I began playing Snooker on a full-sized table in 1984 at the age of 14, and compiled my first competitive century break a year later. Over the next few seasons I became a regular century break-maker and managed a 140 total clearance in a junior tournament, which was quite rare in those days.
At the age of 20 I became the youngest ever qualified snooker coach, after the WPBSA allowed me to take my National Coaching Certificate with Jack Karnham, 5 years earlier than was previously permitted. This opportunity was mainly down to the late, great, Merseyside Secretary Ted Robinson, whose determination to have me accepted onto the course would later help shape my career.
At around the same time I was playing 6 to 8 hours a day and with this my results on the Pro-Am circuit began to improve quite dramatically. By the age of 23 I had won a number of these events and was making between 2 and 8 centuries a day in practice matches.
However, I still wasn’t sure whether I was cut out for a life on the pro circuit as my love of coaching was becoming ever more apparent, and the players that I was working with in my spare time were seeing positive results.
When I eventually decided to give the pro’s a go it quickly became obvious that my personality was better suited to developing other players than trying to climb the professional ranks myself. Spending so much time away from family and friends was having a negative effect on my results also, and after half-heartedly sticking it out for two years I retired from competitive play at age 25.
From there on I began to teach on a more regular basis and I was really enjoying my new role. At that stage I was fairly certain I had made the right career move and over the next few years I worked with an increasingly high standard of player.
Encouraged by this progress, my wife Paula and I opened The Liverpool Academy of Snooker Excellence. This was somewhere players of all standards could go and improve their game.
With no bar or fruit machines it was a challenge just keeping the place open, based on the table fees alone; but it was also a fantastic time, and having the chance to work with such a variety of players of all ages, styles and abilities proved to be a priceless learning experience for me. It also made me realise just how flexible my approach would need to become. And if I was going get the very best out my players, I felt I needed some assistance.
This assistance came in the form of some very specific training aids that I had created to improve every aspect of the shot process. Several of these developments began to win innovation awards for product design and this area of my work was becoming very demanding on my time. It eventually became impossible to run the Academy full time whilst coaching and developing these devices also, and unfortunately we had to make the difficult decision to close the Academy.
From then on the iconic George Scott Snooker Club in Old Swan, Liverpool, would become my new headquarters, and since 2010 I have had the privilege of coaching many players ranging from beginners to top professionals who come from all around the world for lessons. I am an IBSF Master Coach and I have been formally titled Snookers Master of Modern Mechanics By both the IBSF and the WPBSA.
We have also created what is known as the Scotties Junior Giants Development Programme which has already produced some fantastic achievements internationally.
In 2021 I became head coach of Elite Sports Management. One of my proudest moments to date in the sport which requires me to work with even more of the world’s top players. A natural occurance with this position was also to have the iconic Dunstable Snooker club become my official base when teaching down south.
As mentioned, I have devised and brought to market a number of successful snooker training aids in recent years, the latest of which is the 360 PureCue Stroke Trainer.
Snooker has been my living and my life for over 30 years. What I want to do with the rest of my career is to improve the game of every player I work with. Although all students are different and a good coach can respond to the needs of each one, still I believe there are fundamentals which must be observed. The basis of my method is absolute integrity of the cue action. The best advert any coach can have is his pupils, and the players I have coached stand out as having an accurate, repeatable shot process which underpins their game. The training devices I have introduced are designed with the same intent, to develop the cue action and help build a player’s game from the ground up.
My record as a coach shows that I can take beginners and make them champions; I can fine-tune and perfect the technique of an already good player; and I can re-build the game of someone who has lost their direction entirely. If you would like to work with me I am available for one-to-one sessions or on-line lessons. Please contact me on 07729 174345.