Ricky Walden Interview II

[ferret]

This is the second interview we have done with Ricky Walden since he has been in China and combined with this one we have also spoken to Neil Tomkins who is Ricky's coach, if you do not know who Neil is he is a ex professional player who after finishing his snooker career worked for World Snooker for awhile and he is the man behind www.CueFactor.com and www.Global-Snooker.com

All of the questions with Neil and in quote tags.

We spoke with your coach Neil Tomkins today and one of the things that came up was targets he has set in practice and competition play, when you are in the later stages of a competition how heavily do these targets play on your mind?

They are constant in my mind throughout a tournament from start to finish. However, i do not see them as added pressure, just healthy targets and a way to monitor my performance.

Q. How long have you been working with Ricky for now?

A. I first worked with him when I ran the Young Players of Distinction programme for World Snooker back in 2001. We have kept in touch on and off and worked closely with him since June last year.

Would you change anything about the way you are playing in a competition to try and meet your targets?

No. I play my usual style of play and if my preparation is good there should be no need to change anything. It worked OK last season. All Targets were met.

Neil said that you try to get together a few times between competitions but would like to make this more ofter, if you were to setup a live video cast over the internet while practicing (You in Chester and Neil in Cardiff) do you think this would work just as well as having Neil at your side or is there no substitute to having your coach at hand?

If I am working on anything on my game I prefer him to be present. A lot of things I work on just come from talking them over. I'm no good with computers. Whats a Video Cast.

Q. People always ask who the pro's are doing their coaching with but the thing I am more interested in is how many hours in a competition month would you spend with Ricky coaching?

A. Perhaps not as much as either of us would like, but we would usually try and get together a couple of times between tournaments.

Q. What sorts of things do you do with Ricky off of the table to backup his on table coaching?

A. Most of our time is spent working off the table. The level of improvement at their standard is minimum from a technical point of view, so it is dealing with the psychological side of things that can really make a difference.

Have you ever worked from coaching DVD's or practice material like what Stephen Rawlings and Nic Barrow sell?

No Never although I am sure they work for some people. Coaching I recieve is as much mental as it is technical.

How was the golf today? did you beat the Ginger Toad?

Comfortably. We played matchplay (over 9 holes) I won 4 & 3.

Q. We spoke to Ricky yesterday and he says he often takes your cash when playing golf, do you think that playing golf helps with on table discipline?

A. I am not sure about the discipline but it is difficult to switch off from snooker, so getting out in the fresh air and thinking about getting a smaller ball in a different kind of hole for a few hours is positive distraction.

Q. Can we expect Rickys snooker rankings to improve as his golf handicap improves? Shaun Murphy plays off of 4 and is ranked 3rd Ricky plays off of 18 and is ranked 20th

A. Ricky should not play off 18 or ranked 20!

Have you got any sight seeing photos you share with us form today?

yes I will send them. We went up the Pearl Tower. We travelled 40 mins in a taxi to get there and the 1st person we saw when we got out was Marco Fu. What are the odds. I will also send a couple of pics from the golf game.

It is quite hard for us over int he UK to actually know what the tournaments over in China are like as all we see is 99% of the time inside of the venue, can you tell us how the tournaments and indeed the venues differ from those in the UK?

That actual set up of the tournaments are not much different. Its up to the usual High Standards that World Snooker set themselves. But, the main difference i've noticed is the people are mainly chinese. The fans are fanatical and Snooker players are looked upon in China with almost movie star status.

Can you tell us more about the off table coaching you do with Neil?

We bounce things off each other, and look at things from all different angles and we are constantly trying to improve things.

Q. Is there any practice routines that you do with Ricky that you can share with our members?

A. Whatever the routine, I always recommend that players can monitor their progress. I see players potting long blue after long blue and yet there is no measurement. Ricky has thrived from having performance targets set for him both in practice and tournament play.

Q. What sorts of things do you do with Ricky off of the table to backup his on table coaching?

A. Most of our time is spent working off the table. The level of improvement at their standard is minimum from a technical point of view, so it is dealing with the psychological side of things that can really make a difference.

Following form the question yesterday by Maija we can see that you like traveling but a pattern is emerging with the destinations! Monte Carlo, LA and Vegas all have big casinos, do you gamble much?

I am not a big gambler but what i do find is where there is gambling there is fun. I do have an occasional gamble but nothing major.

Q. Before Ricky goes to a competition and you can see from the draw who roughly he will be up against lets say for the sake of this question he will be playing Ryan Day, would you go and get videos of Ryan playing to help in Ricky's preparation?

A. It is difficult to predict who will come through. Also, snooker is different to sports like tennis where you are always responding to what your opponent does. In snooker, it is more about you, and less about your opponent.

How are things going at The Q Bar?

Yeah things are going well, We are not yet into the local season but the club is holding its own. The Poker is doing well and we have some useful Snooker Players in there. The club has already had a finalist in a pios event, a good pal of mine Neal Jones.

Has the running of the club hindered your preperation for this season in anyway?

No, quite the opposite. Lee, OT and Colin and all the girls look after the club, I am less hands on, this allow me to concentrate on my Snooker which has to be my main priority.

Questions form members

Spike - By the time you reach 30 what will you have hoped to have achieved from the game in the way of ranking events? Have you set yourself with a goal in mind?

There are no Targets for when I am 30.. Just immediate targets which are constantly reviewed. You can put too much pressure on yourself. Of course I want to win Tournaments but the mindset is now to concentrate on the next match which is now the Hendry game tomorrow.

Maija - What's your favourite tournament memory that doesn't involve winning it (or a match / frame)?

I was playing Stevens in the Masters Qualifier, Matthew had played a shot, potted a black and the black was tight spotting. next thing Matt is looking for the white, i looked and couldnt see it. we hadnt asked the ref to clean the white. the ref then started looking for the white and found it in HER hand behind her back. She had just picked it off the table. God knows why but it was so funny. Im not naming the referee.

Joao - Who do you think that could have the upper hand in your next match? You as the defending champion or Stephen Hendry after his fabulous comeback?

We both have reasons to be confident. Should be a great game.

Spike - Do you HATE watching yourself on tv and if so why?

I always think I look too serious and moody and that just isnt me.. plus my ears look bigger than they are on TV.

The Boss - If you could only win one tournament this season, would you rather retain the Shanghai Masters or win a different event for the first time?

Boss, Shanghai back to backs would be cool so at this point im going to say Retain but ask me again on Monday. LOL

Odrl - Ricky what specifically it is, that makes him raise his game in the Asian events?

I think I travel well and because of my love for traveling I feel more relaxed than when I play at home.

CheckSide - If you could give the average club player one piece of advice, what would it be?

If you want to improve, try and play free, go for your shots, be attacking and just enjoy playing. Thats what its all about. Its a wonderful game when you play well.

[TheOiy]

I bumped into him just many times but I can't seem to get to talk to him... He's either surrounded by his gang in '08 and last July, he always hung out with Dave Harold...

When I see him, I kind of feel like seeing Ronnie somehow....