Retired Snooker will transform into coach, his disciple advances to the top 8 in a single season

There are several well-known personalities whose full name is Ian McCutcher. One of them is the writer who wrote the book “Nothing Is Eternal”, and the other is Post Snooker Football athlete.

Snooker version of Mike Cucci has reached the finals of the World Championships, and has also reached the finals of the rankings twice. In 2012, he was forced to retire due to shoulder and cervical spine injuries caused by long-term competitions, but seven years later, when he looked back on his professional development, he did not feel regretful.

“Snooker career is the most wonderful 20 years of my life. It has brought me more wealth than I thought. The only thing I regret is that I have never won a ranking tournament. I am very happy that there are so many events to play every year. If my career is in this era, I will definitely win one or two championships.”

“If I continued to fight at that time, it would cause irreversible damage to my shoulder. Although snooker is not the whole life of my life, it still disappoints me to be forced to retire in that situation.”

“I have played a lot of matches that were broadcast live on TV during my career. These are all very fond memories. Some matches are really crazy, for example, I defeated a 9-8 reversal when I fell behind 0-5 in the British Championship. Peter Alberton, and in the 2005 World Championships, he cleared the table in the deciding game and beat Graeme Dott 10-9, and then danced around the table excitedly. What people don’t know is that it’s mine. Some golfers encouraged me to do this, and of course some things said in the interview after the game.”

McCutcher said that the 2005 World Championship was the most glorious moment in his career. After eliminating Dortmund, he narrowly defeated Mark Williams 13-12, and then sent away Ai 13-8. After Len McManus, he reached the final four. The contest with Matthew Stevens in the semifinals was very difficult, and in the end McCutche was eliminated 14-17.

The first time McCutcher reached the ranking finals was in the 2002 English Open, when he defeated many celebrities including Stephen Maguire, John Higgins and Mark Williams. Finals, but ultimately lost to Paul Hunter. Two years later, McCutcher reached the final in the Grand Prix again, and that time he faced Ronnie O’Sullivan. Although Mike Cucci was playing in his hometown of Preston at the time, his opponent was too strong, and the difference in strength once again broke his dream of championship. In the end, he finished runner-up 5-9.

“Cruise Fort can accommodate 1,500 fans, and that scene was dreamlike.” 47-year-old McCutcher recalled. “I was nervous at the time, but I enjoyed every minute of being there. At the beginning of some big games, I was so nervous that I couldn’t put ice cubes in the water cup. There were also some games that I ended up with. I can’t even speak normally during the interview. But I always seem to have a way to turn these nervous emotions into energy and play well in the game.”

“Every time I play in Cruzeiro, I will prepare everything from my physical condition, my training schedule to my mental state, and the length of my sleep. I will prepare everything for myself. Every time I play, the goal is I killed him before my opponent beat me. When I saw the opponent’s state at the beginning of the game, I knew they could not beat me tonight. Players always said they were working hard for the World Championships, but what they didn’t know was , I am a lion in the game, not a kitten.”

“The moment you walk into the arena from the Cruze’s lounge, there is also the atmosphere and the sounds of the audience during the game. That is the feeling you can’t reproduce for the rest of your life, no matter what you do.”

Although his career is over, McCutchie, who has reached 16th in the world ranking, is still making contributions to snooker. He is now a snooker coach, the main goal is to excavate and train rookies. In the past 3 years, he has been training Martin O’Donnell and achieved good results. The 32-year-old O’Donnell has reached the top 8 in the rankings three times this season, including the British Championship, one of the three major events.

“The first time I saw O’Donnell was in an exhibition game in Switzerland 8 years ago. I have been following him since then. A few years later, he took the initiative to contact me and asked if I could help him improve. , I told him that I can only help those players who really want to improve, and will put strict requirements on his diet, fitness, and sleep. I think he was a little surprised at my requirements at the beginning, but He accepted it, and it turned out to be effective for him.”

“I will not teach the players on the technical level. This is probably because my skills are not good, or it may be because I believe that players can succeed in various ways. Look at David Harold and Joe Swell, their technique is not orthodox, but they have performed very well for many years. Every player who participates in the professional tour knows how to play, so the most important factor is between games How did they spend it.”

“It may be easy to clear the station 100 times in daily practice, but when the live broadcast camera is facing you, can you still do it? This is where I hope to help the players, because I have experienced There have been many moments like that. I have made countless mistakes in my career, but I can let other players know what I did right and what I did wrong.”

“O’Donnell is a great listener and puts all this into practice. Before the game, the two of us would sit down for a cup of coffee and talk for an hour or two. The content included a variety of Thing. He has a 1-year-old child and has to go home often. This is not easy for a professional player. I think the most important thing is to establish a relationship with the player, so as to help him psychologically prepare It’s a good game. I can even tell from O’Donnell’s voice whether he is ready to go on stage. Before he and Ding Junhui faced off at the British Championships, I was confident that he would win the game because he I know what I need to do, and I am very eager to beat the opponent.”

“I have also worked with some other players over the years. Some of them regard snooker as a real job. They practice very hard and appear in the arena almost every day. There are also some people who are wasting their time. Of course there are some people who become lazy after they have achieved a little bit because they think they have succeeded.”

“I see some players who make the same mistakes over and over again but never improve. This makes me feel ashamed, because there are so many competitions and such huge prizes to compete for, but they are letting go. One opportunity after another. Not everyone has the same talent as O’Sullivan, but if you can make the most of your advantages, you will also get very good results.”

Although he never had the opportunity to experience the excitement and joy brought by the game on the top stage, McCutcher was already very contented. As a snooker coach, he is still personally involved in the planning and arrangement of some snooker and dart exhibition games. And now he also has time to make up for the regret of being with his family he lost during his career.

“I live a simple and happy life now. I hope I can play another snooker game, but I know this will never happen.”

Signature: Star Billiards