Coaching as a part-time job.......

[dpdubai]

How many people on here do it or have done it?

Just one of those spur of the moment thoughts I've had. Is it a worthwhile part-time venture?

What are the initial outlays? (ie which coaching affilate programmes do you know of and how would you rate them in terms of value for money, quality of material etc)

Realistically what sort of client level could you hope to pick up from local clubs and word of mouth.

Cheers

[Terry Davidson]

I chose to go to TheSnookerGym and Nic Barrow as he's also the IBSF official examiner. Coming from Canada the whole thing cost me around $4,000 (about 2K quid) but the training materials were excellent and Nic is a good coach.

I also plan to go to Matchroom (Terry Griffiths and his son Wayne) and get my Senior Coach's certificate and at the same time get my Examiner's certificate for the IBSF from Nic too just to cut down on the travel expenses.

The 2 other systems I know of are the WPBSA's run in Sheffield with info available on their site and also Del Hill at TheSnookerFarm. As far as I can tell all of these are good training however I don't think Del certifies coaches.

I can't help you with any idea of how much income you could derive as your market is much larger in the UK than mine is here in Canada. I've been told I'm a pretty good coach and can explain things well and show them how and I have about 12 regular students who I see on average about once every 2 months or so as I don't push the students to come back until they've cemented in the previous lessons. I have a table in my house set up with a mirror and a digital video camera and a computer which really helps on the analysis side and shows the students what they are actually doing.

All that said, I think it will be a long time before I get my investment back but I love the game and we definitely need more coaches in Canada to try and revitalize snooker here, especially with some younger players

Terry

[snookerdad]

I’m a part-time World Snooker Association (WSA) coach.

Is it worthwhile? You bet! Have you ever seen the look on a young kid’s face when he first achieves a screw shot? Priceless.

I qualified at a WSA course at the World Snooker Academy in the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

Del Hill ran it with Mike Dunne. Best two days of my life. Course fees, travelling, hotels and food came to around £1,000.

After that, the world is your lobster - as the other Del Boy would say.

If you’re good enough you’ll get plenty of work. Look at Del Hill.

Tim Dunkley

[cueman]

TBH I'm a bit sceptical about it all. I mean who is to say what is correct when it comes to being coached or becoming a coach?

What gives Del Hill or Terry Griffiths or whoever the right to be the authentic coaches and the only way to be certified as a bona fide coach? Whats to say someone who plays to a good standard and has a good understanding of the game cannot do a good job teaching someone without all the need to line the pockets of the afforementioned just to have a piece of paper saying you are qualified!

Coaching is a very individualistic area, particularly in snooker. One thing works for someone might not work for someone else. Its a very grey area IMOPO and one that is being exploited by those running these coaching courses.

I've taught a young lad in my club go from being a decent 30-40 break player to hitting 80's and 90's in the space of 4-5 months yet I've no coaching certificates or qualification but I've helped him because I've played for a number of years and read various books and seen coaching videos to know enough to take anyones game and improve them.

[CoachGavin]

Agree in part with cueman. No course proves you are a good coach. However unless you are a former professional then it is hard to be taken seriously without doing some sort of course. I would also say that it is important to look into child protection policies which many courses will advise you on. The hardest part in my opinion is building up a client base. If you are any good people will come back and see you but you have to try hard to advertise your services to get them to choose you in the first place. Building up a name for yourself is definately the hardest part. One further point is that if you do choose to do a course they all teach different styles - some of these ideas may go against your own!

Hope that helps and if you decide to give it a go good luck!