Last week in the SBI Academy of Excellence in Carlow, I had the pleasure of coaching one of the top young European stars of the future when I was training 14-year-old Nico le Clercq from Hungary.
Nico who is 14 years old, is the one of the hardest working players out there, I really believe he will be one of the top European juniors in the next few seasons. Nico travelled with his dad to Ireland to improve his game ahead of the 2024-2025 Snooker Season.
Watch a video of Nico Training
Star of the future
In Budapest, Nico has already won adult ranking events and is also coached by EBSA coach Peter Varga. I was so impressed again by this young talented left handed player in every session and it was an 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, Grip, Delivery and Rest Shots. We focused on Cue Ball Control and Break Building.
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 is fantastic to come back for another camp with PJ. The conditions in the SBI Academy are world class and PJ planned the camp perfectly with the drills I needed to work on. I feel my break building skills really improved as I had so many centuries breaks plus a fantastic 147 break on the Spencer Break in this Camp.
Watch a video of Nico Training
PJ Said ‘’ Despite being still so young, Nico really impressed me with his attitude and commitment when we worked on fine tuning his techniques, break building skills. His scoring improved 100% since the last camp and it was an honour to train him again.”
Break Board
- The Blade Break 116, 117, 132
- The Championship Break 103, 119
- The Spencer Break 136, 147
- The Cage Break 121
- The Dublin Break 124, 133, 120
- The Vienna Break 132, 136
New Training Plan
Nico now begins a new training program over the next 6months 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 in the next EBSA Championships.
