The United States Snooker Association (USSA) has appointed Andy McCloskey to be its National Snooker Coach.

It will be a wide-ranging appointment where McCloskey's role will be to travel to different clubs and facilities offering coaching clinics, private coaching, practice sessions and sports management consulting.

McCloskey grew up in Portree, Ireland, where his father, James, owned and operated a snooker club. From there he learned the fundamentals of the sport and went on to compete in the Irish ranking system, and represented his country at Under-14, 16 and 21 levels.

Knowing the importance of a good education, he studied to qualify in multiple sports degrees, including:

- Certification in Sports & Recreation
- Higher certificate in Sports Development
- Bachelor's degree in Sports Management

McCloskey then headed out west to pursue the American dream. After walking through the door of California Snooker in San Jose, he was reunited with his passion and love for the sport of snooker. He began to compete in club, regional and national competition throughout the United States, and has just completed the Level 1 World Professional Snooker & Billiards (WPBSA) coaching course.

McCloskey's appointment as the USSA National Coach is on a 1-year term.

"Sport has been my life ever since I could remember," he said. "All I ever wanted to do was compete and be involved in the sporting EcoSystem and pursue a professional career in the industry whether it was as a player, coach or as a business professional. Having this opportunity to help U.S. Snooker in growing the game and develop players from club level to international level is an opportunity I am relishing.

"It is my vision that by accepting this role, we will be able to lay the foundation for more coaches to qualify under the WPBSA coaching umbrella and bring a lot more coaching and structure to U.S. players' snooker game. Taking this role on a one-year term will allow other coaches and snooker fanatics around the country the opportunity to one day fulfill this role and expose snooker with a wider lens in the U.S.

"I still have great aspirations for my own game and the opportunity and I hope this is a springboard to getting all the players in the U.S. competing regularly and developing not only their game but the beautiful Sport that we all love."

Please feel free to contact McCloskey directly for more information:

E-mail: amccuesports@gmail.com
Cell: +1 (650) 452-3135