A Bolton teenager is living up to his name this year after his good performance saw him winning several major national croquet tournaments.
Jack Good, 17, who goes to Rivington and Blackrod High School sixth form, wowed with his croquet skills in July after being undefeated at both an Inter-Club event at Chester Croquet Club, and the Cheshire Open event at Bowdon Croquet Club.
The teenager was also part of the winning England team in the McWeeney Trophy and teamed up with Will Gee to compete at Nottingham in the English National GC Doubles.
Jack said: “I got into croquet because my dad used to play, I would go with him to tournaments and things like that, so I have been around the game for a while.
“I remember just picking up a ball and playing on a patch of grass and thinking about playing it…but I never thought that at 16 years old I would be playing world championships.”
In 2018, at age 11, Jack began playing at Bowdon Croquet Club and a year later, qualified for all England Association Croquet (AC), and Golf Croquet (GC).
However, after breaking his ankle playing Rugby Jack couldn’t do AC but finished third in GC Final while wearing a soft boot.
In 2020, he joined Bury Croquet Club, based at Whitehead Park, Elton, and Coronation Park, Radcliffe.
Genius croquet player from Bolton is just 14-years-old
A spokesperson from the club said: “He is rapidly becoming one of England’s up-and-coming junior players.
“Last year he was a member of the England golf croquet team that won the home international tournament.
“Jack is currently involved in a number of internal knock-out league fixtures at the Bury club – and needless to say doing very well!”
When asked about his quick progression and success in the game, Jack said he believes the pandemic had a part to play regarding his skill progression.
He said: “There were a lot of things you couldn’t do because of the pandemic, but I could go and practice croquet, and I had a lot of spare time to do it.
“I developed a lot, going from an average player at best to being able to hold my own at tournaments but I still have a lot to improve on and a long way to go.”
Alongside his croquet, Jack is studying for his A-levels in maths, physics, chemistry and biology and is currently the highest ranked under 21 in World, 34 (world) open age and 7 in the UK.
He also played rugby for Bolton RUFC and Lancashire up to last season but has now stopped playing and started refereeing.
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