By Elliott West
“I get a buzz; I enjoy it. I’m a snooker player myself. I was a kid who played snooker so I understand what makes things exciting. I’m constantly thinking of things that will capture their interest the way it captured my interest when I was younger”.
John Hunter
Introduction
I am a great champion of promoting new and seasoned talent in sport, especially in snooker. The youth of the game are our future so it is extremely important to nurture and grow these young, talented players so they get the best opportunities in life. So I was encouraged to learn about a snooker scheme run by John Hunter, a World Snooker qualified coach with over thirty years experience in teaching and running Cuestars, a grassroots snooker scheme. This is an exciting opportunity and one that has brought Joe Perry on board with the Joe Perry Under-21 Super Series with the overall winner receiving £500, a trophy and a Q School place.
The Road to Victory
With players like Oliver Sykes, Aidan Murphy, Westley Cooper and O’Shay Scott already causing a stir, this brilliant programme uses a well-constructed training app as its core. One that is for snooker players, coaches and fans and for a small fee, subscribers get 12 months of access to the Academy Levels, Routines and Practice Challenges. With twenty-eight levels to achieve, seven bronze, seven silver, seven gold and seven professional. A total of 140 routines. However, many professional snooker players have also taken up the challenge. Billy Castle, Michael Holt and there has been a surge on the Senior Tour with players like Wayne Townsend, Paul Davis, Paul Bunyard, John Hunter, Dharminder Lilly, Neil Jeffries and Matt Wilson all winning competitions.
A Packed Calender
There doesn’t seem to be a weekend where isn’t a Cuestars event. A packed timetable that has three more events in February alone. U21 Gold, Silver & Bronze Open on 18 February in Woking. Joe Perry Under-21 Super Series on 24 February in Coulsdon and Swindon Seniors (40 And Over) on 25 February. With an average entry fee of between £10-£20, these events are well worth the effort and prize money can go up to as much as £500 with £600 for a ranking winner. This is a scheme for all ages and whether a child’s talent has been spotted or you are a seasoned club or professional player, this programme can boost your confidence, fine-tune your skills and win you some hard-earned prize money, trophies and gold, silver and bronze certificates. It can be a long day but worth the determination and travel.
The Origins of Cuestars
Cuestars had its roots in the Saturday morning junior section at Andover Snooker in the mid-1980s. However you have to go back slightly further to 1979 to spot a frustrated 13-year-old who was tired of team games and wanted a new challenge. The teenager was, of course, John Hunter. Picking up a snooker cue created a new lease on life but it took him four years before he played on a full-sized table at the Berkshire Snooker Club in Windsor. A club owned by Jack Karnehm and table manufacturer Bill Hillman. Somewhere where Steve Davis used to practice.
After joining in January, John made his first century in November. A place where he lived for 11 months, somewhere where he was obsessed about increasing his highest break. However, he regrets not concentrating on winning rather than break building. Mentored by Mel Turner, Hunter went on to win a Schweppes-sponsored national junior championship. A tournament where Stephen Hendry lost in the semi-finals at the age of 18.
In 1985, John’s dad, Ian, a builder by trade, bought Andover Snooker Club. Here Hunter started the kids’ club on a Saturday morning, passionate about giving something back to snooker. Here he held junior events against other clubs which evolved into a competition structure. These took place on a Sunday morning. So popular, that the grown-up players wanted the same. Before long he had junior sections at Stonehenge, Durrington, Winchester and Aldershot in the late 1980s. A structure that evolved into the South West circuit.
John Hunter used a government enterprise allowance grant to set up Cuestars. It grew to 15-20 sections with the help of Dave Norman and Ron Knight. When Knight retired, Norman bought Stoke Snooker Club from him. Dave coached the kids at Swindon and Ron at Gosport. Hunter mentored Ben Harrison when he was 12 years old. However, his greatest pleasure has been helping juniors who come to him rough around the edges. It’s a snooker journey where these kids grow not only in size but ability. Hunter would meet one of these kids when he went for a bank loan. Sadly despite begging, John only received hassle from the bank clerk. A humble man who doesn’t like blowing his own trumpet.
