VillaGuy intro

[VillaGuy]

Since I'm new to the forum I would like to let other forum members know my background concerning the sport. I have always held snooker as in my top 2 favourite sports, alongside tennis with both being ahead of Aston Villa in third place. I've always preferred one vs one sports to play, the pressure is different to team sports and I like to play where only yourself is to blame or congratulate. I first got into cue sports when I was about 10, a game of pool with my dad in a Butlins resort at Skegness, my dad had a history of playing snooker and sport in general, he was a tennis coach, but throughout his early adult life he played lots of social snooker. He took me onto a full size table when I needed a drinks crate to reach properly, and I played snooker on a quarter size table at home very regularly. Then I progressed enough to play in the Horsington and district snooker teams league in Lincolnshire. Alongside this I had weekly coaching from a coach from Lincoln, think his surname was Legate, not certain though. Then, whilst at university in Scarborough, I'd play nearly everyday in the local clubs, there are loads in Scarborough, a very popular sport there with a few massive clubs. One in Filey was an academy I believe, I didn't play there though, the standard there was very high. I used to have a regular partner/mate who never beat me over 2 years of regular play, not a frame. I joke about that with him Anyway I never got brilliant, my highest break was 39 which I made twice in the same session, but I regularly scored from opportunities and I played safety well. At tennis I was county standard which is one level below pro, had the technique but not the consistancy.

[DeanH]

VillaGuy intro

welcome to TSF
your intro to snooker is close to mine
if you practice and play with joy inside you will beat your 39
stick in there

[Ramon]

welcome to tsf.

[VillaGuy]

I always play with joy inside It's great to get down on the table, long sessions take some stamina, two hours and I do feel fatigued upstairs. I haven't played so much recently, working and now being located in Mid Wales which hasn't got a single league or serious club hasn't helped. I always thought Wales would be a snooker hotspot, but the centres are really at the coastal resorts and cities.

[VillaGuy]

Thought I'd add I played a lot of pool during my student years, English pool, it got to the stage that I could pot balls from a snookered position. I was being a bit of a shark and some games would have 100's of £'s on the table. In Riskers bar in Scarborough after winning a doubles match with my landlord things got pretty heated, two scottish chaps didn't like losing a few hundred :/ That same bar was where Sophia Wardman of Belle Amie the ex factor 2010 semi finalist band worked when she was 18, got some history with her Was also the first place in the UK to be fined for allowing smokers after the smoking ban, and was Jimmy Savilles local.

I just never considered pool like a sport, compared to snooker it lacks difficulty. Positional awareness on a pool table comes naturally, whereas on a snooker table with the wide open spaces you have to be bang on 100% with everything. Never enjoyed a game of pool like I do snooker because of this difficulty difference.

[jonny66]

Thought I'd add I played a lot of pool during my student years, English pool, it got to the stage that I could pot balls from a snookered position. I was being a bit of a shark and some games would have 100's of £'s on the table. In Riskers bar in Scarborough after winning a doubles match with my landlord things got pretty heated, two scottish chaps didn't like losing a few hundred :/ That same bar was where Sophia Wardman of Belle Amie the ex factor 2010 semi finalist band worked when she was 18, got some history with her Was also the first place in the UK to be fined for allowing smokers after the smoking ban, and was Jimmy Savilles local.

I just never considered pool like a sport, compared to snooker it lacks difficulty. Positional awareness on a pool table comes naturally, whereas on a snooker table with the wide open spaces you have to be bang on 100% with everything. Never enjoyed a game of pool like I do snooker because of this difficulty difference.

You sure she was 18 welcome to the forum

[VillaGuy]

You sure she was 18 welcome to the forum

Over 16 anyway, m'lord, I promise

[VillaGuy]

I play with a Baron snooker cue from Cue Craft, not made in nottinghamshire as the website says, but a fellow in lincoln. I went to try out several cues and this is the one that I preferred and felt natural with. Medium weight, fairly narrow but with very high sensitivity.

[VillaGuy]

That snooker cue my dad bought me is the best thing he ever has, a deposit on a house won't last (I'll move maybe several times), neither will a few cars, but a snooker cue is for life I reckon. Hold it dearer to me than any antique or other material possesion.

[Big Splash!]

Since I'm new to the forum I would like to let other forum members know my background concerning the sport. I have always held snooker as in my top 2 favourite sports, alongside tennis with both being ahead of Aston Villa in third place. I've always preferred one vs one sports to play, the pressure is different to team sports and I like to play where only yourself is to blame or congratulate. I first got into cue sports when I was about 10, a game of pool with my dad in a Butlins resort at Skegness, my dad had a history of playing snooker and sport in general, he was a tennis coach, but throughout his early adult life he played lots of social snooker. He took me onto a full size table when I needed a drinks crate to reach properly, and I played snooker on a quarter size table at home very regularly. Then I progressed enough to play in the Horsington and district snooker teams league in Lincolnshire. Alongside this I had weekly coaching from a coach from Lincoln, think his surname was Legate, not certain though. Then, whilst at university in Scarborough, I'd play nearly everyday in the local clubs, there are loads in Scarborough, a very popular sport there with a few massive clubs. One in Filey was an academy I believe, I didn't play there though, the standard there was very high. I used to have a regular partner/mate who never beat me over 2 years of regular play, not a frame. I joke about that with him Anyway I never got brilliant, my highest break was 39 which I made twice in the same session, but I regularly scored from opportunities and I played safety well. At tennis I was county standard which is one level below pro, had the technique but not the consistancy.

Third place for Villa ain't bad! Remember when we were pipped by utd on the last day of the first Premiership season? Damn. At least you've got snooker to fall back on, no bad thing. I played tennis at uni. and loved it but again, consistency. You must be very good at tennis to have played county.

Nice to see Cue Craft being mentioned. Great value cues made in the UK!

[ace man]

Welcome. Experience from physical sports can only help with snooker. Individual better than team sports of course because at snooker, you're basically on your own.
I also played tennis from age of 12 to 15 seriously, than stopped. Got into high school and that was that. My coach actually wanted me and some other players to stop education after finishing elementary school. He got mad when I went to skiing trip with my parents.
You can imagine the effect guys like that had on children. However, some parents were actually naive enough to think that their child was future grand slam champion. Mine weren't. I don't miss the craziness of tennis world at all. Nowadays I only watch it on tv.

[VillaGuy]

Yeah the mentality in the two sports is very similiar compared to team sports where all the bad stuff can be blamed on the keeper or anyone but yourself. I know the sport (tennis) is very pushy with kids, I think partly because the coaches need to fill their schedule, but having said that even kids without much talent can pick up life skills. My dad would get stopped in the street by kids parents who say that he changed the mentality of their kids and that they are being successful at whatever job it is they are in, he likes to mention those tales to people When I was about 21-22 I would charge for hitting, which is basically like a professional practice partner, one of the lads I took on was Joe Wooley, who got to number one in the UK for the Under 14s, but nowhere to be scene in adult tennis. The line is very fine and the standards are near perfection from anyone in the top 200, the top 30 are insane and the top 10 are mindblowing. The event before Wimbledon at Nottingham is a good place to go to check out some the players really close up.

The Cue craft cues are really nice quality, I got the Baron and my dad had a heavier and thicker Sherwood, I felt it lacked feel and the crisper side to mine but everyone has their own style.

[Big Splash!]

Yeah the mentality in the two sports is very similiar compared to team sports where all the bad stuff can be blamed on the keeper or anyone but yourself. I know the sport (tennis) is very pushy with kids, I think partly because the coaches need to fill their schedule, but having said that even kids without much talent can pick up life skills. My dad would get stopped in the street by kids parents who say that he changed the mentality of their kids and that they are being successful at whatever job it is they are in, he likes to mention those tales to people When I was about 21-22 I would charge for hitting, which is basically like a professional practice partner, one of the lads I took on was Joe Wooley, who got to number one in the UK for the Under 14s, but nowhere to be scene in adult tennis. The line is very fine and the standards are near perfection from anyone in the top 200, the top 30 are insane and the top 10 are mindblowing. The event before Wimbledon at Nottingham is a good place to go to check out some the players really close up.

The Cue craft cues are really nice quality, I got the Baron and my dad had a heavier and thicker Sherwood, I felt it lacked feel and the crisper side to mine but everyone has their own style.

A mate has a Sherwood with tremendous response and lively feel but it is a rare one made from angel ash. Which CC no longer use unfortunately.

[VillaGuy]

This is the lad I helped out, British under 14, 16 and 18 number one. Feel a bit of pride and thought I'd share it amongst my Snooker forum peers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWgKqPnyvPQ&t=101s

There's others like Lucy Longmore a girl who I used to go weak at the knees for, she was the county champion and now I believe is in Switzerland working as a corporate lawyer. Sports coaching covers much more ground than the sport itself.

[VillaGuy]

Got my forehand, got my serve where you hit it at the maximum point, like a new technique championed by the coaches these days