This week I had the pleasure of coaching one of the top young European stars when I was training 14-year-old Nico le Clercq from Hungary in the SBI Academy of Excellence in Carlow.
Nico travelled with his dad to Ireland to improve his game ahead of the 2025 European Snooker Championships in Turkey next month.
Nico is the one of the hardest working players out there, he is the current No.1 Amateur player in Hungary and reached the 2024 National Amateur Final. I really believe he will be one of the top European juniors in the next few seasons.
Watch a video of Nico Training
Young Star of the future
In Budapest, Nico is coached by EBSA coach Peter Varga. I was so impressed again by this young left handed player in every session and it was a big honour to work with him again in this camp. His passion to listen and learn all the various shots, drills and technical information was incredible.
Training Camp Structure
Nico was videoed during each session and he brings home all the videos from the sessions to study more. During the sessions I worked on fine tuning his fundamentals by working on his Approach, Bridge and Delivery. We focused on Cue Ball Control and Break Building and Scoring in this camp.
Training Aids
The latest training aids were used in the camp to enhance the sessions like the QLine Aid, Master Doctor, Str8aim SA-1 & SA-2, Chris Henry Balls, Academy laser, EBSA Coaching Balls to help to get him on the line of aim and develop a smoother stroke in his delivery.
Watch a video of Nico Training
Nico “said it was brilliant to have another camp with PJ. The SBI Academy is world class and PJ again planned this camp perfectly with the drills and fundamentals I need to work on. It was great also to have practice matches agaist top Irish players.
Watch a video of Nico playing Irish U-16 No.1 Aaron Donnelly
PJ Said ‘’ Nico really impressed me again with his attitude and commitment. During this camp he set a new world academy record on the Maguire Break with an incredible 323 break.
Break Board
- Maguire Break 136, 138
- Grace Break 101, 134
- Selby 89, 77
- Hill 80
- Dragon 86
- Jungle 85
- Star 86
New Training Plan
Nico now begins a new training program over the next 12months which will be monitored with results and feedback from his practice and his tournaments. It is fantastic to have this top European Junior in my 147academy and I will do everything possible to help develop his game over the next few years.
Thank You
My 147academy would like to thank Nico and his dad for coming over and I really wish him good luck for the future. I look forward to seeing him play next month at the EBSA Championships in Turkey.
Well done Nico
