Cue help for 10yr old?

[zenbear]

My son wants a cue for his 11th birthday in a few weeks. He says he wants one that is in two pieces. I have a budget of about £50 but no idea where to start looking or what is good or what specification to look for (tips, butts etc). It is to be a surprise.
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

[RGCirencester]

Steve Davis gave some good advice during the worlds i about getting a longer cue for young players.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/othe...er/8008608.stm

Usually the advice would be 50 pounds is not really that much in terms of buying a decent cue however this might not apply to a very young player so much.

There is plenty advice throughout the cues section already on lower budget cues.

Will you be needing a case as well? As 50 pounds including a case might be difficult. Also, by two pieces do you mean centre join or 3/4 (3/4 being a joint at the butt end)

[ADR147]

ebay is a good place to start on that budget.

[zenbear]

Thank you. I know £50 isn't a lot but as it is just his first I thought it would be ok. I'm not sure what is best, centre join or 3/4 ? Or is it personal preference?

I've looked on ebay but wasn't sure what brands are good. I'll read through some more posts!

[ADR147]

read about on the forum and feel free to e-mail me a link of anything you see on ebay and i will tell you about the cue / seller if i can.

[checkSide]

read about on the forum and feel free to e-mail me a link of anything you see on ebay and i will tell you about the cue / seller if i can.

What a kind soul!

[snookerdad]

Not sure where you are in the country, but Chandler's Ford Snooker Club in Hampshire does two-piece cue and cases for £40.

Tim Dunkley (World Snooker Association coach)

[RocketRoy1983]

£50 is PLENTY for a first cue mate and im sure youll find a decent one. Once his grown a bit more you can assess the situation again if needed but for now thats fine.. Good luck.

[RGCirencester]

Whats everyones opinions on the quality of cues required for youngsters?

I mean when they grow up they could buy a cue that would be considered good, but at such a young age does it matter so much?
Something like this for instance will get me shot for posting on here () as they are widely considered rubbish compared to proper hand made cues, however personally I find some of them can be quite good and they've gotta be better than the stuff you find in town centres these days?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=120422117989

[Jake 147]

that cue looks a lot better than mine and a lot cheaper , thats a bargain to be honest.

[RGCirencester]

Well its one of the chinese things, but you know what your getting rather than playing the kind of russian roulette with the chinese bulk sellers.

But im just thinking you may not be getting the best of anything, but does it really matter so much with a young player? You get case extensions etc. And can buy a better cue in the future when they have grown a bit and might be taking the game more seriously.


Just waiting to be electronically slapped by all the cue lovers on here lol

[zenbear]

read about on the forum and feel free to e-mail me a link of anything you see on ebay and i will tell you about the cue / seller if i can.

Thank you! That is very kind of you. It is so overwhelming and as it is his first cue i want to get a good one but as I said, I can't really go much over £50 (he's also getting a new football kit!)

I was looking at that cue on ebay as well

[labamba]

Be quite big for him though wouldn't it?

[RGCirencester]

Well to be honest there will be a lot of people on here declaring it utter rubbish, but there are also people that play with such cues and from personal experience they *can* be quite good if you get a nice one.
But personally if you walk around my local club and count the number of cues people are using from sports shops etc. I would rather have one of these chinese cues.

Then when the kid grows up and realises that snooker is soooo much better than football you can spend all of his present on a "proper" cue lol!

[zenbear]

Not sure where you are in the country, but Chandler's Ford Snooker Club in Hampshire does two-piece cue and cases for £40.

Tim Dunkley (World Snooker Association coach)

I'm in Wales At least it shows though there are some out there for the price.

Please don't think I'm being tight. When he is older and been playing for a couple of years I will be happy to buy him a hand made custom cue that he will treasure, I promise!