Lessons in snooker from a Black Country coach who has trained some of the best

After seeing the best in the snooker world in action at a major tournament in the region, many people may be looking to pick up a cue and take to the green baize.

Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton hosted the top 16 snooker players in the world at the Cazoo Players Championship, with more than 4,000 people attending across the seven days.

The tournament was also televised by ITV4 and a range of other broadcasters worldwide and saw Neil Robertson beat Barry Hawkins 10-5 in the final.

People attending the tournament were also able to have a taste of playing on a tournament-standard table in the Cue Zone area, taking on challenges set by World Professional Snooker coach Andrew Highfield.

The experience of that may have piqued the interest of a lot of people and encouraged them to find their local club and learn how to play the game and get better at it.

I've been a keen fan of the sport since I was a child, watching it with my grandad, but I have never been very good at playing snooker, with my highest break just 22, so I decided to look at what goes into a coaching session and how it could help me improve.

My contact at the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) Bobby Singh was able to set up a session for me with Andrew Highfield, who has trained the likes of six-times World Champion Steve Davis and has 20 years of coaching experience behind him.

I met Andrew at his home club, the Golden Cue in Bilston, which had been the setting for filming during the Players Championship, and asked him how much it had helped to stem interest in the game.

He said: "I think it was an absolute success as the venue had had the darts for the last few years, but it was wonderful to see it get a major snooker championship.

"What it has done is see more people playing at clubs and I have noticed them getting busier, so I just think it's going to boost snooker in the Midlands, an area with a lot of very good players in the leagues up here.

"I've been around a few clubs and the tables are just full, which is just amazing."

He also said the Cue Zone was a great way for people who hadn't seen a full-sized table before to pick up a cue and try it, with Andrew saying that many of those trying it had asked about coaching and clubs they could go to.

My own coaching lesson began with Andrew watching me miss a blue into the centre pocket, then take the time to show me how to stand at the table, including the placement of my feet and which one I should bend when leaning over the table.

I suddenly realised how many bad habits I had when standing at a table, as Andrew also showed me how to hold the cue correctly and the proper way to bridge the finger and thumb on my left hand when taking a shot.

The change was almost instant as I potted the blue, then tried it several more times and potted it each time, something Andrew pointed out was down to technique, practice and getting the basics right.

He said: "I think it's important to remember in any sport that it's better to be consistently good than occasionally brilliant, so I ask people what their highest break is and they'll tell me something like 68, but usually in the 20s.

"That 68 was a flash of brilliance, so my job as a coach is to get the basics and technique better that they are knocking more 30 breaks in consistently.

"As coaches, it's about changing what we think is the right thing at the right time and lot of this depends on how much they practice as well, as you have to put the hours in to ingrain the changes to your technique."

While not exactly looking to give up the day job to become a snooker player, I could see how coaching from someone like Andrew could help me improve in the long run as he taught me about top spin and stun play and being able to control the white ball.

The session was a great way of seeing how I could be occasionally good with the faults in my game, but can be better with correct technique and posture.

Andrew Highfield is one of the top coaches in the region and said snooker was a wonderful way of life, keeping the mind active and being something you can play for years to come.

He said: "It's just a nice game to play and can be very relaxing to play, as well being something you can play competitively if you want to.

"As long as you have decent eyesight and are physically OK to play, then you can play snooker for as long as you want to."

To find out more about snooker and to take a coaching session, go to wpbsa.com/participation/.