My Little Boy...

[pottr]

My little boy Luke is 6 years old and loves snooker.

He has a little four foot table at home and pots for fun on it with his cut down cue I made for him.

On a full size table, he has made a break of 19, all be it with a timely fluke on a black and a doubled green which turned into a treble.
Nevertheless, he shows a bit of aptitude for the game and the white makes the correct sound when he strikes it (you know what I mean).

What I was wondering is should I teach him to play on the full size table as he stands, meaning he can't see all the shots and indeed play them or should I get some sort of crate (yellow pages) for him to stand on?

What is the general consensus of coaches with a view to teaching tadpoles? Or is it a case of waiting until he's tall enough to adapt properly?

All help and comments welcome.

Thanks,
Jack

[trigger666]

i would say let him adapt naturally ..
i remember playing u18 county pool and we had a lad in the team who was 11 could hardly see over the table .when cueing it would be around his lower ear ..but he could knock everything in !!!!

[pottr]

Cheers Trigger, he's tall for his age so I'd imagine at 11 it wouldn't be a problem. On a pool table he's already pretty dangerous to be fair

[willtyson]

We have a 8 year old on our County pool team and he seems to have to either use the rest or stand on his tip-toes. He is quite good. I'd say let him adapt and by the age he's 10-11 he will be great with the rest :snooker:

[thelongbomber]

The problem with him standing on the floor is that he could form bad cueing habits that he may never work out of. Get him on a crate or box to stand. Also have him watch a pro or semi-pro play at the club live if it's possible or at least watch the TV. Watching a proper cue action is pretty crucial. If he is a "natural", he will eventually pick up a nice smooth cue action on his own. The rest is easy if you hold the cue lightly and turn the elbow and wrist. It's not an issue in the long run.

[jim evans]

The problem with him standing on the floor is that he could form bad cueing habits that he may never work out of. Get him on a crate or box to stand. Also have him watch a pro or semi-pro play at the club live if it's possible or at least watch the TV. Watching a proper cue action is pretty crucial. If he is a "natural", he will eventually pick up a nice smooth cue action on his own. The rest is easy if you hold the cue lightly and turn the elbow and wrist. It's not an issue in the long run.

thats how 1 of our sheffield champions started his dad had a pub and he use to stand on a beer crate

[circle]

thats how 1 of our sheffield champions started his dad had a pub and he use to stand on a beer crate

Ronnie started on a beer crate too!

[snookerdad]

Get him on a full-sized table now.

He’ll probably stand sideways and cue with his hand up in the air and his elbow flat rather than vertical.

At Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club, we have never had a problem turning lads round to face the table and cueing properly when they are tall enough at the age of seven or eight.

Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)

[pottr]

we have never had a problem turning lads round to face the table and cueing properly when they are tall enough at the age of seven or eight.

Thanks very much Tim.

[thelongbomber]

Get him on a full-sized table now.

He’ll probably stand sideways and cue with his hand up in the air and his elbow flat rather than vertical.

At Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club, we have never had a problem turning lads round to face the table and cueing properly when they are tall enough at the age of seven or eight.

Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)

Good thoughts. Good to know.