SLUISKIL – He is back on home turf for a few days, after the World Cup tournament in Korea and before the World Cup in Greece. There is never a lot of rest for Frédéric Caudron. Today (Sunday) he plays for his team in The Netherlands: title holder Dallinga-Frans Bevers. Recent matches show his great form. But even for Caudron, peak performances are elusive.
The life of a professional billiard player, the pressure of wanting (and having) to play well, the never-ending travelling: the Belgian multi-disciplinarian has gotten used to it, and is able to deal with it like none other. He tells us about it, with a little peak into the future.
Kozoom looked him up in Sluiskil, shortly before he takes off to Greece.
Ten questions to the Belgian phenom, in the early days of the new season:
Frits Bakker: The World Cup of Peloponnese is around the corner, as well as the World Championship in Antwerp, and you have just had two busy weeks in Korea. The season starts the way it always does for you: you travel and travel, and you are expected to do well everywhere. How hard is it to live with that pressure?
Frédéric Caudron: ,,Yes, I am used to all the travelling, sometimes you don’t quite feel 100 %, but you have to learn how to deal with being tired. You can’t control that. Moreover, I am not a deep sleeper, so I often need time to get my “feel” back.’’
FB: You could not have wished for a better start: winning the Superprestige, playing very well in the Korean World Cup and even better in the Kimchi Cup. Your confidence must be sky high?
FC: ,,Winning builds confidence, but you have to keep both feet firmly planted, because every tournament is different. These days, you can lose to so many players. The level keeps getting higher. If you look at the number of so-called unknown players who do well, you just need to keep improving your own game. If you don’t, your position at the top will be in danger.’’
FB: Did you and Jessica find the time for a summer break?
FC: ,,After the New York tournament, we took a ten day vacation in the USA. We needed to recharge the batteries, because the last part of the season had been demanding, and we are not getting any younger, are we?’’
FB: “Korea” looked as if the level of the sport had gone up yet again. The last sixteen in Guri had the highest ever combined average in a World Cup Can you explain this never-ending progression of the top players?
FC: ,,As I said, if you want to be at the top, you need to work hard to stay there. It is a constant challenge.’’
FB: Is your upcoming season comparable to the last one, or has your calender changed?
FC: ,,Not much: national leagues in Belgium, Holland and France (complete), in Germany, Spain and possibly Portugal (partial). Topteam competition in Holland is also a challenge this year, because I am in a team in Doetinchem that has a realistic chance at the title (with Van Silfhout, Swertz, Havlik and Lässig). If you consider the fact that I play anywhere from 220 to 240 official matches in a season, it is not hard to understand that I sometimes run out of steam.’’
FB: How is your new position as co-owner of Salpho, a magnificent restaurant and billiard room, working out? Can you combine that with all the travelling you do?
FC: ,,It is not an advantage, more of a complication actually. Fortunately though, I have partners and Salpho can function without me. We have a great club, with some twenty teams who play their weekly league matches. I am very pleased with it.’’
FB: Is the World Championship in Antwerp a tournament that stands out from the others? Cyclists, athletes, soccer players try to peak at such top occasions. Can billiard players do that?
FC: ,,A WC is of course the ultimate event that you want to win, but if you focus on just one occasion, you might set yourself up for a major disappointment. I have every hope of doing well there, but that goes for every tournament or match I play in.’’
FB: We often hear the question – for instance on Kozoom chat: Frédéric Caudron plays so many matches in a year, would he also practice on top of all that, when he is at home? You are the only one who can answer that.
FC: ,,I do not practice a lot, because I am almost always on the road, but I do use stolen moments to practice: a half hour here and there. It is funny, when people ask me how many hours a day or a week I practice. They never believe me when I say: an hour every day, on average! But Emile Wafflard, my first teacher, used to say that a league match was worth much more than a few practice hours... and I agree...’’
FB: Do you see new, sportive developments ahead? New young players, new impulses to the sport from outside Europe, a broader top echelon?
FC: ,,The last: that’s already happening. new talents, that is hard to predict... the future will hopefully bring us many good players. But in general, I am not optimistic...’’
FB: What about the organization, globally, nationally? Marco Zanetti recently expressed his idea’s about the policies of the international federations, in an interview. What is your opinion, what could be improved, how can we better sell the sport and find new sponsors and organizers?
FC: ,,A lot needs to be done, some of it by the players too. The playing level has never been higher, but we cannot seem to raise the level of publicity. The UMB has reduced the match length to 40, to speed things up. But the real drama has not increased, because we have that 40 seconds per inning. Many players use up far too much time for every point, regardless if it’s difficult or easy. A high quality match can still look very unspectacular.''
,,Most top players want to return to the 50 second shot clock. They still don’t get it: WE are the ones who make our sport attractive to watch, or not. That is my idea, I know I will be criticized for that, but it is still how I feel. Averages may be higher to 40 points, but the set system had more excitement. Most players again disagree, they feel safer over a distance. What they should do, is think about the audiences first, not themselves. Other than that, I hope something important is about to happen, because there are still people with a big heart for our sport...’'