers and came right back. The frame is never over – unless there are too many snookers you need. If your scoring isn’t there on the day, make sure you have a good all around game and you’ll realise that snooker isn’t just about potting balls, it’s about mindset to keep going when things aren’t going your way.

THERE IS ONLY ONE MORE PHRASE TO LEARN. WIN AND LEARN.

4. Build an All-Round Game…

For a long time, I probably measured success too heavily through potting.

Recent experiences have reminded me that snooker is much more than that.

When the pots aren’t going in, safety play, tactical awareness and determination can keep you in frames.

In practice recently I came back from 30 points behind largely through safety and snookers before narrowly losing on the colours.

That reinforced a valuable lesson:

A player who can only win when they’re potting well is vulnerable.

A player who can compete through every part of the game is quietly dangerous.

5. Never Stop Learning

Perhaps the biggest lesson of all is that improvement never really ends – even World Champions and World Ranking players are learning. Just because they’re at the top doesn’t mean they are infallible to learning. Some of the top amateurs or pros MIGHT think they know it all, but they surely don’t.

Since 2015, I’ve continued to learn.

League matches taught me lessons.

Defeats taught me lessons.

Victories taught me lessons.

Coaching provided the foundation, but experience built upon it.

And coaching principles apply to all levels of sport – from top to bottom…

Winning the Oxshott League title didn’t mean the journey was complete. If anything, it showed me that there is always another level to chase or that in the same league, there is still more to learn. For example, reaching a DOUBLES FINAL and playing in a TEAM CUP has learned me a lot about my ability to GRIND when needed and to also EEK OUT WINS at key times.

That’s one of the great joys of snooker. No matter how long you’ve played, there is always something new to discover. In fact, that’s what it is like with any sport…

The first rung on the ladder is coaching…

BUT AND I WILL SAY THIS, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN ANY SPORT REGARDLESS OF LEVEL IS TO ENJOY IT AND ENJOY THE GAME AND LEARN. FORGET THE SCOREBOARD AND JUST ENJOY IT…