On Saturday the 18th of July Snooker & Billiards Ireland held the second of our SBI / Aaron Hill Elite Squad training day for our talented young stars in the Snooker & Billiards Academy of Excellence in Carlow. SBI would like to thank our Junior Snooker Sponsor Clancy Homes for their continued support.
SBI Chairman John Tobin was in attendance today to welcome the players and he said all the players should be very proud on being selected and SBI will do everything possible in helping them improve their games under the guidance of PJ.
- 18’s – Dermot Kelly, Joe Shannon, Aaron Donnelly, Lorcán Ó Curraoin
- 16’s – Cathal Horgan, Liam Dunne, James Stewart O’Reilly, Scott Cooke
- 14’s – Rowan Kelly, James Brennan, Callum Behan, Paddy King
On the day, the players on the Elite Squad were coached by our National Coach PJ Nolan and his assistant coach Ed Donnelly from Newbridge CYMS. This camp was all about getting the players to understand how to train better in their training booklet. The players were shown a number of videos on training and on improving their mental side. The players were all wearing their Elite Squad polo shirts.
Snooker & Billiards Ireland are also offering the Elite Squad players free entry into all Amateur and Century Events next season. This is to give our players vital match practice against top ranked SBI players at adult level.
- Elite Squad Group Sessions in SBI HQ during 2026-2027 season
- Three ”free one to one ” private Coaching Session with PJ in the SBI HQ for the 2026-2027 season
- Free Entry into any Amateur Events for the 2026-2027 season
- Free Entry into any Century Events for the 2026-2027 season
- Elite Squad Clothing Polo Shirts / Hoodies
- Group sit down with Aaron Hill at one of the training days
- Training Booklets & Training Plans throughout season.
- Mind Coach Session with Squad
Last month Aaron Hill sent a Video to the players. He said that his snooker journey started when he was part of the 2019 RIBSA Elite Squad. He said he is looking forward to watching them all practice very soon and to believe him themselves while listening to PJ’s advice.
During the day we held a number of various mini events with Aaron Donnelly winning the match-play eventNational Coach PJ Nolan said ” He was delighted with the performances and attitudes of the players which bodes well for the future development of the squad ”
Aaron Hill ” said i am delighted to have my name on this Elite Squad. I know all the players have a lot of talent and i am sure they will improve more next sean. I remember being part of the RIBSA Elite Squad in 2019 and i know first hand that you will get great advice on how to practice and improve.
SBI would like to thank all the players for attending and to new qualified Junior Referee Daniel Keenan for helping out on the day. The next Elite Squad training will be decided once the new calendar is published.
