Stephen Tierney surfaces in Hampshire

A FORMER practice partner of seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry had “not exactly the best start” to his career in the Southampton & District Social Clubs League.

Stephen Tierney in action at Chandler's Ford Snooker Club

Stephen Tierney, ranked No 324 in the world in the late 1990s, went in off the break on his debut.

“I was a bit rusty,” admitted the 34-year-old Glaswegian. “But it was good fun.”

Tierney, who was a top junior in Scotland, is good friends with two-time world champion John Higgins and world number two Stephen Maguire. He practised with Hendry in Stirling.

“Sometimes it was painful,” he recalled. “You’d break off and leave him an inch off the cushion. He’d stroke in a red, pot the black, split them, 100 break. It did me a wealth of good.

“The most naturally gifted is Ronnie (O’Sullivan) but Hendry is probably the best player that’s lived. Spending all those days with him and seeing what he can do when he’s really playing well, it’s just ridiculous.” 

O’Sullivan’s dad, now serving life for murder, offered 13-year-old Tierney the chance to practise with ‘Rocket’ Ronnie.

“Ronnie’s dad said ‘just send him down, it’s OK, I’ll look after him’. My dad, being the protective father, wouldn’t send me. Maybe my game could’ve been completely different. I had a great safety game when I was younger…but I don’t know if that hindered me slightly.”

Tierney moved to Warsash, on the south coast, three years ago as wife Katherine, originally from the area, could not settle in Scotland. They have a six-month-old daughter, Jessica.

“The weather is a lot nicer,” said Tierney. “I love it down here.”

In the zone

Tierney turned his back on snooker after five years as a pro. But he wishes he knew then what he knows now.

“I lost interest really,” he said. “I couldn’t handle all the expectations and pressure on me. It got to the stage where I was counting the matches to see if I was into the money to pay for my expenses. I thought ‘I don’t need this; I’m going to do something else’.”

After nine years study, he qualified as a sports psychologist and a Neuro Linguistic Programming practitioner.

“There’s only two ways that you can create pressure,” he said. “Thinking about the future or thinking about the past. When players play in the ‘now’ or, as it’s called, in the ‘zone’, that’s when they’re playing in the moment. That’s the secret.

“I’ve been there, seen it, done it. Knowing what I know now, if I took this up again I’d be quite a strong player.” he laughed.

Tierney also works with golfers.

“It’s actually sometimes to their advantage that I don’t know the first thing about a golf swing,” he explained. “You need to work on your mental game, confidence, focus, concentration, visualisation and relaxation.”

Tierney, who has his own website: Mindcell.co.uk, is planning a professional snooker training camp this year.

“I want to train someone up and take them all the way to the world championship,” he said.

Picture by Kevin Legg