planetsnooker

[planetsnooker]

Hi all,

My name is Barry Mulpeter,I have 2 clubs in Dublin 14 tables in total. I am looking to develop the game of snooker to the best of my ability. I believe the future of the game is in our young players , I would love to have all your ideas in how to promote the game and keep new players interested in the sport.
this is a new venture for me so I really would appreciate all ideas and help I can get.

regards

Barry

[Sport Focus]

Hi Barry, its not an idea that a lot of older fans of the sport like but the Paul Hunter Foundation use the 6 reds game al ot to promote the sport to younger people. Often it leaves them wanting to play the full game so works as a great Hook to gain their interest.

I believe that there may be some coverage of this again on the BBC during the Masters and the Paul Hunter foundation website may be worth a look.
They are often looking for clubs to develop the ideas in so you never know they could be very interested in looking at ireland.

[Terry Davidson]

Also, I would recommend you phone Terry or Wayne Griffiths at the Matchroon in Llanelli, Wales.

When I was there last January they had a really good program put together for the younger players and there were always a lot of young players in the club either being coached or using the tables. (I felt like a dinosaur at 65yrs)

I think Wayne may be in Hong Kong right now for an extended stay but Terry is managing the club when he's not on the road supporting the 110sports pros (he will likely be at the Masters all next week).

My own recommendation (being a coach) is to get your own coaching scheme in place where you have the juniors getting a bit of free coaching and free table time. Not long, maybe a group session for 6 or 8 kids for an hour on one or two tables. This will encourage them to practice more and also (if you do this) increase your own cue sales and table time.

We are also trying to hook up with the schools here in my area, offering snooker and pool as an alternative sports activity and providing basic coaching to any students who sign up. So far it hasn't been overly successful, but I think that's more due to poor promotion on our part as we haven't been able to devote a lot of time to it.

Perhaps lower rates for Juniors (and hopefully senior citizens too) if you can afford to do this.

Terry