John Higgins has built one of the greatest careers snooker has ever seen without a coach and suggests there is only one person who could teach him anything new at this stage. The 50-year-old is still competing at the very top of his sport, reaching the World Championship semi-finals this year, only narrowly losing out 17-15 to Shaun Murphy.
It was a bruising run for the Wizard of Wishaw, beating Ali Carter in round one, downing Ronnie O'Sullivan in the last 16 and then Neil Robertson in the quarter-finals, before succumbing to the Magician. While almost all his rivals have leant on the services of a coach or mentor over the years, the four-time world champion is very happy flying solo.
That situation is not going to change at this stage of his career, questioning who could possibly know more than him about top level snooker and only coming up with one answer. 'I just look at these great champions and just think, who’s going to tell me when I’m out there, what player? Maybe O’Sullivan? I don’t know,' he said.
'I just think I’d have more experience than other guys trying to come in and tell me. I think I know as much as I’m ever going to know in this game. So that’s why I’ve always just kept to myself.'
The Wizard is never truly a one man band as he has the support of his family, particularly praising the help of wife Denise over his epic career. 'I’ve got a wife!' Higgins said on having no need for a coach. 'She’s everything rolled into one: coach, teammate, boss, of course, so she’s been great. It’s an old saying that you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her. Aye, I owe her everything, of course I do.'
Higgins turns 51 this month and came very close to being the oldest Triple Crown finalist ever in Sheffield this year. Still ranked number five in the world, age is just a number for the seemingly timeless Wizard. 'I always keep on thinking about when my old man was alive and he was my age,' said Higgins. 'Was he thinking the same as me? Was he thinking, I’m still a young man! But my kids are looking at me as if I’m an old guy now and that’s just the circle of life. But I still feel as if I’m young enough.'
