The local Sheffield Magazine Active8 features a 2-page article about me and I am also on the cover! Click below to read the article.

You can see the full article with photos at this link : ACTIVE8

 “SHEFFIELD 8 schoolboy Ryan Watterson collects snooker players like other people might collect autographs, coins or stamps. He has met met and been photographed with 76of the world’s top 96 players and he plans to add to his prestigious collection when this year’s World Snooker Championship begins in Sheffield on April 17th.

There is no wonder Ryan has such a passion for the sport as his great uncle, Mike Watterson, was the man responsible for bringing the World Snooker Championship to The Crucible in the 1970’s.

Ryan, who will be 14 on March 20th, initially became interested in the game through watching it on TV. “I play a bit and have managed a couple of 30 breaks but I prefer to watch Snooker, both live and on TV” he explained. Dad Mark – Nephew of Mike Watterson – says Ryan meets most of the players in and around The Crucible and at other events. “Many of them know him by now and often ask how he is doing” he said.

In addition to being photographed with the star players of today, Ryan has also been snapped alongside legends of the game including Ray Reardon, Steve Davis, Cliff Thorburn, Alex Higgins and Jimmy White. He is also proud of a photograph with top referee Michaela Tabb.

Ryan has a sporting interest much wider than snooker and the collection of photographs displayed on his website also show him alongside world darts king Phil “The Power” Taylor, ex-England soccer manager Sven Goran Erikkson, Nigel Clough and other instantly recognisable faces. He is a season ticket holder at Chesterfield FC, the club where Great Uncle Mike was once a director.

Being so close to all the leading players, can Meadowhead School pupil Ryan offer a tip as to who may win the 2010 World Snooker Championship at the new look Crucible?

“John Higgins is the man to beat” predicts Ryan

And once Ryan has achieved his own personal ambition by being photographed with every player in the top 96 , he has another sporting ambition – to visit all 92 professional football grounds in England. Not surprsingly, he fancies becoming a sports journalist when he leaves school.