This weekend I returned to beautiful city of Vienna to hold an emotional final ever camp for the Austrian Billiards & Snooker Association on Saturday 31st of October and Sunday 1st of November in the ÖSBV Academy in Vienna.
The Players
Attendance at this camp was a mixture of our top Austrian ranked Snooker players plus the International Billiard team players. The Austrian Professional snooker player Florian Nüßle and Austrian No.1 Oskar Charlesworth who made a fantastic 147 break against Thomas Janso ealier this month were also in attendance, so there were so much talent on show.
The Snooker players were: Lukas Stötzer, Patrick Stift, Josef Wimmer, Mario Bodlos, Jérôme Liedtke, Florian Nüßle, Peyman Chitsaz, Oskar Charlesworth and Emil Becker. They were joined with our leading Billiard players: Patrick Stegmeier, Martin Schmidt, CW Steiner, Christian Pleschko, Patrick Russ and Wolfgang Teufl in the ÖSBV Academy for this camp.
Last month I resigned after 17years working for the Austrian Billiards & Snooker Association. It has been a big honour to be the head coach of this professional association of players, coaches and all officials here in Austria. I know the players will only improve more in the future and I wish them all continued success on and off the table.
Venue
The training facilities were top class in the ÖSBV Academy, and I was delighted to see all the players so motivated at this camp. The players were very eager to learn and I am very confident Austria are developing their level at each camp.
High Quality Camp
This camp National Coach Chau Zi Kim focused on training with the Billiard players while I concentrated on the snooker players with my specific academy drills focusing on Break-Building, Mini Breaks, Open Breaks, Cue Ball Control, Long Potting and Matchplay plus we held a 10min Shoot-Out.
On day 1: Florian Nüßle won the elite break building Challenge, Lukas Stötzer won the Long Potting challenge and Josef Wimmer won the match play challenge with superb quality in the challenge.
On day 2: It was our professional Florian Nüßle who was in incredible form to win the 6red challenge. Florian also won the ShootOut. Florian Nüßle and Patrick Stift won the scotch doubles challenge with superb teamwork.
Florian Nüßle also who won the scoring challenge which included two maximum 147 breaks on the shovel break and star break. Special mention must also go to Emil Becker who made a 139 break on the star break and Lukas Stötzer 112 on the star break.
Coaching Program
The players received a copy of a mind fitness booklet to identify how to create the perfect training session. The players also got feedback on what technical fundamentals they need to work on.
Mental Seminars
National Coach Chau Zi Kim gave several Mental Training seminars on becoming mentally stronger throughout the camp. The team now is is great hands with Kim and his team of coaches. It has been fantastic to work alongside Kim and i wish him continued success with Team Austria.
Training Aids
The latest training aids were used to enhance the sessions like the Mini Domin Eye, Master Doctor, QLine, Str8aim SA-1 & SA-2, Chris Henry Balls, Academy laser and the EBSA Coaching Balls to help to get the players on the line of aim and develop a smoother stroke in their delivery.
Thank You
I would personally like to thank the Austrian Association for their support and inviting me to hold camps with their National Teams players from 2008 to 2026 as it was a fantastic honour. I am very proud of what we achieved through out the last 17years.
I would like to thank Austrian President and sporting director Patrick Stegmeier, former Austrian President Christian Fock plus National Coach Chau Zi Kim and EBSA Coach Florian Schidla along with the ÖSBV Academy for their assistance during this camp and for everything down the years.
Good Luck
It was a pleasure training everyone and I want to wish good luck to all players in their upcoming Championships. I look forward to cheering on all the players, as I will never forget the fantastic memories down the years and it is something I will never forget.
Keep on training hard and believe in yourself guys as I know Austria Snooker is stronger and the future looks good if we continue to listen, train smart and play with confidence.
Auf Wiedersehen
PJ Nolan
Proudest Austrian Head Coach ever!!!
