ways to teach a 5 year old?

[bazzarooney]

hi guys.
well im on here because ive always been akeen snooker player and have a son who always wants to do the things i do,
so a while ago i got him a four ft table and a good little ronnie o.ullivan cue and soon as he picked up the cue i could tell he has the natural abilty.so we happend to go butlins and i took me son to the snooker hall and he loved it he done some right cracking pots,so ever since then we have been going down me local club when he wants to go which is nearly every day.he hold his head ,body and cueing hand still.the people at my club can not belive how well he pots and holds the cue.
im looking at ways i can get him better.
would getting a coach help?
is playing on a full size table good for him?
does anyone have tips or games within snooker to get him better i need to know what options my son has out there in the snooker world.
any kind of info help would be great as i think this kid could be great)
cheers wes

oh by the way when we r at the club i line the balls down the middle of the table and my son pots them in all differnt pockets im looking for different ways of teaching him on the table.cheers

[DeanH]

coaching is always a good option.

Tim Dunkley (Snookerdad) on TSF is a world coach and does work with children - not sure on how young though - he is based in the Southhampton/Chandlerford area. not sure if that is any good for you.
Obviously there can be other coaches that can help.
Tell us your approx location and we could help with a recommended coach.
cheers

[speedyturtle]

One thing i would suggest is to show him videos of players like ronnie, stephen henry, mark selby and all the great break builders. At this stage when your son is learning to play, he would benefit alot from watching these players and its not just the pots but the technique of break building which your son would learn from watching these great break builders.

[Rugbyballs]

ways to teach a 5 year old?

I'm in EXACTLY the same place mate. My 5 year old has had a 15 break at snooker and pots for fun it's sick!! It started with a 4ft in the dining room and now he s a mare in the club every sat. 3 hours without a blink !
I ve found that a pool table is the way forward. It's lower and easier. he regularly sticks 5/6 balls together!
The pro there gives him pointers ie. address the ball 3/4 to
Ed each shot and push through etc but I don't want to drill too much as he holds the cue to the side... Joe swail style! Simply because he s too short so I want that arm to come under to be more traditional when he gets bigger.
At this stage I just want him making contact, hitting balls and enjoying doing it. Nothing serious... Find his own way.
To be honest I'd rather he played football and rugby and did more clubs with friends and hustle and bustle but he lives it.. Good luck mate Pis definitely better, so s the American tables , bigger bags, heavier balls so less miss cues.
Good luck

[bazzarooney]

hi im from leicester dean,do you know what kind of price id be looking at for a coach and any idea how often i should hire a coach? cheers wes

[bazzarooney]

I'm in EXACTLY the same place mate. My 5 year old has had a 15 break at snooker and pots for fun it's sick!! It started with a 4ft in the dining room and now he s a mare in the club every sat. 3 hours without a blink !
I ve found that a pool table is the way forward. It's lower and easier. he regularly sticks 5/6 balls together!
The pro there gives him pointers ie. address the ball 3/4 to
Ed each shot and push through etc but I don't want to drill too much as he holds the cue to the side... Joe swail style! Simply because he s too short so I want that arm to come under to be more traditional when he gets bigger.
At this stage I just want him making contact, hitting balls and enjoying doing it. Nothing serious... Find his own way.
To be honest I'd rather he played football and rugby and did more clubs with friends and hustle and bustle but he lives it.. Good luck mate Pis definitely better, so s the American tables , bigger bags, heavier balls so less miss cues.
Good luck

yes my lad holds the cue the same and i put it down to size aswell ,cheers for the advice pal

[DeanH]

hi im from leicester dean,do you know what kind of price id be looking at for a coach and any idea how often i should hire a coach? cheers wes

Hi bazzarooney, the nearest coach that I know would be Gavin York (CoachGav here on TSF) in Northampton, is that any good for you?
Gavin has a website - www.121snookercoaching.com - so please get in contact with him to discuss your needs
Obviously there could be a coach even closer to you, someone else may pop on here with other information.


Coaches have a range of prices - say £15 to £120 per hour - and how often would best be defined by the coach and your needs, but I would say probabaly no more than 2 hours at any one time (and that maybe too much for your son )

[NorthWestJunior]

A coach is always a good option preferably a WPBSA registered coach to teach him all the right things from the beginning. Would also help stop him developing bad habits to further push his potential. I had a coach who I visited once every 2/3 weeks who charged £30 per hour, he taught me many things and pushed my game to a level I never thought I would reach in such a short space of time so I'd highly recommend it. Someone suggested getting him to watch the top breakbuilders, that's a great idea, would help give him the fundamentals for breakbuilding. I would say getting him on a full size straight away is the best option, on smaller tables the game is totally different and position isn't as important on the smaller tables as potting is usually a lot easier so position has less impact on your breaks. Might be a good idea to get him on a smaller table until he is a little taller and doesn't need to adopt a strange cue action but the sooner you get him on a 12x6 the better in my opinion. If you get a coach he will also help out in sorting out junior tournament trips for you when the time comes. The most important thing is that your son is enthusiastic about the game and is always enjoying it. If he's enjoying it then he will almost certainly progress assuming he's getting the necessary amount of practice.

[bazzarooney]

watch my lad on u tube... snooker player 5 years old.... tell me what u think guys cheers