SNOOKER coaching guru Del Hill is staying away from the first week of this year’s world championship – because four of his prodigies are playing against each other and he does not want divided loyalties.
This is typical of Hill, who is rated as the best coach in the game , having masterminded world titles with Ronnie O’Sullivan, Stephen Hendry, Peter Ebdon and Graeme Dott .
Hill operates from his snooker “farm” which is set in five acres of lush grounds that boast a large lake stocked with perch, carp and bream, where players can relax and fish after long spells of potting pressure.
He is also head of World Snooker’s elite coaching team, manager of England’s amateur squad and has still found time to answer business calls from Russia, Thailand, Jordan, Romania, Belgium, Malta, Ireland and the United Arab Emirates.
And if that is not enough, he also brokered a deal for Chelsea’s John Terry to buy The Crucible’s 2008 World Championship table – and arranged for technicians to set it up.
During his coaching career, Hill has found himself dashing from one dressing room to another before a major tournament to offer final words of advice to players squaring up to one another – something which, from a professional point of view, he finds rather embarrassing.
And that is why he will not be at The Crucible in Sheffield for the opening rounds of the tournament, which starts on Saturday, when Ebdon faces Dott and Michael Holt plays Joe Perry. Instead, Hill – 6ft 9ins and known as the Gentle Giant – will telephone each player with the words: “May the best man win. I’ll be watching you on TV – but if you’re in desperate trouble, then you’d better ring me.”
Hill recalled an incident in 2005 when Dott phoned him urgently before he played O’Sullivan in the world final, complaining that a problem had developed with his break-off shot.
“I dropped everything and rushed to Sheffield . We thought it had all been sorted out when Graeme went 5-0 in front – only for O’Sullivan to hit back and go on to win,” said Hill.
“That was a tricky situation [giving coaching advice to Dott] because I had won more than 20 tournaments with O’Sullivan. But to be fair, Dott had driven six hours to my farm just before the championships, so there was no way I could turn him down.
“Then he won the title the following year, beating O’Sullivan in the semis and Ebdon in the final. Coaching Graeme to be world champion in 2006 – a 500-1 outsider – is undoubtedly my biggest achievement and something I’m really proud of.
“But even that wasn’t straightforward because I was in and out of Graeme’s dressing room just as I had been with Ebdon when he won in 2002.
“Peter Ebdon is a great guy . He came up to me at the end of that final and said, ‘Graeme wouldn’t have won it without you’. I had worked with Peter earlier in 2006, but he sensibly accepted that I was with Dott .
“And during the Masters one year, I kept nipping from Stephen Lee’s dressing room to Dott’s and all I could say was, ‘Best of luck, mate’.
“I don’t like doing it but it happens a lot. If I’m summoned, I have to go. It’s the price I pay for being popular.” Hill has coached 11 of the 32 players competing in this year’s championship and said: “I ask all my professionals to come to the farm twice a year for an ‘MOT’ when problems with their game can be rectified.
“I have worked with half of the world’s top 64 players and know them really well. To reach the top, a player must have application, motivation and also be willing to work hard.”
And many of those he has coached have reached the top so, understandably, compliments flow .
O’Sullivan said: “Del is a top man and a top coach. I’ve known him a long time – and he knows me better than anyone.”
Dott said: “Del helped me to reconstruct my game to such an extent that I won the World Championship.”
Ebdon added: “I visited the farm during my run-up to winning the World Championship and Del gave me some really useful practice routines to work on.”‘If I’m summoned, I must go to their dressing room’