Andrew Norman - SQ Snooker Quotient Accredited Coach

Your Snooker Quotient (SQ) will offer you a method that has been tried, tested and proven at the highest level to offer significant performance improvement over time. Snooker Quotients will:

• Highlight your strengths and weaknesses;
• Give you access to the routines used by world-class players;
• Motivate you to work harder and smarter;
• Help to facilitate intentional or deliberate practice;
• Cover all the key skills needed for you to be a more consistent player;
• Monitor your development curve over time;
• Gather facts to allow informed key snooker-related decisions;
• Provide factual information for tailored individual improvement;
• Allow clubs, teams and other organisations to handicap players fairly;
• Test you under pressure and show how you react in adversity;
• Offer you, for the first time ever in our sport, relative, skill-based comparison with players at local, national, international and elite levels for different age groups, genders and geographical locations across the globe.

Our Snooker Quotient (SQ) routines have been tried and tested with players at all levels for over a decade. The four Individual Snooker Quotient (ISQ) tests each have 4 routines to complete and all 4 ISQ tests must be submitted before you get your official SQ at either Level 1 or Level 2:

1. Break Building - ISQ 1
2. Cue Ball Control - ISQ 2
3. Long Potting - ISQ 3
4. General Skills - ISQ 4

Each of the 4 tests has 4 routines - so you are tested over 16 routines in total. These are not the only 16 routines you should ever play of course. Indeed, there are dozens of routines a coach may use to improve a player's SQ. However, these 4 ISQs, and the 4 routines within them, are what you will be measured against and this is how you will be compared with every other SQ member in the world.

Snooker's improved version of the golf handicap is here at last. What is your SQ?

The SQ system is based on 'big data' collected over the last 10 years. The data that we will use to populate the site at launch has been collected from players of both genders and from a range of ability levels. It has also been collected using the same routines and under the same pressure that you will face during the testing process.

Members will be able to see the SQ and ISQ (individual snooker quotient) test scores required to be one of the best male or female players in the world (see right). You will also be able to see a junior development profile, showing SQ scores, at each age, for a young player who started at 11, went on to be a world junior champion and is now a top amateur with the potential to reach professional status - and of course you will see your own SQ progress!

As more data comes in to the SQ cloud from SQ members around the world, we will refresh this data. This will give us, and all our members, access to the most up to date and accurate snooker skills information for us all to compare.

Access to such valuable data will help players and coaches to build training plans that will see players moving up the different SQ attainment levels to reach their full potential. This in turn will improve motivation and enjoyment and the SQ big data will continue to get bigger and better. 

What is your SQ?