I started coaching with Brian when I was 12 years old at the 147 Snooker Club in Huntingdon, my ability was as minimal as a red and a colour at line up. After a few months of coaching with Brian he suggested that I should enter the junior Saturday league that he was running. I then become the youngest player to win this league 3 years in a row. I started to play some local snooker leagues where I won the Cambridge, St Neots and Wisbech league. My first century break was at 15 and won a few EASB regional tour events at 17. I then went onto play pool for Cambridgeshire County team and in 2016 qualified for the England Junior team. Since then I have been able to apply the skills Brian taught me in snooker to make me successful in pool. In 2017 I lost in the Junior European final 7-6, but after more hard work in 2017 I won the Junior Under 18 World Championships singles title. In the final I felt the cue action that Brian built for me was one of the main key reasons for the success plus Brian’s coaching with the mental side of the game which meant I had confidence when under pressure. After winning the Junior World title I had to make sure I qualified for the under 23 England team, which I did. In February and June 2019 I won the Under 23 World Championships 8-7 after trailing 7-5. Again Brian’s help with my mindset helped me to keep on trying despite being behind in the match. In October 2019 I won the under 23 Home Internationals singles title representing my country. Brian taught me many shots, as well as shot preparation, hard work, good temperament, stay down on the shot and avoid negative emotion. I try to apply all of these key techniques into all of my matches today and without the help from Brian I would not have been able to achieve being a Multiple World Champion. I would recommend Brian to any player that is looking to improve their game, he works very hard with all of his pupils and is very dedicated to getting the most out of someone's ability.
Luke Gilbert, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, ( 2020 )
My Dad spotted a coaching poster of Brian at one of the snooker clubs in Peterborough when I was 13. I had only been playing a year but could not seem to get over my best break of 39 and felt my cueing, attitude and shot selection were all over the place. Within a year of Brian’s coaching I was knocking in hundred breaks and won many junior titles around the Rushden area where I lived. Brian’s experience, not only as a coach, but as a player too, meant I was learning many shots when we used to play frames, then I hit a 145 break versus him when I was 16 and it gave me the confidence and platform to hitting regular 147s. In 2018 I
finished Number 2 in the English Amateur Tour Rankings which meant I could represent England at the European Amateur Snooker Championships in Bulgaria. I came away as the winner and earn’t my Pro Tour Card which was my goal from being a young lad.
Brian’s a lovely lad and a brilliant coach who played a big part in my journey for 3 years, and we still stay in touch even when its difficult to meet up with my calendar of pro events and his coaching schedule.
Thanks Bri
Harvey Chandler - Northamptonshire ( 2020 )
Brian,you have helped me no end.The biggest thing is slowing my approach, cue action and shot down. Learning about the nap up and down the table and how much the cue ball throws off and in what direction. Also helped with practice sessions on my own. Brian sends pictures and videos of certain shots so you can look back and see what you are doing right or wrong. Brian is a very friendly likeable person and as I'm a wheelchair player the normal techniques don't work. He is very good at adapting things for me.
Graham Bonnell - Oxted, Surrey ( 2020 )
“I have only been playing snooker for around 8 months now and I started from complete scratch at 15 years of age. Thanks to Brian he’s taught me from how to hold a cue to hitting 40 and 50 breaks in such a short space of time. Some people may call me a fast learner whereas others will give full credit to the coach and I am among those others. Brian is a very creative and bubbly person and always finds the fun in teaching snooker and although his job is very tough as he is constantly travelling around the UK to provide coaching services for everyone, he still has a smile on his face to every lesson of mine he attends. Leanardo DiCaprio once said ‘if you can do what you do best and be happy, you’re further along in life than most people’ and I personally think Brian is this person who is ten steps ahead of most other people as he still remains happy. I myself am a student of his who has ADHD and despite this, Brian has helped me work around it and helped me focus in every lesson. He fully understands mental illness and is patient with me even if I get distracted during the lesson. I highly recommend Brian to anyone who wants to continue or start playing snooker, he is a fantastic coach and will continue to be my coach for the rest of my life.
Farhaan Hatimi, Coulsdon, Surrey ( 2020 )
Over the last three months, Brian has coached 12 of the 15 squad members of the Warwick University Snooker & Billiards Club. His coaching has contributed significantly to improving the standard and depth of our squad, and this has led to the club achieving great successes in national tournaments. The 1st and 2nd teams were Silver Medalists in the Midlands Cup team competitions, and the 1st team won the biggest university tournament of the year, the BUCS Team Championship, for the first time in 10 years ! Our achievements this year are a credit to Brian’s coaching. His in-depth analysis of the technique and shot-selection of the players is phenomenal, and his pictures and videos from the lessons provide excellent value for money. I have only received positive feedback from Brian’s coaching from the squad, and we would all highly recommend him to anyone, of any ability, looking for a snooker coach.
Max Burt, first team payer of Warwick Uni ( 2019 )
I w
ould recommend Brian highly to anyone. I have known him for 10/12 years now, though only having short snooker coaching sessions every now and then I picked his brains every time on certain things and he’s helped me massively with the mental side of cue sports as well as helping me understand my technique better. I worked at my local snooker club for 5 years whilst he has been coaching there and have witnessed first hand how great he is at coaching people of all ages and abilities. He explains things very well and makes it very simple to understand. Thanks to Brian, i have won local individual and team snooker and pool titles and have managed to have a successful start to my career in English pool which culminated in me reaching the men’s 8 ball world final 2019. Above all else, Brian is a great guy and very easy to get along with 👍
Dom Cooney - Huntingdon, Cambridgehsire, ( 2019 )
Coach Brian is my 3rd coach in my career and I say I've got 3rd time lucky, before meeting Brian my highest break a snooker tournament was 40 and now I make century breaks, I've also won 8 Upton Park snooker trophies, 4 cuestar snooker trophies in locations Bournemouth, Eastleigh, Fareham and Swindon, 2 Kings Cross snooker trophies, 2 Harlow snooker trophies and 1 Brighton and Whetstone snooker trophy. I've also made it in The Camden New Journal and other news and snooker websites. I've been in a EPSB Regional Tour Final and have qualified to compete in the Play Offs in Chesterfield to hopefully get to compete in the Premier Tour, I've also beaten a Premier Tour player in a snooker tournament who at the time was ranked number 1 in the Premier Tour and all this has been possible because Brian has transformed my snooker game into something much more greater than ever before such as my high break building and clever tactic ideas and also snooker escapes and my mind set when going into snooker tournaments has been very valuable. Me and my family all agree that Brian has been a great coach for me and a lot of fun to be around as well, I'm very grateful for what Brian has helped me achieve and I'm very excited for the future of my snooker career to hopefully be a professional snooker player and be a dominant force to the game of snooker and I believe with Brians excellent knowledge and my hardwork and determination to snooker it can be possible.
ARI - Chingford, Essex, ( 2019 )
I played snooker at a reasonable standard when younger however I was not at a level that I believed I should have been and eventually stopped playing due to drifting away from the game and frustrated at the lack of improvement I was making. Sixteen years later I picked up a cue again. At first it was for fun however I was bitten by the bug once more. After
a few months of playing I realised my game was at a lower standard than I remembered and I just could not work out why. I continuously broke down at 20 in a break, even though 20 was a high break for me at that point. I just could not work out why I was lacking consistency, had flaws in my technique, was over-hitting shots, missing what I thought were easy shots and I just could not work out why. I had my first lesson with Brian late August 2018 and I have never looked back. The first lesson Brian just set up standard shots and positions and asked me to play and just observed. Not only did he watch, he noted what he saw and also filmed the shots. I look back at this and am amazed. I hit the ball so hard not timing anything, my cue action was "jabby" with no follow through, I had the tightest grip on the cue, I rushed around the table and I would try and pot everything, sometimes even the impossible. My game was a mess. Fortunately,
Brian took my game apart piece by piece. He began by looking at the way I look at shots and how I see the table and what was available and made me realise that there is generally a more straight forward shot than the exhibition shot I would see and play. I now realise that I need to hold back and see what options there is. He then went on to my grip, sighting, approach and stance, sighting and what suited me but also worked. He doesn’t just follow a textbook but worked and adapted to me. We moved on to the cue delivery and the fundamentals of getting through the ball and timing. Then we worked on practice routines. Eventually we moved on to playing frames and helping me arrange and play against his other students focusing on what we had changed. 10 months on from the first lesson and I recently made a 96 break. I feel like I can play snooker again.
In all honesty I can say that Brian has put so much time in with me. He is an amazing coach and sees and adapts to an individual's own style and talks you through his thoughts and always asks you your opinions. He records every change and sends videos on to you so you have a reference to work with when practising. He is always supportive and always leaves you with an exercise so you can keep on improving. I was using Brian twice a month for 2 hours to begin with but I needed a massive change to my game. He has been really patient with me and the improvements have been massive, as long as i dont slip back into bad habits.
I am a different player now with a different technique to when I began but it has been worth it and I can not believe I played like I did when I watch the early videos now. I would say if you want to move your game to the next level and further speak to Brian, as he has so much knowledge and skills to help you.
Joe Kahn - Coulsdon, Surrey ( 2019 )
When I was looking for a snooker coach for the summer break, I was not expecting to have as good a coach as Brian. Brian has helped to massively improve my overall game. In lessons, he has always challenged me, teaching me shots that I would have thought were too advanced for me, and this encouragement has made me a more confident, positive snooker player. One of the best things about Brian's coaching is the pictures, videos and tips he sends me on WhatsApp after every lesson. This allows me to go away and practice by myself and ensure that I won't forget anything I've learned. This makes his lessons even better value for money. I even hit my highest match break of 67 within 9 months and to top it all off, Brian is a great guy and I would highly recommend him as a snooker coach, he has made me enjoy the game even more!
Max Burt, Coulsdon, Surrey, ( 2018 )
"I have been been playing snooker for 30 odd years, stuck playing the same old shots, not really getting any where. Brian runs over the basics, and then shows you loads of different shots which opens up your game, and increases break building. Brian has a excellent way with his coaching, he makes you feel at ease from day one, doesn't mind if you don't pick it up straight away,
but perseveres until you do. My breaks have increased from the odd 30, to 40,s and 3 ,50+ this year. And obviously the better you play the more enjoyment you get from the game. I also won a local competition against a very good player from behind and having to win the last two....using brians positive mind techniques to help me win , thanks mate!"
Paul Avery, Banstead, Surrey, ( 2017 )
"Brian has been a big influence to help me progress to become the best player I can be. I have known Brian for 2 years now and I've seen my game change dramatically since I've had lessons with Brian. Since Brian has coached me I have won a few trophies
and have achieved my highest break in a match which is 90 so it goes to show how much your game can change with Brian."
Jordan Vincent, Rayleigh, Essex ( 2016 )
"Brian is a great coach he has helped me a lot. I first saw Brian coaching someone else whilst i was practicing, the first thing i noticed is that he was very approachable, good listener and you can have a good conversation with him... On to the snooker. After taking a break from snooker for 2 years in that time i was making breaks of 40, 50 i came back and was struggling to make a 20.
Through Brian's help in the first couple of months i saw a really good improvement to my game. This was through a new cue action and changing the way i approached the ball. Brian then began to make me into a more rounded match player by helping with my safety game and most importantly shot selection at the right time. I was now winning nearly all my matches and plenty of competitions. Now making regular 40,50 and 60's. The most important part of the game Brian helped me with though was the mental aspect of the game as i had a tendency to beat myself up over shots and let my head go down . Also my
concentration would go and he helped me with a simple checklist which is now integrated into my brain. This information has helped me no end and i am now a very tough player to beat. With Brian's help i have achieved my highest match break of 135. Thanks for all the help mate"
Tom Horsepool, Kings lynn, Norfolk, ( 2017 )
Brett Cattell, Cleethorpes
I have been playing snooker for 7 years after my Dad introduced me to the game. I quickly became addicted but unfortunately wasted a few years trying to learn the game on my own.
Before meeting Brian my technique was limited and knowledge of the game was non existent, I was happy if I came away from the table having potted a red with one colour. In practice a 20 break at line up was a great achievement. After coaching and a lot of practice I have achieved total clearances at line ups and my highest break is now 82 in a match, whilst regularly scoring 50s 60s and 70s.
I wouldn’t have achieved any of this without Brian’s coaching. His methods cover all aspects of the game from technical, tactical and mental approach.
I now go into my matches confident and mentally prepared to play the game to best of my ability which helped my team win our league a couple of seasons ago.
I look forward to many more sessions with Brian and helping me reach my goal of making a century break in a match.
Brett Cattell. Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, ( 2016 )
"Brian is a brilliant snooker coach and also one of the kindest people I have met and he will always try to help you out in every coaching lesson you have with him. I started playing snooker when I was 15 years old making 15-20 breaks and since I started having lesson with Brian from when I was 17 year old I have gone from making 15-20 breaks to 60 and 70 breaks and also having my first 107 break
in practice which was excellent. My game has improved so much in the year and half that he has been coaching me because at first I was really struggling with all my shot selections and my mind control, ball control and now everyday that I practice what Brian has been teaching me I get better and better at it so I can use it all when I play in tournaments which has work really well for me. I've enjoyed every lesson we have had so far and I trust Brian to keep improving my game. Thanks mate"
Peter Butler , Woking, Surrey, ( 2016 )