Stephen Feeney’s Work With Stuart Bingham Praised As ‘Greatest Coaching Feat in Crucible History’

“Stephen Feeney has taken Stuart Bingham from being a good player to being a winner. He’s taken him from being one of the pack to becoming World Champion. Having followed snooker for over thirty years, I think it is the greatest coaching feat in Crucible history.” That is the assessment of a man who got to the top of his high-profile profession by making excellent judgement calls. Darren Cann is one of the World’s top assistant referees in professional football and has officiated at both the World Cup Final and Champions League final.

It is fair to say he has a vested interested in sighting and alignment but his judgement in this case can be qualified in another way – over thirty years of fervently following snooker.

Cann, like Feeney, came from a banking background. In fact, the pair met when working at the same bank in the 1980s.

Remarkably, both went off to achieve great things in their chosen professions, with Cann becoming one of the top assistant referees in world football and Feeney breaking new boundaries to become one of the most sought after coaches in snooker, golf and darts.

Cann has been aware of Feeney’s intentions for the past three decades and as an avid snooker fan, he has watched with interest as his former colleague has revolutionised coaching across accuracy sports, thanks in part to his invention, SightRight, which was then in its embryonic stages.

Cann explained: “I’ve known Steve since the mid-1980s when Dennis Taylor was potting that famous black ball and we’ve been good friends since then.

“I remember him telling me that he had an invention and something that he thought could be really big but he didn’t go into too much detail at the time. I knew that it was sight based and snooker based.

“I knew that he was serious when I picked up a call of his one day in the office and Terry Griffiths was on the line. I was star-struck and all I could think to do was congratulate him on winning the World Championship – that was a call I will never forget.

“Knowing Steve, it was no surprise to me that a few years later SightRight was making headlines with the likes of Steve Davis nor that he has gone on to achieve great things since leaving the bank.”

It seems incredible that two men in the same workplace found the courage and drive to leave behind good careers and follow their professional dreams. Perhaps it was destiny but Cann believes that there are several transferable skills they may have taken from their time at the bank to compliment the talent, determination and work ethic that they have both undoubtedly displayed on their rise to the top.

“Steve was very much involved in high-performance management and coaching at leadership level in the bank and I’m sure he has transferred this expertise into his work with top sports stars,” said Cann, who after being assistant referee in the 2010 World Cup Final was part of the only trio of officials to be re-selected for the 2014 tournament.

“There may have been some things that have been useful to me too such as the ability to make decisions under pressure. “More than professional colleagues though, we clicked because we both have a passion for sport, especially snooker, and that’s where we found a common interest. “Although I love football and have built my career in it, my true passion has always been snooker and sharing that passion is probably why Steve and I became such good friends. “I’ve been to the crucible year-on-year for many years and I’d always book two weeks off to watch every ball at the World Championship.” With his love and in-depth knowledge of the sport, much like when he’s running the line, Cann is in an excellent position to comment on the game of snooker. This is not just someone praising an old friend. This is a snooker purist and someone who knows what it takes to reach the top recognising the achievements of those who have done the same in the sport he loves. He added: “I don’t think there were many people who would have singled Stuart (Bingham) out as a potential World Champion even though he is an excellent player – this really is an incredible achievement. “I always knew that Steve was on to something with his SightRight methods and techniques. It is very interesting to me because sighting is very important in my profession as an assistant referee. It has been fantastic to see how Steve’s coaching has impacted the world of snooker. “Nobody should underestimate what has been achieved with Stuart – a World Champion for Steve, which I believe will be the first of many.”