It is with great sadness that I have to inform you that one of our Kent senior players, Carl Disney, has passed away after his battle against illness. Carl played on the Seniors tour for many years and was an integral part of our county Seniors team and absolutely loved playing the game of pool. He finished the 2019 season as top player after playing to a high standard all year, he loved being number 1 and why not.
Carl messaged us in our WhatsApp group a couple of weeks ago with tremendous bravery telling us that his illness had progressed and that his time was limited and he wouldn’t be playing again. This was a huge shock to us all as he had been in regular contact with us telling us about his treatment and that he couldn’t wait to play with us again.
Carl was a big family man, so the Kent pool family would like to send our heart felt condolences to Carl’s wife Sharon and to all of his family . We are thinking of you all at this sad time. Carl said in his message to us that he wanted us to go on and win the Region 7 title for him and that he would be with us. Carl, we will do our very best to achieve what you ask and you will forever be a part of our team.
Before you read my match report I just wanted to say that some things are more important than a game of Pool. Sunday started with an emotional and heartfelt speech given by the Sussex Team manager, Jason Luxford, following the sad loss of a long-standing playing colleague and friend Tim Mashford – the Kent squad send their condolences to you all.
It has struck me as I get older that friendships are formed over a passion for something and pool is no different. The feeling I get when I go to county is one of friendships, camaraderie and it is such a great feeling to be involved in developing a project such as ours, something that has and will bring smiles and excitement as well as the odd disappointment along the way, that’s all part of the game.
I feel we are all in it together, united and with the support of many other such as Lee and his team at Chatham Pool and Snooker Club, making our venue the best in the region, looking after the players experiences on the County days. The committee that are buying in to the fact that Kent are and can continue to be a power-house of pool for many years to come, supporting financially recognising that we are pump priming our ambitions. To our captains and you the players for committing to the teams and delivering the energy into matches that make County days a great experience. Thanks to you all.
Match Report
Kent’s Coastal day out ends in opponents taking the heat
On a day when the Sussex coast was heating up nicely, there were also a number of hot performances being delivered by Kent’s finest pool players.
17 players in all delivered a full house of 4/4 for their teams in some big wins across the categories.
Jo Herrington (ladies) and Joshua Wheeler (juniors) attained their first ever 4/4 perfect stats for their teams which ended in their teams winning 36-8 (Ladies) and 31- 5 (Juniors).
They were ably supported in their categories by Barbara Taylor, Katie Martyn, Mel Clements Vanessa “the legend” Ledger again!! and Jan Spinner – well done ladies on continuing your march at the top of the Region and already planning for next years national finals with some of the new players gaining that valuable commodity of not knowing what its like to lose a match at this level.
On a day when Jake Lloyd (our top junior) actually lost a frame 😊, 4 other juniors being Alfie Rogers ably supported by his talented Dad Paul, Callum Britt, Chase East and James Goldsmith delivered top marks.
The A team stayed in touch at the top of the A section with a convincing 28-16 win, with our star man Dave Fernandez alongside our top performer Josh Patel both remaining undefeated for the day. In fact this is the 3rd month in a row our Josh has remained unbeaten so well done mate you’re delivering your potential 😊, we all love you.
The B team recovered from a 13-9 deficit at the half way stage to come back and lead 22-20 with two frames left. Unfortunately, those frames eluded them and the final score was 22-22 so still topping the group with everything in their own hands.
The C team delivered a dominant display with 2 players contributing 4/4, these being Captain Paul Cox, Phil Horley, Jamie Hughes and Scott Woods. Good conversation at the end of the day with a couple of players talking about progression opportunities for C team players, juniors, so I have taken that on board and we will scope the future possibilities and what it looks like as we move through the season.
Under 23s won 13-7 at the start of the day and this section at last is providing us with a bit of clout in the region. Charley McDowell chipped in with 4 winning frames – including potting the black off two rails into the middle pocket in his last frame – well done Charley you’re certainly proving that your development as a bright prospect is coming to fruition, keep going.
The Seniors match was a real tussle for the whole match as it ebbed and flowed, hardly 1 frame split the teams all the way through, such a difference from the first match where Kent had been dominant. It ended 18-18 so the Kent seniors have dropped 4 points in the last two games which sees them lose their place at the top of the table but still with the title in their own hands.
Next up is arguably our toughest set of matches with Berkshire being the visitors to Chatham pool and Snooker Club on August 14th. We look forward to their visit and we will be up for the challenge across the board.
Talking of new shirts there are discussions going on regarding sponsorship for our new Kent tops and I would think we will be asking for sizes etc in the next couple of months. I believe there are a couple of design proposals and when we know more we will share a view with you.
As team manager I can tell you the proposal for green and white stripes has been kicked out immediately and we will have no further conversations on the matter.
Regards, Wilbo
The Kent County spirit on full displaySussex v Kent 10/07/2022
