The New York Squash Blog

Squash Court Growth

2011-11-27T20:04:00.000-08:00

2011 has been a year of highs and lows for squash players in the New York area. Earlier this year, we heard the news that the legendary Printing House would close just when rumors of a massive Chelsea Piers facility began to circulate. I know I was not alone in hoping that Chelsea Piers would add capacity at their Manhattan facility; however, October’s official announcement confirmed that 11 singles courts and one doubles court would be built in Stamford, CT.

The Chelsea Piers announcement was the latest in what appears to be a five-year suburban court construction boom. Anderson Squash Courts, who, along with ASB and McWill, comprise the area’s major court builders, have built a number of public and private courts in the last five years, nearly all in the suburbs. Town Sports International has added courts to their Stamford and White Plains New York Sports Clubs in recent years. Pyramid Squash opened in Tuckahoe in 2009.

Universities and schools are at the forefront of new court construction. Many of them, having long supported squash as a part of campus life, have noticed a renewed public interest in the sport and have thus renovated courts or added to existing facilities. German-based ASB reports having built 36 courts at academic institutions in CT and upstate NY in recent years. Additionally, as suburban communities continue to develop, those communities become their own metropolitan centers, and entities like Town Sports or Atlanta-based Lifetime Fitness see the opportunity to expand their presence in these burgeoning regions.

Given the relative small number of suburban squash facilities versus those in cities, one could argue that new court construction in the suburbs may be a better economic decision than building in urban areas. Lifetime Fitness, which recently added eight courts in Florham Park and Berkeley Heights, NJ, is given sole credit for revitalizing the squash scene in Austin, TX, where Lifetime’s eight courts are the region’s only international courts. In total, Lifetime estimates that the nine clubs and 36 courts added nationwide in the last five years have resulted in more than 15,000 squash members.

The growth in membership not only brings an economic benefit, but also allows clubs to reach out to different groups within in the squash community. Daily Squash Report’s Rob Dinerman covered this in an excellent article on doubles court construction, which has also seen a recent growth spurt. The four new courts at the Sleepy Hollow Country Club (“SHCC”) speak to this.

SHCC is a century-old club located in Scarborough, NY. As part of a series of capital improvements to the club’s many facilities, SHCC recently completed a new Indoor Fitness Center, which includes three ASB singles softball courts and one ASB doubles court. These courts are in addition to the two pre-existing singles hardball courts and one doubles court originally built over 70 years ago. Although SHCC members prefer to play doubles, the club acknowledges that parents want their children to have access to regulation-wide singles softball courts.

The club’s new fitness center and squash courts opened on November 26, 2011. SHCC plans to celebrate the opening of the new courts, as well as its centennial anniversary (1911 – 2011), with a men’s singles softball tournament for players ages 45+ to 80+. Said Tournament Chairman Mike Solin: “Each December for 37 years, SHCC had hosted a hardball squash tournament on our two hardball courts for men’s senior singles hardball players. With the building of the three new singles softball ASB courts as well as an ASB doubles court, the Club wanted to both continue that tradition and expand our reach within the squash community. In this spirit, we look forward to hosting a group of men’s senior singles softball players at our club next month.”

Sleepy Hollow Country Club Men’s Singles Softball Tournament
When: December 10-11, 2011
Where: Sleepy Hollow Country Club (located in Scarborough, NY—just 30 miles outside of Manhattan and a quick ride on the Metro North train)
Levels: Men’s 45+, 55+, 60+, 65+, 70+, 75+, 80+
Cost: $95 for US Squash members / $110 for non-members
Deadline: December 2, 2011

Click here for more information. To sign up, email Mike Solin

A big, Howe Cup Thank You

2011-11-02T07:26:00.000-07:00

Photo: NY Squash at the Baltimore Museum of Art

All the 200 women (especially the New York teams) and innumerable organizers deserve a huge Thank You. It was everyone coming together that really made for a wonderful weekend. Special thanks must also be given to a couple of special people this year. Without them, NY Squash would not have been able to run down Meadow Mill Club, with such overwhelming presence, in a good way of course.

First up, special thanks go out to David Hughes, our unrelenting and ever so insightful coach. Not only did he manage to keep a straight face amidst Tehani’s (oops! I was trying so hard not to disclose this, sorry T) shrieks of appeal, he watched every single match and was always ready to help each and every one of NY Squash’s players. Wondering how he made it through three days of being surrounded by 200 squash playing women? Go figure, we are still wondering how that was existentially possible.

Secondly, a lot of credit goes out to Sarah Odell, our fearless Howe Cup organizer. As a member of NY Squash board, she voluntarily toils through the days and nights, organizing events and gathering the masses to participate in such events. Through her vivacious and enthusiastic efforts, Sarah has successfully organized tournaments such as the inaugural NYC Citywide Spring women’s doubles league, the Under 30s National Doubles Championship in May, the DONAT (Doubles or Nothing At All, I kid you not) Southampton’s invitational in August, and now, the Howe Cup. How one finds such dedication and perseverance leaves people like me baffled and in awe. Thank you, Sarah, for reeling in the troops and creating such successful events for NY Squashers! Special thanks must also be made to Tracy Gates-- fellow Howe Cup organizer and Captain-in-crime. Though Tracy has only played squash for a couple of years, her game may fool you and tell you otherwise. Not only did Tracy help to ensure that all the logistics (T-shirt size, skirt size, shoe size... and others I shall not mention) were well planned out-- she was also an inspiration to all on court. She ran, oh she can really run, fought, and exemplified such great sportsmanship. Lastly, but certain not the least, special thanks to NY Squash for allowing this event to be possible. This year, NY Squash subsidized all entry fees for the NY Squash ladies who willingly participated in this event. In addition, they worked with Harrow to provide the team with team t-shirts, which of course, helped in intimidating our opponents.

It is also of great honor to share with you guys that our very own NY Squash President, Jessica Green, as well as the Chair of NY Squash’s women’s committee, Emily Stieff, were honored at the Howe Cup tournament party. Both of them were awarded the US Squash Achievement Bowl award. This award is given out to the women who have showed commendable sportsmanship and made significant contribution to the advancement of the game. Jessica and Emily were aptly chosen for the award-- for they grew women’s squash to where it is today through both their tenacity and some say, marketing prowess. Congratulations, Jessica and Emily!

Howe Cup 2011

2011-11-02T04:57:00.001-07:00

Photo: Teams NYC with Coach David Hughes, Captains Sarah Odell and Tracy Gates, StreetSquash director Sasha and StreetSquash parent volunteers.

How(e) did the New York Teams do at Howe Cup?

Baltimore’s Meadow Mill Athletic Club hosted the 3-day event, comprising 200 women representing 36 teams from all over the country. This was the impression left by the New York team. First: there were a lot of us, with five singles teams and 6 doubles teams. Second: we were organized. Not only did we manage to ensure that all our players showed up in time (even with just two hours of sleep the night before, I knew I had to take the 5 a.m. train down from NYC into Baltimore so as not to let my teammates down by being late. Now what happened during my match was a different matter...), but we also traveled with a coach. Last: We looked awesome. NY Squash sponsored our uniforms and we looked totally united with matching outfits. It was JUST like playing college squash all over again (except that the women ranged from ages 13 to 70).

As I look back a week later at the event, my heart still warms up with camaraderie and pride that we all felt during the event. The New York team stuck together for all our matches. We cheered fervently between points; gave evil glares for bad calls; took all of our meals together; and most importantly, we listened to our teammates. I think we were the only team that watched every match and gave advice to any team member during breaks. We didn’t win every game, but because we fought tenaciously for every point, we never really lost.

I think the best illustration of this was during a match by one of our A players. For an entire hour vs. Boston (grrr!), our player rallied point after point. She lunged, gasped for air, volleyed every shot she possibly could bring herself to. You know those moments deep in a point, when you know you have to “step up” to intercept the ball, and despite what your mind knows, you can’t will your body to do it? Well, those were the shots that she was stepping up to make. Her opponent was small, swift to the ball and had that ever so gentle touch that brings a hot squash ball into the nick. At one point, our player asked for a “let” as her opponent struck the ball about 2 inches away from her own body. “No let”, the referee declared. Silence ensued... until a shriek pierced into the air, “WHYYYYYYY NO LETTTTTTTTT?”

Now one can only imagine the frustration that a player feels when calls go against them. Especially in an 11 points PAR scoring system, each call is pivotal to the end result of a game. One can argue that, as long as you are a good and clean enough squash player (and I will argue that at the top level, women do push and shove each other, and playing “good” squash is never as clean as one imagines it to be), the calls should not affect the end result of a game. But in all honesty, there are several, if not many reasons why we are not professional, touring squash players. Let us just leave it at that.

The “Meadow-Mill-shattering” shriek made me realize something. New York squash players are strong. I do not know if it is the nature of us being seasoned New Yorkers, but each player that I have watched walk on that court had a spark of strength burning fiercely in their eyes. Everyone played the best squash that they possibly could. Sweat poured down their foreheads as they lunged as far as they could, and throughout it all, they did it with a smile at the end of the match. The tournament culminated in a night of fun and an endless flow of libation to celebrate the success of Howe Cup. We formed Conga lines, strutted around the Baltimore Museum of Art like models on Project Runway…well, some of us anyway. No names, but I won’t say who was more 'Runway' and who was more of a ‘Project’. We ate, sang, and danced. We befriended more female squash players over a weekend than we had in more than a year. It was glorious.

Now, on to Howe Cup 2012. NY Squash will undoubtedly show up with a vengeance, the kind that will scare the other teams away...obviously.

Tournament of Champions - Finals Photos

2011-01-28T08:29:00.000-08:00

3-Minute Rally! Semi-Final Conversations

2011-01-27T06:48:00.000-08:00

Ramy Ashour

Rob White: You and your brother were in intense conversation there.

Ramy Ashour: Yeah. It was all good – we were giving each other impression of the match. Some days - days like today – when you do good work, you have to think about it and re-play it and hopefully it can sink in, be imprinted inside your head for the next time.

RW: A couple of days ago when I spoke to you, you said you were working towards being 100%. You feel like you’re getting closer after tonight’s match?

RA: Yeah, the last two months I’ve been trying to get back to 100%. I’m trying to. I think today was better than yesterday- everyday it gets better. It’s all about confidence, and being able to mentally take it out of my mind and move naturally - because the problem is that when you’re injured on court, you change a bit of your footwork and the way you move as well. So you try to get back out on the court and do the same things naturally as you’ve always done.

RW: Well, to my eye, you appeared to be moving quite freely. James, on the other hand, did not appear so. Did you get a sense that he wasn’t moving quite as well as he normally does?

RA: You know, I didn’t really feel a difference. James always moves so well. But you know, sometimes when we play, he has good days and bad days, sometimes I have good days and bad days. It comes down who’s taking that step forward into the court- so maybe I had a little bit more of a jump tonight.

RW: Do you feel like you’re peaking at the right time – the final tomorrow night?

RA: I’m trying to! (smiling)

Nick Matthew

Rob White: After Amr hit the service return smash nick on your match point at 10-9 in the 5^th, what goes through your mind after that point – do you think the squash gods are against you or are you more

Nick Matthew: Well, it’s interesting, he (Shabana) sort of stood far up the court and I thought he’d take a step back once I served, so I fired in low and it went straight onto his racquet – it was like a feed, I couldn’t believe it! (laughter) I thought I was a bit naïve to fall for it more than anything. And I also felt like, if he was going to go for it, it’s such a fine margin, then maybe the odds were in my favor if he was going to go for it. Obviously, it was quite a heartbreaking moment especially since I had match ponts in the 4^th game as well – just to see that go in as well. But fortunately, I managed to get it in the end. But yeah, it’s cliché, but you just got forget about it when it happens and focus on the next point. And we both had some times in the 4^th where we weren’t happy with a couple of the referee’s decisions. But you have to re-focus really quick because the next point’s right there.

RW: Talk about the crowd tonight- you guys had them fired up!

NM: Yeah, they were great. But it’s a balance. You have to feed off of it, yet be in control. I read somewhere that Peter Nicol said that it took him like four or five years to adapt to that. You know, hopefully I’ll get it right- I’ve played here a lot of years now, so hopefully…

RW: I’ll let you get out here on this one because I know you’re wiped and want to get out of here…you’re the #1 player in the world and you’ve just come off the court - you’re exhausted, and there’s 30-40 kids lined up here to get your autograph. And I watched you patiently sign each and every one, patiently take a photo with them, talk with them. You take the responsibilities of being #1 pretty seriously, don’t you?

NM: (pause) It’s worth it. I get the most enjoyment seeing them enjoy it, so it’s a pleasure.

James Wilstrop

Rob White: James, it appeared to me that you didn’t seem to get into a groove tonight.

James Wilstrop: No, not really, no. (pause) I wasn’t that bad, but I wsn’t that good. Some of it was me, but a lot of it was down to Ramy’s exceptional play. And that happens sometimes- whoever you are. (pause) But you know, I’ve been playing squash at an intense level for the last six months or so now with very little rest, recuperation time, and I’ve kind of exceeded my expectations in reaching the finals and semis…so, some days it’s going to fall apart. Not saying it fell apart tonight, but it wasn’t great. It’s disappointing on such a big occasion – I gave everything I had.

RW: What’s next for you?

JW: We have the national championships - a big tournament back in England, so that’s the next thing.

RW: So, no rest?

JW: No.

RW: The New York fans love you – could you feel the support out there?

JW: Yes, I could. It’s a wonderful place, a wonderful crowd. I’m sad I couldn’t give them more to cheer about, but we had some wonderful rallies so I hope we gave them a good show.

Tournament of Champions - Day 4 Photos

2011-01-26T09:03:00.001-08:00

3-Minute Rally! A Conversation with Wael El Hindi

2011-01-25T11:42:00.000-08:00

Rob White: Just spoke with Alister about his move to New York City. You made the move some time ago yourself.

Wael El Hindi: Well, as you can see, squash is growing here. It’s on the rise. That’s why a lot of pros have moved here. I think there’s a benefit economically to coming here. And hopefully we can continue to develop the juniors here – you know, the future looks good for American squash - we have Amanda Sobhy doing great, the first American to win a world championship. And the path is changing now- it’s not just about going to good colleges – they kids are thinking world championships and trying to take squash to the next level here in the States.

RW: You do a little coaching, right?

WEH: I coach a bit when I’m not on the tour. But I tell you, a couple of weeks ago, I was at the US Junior Open. 750 juniors – the biggest junior tournament in the world! This shows you how passionate squash has become and how big it’s going to be going forward. And I believe it’s important – if we truly want to get squash into the Olympics- that it continues to grow here in the States.

RW: What do you think of the crowd’s energy at the Tournament this year?

WEH: NYC has the best energy anywhere in the world! The crowd- the people- aaah! The audience here gives the player 25-30% more energy to play than what you have in any other place in the world! It’s just by them being so very into it – they stand up and roar – this is what makes the Tournament of Champions tournament so special and why everybody wants to come and play here!

RW: Back briefly to your move to the States - did you get grief from your fellow Egyptians after the move?

WEH: No grief, but some thought it’d be hard because there are fewer training partners here. We have Alister here now – unfortunately, we had to play each other the 2^nd round and he won. But we’re still friends! (laughter) I’m very happy he made the move, and of course we’ll be training partners. And hopefully more players will make the move to come here as well!

RW: I assume the move will make travel easier in some respects.

WEH: Yes, it’s so easy to travel from New York City. Sometimes, at the beginning of the season starting in Hong Kong and Ausralia, it can be a little far. But as you can see now, the other players have to travel here, take a cab, stay in a hotel - I just take the subway! (laughter) And sleep in my own bed!

RW: It’s been a pleasure, Wael! Best of luck going forward!

WEH: Thanks, Rob!

3-Minute Rally! A Conversation with Ramy Ashour

2011-01-25T11:01:00.000-08:00

I chatted briefly with Ramy Ashour, the former world #1 and top seed at this year's Tournament of Champions, following his match against David Palmer - a win in four games. We spoke about his health, his brother Hisham's play of late, and the brothers' squash academy.

Rob White: How are you doing physically? –

Ramy Ashour: I feel better, but not 100% for sure. It was a good match I think. David's giving it all, and I too. I'm very happy for the win. And I have confidence now to play in the semi-finals for sure.

RW: Congratulations on that, and to your brother, Hisham. He lost to Peter Barker last night, but how do you feel about his resurgence?

RA: I’m very happy for him! If he keeps going this way, he can reach the top 10 – easily! He just has to continue to train as hard as he’s been doing these days and stay disciplined with that. And you know, keep the confidence up.

RW: I know you’ve been asked this a thousand times, but what’s it like having a brother that’s a world class squash player like yourself?

RA: Yes, thank you. That’s why we don’t have coaches now. (laughter) We’re each other’s coach. We’re pushing each other, training together, doing drills together - we’re changing our squash. We both know a lot about squash from our experiences. We’ve seen a lot of it and been through a lot of things on the court. And back home, we have a supportive squash community and everyone just loves the game from a very young age, in all the clubs - squash is a national game, so that support makes you focus and appreciate the game of squash and want to give it your all. Me and my brother push each other out of love for each other and for the game.

RW: It’s obvious that you both love the game by your play on the court. But you’re showing your love for the game off the court as well - what’s going on with the Academy?

RA: Yes, thank you for mentioning that. It’s coming. We’re holding it back a little bit - now with the travel, it’s kind of hard. But there’s still work going on with it. Hopefully when we finish this period, we’ll be able to go back and start it up.

RW: Why is this important to you- an academy?

RA: Well, it’s a turning point in both of our lives. We have a big responsibility – it’s something we must do. We’ve been dreaming about this since we were kids, and if we succeed in doing this the way we want, it’ll be special. We want to teach younger kids – give them all of the tips and drills to be great squash players.

RW: Not a lot of athletes, in any sport, do this while in the middle of their careers -

RA: Well, it’s a personal thing. And squash is something my brother and I do very well, and it’s our way of giving back. Squash is all we know and have. We can’t work in anything else but squash! (laughter) I wasn’t very successful with my education, so…

RW: Come on! You’d work as a track star- there'd be no Usain Bolt, just Ramy!

RA: No way! (laughter)

RW: What would you be doing if you didn’t have squash?

RA: Man, I honestly don’t know. I’m thankful – so thankful to God for having squash and for being able to perform at this level. And to keep striving – man, I’m just very thankful for the game - not just for me, but everyone around me and associated with the game. Everyone that’s given me their time and effort and support – my parents, my manager, my brother - everyone! The promoters – John Nimick has done such an amazing good job here with this wonderful tournament – they’re trying to take the game to a new level. And, of course, my sponsor, Ziad Al-Turki - the guy is doing a huge effort trying to raise the game. Everyone’s trying to raise the game – I’m so thankful for it all!

RW: Talk a bit more about the future - any Egyptian superstar juniors in the pipeline?

RA: Man, we have a lot! We have bags of juniors! (laughter) No, really, bags of them! It’s amazing how kids just go on court and are doing tricks without learning them – they just come up with it naturally!

RW: Not naturally – they see you and your brother do what you do on the court!

RA: No, no, thank you - I don’t think so – I think it’s in the genes! (laughter)

RW: This has been a pleasure – best of luck going forward, Ramy!

RA: Thank you so much!

3-Minute Rally! A Conversation with Gilly Lane

2011-01-25T09:59:00.000-08:00

I was able to track down Gilly Lane as he was dashing to the airport to head to Detroit for the Motor City Open PSA Tournament. Gilly was defeated in the qualifying draw at this year's Tournament of Champions by Chris Ryder. Gilly and I spoke about the loss, his mental approach to the game, and his development going forward.

Rob White: G-Lane!

Gilly Lane: Hey, how’s it going!

RW: Are you going to be able to get out with the snow?

GL: We got nothing here in Philly!

RW: Lucky you! Though I guess that’s something you have to deal with on the regular – delays and such.

GL: Yeah, its kind of one delay after another – inclement weather, broken down plane, just usual in the life of an athlete. It’s just one of the things you just learn to do – having been on the tour for four years now, you get kind of used to having these types of things being thrown your way. The first year you learn how to deal with them - you go through your routine and then something throws it off, and you learn to adjust. And over the years, you get used to it - weather delay, match delayed for whatever reason – you just have to be ready for anything and everything. All of the guys are used to spending so much time in airports, we’re used to dealing with it all at this point.

RW: We missed you at the TOC this year – what happened there?

GL: Well, you know, Chris (Ryder) played really well. You know, he’s been having a lot of good results lately- he's had some good wins lately. He just went five games with Razik and almost made the 2^nd round this year. He’s a good player – I kept him on court for 54 minutes, so it was good. He played really well, and sometimes you just have to tip your hat to the guy and say he was much better on that day and well played, and you learn from it and move on.

RW: That’s a very mature attitude to have. That’s something we all should learn – sometimes the other guy is just better that day.

GL: Yeah, exactly. I’m pretty tough on myself- the hardest person on myself is me and sometimes that’s actually a negative in terms of moving forward. But you have to accept that on some days, guys are just going to be better and you can’t beat yourself up over it. It’s definitely one of the things I constantly work on because I consider myself a very competitive person. So, trying to take those losses and turn them into positives is important to me. And at these tournaments, especially the Tournament of Champions, you’re getting the best of the best. You’re playing the best players in the world, on the biggest stage in the world. Everybody’s coming to play – there are no easy matches. You learn from the loss and use it for future tournaments.

RW: Well said. You’re a Philly guy!

GL: UPENN!!

RW: UPENN – great school. Do you go back and visit the school, the squash program, and coaches?

GL: Yeah, I’m actually now part-time assistant and helping out with the squash program. So, I’m helping with the recruiting, and getting the players in the right frame of mind before they play - I’m at the matches when I’m around. Of course, playing is my number one objective; I’m still around the team and program quite a bit.

RW: That’s great. I spoke with Ramy about the Academy he and Hisham are starting back in Egypt and they have their own reasons for doing that. I think it’s a great thing- a selfless thing, especially when you guys are still in the prime of your squash lives- to give back in some way. It’s a great way to honor the game.

GL: Thank you. Absolutely. That’s very important to me. And for me, specifically, I had such a great experience in college at Penn. I love the place so much, and now I have an opportunity to give back and kind of maybe make a mark, or a difference, in the program. I’d like nothing more than for the guys to have the same experience I had at the school. I had a great four years – I loved every second of it! And being part of a college team is also great as well. I want everyone to have the same experience I had.

RW: How’s the training going- you’re recovering from an injury? And what do feel you have to do to break through to the next level?

GL: Well, I had an early taste of success. Broke into the top 50 early – had a career win against Peter Barker, who, at the time, was world #7. But that was just one match - I have to string a few more together. Lately, I’ve had the hamstring issue from September to December, so coming back from that. I was in Amsterdam and training five hours a day, five days a week and it’s given me my base for how I train now. Now I’m working with John White – he’s my new coach - and I’m trying to take knowledge from what he’s accomplished – and he’s done a lot, obviously – he got to World #1. So, trying to implement things he’s taught me into my game. And you know, sometimes you‘ve got to take a few steps backward to go forward –

RW: Tell me about it!

GL: (laughter) - and I think that’s kind of the process I’m in now. I’m ranked #59 now, and that’s not a negative thing. I'm looking forward to continue working with John and seeing where I’ll be six months from now. He’s been there and done that, and I'm just taking everything he has to say in and using it in my game.

RW: Where do you get this maturity and level-headedness from?

GL: Well, my parents brought me up well – I think they taught me well! (laughter)

RW: I think they’ve done a great job. I appreciate you taking the time before you head out to Detroit! Safe travels and best of luck there and down the road!

GL: Thanks a lot!

Tournament of Champions - Day 3 Photos

2011-01-25T06:26:00.001-08:00

Tournament of Champions - Day 2 Photos

2011-01-24T08:18:00.000-08:00

3-Minute Rally! A Conversation with Alister Walker

2011-01-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

Behind the scenes at this year's Tournament of Champions, I sat down with Alister Walker following his 1st round victory over Wael El Hindi. Over tea and biscuits (chocolate-chip cookies), we spoke of his recent move to New York City, the theater, and his recent comments on England Squash.

Robert White: You’re a New Yorker now!

Alister Walker: Yes! Living up in Harlem!

RW: Talk about the move – was it you wanting a change of pace, a lifestyle change, something else- something spiritual?

AW: I don’t know that I can put it all down to spiritual reasons, but it was certainly a case where I wasn’t happy. I left Botswana where I was born and lived until I was fifteen, then moved to England - my dad’s English, so I’ve always had a great affinity for England. I’m a citizen – I’m a national, but it’s never really been home to me. So I felt I need a change where I could be stimulated mentally and physically, and New York City made too much sense. I’m living with my cousin in Harlem, and Harlem has a lot to offer and suits me – there’s a huge African heritage there, and I love the cultures and being able to eat all of that delicious food! New York City made sense, but Harlem makes even better sense.

RW: Any similarities between Botswana and Harlem?

AW: Well not right now - it’s freezing cold right now! (laughter) Ask me in the summer and I might give you a totally different answer! But, just to walk down the street and hear African people and see the way they laugh and that sense of humor, yeah, there’s things about Harlem that’s quite homely.

RW: And in terms of squash, does this move to NYC represents a jumpstart or re-boot, so to speak, of your squash career?

AW: Well, it coincides with the new year nicely, and I’ve been able to put a few things that bothered me last year behind me, and being able to be some place new, with new energy – so, we’ll see! In terms of training, it’s great - there’s enough players here to get a good hit with, and there’s always top players from the Tour coming through the city quite regularly. I think people in Europe, for a long time now, though that you’d move to the States when you finish your career - you know, you sort of wind down and you ‘re looking to get into coaching – but that’s certainly not the case for me. So, I’m in a situation where I may be the first to move here with, what some would say, are my best squash years coming up.

RW: The City has a lot of distractions- how are you dealing with those?

AW: Well, I like to go out and have a god time, but I’m not the type of personality to go out partying or drinking through the night. But, truthfully, I do need to get out and spend more time away from squash circles! The music scene’s unbelievable up in Harlem! – and in all of the city, obviously. So it’ll be nice to be able to enjoy myself socially, without doing anything detrimental to the squash - listening to live music and things like that.

RW: What’s better? Broadway or the West End?

AW: (laughter and a long pause) To be honest, I love them both! But I’m not going to be diplomatic (laughter) - I am going to choose one, so I’d say the West End still for me. But to be honest, I haven’t sampled enough of the Broadway theater district, so I might have to get back to you. I think it’ll be tough to beat the London Theater with how old it is and how much history there is in those theaters.

RW: Switching gears now, you made headlines a few weeks back when you made some strong comments on squash development in the UK. It didn’t seem to me to be mean-spirited, but rather stated matter-of-factly, but it drew some attention. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/squash/8209526/England-Squash-lacks-integrity-and-barely-deserve-world-champion-Nick-Matthew-says-US-bound-Alister-Walker.html)

AW: Well, certainly, a lot of people obviously don’t like what I said, but a lot of people do like what I said very much. And simply put, I don’t want to be a part of it, but I wish them all the best.

RW: And I’ve seen you interacting with the English players this week- you seem to have remained very close to them.

AW: Yes, all of the players - I have good relations with them still. And the coaches I get along with. So you know, not much has changed. I just don’t want to be a part of the program. I thought they handled some things poorly, and I hope they don’t make those mistakes again.

RW: You singled out Nick Matthew in your comments…

AW: I gave him some props!

RW: You guys are very close friends.

AW: Yes, Nick and I get on well. Obviously, I’ve learned some stuff from him over the years, and he’s learned an awful lot from me! (laughter)

RW: I’m sure he’ll the same! Or the exact opposite!

AW: Joking aside, he had an amazing year last year. He won the PSA player of the year in 2010 – and deservedly so - I don’t think anyone can argue with that. It was his time, and it still is his time. He’s still the player to beat. You can’t fault the guy- because he’s been working hard his whole career since he’s been a young boy in the juniors, and it’s all come together at the right time.

RW: Is it harder to play him? You guys may meet in the 2^nd round this year.

AW: Yes, it definitely is. I once read that he said it’s a bit like a marriage...which I found a strange parallel (laughter). But it’s definitely something there that is different when you play your mates. And while you respect all of your opponents, when you see somebody train day in day out, and you been part of it as we have for each other for a few years now, there’s a sort of understanding of one another which make it more difficult. But, we’re big boys, we put that aside as soon as we step on the court.

RW: You mentioned coaching earlier – will you do any coaching here in the city?

AW: Not totally. I’m currently focusing on my game. There’ll come a time, obviously, when I’ll do some coaching, but it’s not going to be a primary part of my life. But there will be a little bit going on.

RW: I had a great time talking with you- all the best!

AW: Thanks, mate!

Tournament of Champions - Day 1 Photos

2011-01-22T08:37:00.001-08:00

3-Minute Rally! A Conversation with Amr Shabana

2011-01-22T08:23:00.000-08:00

I caught up with Amr Shabana, a two-time winner of the Tournament of Champions, as he was watching Day 1 action from this year's tournament.

Rob White: Talking to you makes me recall your watch against Alister Walker last year and of, course, that you’re a two-time winner here - what is it about New York City that brings out your best?

Amr Shabana: Well, for sure, there’s a lot of positive energy in New York City and in the Tournament as well. It’s the first big major of the year – played in Grand Central Station which is such a monumental place with so much history. And so many people come by the court every day. The American crowd loves their squash, and of course, I’ve won the tournament twice, so it’s very easy to play here.

RW: You’re a veteran of the tour - talk about the challenges of staying at the top as you’ve done.

AS: It’s all about getting your mind and body in check. I was unlucky the last couple years with injuries that put me out for most of thepast two seasons. My knees, slipped disc in my back – it’s been a terrible last two years for me. But I feel my body is coming around again and I’m able to perform now how I want to perform. So everybody has to watch out now! (laughter)

RW: I hear that! Talk some more about New York City – do you find time to enjoy yourself here?

AS: Yeah, it’s a great deal that you can “switch off” after your match and find so much to do here. I have my wife here with me this year – she came with me back in 2007 and now she’s back with me again. So we’ll shop a bit, eat well, go sightseeing – it’s a great city.

RW: And does your wife here watching you provide added pressure when you play? It does for me when my wife watches me!

AS: Well, you’re more focused for sure. Simply having her here to take care of little things for me – make sure I eat , for example, and just take care of me. It’s always a pleasure to have her watch me play!

RW: One last question – what are your thoughts on the scoring format at the World Series Final last week?

AS: I think the format works better, definitely, when you have to play matches every day. Obviously, when you have the top eight players in the world, it’s asking a lot for the crowd to sit through four best of five matches over that amount of time. Best of three makes it fast and exciting – I think it was the right format to use for the top eight and the PSA should stick with that in that 8-man format going forward.

RW: Thanks for your time, Amr!

3-Minute Rally! A Conversation with David Palmer

2011-01-22T08:17:00.000-08:00

Fresh off the court after his straight game win over American #1, Julian Illingworth, in the 1st round of the 2011 Tournament of Champions, I caught up with David Palmer cooling down on the bike.

Rob White: Congratulations on your win, David. Julian gave you all you could handle tonight.

David Palmer: Yeah, it was a pretty solid match. It wasn’t the best I ever played - wasn’t the worst. It was a good solid match and I did enough to win. I used my experience when I needed to and sort of felt I was in control of the match, and glad I was able to close it out in 3-0.

RW: Do you find that when you play the younger guys now, you rely more on your experience. Of course, you’re in great shape and you have great athleticism, but I assume you call on that experience more now during tough situations.

DP: To a degree, yes. Of course, I’m a bit smarter at this stage of my career, though not as fast and fit as I used to be. I’m 34, nearly 35, so, I have to be a bit smarter. But it frustrates me sometimes because I love to play fast, but I know to play my game I have to be more careful these days - I have to sort of pace myself. And I thought I did that tonight. In the past, I probably would’ve pulled away in the 2^nd and won much easier, but I was just trying to pace myself tonight. And I know Julian’s a pretty fit guy, too. I saw him last week from two-love down and nearly beat Olli (Tuominen) in five, so I’m really happy to get through 3-0 and put myself in a good position going forward.

RW: You’re still in amazing shape, but how has your training regiment changed over the years?

DP Well, obviously I’m not working as hard. Body can’t take the amount of training that I used to do. (laugh) Obviously, I was one of the fittest guys for a long time. I still feel deep down I’ve got to be smart about my training, and look after the body – it’s more about trying to protect my body. It’s tougher because the game’s getting so much faster with guys like Ramy and all the young guys playing incredibly fast- it’s not easy. So, it’s about keeping my body strong and injury free, but still try to keep up with them. But I’m hanging in there.

RW: You reside in FL, but you spend quite a lot of time in New York City -

DP: Yes, I’m full time in Florida but I’m up here 4-5 times a year. I love New York City – it’s a fun place, and the tournament of Champions has always been one of my favorite tournaments.

RW: Do you find time to enjoy the city when you’re here or is it all business?

DP: Obviously, I’m a bit more relaxed than I used to be, so I do enjoy myself when I’m here. I have plenty of friends around that I see when I’m here, and I’ve got my two families that I coach up here this weekend – their kids who I coach are playing in the junior event, so we’ll be watching them obviously. I try to pick and choose my times to relax, but I try to socialize a bit more than I used to, but stilly try to make the most of what I have now in the tournament. And I’ll see how it goes on Sunday!

RW: Well, thanks for your time, David, and best of luck going forward.

DP: Thanks, been my pleasure.

Run to the Roar

2010-12-10T13:45:00.000-08:00

Few books I have read in my life have stirred such a strong emotional response in me. In part because of my love for the game, in part because I know many of the key characters, and in large part because I can relate to the human drama that is woven into the book from start to finish.

It can be very hard to do the right thing when it comes to those you love. And it can be hard to follow your dreams, especially when those dreams take you to the other side of the world, far from the comforts and protections of everything and everyone you know so well. Both of these themes are familiar to me and are addressed again and again in the book.

'Run to the Roar' is a book by Paul Assaiante, Trinity head squash coach, and James Zug, acclaimed squash writer. It is a wonderful roller-coaster of joy and despair, triumph and tragedy. It neatly summarizes the events of one day in February 2009 when Trinity played Princeton in a College Squash Association finals in Princeton, New Jersey. Assaiante dedicates a chapter to each player.

In addition to the outcome of each match is a back story about the Trinity student, his character, his relationship with Paul and how he came to be there on that day. The tension escalates throughout the book and culminates in the final match played by Trinity number one, Baset Chaudhry. The epilogue mentions an even more infamous match played by Chaudhry against Yale's Ken Chan which ended on every sports channel on TV - the infamous outburst at the end of the match. But this particular moment is a non-event in the book. It is first mentioned on the last page. So if you are looking for gore, look elsewhere.

This is a story of pressure, passion, courage and victory. This is a human story and is less about squash and more about what it takes to successfully lead a bunch of young men to overcome their fears and achieve greatness in sport.

You may be interested to know that I sat next to Chaudhry recently at a tournament dinner and I can tell you with certainty that his outburst was completely out of character and he should never by judged by it. He was nothing but polite and respectful and humble. In fact, I would go as far as to say that he has a very sweet and charming way about him. But you also get the distinct feeling that he is a very determined and serious young man. The book will tell you more.

I encourage you to buy 'Run to the Roar' (get it at Amazon.com) and I sincerely hope you enjoy reading the book and that it moves you the way it did me. And after you finish it you will feel like you know Paul Assaiante and the players on his team of 2009 very well, and you will like all these characters very much. Furthermore, no matter your college affiliation, you will inevitably come to respect Coach Paul for what he has achieved. It is a special story that will be told for generations to come.

Read more from Brett at www.brettssquashblog.com

Flip Flop Squash

2010-12-05T19:37:00.000-08:00

by Tracy Gates

I lift a flip flopped foot over the seat and hop on the back of the scooter. I am wearing cut-offs, an MSRA tank top, and a Wilson backpack that has two Prince Tour handles sticking out. My 'chauffeur' revs the engine and we rumble down the drive, make a right turn at the large palm tree , and zoom up the road past lush green flora, coral and baby blue cottages, and red bougainvillea. I breath in the loamy, sea-salty air and can’t believe I’m here. On the island of Bermuda, on my way to play squash, having one of the best weekends of my life.

home base for NY, NE teams

Ironically, the weekend before had racked up with one of the worst (on a purely hedonistic level, of course). I found out that my squash club’s days were numbered and the sailing trip I’d been looking forward to for months was postponed due to a little tropical storm named Tomas. I could wait and go a week later when the weather cleared, but I’d miss the whole point of going to Bermuda in the first place—the third annual Bermuda-New England-New York tourney which I’d been invited to attend a few months earlier. For about twenty-four hours I tossed around what I wanted to do more—freeze my butt off on a boat for four days in the middle of November or lie on the beach in the sun in between matches. It may seem like a no-brainer to you, but I’m oddly tempted by potentially uncomfortable adventures; however, I couldn't see letting my teammates down so late in the game. Guilt is a powerful incentive. It pressed my finger to the ‘buy ticket now’ button for the airfare to Bermuda.

Sometimes guilt is a good thing. When I hopped off the scooter in front of the low slung home of the Bermuda Squash Racquets Association, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the burgers on the outdoor grill were already sizzling. This is a club that knows how to treat its visitors right. It’s also a club I would’ve loved to have brought home with me—especially now that I’m about to lose mine. The BSRA is not fancy; it is homey. After greeting Dave the burger flipper and club manager, you walk down a few steps into what could pass for your friendly neighborhood pub, complete with tables where you can pull up a chair, a drink, and a few friends. Instead of dartboards, though, plexiglass lines the walls and the melodic thwak of the squash ball echoes in stereo. Two courts on one side, two on the other—one of which is an exhibition court with stadium seating.

To get to the courts, you take the stairs by the bar — oh, right, the bar . . . they call it the 5th court. There’s only one beer on tap—Carlsberg, but many bottles & cans in the fridge, including the cheerful yellow-canned Boddington’s which I believe all respectable squash clubs should serve, along with a 5th court to be served at. — So, back to the stairs. As soon as I began descending, I felt as though I was going back in time; the humid, slightly sweet smell of sweat permeates the narrow hallways outside the courts’ entrances and it was exactly the quality of air that my dad’s equally cozy club, North Shore Tennis, had back when I was a wee thing—well, a teenage wee thing. If you’re not into sense memories, however; a quick trip down the carpeted hall leads you to the air-conditioned locker and weight rooms. The courts, themselves, run a little warm, but, hey, this is Bermuda.

You’d be better-advised to hang out in the in the pub—I mean the viewing area, in between your matches. This area is ideal for socializing and watching your mates' games. If you pull your chair up right, you can watch two matches and order another pint all at the same time. Swivel around and you can watch two more. This place has it 'made in the shade'—which was part of my concern before getting there. Why go to as beautiful a place as Bermuda only to play squash inside? I need not have worried. While we did spend a few hours each day (Thur-Sat) at the courts, it was both a highlight of the trip, as well as only part of three very packed days. I’m not sure if it’s squash players in general, Bermudians in general, or the captains’ good taste in teammates, but if I had to hang out with this crowd every weekend, I wouldn’t be unhappy. Squash is an excellent common denominator.

With four teams (two Bermuda, one NY, one NE), each team played each other once over the weekend. Guys vs. guys. Girls vs. girls. (I’m not opposed to this, but I’m voting for mixing it up next year, and play according to ability, not gender.) While many matches seemed more congenial than cut-throat, there were some amazing ones to be witnessed. It’s particularly gratifying to see a guy with gray hair, say, out maneuver one half his age. And now we know that “you’ve got an easy one” are fightin’ words when our number one man from New York made his Bermudian opponent jump all over the court in order to capture (by one match) the tournament crown for Bermuda.

Swimming at Horseshoe Bay

It was sad to see such a fun and friendly tournament end, but the New York and New England teams still had breathtaking beaches to see, winding roads to ride, and around every corner another rainbow to gawp at. Throw in an evening of fine dining compliments of the Bermuda Department of Tourism, the finals of the World Rugby Classic, a few pitchers of “Dark & Stormys”, some dubious dancing, and very little sleep and I’d say I got more than my money’s worth.

By weekend’s end I was just getting into the Bermudian groove. But before I knew it I was on the plane, back to the almost winter winds of NYC, and now that heavenly squash weekend feels like a distant memory. Part of me wonders, how could next year’s tournament possibly equal this one? But that’s the beauty of it; like every great match, it’ll be different. Same place, same time of year, but a whole new adventure. Maybe I’ll see you there . . . I’ll be the one in flip flops.

For photos of the teams, Bermuda, etc., visit my blogsite, www.squeakyfeet.wordpress.com

Master and Professor

2010-11-05T08:52:00.000-07:00

by Tracy Gates

The guy hops around the court like a jujube on caffeine. Bearing a passing resemblance to Tintin (le coiffeur, anyway), he windmills his arms, darts his eyes from left to right, and talks a mile a microsecond. But I hang on every word, every wild gesture, because these fifteen minutes every Thursday have become the most valuable of my week.

Welcome to the classroom of Professor Musto. Joined by the calmer, quieter, but no less wiser Master Hughes (his distinctive white hair tied back with a bandana), these two terrific dons of squash have been turning the StreetSquash courts into a squash seminary for two hours every Thursday for the past few months. Thanks to the inspired idea of a few MSRA folk and the organization of Howe Cup Captains Sarah Odell and Marcia Salovitz, Musto and Hughes have been coaching the women playing in the Howe Cup this weekend. Don’t know what the Howe Cup is? Well, if you’re a guy, you’re out of luck, ‘cause you can’t play in it. And if you’re a woman, you should mark your calendar for next November and double circle it in red; you just don’t want to miss the most fun to be had since doing dope and dancing to Madonna in your best friend’s dorm room (I plead the 5th). Anyway, trust me.

But back to those fifteen minutes. Since I was never a good note-taker in school, and since I paid the seminary fees (reasonable as they were) and you didn’t, there’s no way I’m going to be able to impart all the amazing things I learned. That where you put your feet may actually be more important (initially) then where you put your racquet. Why the three wall boast from the back corner is not a great idea, but why you should compliment your opponent every time they do it. Which foot the ball should be near when striking for a volley, rail, boast, and cross-court. When to let/not let the ball go to the back wall. When and where to shoot. In some ways, it may have been too much for my brimming over brain to take in, but I found myself immensely grateful for every word and gesture that was flung my way. As a friend says, there’s always osmosis.

However, there was one lesson that was repeated again and again. And that, you lucky dogs, I will share with you. It happened like this. Everytime Professor Musto would demonstrate a shot - a boast or a drop or a volley or a serve, he’d critique it. Something like, 'Should’ve been a little to the left. Am I going to just keep hitting the ball until it goes there?' And then he’d shake his head as if he were a rabid dog jumping out of water. 'No-o-o-o-o-o-o! I’m going to adjust my racquet, or my swing, or my feet, or all of the above until I get it where I want it.' And then he’d try the shot again, demonstrating a small adjustment, and - bingo - the ball would go where he wanted it. No guesswork for the professor.

Adjustment. The first time this came up, it rang a little bell. I flashed back to all the countless hours of rails and drops and boasts I’d practiced with friends or by myself. Yes, I’d try to hit deeper or straighter or somethinger, but more often than not I was just getting the ball back. More often than not, there was no one to suggest a different technique, so it didn’t change much. It didn’t occur to me that I could tell myself to change my technique. Because, as a mostly unschooled player, what did I know? Well, more than I think -- because if you do think there’s plenty you can do to change the outcome of a shot. As the professor continually bored into us, just hitting the ball again and again without any thought as to improvement was just dumb. The equivalent of staying back a grade, year after year. Drills aren’t there just to raise your heart rate; they’re there raise your grades.

Sometimes hitting by yourself helps you realize this. I used to find it incredibly boring, but when there’s no one else around to make fun of you, it’s a great time to fiddle with a shot and make a fool of yourself for a while. One of these days I’m going to pull out that behind the back and through the legs shot....although I still have a ways to go.

But thank god I’m not always left to my own devices. Up at StreetSquash, the professors break us up into groups to practice our lesson for the day. Three wall boasts or cross courts or putting some energy into a ball off the back wall. I try this last one again and again, fascinated by the little hop Professor Musto demonstrates to generate power. Later, Master Hughes glides onto our court and raises an eyebrow. When he takes a ball off the back wall, a gumby-like limb wraps a racquet around the ball and flicks it effortlessly toward the front. No jump necessary. Ah, well, I guess some of us have already made all the adjustments we need.

Howe Cup Training has come to an end. Six teams, thirty women, and two coaches are representing our fair city of New York. We wish them the best.

Get Your Game Face On

2010-10-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

by Tracy Gates

The guy barely looks at me. When I say something to him, he hardly responds. Occasionally, I hear him swear under his breath. He grimaces and drips sweat. If I was anywhere else I would run the other way. Instead, I run toward the ball. The guy is a friend and this is a challenge match.

I think challenge matches are fascinating. I love them and I hate them. And often I dread them more than league or tournament matches. Normally, you aren’t playing a friend, or at least you don’t play on the same team. But challenge matches are all about the team and where you will play on it—or if you’re going to play on it. Which is what I’ve been going through recently. All summer I’ve been playing with these guys—having friendly games, giving friendly advice, and then - boom - it’s take no prisoners, get your game face on.

But as much as it stresses me out—and kind of ruins the few hours before I have to play—I find myself getting back into the competitive groove. And I’m starting to think not just about tactics, but how to slow myself down when I have to move fast. I don’t know about you, but while I like to play fast, I’m much better when I think fast and play slow. Does that make any sense? I don’t want to play too fast, is more like it. I played with a guy the other day who was doing what I’ve been doing too much of—cheating off the T. Instead of watching the ball—and me—he tried to anticipate where I was going to hit the ball. I know the sequence of events too well. You hit your shot and then you think - huh, I bet he’ll hit over there, so I’m gonna start going there. Thud. Thud. Only he doesn’t. Because he sees you starting to go or lean that way, and even though a rail may be a cleaner, better shot for him, you’re already leaning that way, so he lobs a cross-court. And you’re screwed. See, I’ve been there.

But I’m honestly trying to stop. If I came away with any good squash tips from Keep Eye on Ball, the excellent not-to-be-missed film about Hashim Khan http://www.squashfilms.com/ , it was just that. I can hear his long-voweled Pakastani-accented english in my ear. Keep. Eye. On. Ball. If only it was so simple.

The other tip that’s helping me slow down between shots is the jump, thanks to the advice of a pro or two. As soon as you see your opponent just about to s-w-i-n-g . . . jump! Well, not like you’re going for a basket, but just enough so that both feet (barely) leave the ground and come down together. So that you’re BALANCED, and ready to go anywhere. You might think that this takes up too much precious time, but, trust me, it works. If you do it that is, which is what I’m working on....

Now the guys’ team I was on last year played challenge matches all the time. I kind of got the sense that unless we said it wasn’t a challenge match, it was. But my women’s team didn’t start playing them until the end of the season, when I figured we’d better know our exact line-up for play-offs . . . if we got that far. I can’t speak for the rest of the team, but I found it much more stressful. We were a pretty social group by this point, and to use our game faces against each other just seemed wrong. But, then again, most of us agreed that it was great for our game. I’m sure I’ll be proven wrong as soon as I say this, but after years of playing on ‘girls’ teams, I have observed that girls do tend to be friendlier and chattier on the court. I’m a big advocate of good court manners, but there’s a lot to be said for getting a game face on. And getting used to it.

It might even be good for some situations off the court. Asking for a raise. Debating your in-laws. Getting a table at your favorite no-rez restaurant. Think about how focused you are in a match. Evaluating your opponent. Regaining your balance. Not being tempted by showy but low-percentage shots. Keeping your eye on what’s important. Ah, me. I could use all of this in real life. For now, though, I think I’ll stick to the challenge of squash.

Searching for Squash in Mongolia....

2010-09-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

By Tracy Gates

My legs hurt. My butt hurt. And other parts of me were so sore, I winced whenever I sat down. Too many hours of squash? It felt like it. . . . but, no, it was too many hours of my big American butt in a small Mongolian saddle. I had ridden for hours to see the thousands of years old ‘deer stones’—Mongolia’s version of Stonehenge—and now I was paying for it.

As some of you know, I recently traveled to Mongolia to pick up my mother who has been serving in the Peace Corps for two years. In fact, I started typing this from the Peace Corps office in Ulaanbaatar or UB, the capital of Mongolia. But what does a country almost half-way around the world from New York have to do with squash? Well, besides squash butt and horse riding butt feeling uncomfortably similar, more than one would think.

First, though, here’s a little background on Mongolia. Some people describe it as the size of Alaska, with the population of Minneapolis, which is in the three million range. But who besides an Alaskan really has any idea how big that state is? So try this: consider the distance from New York to Denver, then from Albany to Miami. That’s roughly the width and height. Pretty big, huh? And nary a squash court in sight. Not that I covered every kilometer. But you can stand in most parts of Mongolia and see for nearly a hundred miles in every direction, so I did see quite a lot.

Some people have asked me what season it is right now in Mongolia—I guess thinking that it’s in the southern hemisphere. Nope. Although I can empathize; two years ago I was hard pressed myself to give Mongolia’s exact location. But I can tell you now that it’s west and north of parts of China, south of Siberia, and just east of Kazakhstan (which shares its language with far west Mongolia, but is separated by slivers of China and Russia). Many adventurous travelers take the Trans-Siberian Railway, whose trans-Mongolian route runs from Moscow, through Mongolia, and on to Beijing. Conveniently, for my not so great math brain, it’s twelve hours ahead of NYC, at least during our daylight savings time, so I just had to remember that Mom’s dinnertime was my getting up time.

My mother was a 3x a week squash player before she took off for Mongolia. She came to love Mongolia so much that she says she really didn’t miss anything too terribly back here in the States (hey, what about me, mom?). But when reminded of the three sparkling white singles courts and the only doubles court on Boston’s northshore waiting for her in the brand new YMCA near her home, she admitted to some excitement. Mother, like daughter, likes a good sweat, and she hadn’t done much of that in the -30 F degree temps that are common in the Mongolian winter. Her frontier-style house was heated only by a small wood-burning stove. Ever had to thaw ice for your morning coffee?

Coincidentally, while her Y at home was being built, an extensive renovation was being made to a local sports arena in her Mongolian neighborhood. It was round, painted a Pepto Bismal pink, topped with a royal blue roof, and echoed the shape of the traditional Mongolian single-roomed house, the ger (rhymes with hair), which is easy to pack up and take with you when your goats run out of grass. The wrestling palace, as it is called, is not so portable. It could’ve easily housed a few dozen squash courts from the size of it. Instead, it will feature one wrestling ring. Wrestling is the national sport, followed by horse racing and archery. All three are celebrated during Naadam, their big countrywide festival in July. They look forward to it as much as New York City squash players look forward to the Grand Open. Possibly more. But let’s be glad we get to wear shorts and a t-shirt. Mongolian wrestlers show off a bit more of their physique in a costume that makes a woman’s bikini look demure. Legend has it, in fact, that the costume was created after a woman womped all the guys. So to ensure their not being womped again, they created a chest-baring vest and speedo-sized knickers so that one’s, um, gender-specific parts were a bit more obvious. After that, I guess women decided it wasn’t worth it. But if it had been squash, I’m sure they would’ve found a way around it.

I did ask a few people if they knew of any squash courts in Mongolia, but besides the fact that my Mongolian consists of only a few non-squash specific phrases (“Have you slept well?”) and my standard English explanation ‘it’s kind of like racquetball, only better’ was met with blank stares, I didn’t get very far. The only racquet sport that did ring a bell was table tennis, which makes sense for Mongolians because it’s movable (it’s a nomadic culture, remember) and can be played in whatever you’re wearing. Even your wrestling duds.

But the pressing question on all of your minds, I’m sure, is: will squash ever be played in Mongolia? It certainly has the room for it. Scads. And the climate (ever felt minus thirty?) to make indoor activity preferable much of the year. Perhaps a new ball could be introduced: the double white dot. But are Mongolians suited to squash? Riding along on the bony back of my Mongolian mare, gazing into the vast oceanic emptiness of achingly gorgeous countryside, I thought about this…
...and came up with some reasons why they might be. Although please excuse my considerable generalizing.

Spontaneity: Squash players often play last minute (well, I do). Mongolians do everything last minute. They’d be great for a pick-up game.

Sociability: Squash players are a friendly sort. We like to hang out and have a beer. Mongolians like their airag (fermented mare’s milk). They pass around a large bowl of it, from which everyone drinks. Someone invariably starts singing. I’m sure we’d have a great time together after the game.

Strong glutes: Squash players have them from squatting over the ball. Mongolians have them from squatting over most everything else, including food, fire, flat tires, and the hole in the ‘jorlong’—the place where you go when you’ve had too much airag. Getting down low comes naturally to Mongolians.

Quick reflexes: Squash players have them from chasing balls. Mongolians have them from chasing sheep, goats, and horses. Not to mention dodging the crazy traffic in UB.

Good balance: Squash players need it to hit a good shot. Mongolians need it to ride horses, rope livestock, and—if you’re female—stay standing on your stilettos as you navigate unpaved roads. Truly, Mongolian women must be the most well-balanced people on the planet; if they could play squash in high heels, they’d probably move faster than you or I in court shoes.

Competitiveness: Squash players compete on a daily basis, on leagues, in tournaments. I’ve never met a squash player who didn’t like to compete at some level. Mongolians love their wrestling matches and horse-races. Genghis Khan may have been the greatest competitor of all time—and given all the children he sired (hundreds!), many Mongolians are related to him; competition is in the their blood.

So getting squash going in Mongolia seems a no brainer. Although as I trotted along through some of the most stunning landscape I’d ever seen, and feeling like an extra in an old timey western, I began to have second thoughts. From what I’ve gleaned, Mongolia seems to be teetering on the knife edge between the technological and big business world of the 21st century and a nomadic, live-off-the-land lifestyle that hasn’t changed much in hundreds if not thousands of years. Keep your head at a certain angle and some streets in Ulaanbaatar don’t look that different than, say, Canal Street, or some of the more hodge-podgy parts of NYC. Cheap Chinese goods for sale, restaurants of various nationalities, billboards advertising cigarettes to cell phones, SUVs threatening to run you over at every corner. We learned that the exceedingly insane traffic in UB is in part due to many Mongolians moving to the city, buying cars, and becoming taxi drivers. Raise your hand and nearly every other car will pull over to give you a ride. Sounds great until you notice the old woman with a cane moving faster than your taxi.

Take that taxi a few miles into the country, however, and you’ll see that time is also moving slower. If Genghis Khan were to drop in on a herder family in the hoodo (countryside), I think he’d feel quite at home, especially if they were to offer his favorite drink, a bowl of airag. While in the Gobi, my family was offered that same refreshment by a weathered yet handsome gentleman squatting before us in his deel—the traditional robe-like garment worn by both men and women, but looks particularly dashing on men. Looking on were two men and three women, one of which was nursing a newborn infant. The young woman sat on the only large piece of furniture in the round-roomed ger, a single bed. Next to it was a large pile of bedding. And it began to dawn on me, all of these people lived in this ger.

Before we left, our host showed us a number of medals and pointed out the door at his herd of horses. He mounted one as we were driving away and loped along side for a while before turning and riding, literally, into the sunset. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so romantic. Will this man ever encounter a squash ball? I have to say, I hope not.

If you’d like to see what the world looked like before squash...and most man-made wonders of the modern world, both good and bad, get thee to Mongolia pronto. Just before sunrise, and a few hours prior to my memorable horseback ride, I hiked up the rocks behind our camp. I sat on a cliff overlooking a valley that seemingly went on forever and watched as the light changed from the soft blues of pre-dawn to the rosy sharpness of morning. In a space that could’ve easily fit many Manhattans, only a few gers were visible, like mini-marshmallows floating far away. Two dusty tire-tracks left our camp and soon disappeared. Otherwise, there was no evidence of civilization. For a moment there, listening to the reverberating echo of silence, I actually forgot about squash. And that, I think, was not a bad thing.

Late Summer Squash and heading back to (squash) school

2010-08-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

By Tracy Gates

A friend leaned over the railing behind the court I had just beenplaying on. I was sucking down water and toweling it from my arms and face. Ourcourts are nice and toasty in the summer.

“Pizza?” she said. “We’re going to the roof. You joining us?”

“Hell, yes.”

A shower and a quick change later and I was out in the balmyevening air gazing up at the stars—okay, star; you can’t see more than a fewfrom the middle of New York City. But I could see the last deep purples andpinks of a fading sunset, and the bright glimmer of ship lights reflected onthe Hudson River below us. My friend opened the cardboard lid to the pizza boxand the heady aroma of wild mushrooms and truffle oil (we’re not in the WestVillage for nothing) made me thankful I had plenty of calories to replace. Ah,New York City in the summer. What could be better than après summer squash withyour best squash buds?

I’ve been lucky enough to have a number of similar moments thissummer—a round robin, followed by a round of Coronas and twenty-dollar lobster specials partaken at open-airpicnic tables down in lower Manhattan; a barbeque hosted by a generous squashmate on a roof deck worthy of a Woody Allen movie; and then the more common butno less enjoyable time spent replacing two hours worth of squash sweat at alocal West Village watering hole. As the song goes, “Summertime, and thesquashin’ is easy….”

But the times, they are a-changin’. And I’m beginning to feel some excitement and a bit ofanxiety about the upcoming season. What team will I play on? Will I try to moveup? Am I up for another season of captaining? Should I try to train differentlythis year? etc., etc.

Last year I played on two teams—a women’s 4.0 and a men’s 3.0. Ascaptain of the W4.0 team, my goal was to play all nine members of my team asequally as possible (only sort of succeeded) and to make it to the playoffs(see my first MSRA post for that result). My goal on the men’s team was to getused to a faster game, as well as widen my roster of squash partners. Thatworked on both counts. But what about this year?

I have played on awomen’s 4.0/B team for too many years to count—although if you remember whenthe women’s teams played five matches per night, maybe you can figure it outfor me…. Granted, I played at the bottom of the ladder my first few years andnow I’m near the top. I could easily stay in 4.0. Throw me in Howe Cup and I ambarely a low 4.0. But. I am a bit bored. I am a bit too complacent. Ineed a new challenge.

If there was a W4.5 I would be all set. But there isn’t. There isonly W5.0. And while I like the idea of dipping my racquet in as a sub to testthe waters, that would be difficult. My club has no W5.0 team. If I wanted toplay on it, I would have to create it.

So that is what I’m trying to do. I’ve begun the recruitment. Sentout emails. Gotten some good response. It may just happen. Now I have to makemyself happen to be ready to play….and I’m definitely feeling pangs of what-the-hell-am-I-doing.But if I don’t play up, I won’t ever get up any higher than I am. Know thefeeling?

Summer squash, alas, is ending, but maybe it’s time to head backto school and, hopefully, graduate to the next class.

Baby Squash

2010-08-03T14:11:00.000-07:00

By Tracy Gates

“Is that really a smart thing to do?”

A guy at my gym asked a friend of mine this question not too long ago. She was playing squash. She was pregnant. Very.

Now how many of us have been in situations others deemed unadvisable? Motorcycling, say. Or skydiving. Or jumping from a cliff into a frigid mountain pool – at night – naked. (The first two I’ve never tried…. ) The risk, of course, is only to ourselves. This was different. I imagine that’s probably more along the lines of what this guy was thinking. But that’s not what my friend was thinking.

I have known this woman for a few years now. One day last fall we were chatting in the locker room. She takes a squash lesson at the same time as my favorite gym class, so I see her almost every week. In fact, I really see her, since we are both changing out of our sweaty workout clothes…so I couldn’t help noticing that she was getting kind of, um, puffy around the middle. Strange, I remember thinking, as the rest of her still looked lean and strong.

Admittedly, I’m a little slow to pick up on stuff, especially after an hour of heaving around weights, so it took a few more weeks for it to register what the cause was, and by then my friend had noticed me ogling her.

“Yup, I’m pregnant,” she confirmed, looking down a little sheepishly at her stomach and then raising her eyebrow at it as if she didn’t quite approve.

“And you’re playing squash,” I said, rather dumbly, as if I hadn’t seen her moments before on the court.

“I’m going to play as long as I can,” she said. “Maybe I’ll give birth on the court!” She raised her other eyebrow, perking up a bit.

Who would’ve known that that would be only a slight exaggeration?

I saw my friend pretty regularly after that, and occasionally caught a few glimpses of her on the court during her lesson. Except for the growing girth of her stomach, she looked as athletic as she did before her pregnancy. I remember thinking that if I were pregnant, I would want to be out on the court, too, looking like that. But for some reason, I never asked her how it actually felt to play, or why she decided on squash when she could’ve stepped it back to pre-natal yoga or swimming like many of my previously pregnant friends had. Think about it, would you play squash if you had your soon to be offspring bouncing around in your belly? Think of all the times you’ve nearly embraced the sidewall, almost collided with your opponent, had a near miss with a not so soft racquet. Last season I wore the imprint of racquet strings on my arm—my fault, by the way.

It wasn’t until after she’d had the baby that my curiosity finally kicked in. She had emailed an announcement of her daughter’s birth and besides the requisite weight and length, had mentioned that her daughter was sure to be a good squash player owing to the fact that the mother had been playing squash only hours before the birth. Yes, you heard that right, she was lunging around a court HOURS—just a few mind you—before she embarked on one of the most amazing events a body—okay, a woman—can achieve in her life. How many people do you know whom have done something so physically impressive? The Ironman may come close, but does anyone give birth at the finish line? No. I had to know her story.

“I love the smell of sweat,” she said, over a glass of mango iced tea. “I love sports. The camaraderie. How it makes me feel mentally and spiritually.”

I nodded. This is familiar territory to me (except maybe for the smell….). So I wasn’t totally surprised to learn that she was a lifetime athlete with a plethora of sports under her belt. She had danced ballet to ballroom, rowed Varsity crew, and was captain of her college rugby team. She took up the outdoor sports of cycling and climbing while in California, but finding a sport when she moved to New York City proved a challenge. What to do that was fun? It took a few years of gym going at the Printing House before trying out squash in 2008. It only took her a few months to become obsessed.

“I did the clinics. I took lessons. I joined the Round Robins. I would’ve played everyday if I could’ve.” Her smile is wide while she’s telling me this. Classic squash obsession. I know it well.

For over a year, she reveled in learning something new, with an unlimited capacity for fun. But then one morning about a year and a half into her obsession, a few hours before a squash lesson, she took “the test.”

“It seems I’m a little bit pregnant,” she remembers telling her instructor, and her face pinches up a little at the memory. She knows it is funny in retrospect, but the unspoken words might have been “…and I’m a lot scared.”

Of course, she’s quick to acknowledge that she and her husband were excited. She is in her late 30’s and having a baby wasn’t a sure thing. But think about it, you’re an athlete with an athlete’s body; you’re used to controlling your body. Now something else, someone else is going to control your body. Scary? Definitely.

So my friend took what control she had. She immediately looked up online any advice for active mothers to be and found that all advised consulting one’s doctor. But her doctor didn’t want to see her until the baby could be seen on the sonogram screen. The only solid piece of advice was to not let her heart rate go above 140. Okay, I can do that, she remembers thinking. She grabbed her heart rate monitor (am I the only person in NYC who doesn’t have one?) and ran-walked to her lesson.

“It was a joke,” she said. “A pregnant woman’s heart rate is elevated in the first trimester and I had to keep stopping to check my rate. There was no flow.” But she also didn’t want to give up and her instructor, the club pro, was as game as she was. He had trained another pregnant player and the woman had gotten through six months before she’d stopped. My friend immediately took that as a challenge. “I decided right then I wanted to go all nine months if I could,” she told me, a defiant look in her eye.

But then she had her first doctor’s appointment. “She was all about what I shouldn’t do.” Her voice turned cool as she imitated her doctor. “You shouldn’t play squash. You shouldn’t let your heart rate go above 140 . . . because you don’t want to know what happens to your baby if you do.” My friend knew what she should do. She should find a new doctor.

In the meantime, she found a book that gave her hope: Exercising Through Your Pregnancy by James F. Clapp III, M.D. http://www.amazon.com/Exercising-Through-Pregnancy-James-Clapp/dp/1886039593 Documented by the experiences of active and athletic mothers, it gave reason after reason why keeping active and continuing the sports you already participate in (within reason—competitive ski jumping, roller derby, and the like may be a no-no) can be good for both mother and baby’s health. It also dispelled the 140 heart rate rule. As did her new doctor whom she found through a friend.

“Get rid of the heart rate monitor,” Dr. Chen told her, explaining that it wasn’t much of an indication of how hard she was training and probably would only serve to distract her. Instead, Dr. Chen encouraged her to play squash as long as she stayed well hydrated and didn’t overheat. “Other than that,” my friend said, “her one rule for continuing to play was if I could say the words ‘yes’ and ‘no’ under my breath as I played. If I didn’t have the breath to say them, I was to slow down or stop. I never got to that point though. I worked hard but at the same time was super cautious.”

Actually, my friend strikes me as more super self-informed than super cautious. And finding a doctor who understood and encouraged her athleticism was hugely important to her. The whole experience of being pregnant changed when she found Dr. Chen, a doctor who “treated me like an individual, a person, and not just another patient.”

Of course, playing as a pregnant lady was going to be different. “I stopped playing competitively pretty quickly. I wanted to be in a controlled environment, so instead of playing games, I trained and drilled.” There was still plenty she could practice and learn, especially as a novice—volleys, cross court lobs, reverse corner boasts, racquet preparation, strategy. Probably most impressive to anyone watching, however, were her court sprints. “I’d do five sets of ten and look up to see some guy’s eyes bugging out.” Hey, my eyes would’ve bugged out.

“Did it feel different?” I asked her, knowing my question wasn’t as specific as I wanted it to be and anticipating her answer—that it was hard to actually feel a difference since her body was changing gradually. “It did become increasingly more difficult,” she acknowledged. “I had to constantly modify my form, more for balance than anything. By the middle of my third trimester I didn’t have a lot of lunging ability. But I only had one bobble—landing on my butt.” She was fine, she added. “Emotionally, I felt great. Squash kept me feeling good about my body. It gave me structure and rhythm. It gave me joy.”

And physically? “I finally felt different the last two weeks,” she concurs. “Because I was so round. I was down in Chinatown and a Chinese man pointed at my belly and said “very, very soon.” Sometimes things come full circle. A few days later she was walking home from her squash lesson and her water broke. “Actually, I had stopped at a nail salon for a pedicure because I couldn’t reach my toes,” she admits, “and I was on the way to the restroom when I felt something go. Oh great, she remembers thinking, now I’m incontinent. But when it didn’t stop, she figured it out.

Things moved quickly after that. Although it wasn’t without some drama. By the time she and her husband got a taxi to the hospital she was pretty far into labor, so when they reached the hospital she was ready to deliver. Forty-five minutes later, without drugs, her daughter was born. 7 pounds 1 oz, 21 inches, and totally healthy. The new mother was ecstatic. Her next question to her doctor? “When can I play squash?”

My friend acknowledges that there is some good fortune involved in her experience. Good genes. An ideal child-bearing body. Great care. But she really believes that keeping active and specifically playing squash helped her have a great pregnancy and birth. Her advice for mothers-to-be? Find an educated, thoughtful, helpful health care provider who gets you and respects you. Do your research. Read the book she mentions. Know your personal limitations. Have common sense. After listing these, however, she turns more thoughtful. “I think it’s so important to prepare yourself physically. The actual birth is like a marathon; it’s really really hard. And you’d be nuts not to train to run a marathon.”

She was back at the gym in ten days after the delivery. In three weeks, she was back on the court. And I sat down with her to talk about all of this exactly four weeks from her daughter’s birth. She looked fantastic. Her goals now are to regain her reflexes and quickness. To start competing again. And to find a balance between motherhood and her life as an athlete. It helps, she acknowledges, to have a sympathetic spouse. “Part of my identity is being an athlete…now it’s also being a mother.”

I’m looking forward to seeing my friend being both in the years to come. Perhaps I’ll get to see her daughter on the squash court. It should feel totally natural to her. And I’ll tell her to thank her mother for that.

What's Your Excuse?

2010-07-23T21:36:00.000-07:00

By Brett Erasmus

So, you are wondering what to do in the summer fitness-wise. You’vetried yoga, boxing, rowing, rock-climbing, salsa dancing, spinning, thelist goes on... if you really want a challenge try doing a triathlon.Admittedly, I have not been brave (and by brave I used to mean fit,I'll explain this shortly) enough yet to do one, but last weekend afriend of mine who raced last year did manage to sucker me intovolunteering for the New York City triathlon.

Raceday started for me at 3.30am (I use the term 'day’ here quite loosely,its meaning to include parts of the night when one should really besleeping). After the first hour or so the shock had worn off and I washappy to see the athletes starting to arrive at the swim start at 96thstreet on the west side – I was relieved to see them as it meant I hadnot been duped into walking around speechless in a bright yellow bib inthe middle of the night like a crazy person, you know, for nothing.

Upuntil then I had only seen press vans exploding with cameras and dishesand race marshals growling by on their motorbikes. The anticipationlevel escalated though as each minute went by and pretty soon thegrassy knoll above the swim start was a hive of activity. The athleteshad arrived en masse. The sun had just come up behind the trees and theriver was an inviting hue of rare blue. I had succumbed to the feelingand started thinking to myself: what would be better in thecircumstances than a refreshing early morning swim down the HudsonRiver at 6am followed by a nice and easy bike ride up the Henry HudsonParkway, and then a cool comfortable run in the park to top it all off?

Isnapped out of it when hooter went off and the crowd gave off acollective whoop. Most of the screams were shrieks of excitement, somewere blood curdling. The professional athletes were all business thoughas they silently dove into the water in one large simultaneous wave.These pros were just the first of many waves to start the race. Theyswam by us at a rate of knots and were long gone before the next groupof elite triathletes were off. The current was carrying them swiftly tothe boat basin on 79th street one mile away. In about ten minutes thefirst guys were out of the water and running over to their bikes tostart the next leg. And before you know it the first group werewhizzing by on the freeway above us. Damn they got dressed quick. Notransitions in squash, I thought to myself.

An hour later thefirst rider came flying back down the west side highway, all alone.After 26 miles of cycling he was out of his seat and grinding as hardas he could, with a grimace on his face, just like Lance Armstrong atthe end of a time trial. He flew by us like a speeding car. I am surehe was over the speed limit. The next rider was the ultimate racewinner, the Czech Ospaly, he was seated and looked more in control.It’s better to be the lion than the zebra.

Many waves of amateurathletes followed the pros. They were broken down into age groups bygender. Eventually gender and age seemed less of an issue and thestarting groups were bonded by other mutual characteristics. e.g.profession or fund raising groups. The handicapped athletes wereparticularly impressive. It takes some guts to do a triathlon with allyour limbs, just imagine doing it without the use of all of them? I wasmoved by this. Everyone was. The camaraderie and admiration and pridewere tangible.

After well over 2 hours the last groups werelining up for the start. By this stage the pros were already done andgetting their free massages. The heat must become a factor for thesefinal groups of athletes. They kept the younger men until the end. I amsure they are least likely to notice how hot it really is, as they allwent flying off in a rush to finish. No doubt some of them were lookingto qualify for spots in the elite field next time around - then theycould do the race in the cool of the morning rather than the searingheat, if they cared.

After my duties at the swim start weredone I went up and watched parts of the final stage - the six-mile runup to and around the outer loop of Central Park. Obviously by the endof the triathlon every runner was exhausted. But they all came acrossthe finish line with smiles on their faces. I am pretty sure that thehardest part of the run was the first mile from the river up to thepark. I didn't see anyone smiling at this stage. It is quite an inclinethat seems to go on forever when you are on foot. In the heat of theday there were many athletes struggling at this point. I rememberthinking that if I ever did this race, this part would kill me. Then Isaw a man go by in a half walk half run mode who must have been overeighty years of age. The crowd appreciatively applauded his efforts.Then a string of heavy Clydesdales ran slowly by. And then I saw ablind man get escorted by..

Agasp, I turned to look at myfriend, he was already staring straight at me with a knowing smile onhis face that very clearly said “What’s Your Excuse?”. I had noresponse.

Reposted courtesy of Brett Erasmus from Brett's Squash Blog www.brettssquashblog.com

Post College Sport: Join an athletic board (and here’s why)

2010-07-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

New board member Sarah Odell is a frequent contributor to Fair Game News.com. Read her latest article about squash after college and the importance (and advantages) of joining an athletic board - like the MSRA!

fairgamenews.com - Post College Sport: Join an athletic board (and here’s why) By Sarah Odell

What it Takes to be a World Champ

2010-07-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

By Brett Erasmus

Well I clearly know nothing about soccer, so there is some squash stuff below that may interest you. All the South American teams I fancied were pretty much knocked out at the quarterfinals stage (Uruguay had to cheat to go through to the semis), but it was fun to speculate on what the decisive factors may be. I guess it makes sense that the current two best teams in the world would meet in the World Cup final. Spain was ranked FIFA number one going into the tournament and Holland currently has the longest unbeaten streak in international soccer (over 2 years). One of these two teams will make history on Sunday as neither have previously won the Soccer World Cup and as previously noted, a team from the northern hemisphere has never won a world cup played in the southern hemisphere. My money is on Spain (which means the Dutchmen will probably win).

One person who has already conquered all is seventeen year old Amanda Sobhy, of New York, who recently became the World Junior Women's Squash Champ. Congratulations Amanda! I believe this makes her the first junior world champ from the U.S. and moves her to number 35 in the senior rankings. Prior to this Sobhy became the first woman to ever win four professional tournaments as a sixteen year old. Amanda has always worked very hard to achieve what she has so far in her career. To my mind, she has always been destined for greatness. Not so much because of how good she is at the game of squash, that goes without saying. It was more her attitude to training that surprised me most. She seems to genuinely enjoy pushing herself as hard as she could for four (or more) hours a day. I happened to see her doing court sprints with a friend a while back and it was quite evident that she was having loads of fun (whilst killing herself on court). I am not sure I have ever seen anyone enjoy court sprints that much. Hard training is a huge part of her success and she deserves every win she gets in future.

Obviously, thorough preparation is a huge contributory factor in the success of any professional athlete. For example, James Willstrop and his girlfriend, Vanessa Atkinson, spent the last 3 weeks training in the mountains of Colorado. Not playing squash, but running and biking. I guess altitude training is beneficial for squash players after all. Something to do with conditioning your body to deal with the lack of oxygen...see my previous blog for more on this topic. Aerobic conditioning is not the only thing they work hard at. I had the privilege of playing a training game with them both this week and, as expected, they made me and three friends look quite stupid on the court. Interestingly, they have both developed the ability to hit any shot they like from a range of starting racquet positions. I found this particularly hard to deal with, as you could not at all anticipate where the ball was going. When I asked James about this deception he said it was deliberate and learned over time. He had to work on it to get it right. Of course, I thought, and then, without thinking, I said that Vanessa must have picked up on it too, because she does all the same types of clever things with her racquet. He simply retorted that he learned it from her, not the other way around. “She is the world champion.” A true statement by James, but still, modest to a fault.

Reposted courtesy of Brett Erasmus from Brett's Squash Blog www.brettssquashblog.com

Some Enchanted Squash Thoughts....

2010-07-02T10:38:00.000-07:00

By Tracy Gates

On my way to play squash the other evening, I was waiting to crossthe street when a flicker of light caught my eye—like the sparkle of rain dropsor phosphorescence in water. Only it wasn’t raining and the nearest water was afew blocks away in the Hudson. Instead, it turned out to be the windshield of aparked SUV and the glass was reflecting a shimmer of moving lights. Theyswirled and sparked across the glass and I stood on the curb momentarilymesmerized until the light changed and I stepped into the street. And then Istopped. It’s so easy to move quickly in this city, to briefly registersomething out of the ordinary and then continue on without giving it muchthought. So I stepped back on the curb, and I looked.

An early evening breeze wasblowing off the Hudson and it was ruffling the leaves of one of the youngstreet trees. Sunlight was catching the undersides of the leaves, turning themgold before they slipped back to green and then again to gold in the wind. Itwas no longer a common street tree; it was enchanted. Or maybe it was naturereminding anyone who noticed that it was still there—even next to DunkinDoughnuts.

So why am I writing about magictrees in a squash blog? Well, because occasionally something reminds me to slowdown and see something anew. I see trees every day. I see squash balls (almost)every day. See the connection? Uh, no? Well maybe it’s a stretch, but here’sthe thing—it’s just as easy to get in a rut of playing squash as it is walkingby trees. (And, no, I am not smoking vegetation of any kind as I write this.)And it doesn’t have to be trees. Pick your underappreciated thing to walk by.Neighbors/co-workers/squash players you pass in your hood/workplace/gym withoutacknowledging. The deep deep blue of the sky as you exit your subway stop atdusk. The full moon glowing like a ripe summer peach as it rises above our faircity.

Okay, I’m not saying a squash ballis a ripe peach, but I do believe that we can play better squash if we thinkmore about the objects with which we play. Maybe it helps to take a little timeaway from it – as I’ve been trying to do this past month (not so successfully).Before this enchanted tree incident, it had been a whole week since I’d played.So when I stepped on the court, I felt both more relaxed and focused than I hadbeen in a long time. And I found that I wasn’t just hitting the ball, I wasthinking about how my body connected with and affected the ball. All winter I’dbeen playing, competing, taking lessons when I could—and I was definitelyimproving—but it’s hard to slow down when moving fast. When you see lots oftrees, you start not to see them.

One of my most awesome gym classinstructors occasionally tells us to think about the muscles we’re using for eachexercise in order to use them fully and most effectively. It works (I know; I feelmore pain!). So why not apply that to squash—at least while you’re training?Think about where your feet are, where your racquet is, where on the ball youwant to hit it, where you want to place the ball. I know we can’t do this soeasily in competition, but in practice and friendly games we can. Andeventually it’ll translate to competition.

You don’t have to take my wordthat this works. Watch any good player in a match—the ball moves fast, but theplayer looks like they have all the time in the world between shots. I’m stillwaiting for that kind of timing to happen to me...

Until then, slow down, watch somesoccer, check out some trees, and have a happy Fourth all. Hope to see some ofyou at the Street Squash RRs in July!

The Mile High Factor

2010-06-24T15:06:00.000-07:00

By Brett Erasmus

Are you enjoying watching the Soccer World Cup? I certainly am, irrespective of the fact that the hosts bombed out.

Did you know that there are five South American teams in the Soccer World Cup and they lead every group they are in (five out of eight groups in the competition)? So far they have played thirteen matches, having not lost once (won ten and drawn three). Between them, they have scored twenty-one times and only conceded four goals in the tournament thus far. I think that is very interesting indeed. And, besides for the fact that they are very good at soccer (!), there must be other reasons for it. Allow me to speculate (further than I previously have)..

Contrast the South American's success to the fact that almost every traditionally strong team from the northern hemisphere has already faltered in this tournament – Italy and France are out, Germany, England, Spain all struggling to find their best form. I am convinced that the current conditions in South Africa are playing a part in this. The winter is apparently unusually cold this year. The South American teams have just come from winter, so I doubt they spent their last few months practicing on a warm soft pitch. I wonder where the European teams spent their buildup time prior to travelling? Most teams will also find the turf in South Africa unusually hard, especially on the highveld where the winters are very dry. There is only summer rainfall in many parts of the country. Also, the pitches there are all pretty much a mile (or more) above sea level, so altitude is a factor. The stadiums at sea level are Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban. The rest are elevated and oxygen (or the lack thereof) can be a problem.

Now one may argue that the players are all in excellent physical condition and that fitness and these types of environmental factors don’t play a part. But they really do, especially if you are not prepared for it. Any squash player who has played in tournaments at varying altitudes knows it can be difficult to adjust, no matter how fit you are. If you live on the coast and are conditioned to playing there, then playing at altitude where there is less oxygen can really take its toll. It hits you in the throat very early on in a game, until you have adjusted – the cold does not help with this. And then it hits you again like a ton of bricks at the end of a game when you are reaching your aerobic threshold. Likewise, if you are conditioned to playing at altitude and come down to sea level you can find yourself in a spot of trouble. Your lungs will tell you that you can run forever, but you cannot, so your legs will certainly suffer a beating. In fact, if you do not pace yourself and adjust appropriately to your elevation (high or low), you could end up blowing during a match – you know - hitting the wall, running out of air, depleting your reserves of glycogen, a precipitous loss of energy owing to a massive oxygen deficit induced by overexertion....you get it. Anyway, every squash player knows exactly what I am talking about, because altitude affects everyone, at every level (except maybe Ramy; his games are not really long enough are they).

Aside from the South Americans who are looking very strong, another team that will benefit from these factors is the United States. The next game is in Rustenburg, a small town in the foothills of the Magaliesberg in the north west of the country. I know it well, less owing to the fact that I have family there and more because it is right next door to Sun City, which is South Africa’s equivalent of Las Vegas (hopefully the US team doesn’t know about it though; they need to stay focused). This town is right in the heart of the highveld and all of the above difficulty factors (elevation, temperature, turf) are most pronounced at this stadium. The US plays against Ghana there on Saturday. They are a very physical team, too, but they live and train at sea level, so it will be interesting to see if they start to fade at the end of the match. One can hope.

If I was the US coach I would tell the players to force the pace and just keep them working hard and eventually they may just blow....this strategy normally works well in another sport we all know.

Reposted courtesy of Brett Erasmus from Brett's Squash Blog www.brettssquashblog.com

Squash and Soccer

2010-06-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

By Brett Erasmus
The Soccer World Cup started today and I watched the first ever match played in my country of birth. Was very excited about it, more because it will be a great spectacle for South Africa, less because I fancy my team’s chances. But we held Mexico to a draw, so you never know..

The home team normally fares very well actually. I looked it up. Did you know that in 8 out of 18 previous World Cups the home team has reached the finals? And in 6 out of 8 finals, the home team has won the World Cup. So if a miracle happens and South Africa makes it to the final then we will be favorites to win (!). We'll see what happens.

Spain probably has the deepest line up of really good players, but the smart money is on Brazil. I’ll tell you why for two (not very scientific) reasons: 1.) In 18 previous World Cups a northern hemisphere team has never won in the southern hemisphere. In fact, Brazil is the only team that has ever won outside of its hemisphere. 2.) Another curious fact which basically reinforces reason number one and may go un-noticed by television viewers is that the players will not be able to hear each other at all on the pitch, owing to noise from the crowd. Watch minute 88 of the SA Mexico game and you will see exactly what I mean.

In all the big games in the next 6 weeks rest assured the crowd noise will be deafening from start to finish. There will be no lulls like in other venues. Reason being, a good portion of the crowd in South Africa come armed with these foghorns called vuvuzelas, which makes it very easy to generate an incredible amount of noise and sustain it for a long period. I think they even have pressurized versions that you don't need to blow on. These make one hell of a noise throughout the game - so much so that the players on the pitch cannot hear each other, never mind the goalie or their coach. The teams that can play without communicating (verbally) will do well. Brazil is one team that can do this.

I know that soccer is a great complimentary sport to squash for juniors. The thing that soccer players have that is not found in many sports is the development of good foot-speed. There is no doubt that soccer develops good motor skills and the muscle memory that is needed in the legs to get around short distances quickly, and to do this by stepping lightly and remaining balanced. I am not talking about simply running, by the way. I am talking about quick bursts and changes of direction over a very short distance, which apparently can be learned—unlike foot-speed over a straight line sprint, which is basically genetic - point in case, Usain Bolt.

Granted, squash players rely on a lot more than just foot-speed. They also need strength, aerobic endurance, muscular endurance, flexibility, etc. But drills for increased foot-speed on the soccer pitch certainly won’t hurt a developing squash player. I am guessing there quite a few professional squash players who did loads of shuttle runs, short sprints between markers, the infamous beep test, and dribbling around cones, etc., while they were growing up. Perhaps many of them still do these. Or has ghosting replaced this? As far as I can tell, there is not much emphasis on foot-speed, but rest assured it is very important to squash.

The USA plays England on Saturday in the World Cup. They have only played once before on the greatest stage and the US goalie won them the game by saving all the England shots on goal. I am guessing there will be more than just a few shots on Tim Howard’s goal this Saturday. I bet he has great foot speed.

Maybe that is Nick Matthews's secret too.

Reposted courtesy of Brett Erasmus from Brett's Squash Blog www.brettssquashblog.com

Time for a Break?

2010-06-02T08:32:00.000-07:00

By Tracy Gates

A few weeks ago, a friend told me he was taking the summeroff from squash. I thought he was crazy.

A week later, I walked into my gym at prime time and no onewas playing. I thought, where is everybody?

And then a week after that I competed in the Hyder—fourmatches in two days. I played squash, scored squash, and watched squash. At theend of the weekend, I was tired of squash. Not to mention that my elbow sorelyneeded a break. I thought, time to do something else for a while. . . . Butthat brought me to the big question: What??

Now many of you may already know howyou’re keeping in squash shape this summer. But for those of you who don’t, Iposed the question to a bunch of friends and acquaintances. What could I do, Iasked, that would keep me in shape and somewhat challenged? Something thatwould let my squash elbow heal? The recommendations ranged from the predictableto the novel (fly-fishing, anyone?), and as they arrived I realized I wasgetting excited to try most of them out. So if your elbows or knees or anklesor brain are yelling (or muttering) at you to take a break or just mixsomething new in, here’s my list, courtesy of my squash and not-so-squashyfriends. As an extra, I’ve thrown in why each activity is good for squash andwhere you might try it out.

Cycling – This was the most frequent suggestion, although the kinds of cyclingdiffered. A squashmate of my mom’s got hooked on the exercise bikes at her YMCAafter she dislocated her shoulder and had to stay away from her racquet for awhile. She likes the ‘expresso’ bike with a video screen that gives you acourse to follow and a pacer to keep up with. Although if I’m going to bikeindoors, I’d rather keep up with a spinning instructor and some decent music,but that’s just me. Another friend who races occasionally suggested“green-light synchronizing on Broadway riding a fixie.” Now that sounds goodfor mental alertness, although one may end up with more than a sore elbow…. Ithink I may stick to something in between and bike commute to my office once ortwice a week. That’s about 45 minutes door to door, so it’s a good hour and ahalf work-out. Extra points for taking down a few non-alert tourists on theBrooklyn Bridge.

Squash plus: Great for the quads and getting more vitamin D.

More info: www.transportationalternatives.org

http://www.bikenewyork.org/

Swimming – A college friend who’s always been in great shape, even after two kidssuggested this. As did my mother. “It'sgreat for all parts, utterly exhausting, excellent for the back,” said my friend. I think my mother’srationale might have been more wishful thinking; she hasn’t been swimming intwo years since she moved to the landlocked country of Mongolia as a PeaceCorps volunteer. I’m happy to oblige them both; ocean, pool, river, lake – theyall work for me. And if you are injured, there’s often no better therapy; Icredit the Carmine Street (free!) pool to the speedy healing of my tornAchilles tendon years ago….but that’s another story.

Squash plus: Works out all of you. Easy on the joints.

More info: http://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/pools

http://manhattan.about.com/od/governmentandpolitics/a/swimmingpools.htm

Dancing — Now I love this idea. MaybeI could just go clubbing all summer! Although I don’t think this is what myfriends had in mind, as this is what one wrote…. “try a beginning dance class(hip hop, tap, etc.). It also will exercise a part of your brain that perhapshasn't been tickled in a spell as you must memorize a sequence of steps.” hmmmm. I’m not very good at memorizinganything, except maybe locker combinations. But before I could afford a gymmembership, I used to shell out a mere $12 for two hours of dance-inspiredworkouts at Broadway Dance Center. And prices haven’t gone up much since then.

Squash plus: Good for footwork.

More info: http://www.shockrastudio.com/ http://www.broadwaydancecenter.com/

Martial Arts – Tai Chi, Tae Kwon Do, Kempo Karate, etc. – For some reason,I have never ever tried this, but whenever I pass the tae kwon do studio in myneighborhood I am transfixed by the gracefulness and precision of this sport –er – art. Years ago, my bike racing friend got out all sorts of teenage angstand aggression by doing martial arts and says that tai chi has “all the skills,strength, and focus without nursing multiple contusions. Slowing down thatfocus, then speeding it up until it works like an explosion might be somethingthat could apply to squash in an interesting way.” I like that idea. I alsolike the idea of wearing that loose cottony white uniform….

Squash plus: Good for precision.

More info: http://sites.google.com/site/ttcsnyc/

http://www.happykicks.com/

Mountain climbing, rock climbing — I raise my eyebrows a bit at thissuggestion since one can’t exactly find a mountain around the corner here inNYC. But one of my lunchtime squash partners boasts that he’s a squash phenom(or something to that effect) after a few days of mountain climbing. All thatquad and glute exercise. It’s true, I can feel my glutes burning now just withthe thought of it. But the last time I climbed a mountain I came down with anasty case of the shingles soon after, and everytime I look at my hiking bootsI feel itchy. But maybe this summer I’ll climb back on a mountain.

Now rock climbing, that’s somethingI’m sure would be good for focus skills. In squash, if you don’t put the ballin the right place, you lose the point. In rock climbing, if you don’t put yourfingers or feet in the right place, you lose your balance. There must be somecorrelation, no? I hear that the nearby Gunks are famous for their climbs, butI thought I’d start at an indoor climbing wall near me in Brooklyn.

Squash plus: Good for quads, glutes, core, focus

More info: http://www.brooklynboulders.com/index.html

http://www.rockclimbing.com/routes/North_America/United_States/New_York/

Yoga —As I get older and less bendy, I tell myself I should get myself backto the yoga studio. The problem is, my body likes to move fast, not slow. Thefaster it moves, the less time it has to think what kind of pain it’s in. Sothe opposite is of course true. But there’s nothing like the yoga high at theend of a sweaty session and if I can counteract the tightness of squash with thegumby-ness of Yoga, I may be looser on the court.

Squash plus: Great for flexibility.

More info: http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/spas-sport/81833/yoga-guide-2010-new-york-city

Running —I used to love running, and some of the best work-outs of my life were classeswith the New York Road Runners Club. However, my knees gave me a choice a fewyears back after marathon training took its toll—squash or running? It wasn’tmuch of a contest. But while on a bike ride this past weekend, I noticed thatthe pretty road by the river I was biking on was also a 5K race route, and it’sas flat as a squash court. Come to think of it, there are races all over theboroughs in the summer and there’s nothing like a little competition to get mynikes laced and hitting the pavement. Since I’m not going to play squash for amonth, maybe a little running wouldn’t be SO bad…?

Squash plus: Fantastic for stamina, especially hills.

More info: http://www.nyrr.org/

Running + beer: http://www.hashnyc.com/

Ah, I could easily spend many more paragraphs waxingathletically about all the sports and activities at our finger and toe tipsthis summer. It’s a good thing, because I’m already feeling pangs of squashwithdrawal and I’ll need serious distraction. If you’ve got a favoritesquash-replacement-activity of your own, shout it out here. In the meantime,whatever your sport of choice, enjoy the start of summer.

For Queen and Country

2010-06-02T08:29:00.000-07:00

By Brett Erasmus

Just imagine you play a sport that your country pretty much invented and the pinnacle of achievement in that sport is the national championship. And your homeland has the most depth out of any nation worldwide and boasts more of the top professionals than any other. But, for some reason, your players struggle to win the national championship. In fact nobody on the home team has won it since before the Second World War. Then, by sheer grit and determination you get to the finals of the event and play the man who was world number one for all of the previous year. He is not from your country. You are not favored to win. But you do.

Nick Matthew beat Thierry Lincou in the British Open in 2006 and won squash’s oldest and most sought after title. This was the pinnacle of achievement in his chosen sport. Where does he go from here one may wonder? Well, this victory would have inspired him immensely and brought the confidence and self-belief that he needed to get to world number one. Since then being top of the world would have been one of his primary goals. For a few years, while Egyptian players held the top spots, Matthew battled to break through into the top 5, and then unfortunately tore ligaments in his right shoulder (his playing arm) and had to go for surgery in January 2008. He could not play for 9 months after this and his ranking dropped to 12. This would have knocked the wind out of anyone's sails.

I mean, Matthew must have thought seriously about his ambitions during this period. You see, he would have looked at the competition and realized that he does not have the shots that Ashour does. And the touch that Shabana has. Nor does he have the reach that Willstrop has. What he does have though is a rehabilitation plan, a professional approach and a burning desire to succeed. Fueled, in no small part I am sure, by the hopes of a nation.

One can only wonder exactly what he did in the off-time though, because he came back stronger than ever and won a slew of events all around the world to climb up the rankings to number 2 by the start of this year. Most notably, he won the British Open again last year, where he beat compatriot and this year’s ToC winner, James Willstrop, in a thrilling 2 hour finale in Manchester. Seeing 2 local lads vie for the title must have been a wonderful experience for the home crowd.

Well, I don’t know how many English fans were actually in the stands at the Sky Resort in Cairo last weekend, but they would have seen Matthew finally become the world number one squash player. Add to that his current British Open crown and more Super Series points than any other PSA player and you realize that Matthew is firmly the best squash player in the world right now. No mean feat for a guy who could not swing a racquet owing to injury just 2 years ago.

Nick Matthew has done his country extremely proud and will no doubt work very hard to maintain his number one ranking for as long as possible. Hopefully long enough to meet with the Queen (for a little appointment, dare we hope).

But, there is one thing for certain - there are at least 3 Egyptian players who are not going to take this lying down. I wonder how long he can keep them at bay. It is going to be awesome to watch and find out.

Reposted courtesy of Brett Erasmus from Brett's Squash Blog www.brettssquashblog.com

Razik wins Hyder

2010-05-25T18:22:00.000-07:00

Shahier Razik beat Scott Arnold 3-0, to win the 42nd annual MSRA Hyder Trophy Tournament. Read Rob Dinerman's match write up on Squashtalk.com:
http://www.squashtalk.com/html2/news10/may/news10-05-212.htm

Photos: Rob White Photography (www.robwhitephotography.com)

How to Have a Happy Hyder

2010-05-21T08:07:00.000-07:00

By Brett Erasmus

What is the ideal recipe for a successful squash tournament? Perhaps the ingredients are as follows. Take 180 avid amateur squash players and a team of dedicated MSRA organizers. Add one great facility with 5 singles courts where the division finals can all be played consecutively (thank you Eddie Kapur and Sports Club LA). Then go and invite some of the best professional squash players in North America. Finally, throw a party on the Saturday night with free drinks and walaa, what do you have, if not a weekend of pure Hyder happiness.

Canadian number one, Shahier Razik, won the pro event. In the amateurs, I am very happy to report that many juniors got to final rounds of the tournament. As far as the women’s draws went, there were teens in each of the 4.0, 4.5, 5.0 and 5.5 consolation finals, as well as in the 5.5 final. And we had a junior player, Mawa Balla, from the StreetSquash program in Harlem (http://www.streetsquash.org/) win the Women’s 3.0 consolation draw. I wonder if that has ever happened before? The first of many victories, in more ways than one.

The guys did even better; there was a junior player in the finals of the main draw in both the Men’s 3.5, 4.0 and 5.5 division. In the 5.5 division in the end, both the consolation and main draw were won by junior players, Dan Judd and RJ Keating, respectively. I wonder if these young men train at the same club? I am starting to get the feeling that there is a mysterious squash club (or coach perhaps) hidden away somewhere upstate that is producing loads of unbelievable squash talent. No doubt we’ll find out over time.

Despite the predictable surge in the performances of our young players, my personal favorite part of the tournament was seeing the Men’s 5.0 final where a bigger crowd (than at his amazing league final’s match) got to watch Zach the Lion-heart. Yip, he did it again. He beat someone that he should have theoretically lost to. I know this for certain, because his opponent was a teammate who played above him in his CityView league team in the 5.0 finals a few weeks back. If you ever go out to CityView (http://www.cityviewracquet.com/) you would recognize these guys, as there is a big poster of the winning 5.0 team in the elevator. You really cannot miss it, it’s not quite life-size, but it must be close. Joking. (No, it is actually very big). Anyway, I digress. Zach was pumped again and gave an awesome performance in front of a capacity crowd. Much to his opponent’s dismay, obvious by a few glass-shattering shrieks at the end, Zach saved three game balls in the 4th and came back to win that game and hence the entire match. Man, does this guy rise to the occasion! It was a great game to watch and the entire gallery was spell-bound by the end of it. I listened to the conversation he had with the ref immediately afterward (as did anyone else within earshot) and it went something like this: “Zach, buddy, you don’t have to try to hit every ball every time. Seriously, take the lets and strokes when they are available man, especially when turning on the back wall.” I think that was the gist of it anyway. No 5 point let rule required here. If only all the pros avoided interference at all costs and played every point to its rightful conclusion.

Maybe a little guts and determination is the secret ingredient after all.

Reposted courtesy of Brett Erasmus from Brett's Squash Blog www.brettssquashblog.com

Hyder Pro Draw Matches - Recap

2010-05-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

Check out Rob Dinerman's squashtalk.com write-ups from the Hyder:

http://www.squashtalk.com/html2/news10/may/news10-05-201.htm

http://www.squashtalk.com/html2/news10/may/news10-05-206.htm

The 6 Things EVERY Tournament Player Needs to Do

2010-05-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

Here are the five things that every tournament player can do this weekend to make the tournament run smoothly (and make your tournament directors happy):

1. Be on time to matches, as a match may be defaulted if a player is more than 10 minutes late. Call venue coordinators as early as possible if you suspect you will not be able to make your match.

2. Losing player must referee the next match. This has been the official US Squash rule for two years. Please budget the necessary time to referee the following match.

3. Goggles are mandatory. We will interrupt points in play to enforce this, and multiple infractions will result in a game or match default.

4. Please be respectful of your fellow players and refs. If a debate gets to the point of raised voices and delay of game, it is best just to call a let and replay the point.

5. Watch the pros. We love the grandeur of the TOC, but the Hyder is as much about fun and socializing with the pros as it is about great squash.

6. Come to the Saturday night party! The Hyder is about great squash, to be sure, but equally it is a fun way to celebrate the end of a season with friends. We throw a killer party!

The Hyder at T-minus One Week

2010-05-13T11:45:00.000-07:00

By Corey Modeste

The last week of planning a tournament is all about damage control. There is not a lot that can be done to make the tournament better or bigger, but many things can be mismanaged to make for a confusing weekend.

The biggest issue is dropouts and the last two days are when we seem to get most dropouts. Between people who were sick or injured all week (and could have dropped out) to those who had a schedule conflict (and could have notified us) to those with legitimate last minute excuses, we have had as much as 20 dropouts in the last two days.
Thankfully, there are also last minute signups that will (hopefully) balance the equation

Overall, players are signing up earlier for the tournament and that’s helped us in many ways. With more time to structure the draws, we can balance them for skill and size. And we can be more through with seeding. There are too many variables to get seeding 100% accurate, but we are doing a better job every year. This year, we sent out early drafts of the pages to certain players to get their opinion. Rather than making the process more confusing (i.e. from too many chefs in the kitchen), we actually got a more a consensus and ended up with a better draw.

Game Day
Starting Friday at about 4pm I get antsy to get over to the clubs to start the tournament, and having things go well is like opening a new present. Does anyone remember seeing the movie Apollo 13, and remember Ed Harris’ role as Gene Kranz? He plays the commander of the Houston center that runs the mission from the ground. It is not the fact that that he is in, charge or that he is the one monitoring all ongoing events, it is specifically the moment when he puts on the new custom vest that his wife sews for him for that every mission launch. I love the excitement and anticipation of starting the weekend and watching it all play out. It is great to see friends again, to recognize people whose face I kind of remember from the year before, or to finally get the chance to put a face to the names I had been looking over the last few weeks. And this year, I’m getting a special vest!

If all goes well at a venue, there is very little for me to do but keep the place clean and get match scores updated on the draw sheets and online. Other than that, I try to keep matches on schedule, make sure that refs don’t skip out on their next match, and move matches around to accommodate injuries, dropout and late arrivals. As long as players are forgiving and focused on the end goal of playing squash and having fun, then most of these issues can be resolved without any lasting impact.

If there is a free court at some point during the day, I’ll try to get on court and play a few games with a friend so I’m not just watching games all day. And then in the evening, either before I head to the party at Grand Central on Saturday or head home on Sunday, I like to stay behind for a bit, not just to clean up and organize for the next day, but to take a breath and unwind before it starts all over again the next day.

And then when Sunday comes and it’s all over, I grab which ever board member is around and still tolerates me and start thinking about what we can do to make for an even better event the next year.

An Awesome Effort

2010-05-12T12:32:00.000-07:00

By Brett Erasmus

Last Saturday ten teams of fund raisers gathered in Harlem to play in the 2nd annual StreetSquash Cup (www.streetsquash.org/cup).

Each team fielded one pro and one StreetSquasher in their line up of 6 players. The games went on for many hours with each team playing 6 ties. The Williams Alumni and the Racquet and Tennis Club finished on top. They had some good players. Afterward there was an exhibition game featuring Chris Walker. It was a lot of fun and was a great day for squash in New York.

At the end of the tournament play there were prizes. Some teams won Yankee tickets, others get to see the Mets (how is this a prize? kidding), some got entry to the US Open tennis and yet others earned a day fishing in Montauk (presumably this is not Great White fishing, but you never know what you are going to catch). My team's prize is a lesson with this year's Tournament of Champions winner, James Willstrop. How cool is that?

The real winners though were the kids themselves. As a result of the fund-raising efforts of the competitors there is now almost $300,000 sitting in an endowment account for their benefit. This money is to be used solely to pay for college educations and is completely separate from the existing operating budget of the organization. Many of you who read this blog have donated money and for that the kids are extremely grateful.

It is great to be involved in a sport where people give so generously. Know that you have helped to create a new generation of young men and women who will not only have a college education but who will also have a real life-long appreciation of the game of squash.

This was an awesome effort by everyone involved.

Reposted courtesy of Brett Erasmus from Brett's Squash Blog www.brettssquashblog.com

A Cure for the Crash, Go Camping (Cos it's a Dog's Life)

2010-05-12T12:23:00.000-07:00

By Brett Erasmus

If the 1,000 point intra day stock market crash of yesterday has got you throwing up in the toilet, do I have good news for you? Besides for the fact that it is Friday (you have less than one business day to endure), in the long run you may wish to consider less drastic measures for feeling better. Like attending a summer squash camp -- or, sending your kids to one. I have been asked many times about camps for both juniors and adults, so I did a little homework. Here is the rundown on a selection of camps to the best of my knowledge, in order of distance from New York, closest to farthest (all of the links are temporarily at the top right of this site) -

If you live here and do not wish to travel far, then check out Chris Walker's camps at the NYSC in White Plains. He has a great team of coaches who give lessons and camps for both juniors and adults. Chris is a phenomenal squash player as well as coach. On occasion in his career, Chris has beaten many of the best players the game has ever produced. He is the real deal and anyone would be privileged to get his advice and attention on the court for a few days. In fact, if your kid is left handed this would be a good option (as, so is Chris).

The top squash universities also run camps, namely Trinity, Yale, and Princeton (not sure if Harvard does). The college coaches run the programs for the most part, but Princeton has brought in England's Mike Johnson. Gareth Webber at Yale also has brought in the best, in the form of John White and Neil Harvey. They have adult camps too. If you want to train really hard, I suspect this would be a good option. The Yale guys are professional, experienced and are a very strong coaching team. The Trinity camp in Hartford is run by Paul Assaiante who needs no introduction. You'll learn a thing or two at this camp. There is a reason Trinity is unbeaten for over a decade.

If you are prepared to take your kids a bit further, then you have a bunch more options. Williams has an 'English style' camp with many of the current and former British pros as guest coaches, e.g. Nick Matthew, Lee Beachill and Peter Barker. It is run by Dave Pearson who is apparently one of the best in the business. He has coached a few world champion players (most notably, Peter Nicol) as well as championship teams. This camp should be awesome. If you want your kids to learn how to play a disciplined and deep game of squash, then send them there.

If you want a junior player to learn how to outthink his or her opponents, then consider the camp at Amherst run by Jonathan Power. If you play squash you would have heard of him by now, he is one of the most talented players the game has ever seen, maybe the most talented. No doubt your kid will come back with holds and angles and thought processes that you won't even believe are true.

If you want your junior to learn about mental strength and consistency, then consider the camp near Boston run by long time world champ Peter Nicol. Or if your junior is left-handed, this would be good as Peter is also a left-handed player and is a great coach. He imparts simple concepts which are extremely effective and very easy to follow.

Finally, if you (or your kids) want to learn how to beat your opponent in the front of the court with a fast paced 'Egyptian style' attacking game then consider going all the way to Mark Talbott's alma mater in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. Tim Bacon, a sports scientist and head coach at Smith, runs the show. He is great and totally into the science behind squash. He'll teach you all about mental preparation, exercise advice, diet, training techniques, as well as break down your swing in slow motion and compare it to the ideal (you will find this really interesting). And Tim is supported by, amongst others, 2 top Egyptian pros, namely Karim Darwish, recent world number one, and his wife Engy Kheirallah. Engy's highest WISPA ranking is 12, but if there was a women's coaching ladder I am sure she would be number 1. She communicates her thoughts extremely well, and is very perceptive in identifying weaknesses in someone's game and correcting them. If you have daughters and want them to learn from a female player, this would be a great camp to send them to. Of course, Darwish is no slouch either. He has one of the cleanest ball strikes I've ever seen. If you want to learn how to hit a ball well, he is a great one to imitate. This camp is in deepest, darkest Pennsylvania, but I went there last year and had a great time, learned loads, and was extremely satisfied with the whole experience. The few times I was on court with Karim were a particular highlight. It was well worth the effort of getting there.

If you don't think a summer camp would be beneficial and you would prefer to just take your once a week lesson from your club pro, that is fine too, but getting immersed in the game with a group of similarly minded individuals is a great way to improve, get fitter and smarter, and take your mind off the stock market. I mean seriously, many people (perhaps some of you) pay for their dogs to get trained, or exercised, or go to doggie-yoga. There are even sheep herding courses you can send your dog to, which would be a really useful skill for, you know, a Chihuahua in New York. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs, all I am saying is, consider not paying money to get your poodle into the latest Latin doggie dance class, and rather send your kids (and perhaps yourself) to a squash camp this summer. You'll be really glad you did.

Reposted courtesy of Brett Erasmus from Brett's Squash Blog www.brettssquashblog.com

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MSRA note:

For adult camps - check out www.msra.net where we will be continuing to post a list of camps - right now check out ROME squash camp!

What Does It Take?

2010-05-05T07:34:00.000-07:00

by Tracy Gates

There are over 4,000 members of the MSRA. And 698 played on leagueteams this year. But only four of them won the prestigious Lehman and Fernandezawards for most improved player. As I happen to know three of them (full disclosure:as a league captain I can nominate, but I had nothing to do with choosing thewinners), I have a pretty good idea what it takes—what it should take—toget this award. So listen up. Want to be in contention next year? This is whatyou have to do. . . .

Play four to five times a week.

Chris Gerra – Printing House M5.0, Robert H Lehman Award

Chris began playing in 2007 (yes, that’s just three years ago;yes, he was 6-0 on a 5.0 team; yes, I’m disgusted, too.), trying out variousround robins around the city. But when a pro told him he’d have to play four tofive times a week to get to the next level, he began playing much, much more. Amere few months later, he was leading his 3.5 team to victory. The next year,he moved up to 5.0, and a year after that he was undefeated until a snappedcollar bone took him out for the remainder of the season. Rumor is he’s back onthe courts muttering ‘no pain, no gain’ before every volley….

Predictions? Graduation to 5.5, unless he tries for the‘hurricane’ again at Stratton….

Put on your game face.

Diane Best – Printing House W4.0, Fernandez Trophy

Diane began playing in 2004, and this was her first year on ateam. But Diane didn’t just dip her toe in the water, she jumped intocompetition feet first. She took lessons, she began working with a personaltrainer, and she played challenge matches with almost everyone on the team. Butmost impressively (to her captain, who would be me), she flicked a switchbefore playing team matches. Gone was the wise-cracking affable teammate and inher place was a steely-eyed opponent with one clear focus – to beat you. It wasdefinitely intimidating. She was undefeated until almost the end of the season.

Predictions? Watch for her ‘intimidating’ team uniform nextseason.

Go for everything.

Mina Pell Mitby – Harvard Club W4.0, Fernandez Trophy

As everyone who’s ever played Mina knows, Mina does NOT give up.Not when she’s in the back left corner and you feed her a drop in the frontright. Not when she’s down two games to none and it’s at match point. Not ever.Her match record was an impressive 8-3 and she reached the finals of the GrandOpen by beating women who’ve played decades longer than she (I should know…).Mina’s determination to be a better player has also made for a stronger team.As the captain of the Harvard Club’s W4.0 team, she's helped to build one ofthe deepest squads in the league.

Predictions? Look for Mina’s team at the top of its division fromnow until she retires.

When life gives you lemons, play more squash.

Michael Pepper – New York Health & Racquet Club,3.5, Robert H Lehman Award

Like many of us, Mike was a tennis player (NCAA div III) who gotwise and switched to squash. He played in the 3.5 division for a few years,until life dealt him a handthat forced him to hang up his racquet for a while. But as soon as he was able,he was back on the courts and playing an even better game (squash, that is),ending this season with a 10-4 record in 3.5 and 2-1 as a sub in 4.0.Recovering from a serious illness, he observes, has enabled him to relax moreand focus on his game instead of winning. Of course, in the mental game thatsquash is, now he is winning! Mike was the captain of his 3.5 team thisseason, just missing a playoff berth by two games.

Predictions? If it’s up to Mike, HRC will make the 3.5 playoffsnext year!

Congratulations Mike, Mina, Diane, and Chris. Looking forward toseeing some of those predictions come to pass! As for the rest of us, when afriend found out I was writing about these award recipients, he asked "dothey hand out awards for the player ‘most on a plateau for the past severalyears’?” Sorry, guys, they do not. So get your squash butt in gear like theaforementioned and aim higher. Good luck!

Tracy Gates (Printing House 4.0) knows what it takes:she was the winner of the 2008 Fernandez Trophy.

How the Hyder Gets Done

2010-05-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

By Corey Modeste

I am Corey Modeste, an MSRAvolunteer and one of the people involved in the planning of the MSRA’s GrandOpen and Hyder Squash tournaments. Some of you may see me onsite during theweekend, but my biggest contribution are made in the months and weeks prior tothe tournaments when the key logistical elements are put in place.

Not that you were thinking about it (and not that I would accept rightaway) but if you were to bribesomeone to have your matches played on your ideal schedule and against theright seeds, I’d be that person. While I was a decent league andtournament player a few years ago, somewhere along the line, I realized that Iwas a really goodtournament director.

Even though I know you’d rather play squash than read about howit’s planned, I enjoy planning tournaments so much that this factdidn’t stop me from taking a moment to write about what goes into anevent like the Hyder or the Grand. Here is what it’s like, starting with12 months to go.

Planning for this Hyder begins the minute the previous big tournamentends. Literally minutes after the 2010 Grand Open final match (men’s 5.5conso final), my mind turned to ways to improve the Hyder. Kenny Scher, Jessica Green (fellow MSRA volunteers) andI were having dinner at a bar near the Sports Club LA and I asked everyone whatthey thought of the event. I got the sense that they just wanted to hang outand talk about everything BUT squash planning, but I suspect they have alsolearned to humor me over the years.

To keep the debrief simple and effective, I make a list of “whatwent well” (and should be continued) and “what didn’t gowell” (and should be changed). As a group, the MSRA had long decidedthat we were not going to try to do everything possible throughout the year,but that we would work to put on a handful of well planned, well executedevents, such as our singles leagues and our two big tournaments. Interestinglyenough, even though we constantly improve our events and cross items off the“what to improve” list, the length seems to stay constant because wealways find new things to do differently and improve.

Hyder at Two Months To Go

We started registration for the Hyder in about eight weeks before thetournament and that is when the stress begins. Coming off the Grand (and arecord 230 players) we felt great and on top of the world. But, none of thatmeans anything if players don’t sign up for the next event. Are peopleplaying squash in a bad economy? Is the Hyder too late in the season? Iseveryone golfing or playing tennis in the warm weather? It doesn’t getto the point where I wake up at night in terror, BUT I do spend lots of latenights awake working or thinking of ways to improve the process. Whether it is testingout new software for online shopping carts or looking at historical player dataso seed draws, I am always thinking about what I can do to make our tournamentsbetter.

Part of me is rational and calm and thinking about just planning the‘best event possible’ but I can’t deny that I also want to gobig. We’ve had the good fortune of having record turnouts for the lastfew years of our tournaments. Now, I am a mostly rational person and I knowthat we cannot break attendance records every year, but I also love it whensignups start to roll in.

For the six weeks preceding the tournament, if you play squash in NY,then it’s likely that I’ve approached you to play the Hyder. If youare a NY squash player and you have NOT yet heard from me, let me know, as wehave things to discuss. Through a combination of people signing upvoluntarily, people being cajoled into it and people threatened with bodilyharm if they don’t sign up (like Brad Feld and Julie Lilien) peopleeventually do sign up. I am not sure if we will have a record this year; inlarge part because last year we had a freakishly large Hyder draw of 212players. But, at 169 players with 10 days to go, I think we’ll end up190, which is considerably above our historical average of 150.

Next week: The Hyder at T minus one week.

Congratulations, resolutions, and one confession

2010-04-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

By Tracy Gates

The end of the league season is upon us. Later this week, we will see what squashmates look like in regular clothes at the MSRA league party; we will cheer as the plaques are distributed to the division winners and finalists; and we will honor the most improved players of the season. If we don’t win anything, we will be happy that our sport comes with an occasional open bar and (mostly) such convivial comrades. Congrats to all.

Speaking of congratulations, I have a bit of a confession to make—which I don’t believe that I’ve owned up to until now. I was awarded the most improved female player award last year. The plexiglass award is sitting on my mantle. I am very proud of it. But I should not have received it.

No, I did not rig the nominee process, nor bribe the MSRA. I had no idea I was going to receive it until someone at the MSRA told me it would be a good idea to show up to the end-of-season party. That’s where they called my name and mentioned things like my much improved match record, my signing up for tournaments and round robins and ref-ing clinics. Uh, yeah, most of this was true, but clearly they did not know this one fact that should’ve knocked me right out of the running. I only played once or twice a week. I was a much-improved fraud.

Did I refuse the award, though? Well, no. But I pretty much decided then and there that I was going to earn that award going forward. I would spend the next year being the most improved female player.

Many people make resolutions at the beginning of the year, or the beginning of a season. I make them at the end. Often after I do something kind of crappy. I act out of further embarrassment. I guess you could also call it learning from your mistakes. This was the specific point made in an article in Squash Magazine that I—in resolution #1—decided to begin reading, instead of letting pile up and molder in the bathroom. In the article, the author stated the importance of evaluating one’s matches, in order to determine what one needed to improve in the future. Up until that point, my self-evaluations had consisted of something like this: You won? You’re doing great! You lost? You suck. Perhaps I needed to reevaluate my evaluations.

Lucky for you, I no longer can remember the details of my reevaluation, but I did make a list of resolutions. And because I like to give out free advice, here they are:

Play more. But how much more? Soon after I resolved to do this, a friend shared his frequency of playing philosophy. Playing once a week was slipping slowly backwards, twice a week was maintaining the status quo, and anything three times and preferably more you had a chance of improving. I’ve been logging three to six days a week ever since. What my friend failed to mention was the improved chances of injury; I’ve been resting my elbow on an icepack as I type this….
Play with a more varied group of players. Now I love the camaraderie of the women’s round robin I’ve participated in since I joined the Printing House oh so many years ago. But I wasn’t playing matches other than league and I wasn’t playing that hard. So I branched out, to guys. I played in the summer Street Squash RRs, the co-ed (but mostly guy) RRs at Printing House, and in the ultimate traitorous act to my gender, joined the men’s 3.0 team at Printing House. It worked; I got faster and stronger. Then again, it also made me appreciate playing women more.
Play with a pro. In other words, get some coaching. I would’ve done this years ago, but I already spend a goodly amount every month just to play squash. I am not cheap, I just don’t make a bundle in my publishing job. So weekly lessons were pretty much not an option. But a friend invited me to share a lesson with her every few weeks or so. And that I could do—if I handed her the money really fast and didn’t think about all the other stuff I could buy with it. I could also probably write a whole season’s worth of blog posts on how valuable those lessons were. As the coaching slowly attached to my brain and my body, I could feel my legs lunge more, my torso twist more, my wrist snap more. Gradually, the game and all of its parts meant more.
Don’t just play. This is not so appealing to some squash players, but fortunately for me I’m addicted to a body conditioning class at my gym and when our club pro (shout out to Sean Gibbon) advised core strengthening to avoid injury, I just made sure I kept the other stuff up. I also added in more squash drills. They always seemed somewhat boring to me, but now that they make much more sense, I often combine half an hour of drills with half an hour of games.

I’m happy to say that I now feel worthy of last year’s most-improved player award. So what if I did it retroactively? And now that this season is wrapping up, it’s time for more resolutions. Here’s the first: no more confessions.

Tracy Gates plays on the women’s 4.0 team at the Printing House

'Are you ready for this, champ?

2010-04-23T04:04:00.000-07:00

photo courtesy Rob White (www.robwhitephotography.com)

By Brett Erasmus

Have you ever seen the movie Rudy? You know, the one about the Notre Dame student who lacks the talent and physical size to be a serious football player, but at the end of the last game in his final year he finally comes in - and sacks the opposing quarterback in a perfect ending. It is an inspiring story and every now and then you are lucky enough to stumble across an experience that moves you like this. This happened to me on Wednesday night...

Printing House were playing Cityview in the finals of the MSRA Men's 5.0 league. The whole season hung in the balance. The teams were neck and neck right down to the final match, with the winner effectively deciding the championship. These 2 players had faced each other before in the season and the more talented and experienced player had prevailed. This time the 'weaker' player was fired up (it was the league finals) and won the first game, but, the older player came into his own and went up 2-1 in games. In fact, he won the third game 11-3. He was totally in control and it looked like it was all over. The other matches were already decided and we were one game from the end of the season. Then a funny thing happened.

Up until this point 'Rudy' (not a fair analogy but permit me please) had been run ragged around the court. He was clearly exhausted and had nothing left to give, physically. But he also had nothing left to lose. The game was all but over. Nobody in the crowd expected him to win at this point; except perhaps one or two delusional teammates. He just got crushed in the prior game. The other matches were done and now the whole crowd moved over to watch the fourth game - when this happened, 'Rudy's' activation level went up, visibly. It appeared like he was giving himself one last desperate push.

He found new energy that he did not have a game earlier. He started running everything down and making impossible gets. He was digging balls out of the back corners that he had no business getting back. And he started hitting shots that he really should not have been going for at this point in the game. He was playing unbelievably well, hitting winners from every imaginable opportunity. It was uncanny. And up or down, no matter the outcome, he was just going for it. Some of the shots he hit in the next 2 games I swear John White would have been proud of. Every time he hit one of these dead winners his opponent would turn to the back wall and gaze at his teammates in disbelief. The crowd was agasp. I don't think anyone could believe how well this guy was playing. I don't think he could believe it himself. This gentleman showed desire and courage that is uncommon and, against all perceivable odds, he won the whole season for his team.

Never underestimate the heart of a champion.

Zach Stern was not carried off on the shoulders of his teammates on Wednesday evening; but he probably should have been.

Winning and Losing It

2010-04-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

By Tracy Gates

During a round of drinks to celebrate our finals win againstthe Harvard Club, one of my teammates mused aloud that competing was perhapstoo stressful to be worth doing. This was from the teammate who had played morechallenge matches than anyone else AND won most of her matches during theseason. Another teammate noddedher head vigorously in agreement. What? We’d just won the finals in ourdivision and they were already bailing on next season??

But I knew exactly where they werecoming from. After two years of losing in the play-offs (and getting the‘small’ plaque), I had been losing sleep worrying that we were headed to yearnumber three. I know, getting a plaque of any size ain’t a big deal in thescheme of things, but this being my first season as captain and feelingresponsible to a team of nine great women, I began to feel what I imagine themanager of the Cubs or the coach of Lindsey Jacobellis must feel: we deservethis! And we had had a great season; everyone had played (no small feat w/ 9 ona team), we had fun, and we achieved my goal, to make it to playoffs. But oncewe did that I realized that what I really wanted was to win.

And that’s when I started to feelsick. Or was it stress? My captain’s brain was turning over the possibleoutcomes. Our number one had beaten HC’s number one at the beginning of theseason, but it was in five tense games. No sure thing there. Their number twohad beaten me a few months earlier, but also in five games. I had a chance. Andour number three had never played their number three so who knew? We could takeit all or lose it all. And so I spent the night before our match fitfullydreaming of ludicrous outcomes – one being that some of the HC team didn’t showup so we won by default, which of course was a bummer. Even my dream self knewthat.

The day of the match I lost myappetite. I bought a large Gatorade, started hydrating, and asked people topray for us (kiddingly, but maybe not). I honestly couldn’t remember the lasttime I’d felt this nervous. The marathon? But I didn’t have to win that thing;I just had to finish. I kept thinking things like: by this time tomorrow it’llbe over. In x hours, I’ll be tying my sneakers in the locker room. And then IWAS tying my sneakers. Shit. I was there. It was time.

Mercifully, my opponent didn’tgive me much time to fret. She’s a get down to business quickly kind of player.So we were off. And I’m not going to bore you with the gory five game details.Only that when I came off the court at the end I knew that all that nervousnessand stress and lost sleep/appetite/mind WAS worth it. Totally worth it. And ifmy musing teammate had been in my shoes she would’ve known it too. Maybe shewill if she reads this. Or maybe she’ll just have to wait until next year whenI drag her back on the team.

Good luck to all, winners andlosers. I’ve been both.

Tracy

Printing House Women’s 4.0 team captain

An Even Bigger Apple

2010-04-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

By Brett Erasmus

Why is New York called the Big Apple? Opinions vary, but some think it dates back to old horse racing days. New York was the race to win, you see.

Well, this weekend the Eastern Athletic Club hosts the Big Apple Open squash tournament. This event has been on and off over the years and we are glad it has found a new home in Brooklyn. The MSRA is quietly expanding into the boroughs of New York. Not surprising given that one of the stated organizational objectives is to support squash in all 5 boroughs of NYC, as well as Westchester County, Fairfield County, and all of Long Island.

So far we have hosted many events at the StreetSquash Center in Harlem. And we will be hosting a hardball doubles league (starting now) based in Queens. There will also be a few of these doubles games played in Brooklyn. The hardball doubles game seems to be growing in popularity. We have teams from at least ten different squash clubs playing in the league this spring. This even includes a few players from clubs in Long Island. A doubles league has not been played for some time in New York and we are looking forward to seeing it happen again, you know, given that the promotion of this game is another of our stated organizational objectives.

If you have not signed up for the Big Apple it is too late as it starts today, but you can still sign up for the doubles league; or for our flagship event, the Hyder next month. Just look follow the links on the left margin of this website.

Good luck to everyone who loves to compete. And enjoy your adventures outside of Manhattan. Sadly, I don't think there are any squash courts in Staten Island (but you probably can't see horse racing there either).

Pre-playoff update

2010-04-01T20:53:00.000-07:00

The winter league season is coming to a close; playoffs and finals matches run through April, and the season closes with the annual League Party on April 29.

Here are some things to look out for in the upcoming playoff matches:

- Men's 3.0: Season-long rivals NYU and HRC may be heading for a finals showdown. This will be a particularly interesting match given the drama between the teams this year... and the fact that neither of these scrappy teams even has home courts.

- Men's 3.5: Check out Alex Ha's record -- it is phenomenal. Next year we'll see you in 4.0, Alex.

- Women's 4.0: Look out for Printing House, keen to avenge last year's finals loss to Harvard. And shout out to the MSRA's own Emily Stieff who has the best individual record in the league.

- Men's 5.0: The brand new StreetSquash team is pretty much cleaning up; they're the ones to beat in the playoffs. Nice to see such a high level of play in the 5.0 this year, by all teams.

The season has seen great matches and competitive spirit by all players. Good luck in the playoffs!

Heart, Mind, Body and Soul?

2010-03-26T08:07:00.000-07:00

By Brett Erasmus

On September 4 last year I wrote a note about our Summer of Fun at the SL Green StreetSquash Center. You know, the place in Harlem that Hilary Clinton opened about a year ago. A bunch of you stepped out of your comfort zone, made the trip uptown, and competed against unknown opponents under quite different conditions; i.e. younger opponents who could run forever on very hot brand new ASB squash courts. Everyone had loads of fun doing this. If you missed the opportunity to see the place (it is quite impressive) you will get more chances in the future, don’t worry.

There will no doubt be many more tournaments and leagues held in Harlem in future. In early May, in fact, the Center hosts the StreetSquash Cup. This will be a unique one day invitational event where many top players will compete against each other, as well as various amateurs players and the best of the kids.

The US number one women’s player, Natalie Grainger, is on one of the invitational sides. So am I. Having played many of her current and former US teammates in hard games over the last few years, I realize I have absolutely no chance of beating her. So I have recruited a surprise number one player for the Common Good team. He is a seasoned professional and definitely won’t lose to Natalie (I think..).

The program itself has been around for ten years, and is the first urban squash program of its kind in the US. The organization successfully combines squash with academic and personal counseling for underprivileged high school kids in the area. And they do this very well. Their high school and college graduation rates are stratospherically above the national average. You can read all about it at http://www.streetsquash.org/.

There are few better ways than squash to push your body and your mind to the limit. The team at the StreetSquash Center also rely on heart and soul.

Can a Tiger Really Change his Stripes?

2010-03-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

By Brett Erasmus

A little While ago I joked that if squash were to ever make the Olympics it would take 1. a fight on court and 2. someone seriously imploding off-court, basically in order to spur media interest. I wrote this in jest obviously. Well, nevertheless, I got my first wish a few weeks ago (if you don't know what I am talking about, don't even worry about it). And now with Tiger finally appearing from the woods to play in the Masters next month, I wonder if one of our squash celebrities can fill the void he leaves behind..?

Doubt it though: They are a group of good clean All American boys. Just look at the magazine that came with the Wall Street Journal last Saturday. The US number one squash player, Julian Illingworth, has a full page spread, alongside a few other prominent US sportsmen. He looks very respectable and quite dapper in his Armani suit. Good thing he won the US National Champs last weekend in Rhode Island, for the 6th time running (the Journal picked the winner).

It was not an entirely one-sided affair though. Illingworth played US number 2 Gilly Lane in the finals and actually dropped a game for the first time in the tournament. This does not happen often in US competition. Illingworth is currently ranked 31st in the world and is (arguably) the best squash player the US has ever produced. But, absent of Illingworth, this honor may have belonged to Gilly Lane. In fact, he is quietly and steadily climbing the world rankings. He started last year at 79th is currently 59th. And like Illingworth, he is quite the gentleman, a good sport, and would have looked just as good in an Armani suit. Hang in there Gilly Lane, we know it's tough being number two. (and please don't go tiger, whatever you do).

Top Gun

2010-03-12T06:56:00.001-08:00

By Brett Erasmus

Last weekend the country's finest college squash players gathered in Hartford to see who is the top gun for the 2010 season. Harvard took the honors, with the best male and female players, Colin West and Laura Gemmell respectively.

And a Harvard junior who you may know, Jason Michas, won the mens' B section trophy. Last year he played in the MSRA 5.5 league in New York under the tutelage of Richard Chin. It is nice to see Harvard take all these awards after another dominating season by the Trinity Mens' team. In fact, this is the first time in over a decade that the mens' title has not gone to either Trinity or Princeton. This can only be good for the game. And for American squash.

Great young players seem to be continuously arriving on the scene. In fact, the general level of squash play in the US is increasing at a rapid rate. And that's the thing about squash: A talent can develop to a point that a good junior player can not only play someone twice his/her size and many times their strength, but actually out-match them.

I saw that happen this week in the MSRA 3.5 league, in fact. An 11 year old beat a friend of mine (a grown man) in a really competitive match. It was pretty amazing to watch the young man stick to his game plan, almost without falter. Needless to say, the sweet part (for me) is that, for years to come, I get to tease my friend about the day he lost to an 11 year old kid.

Last weekend many American players rose to the top of college squash, an arena which foreign players for the most part have dominated until now (in recent memory anyway). I suspect that in years to come, the best of the best will hail from the US.

Character Test

2010-03-05T07:59:00.000-08:00

By Brett Erasmus

With the sportsmanship debate raging over the incidents at the College Squash finals a week ago, it is nice to see good character prevail. The Trinity number one has withdrawn from competing in the singles champs this weekend, even though he is the top seed and clear favorite to win the whole thing for the 4th time running. This means a college other than Princeton or Trinity may claim their first mens’ singles crown in over a decade..

The Trinity number one, Baset Chaudhry, is the defending national singles champion, a title he has won for the last 3 years. In fact, for the last 4 years he has been the US college number one squash player. Before him Princeton players had ruled. For the decade up until Chaudhry took over in 2007 Princeton players had taken the number one spot (aside from Bernardo Samper’s one victory). Chaudhry’s decision to step down has left the door wide open this year. Princeton’s top player and Trinity’s number two are both contenders for the title, but Harvard have a very strong number one, and, I suspect, they will break the Trinity/Princeton domination of the mens’ singles title.

Even without this knowledge, it must have been extremely difficult for Chaudhry to make the decision to step down from the tournament this weekend. Clearly what happened in his match against Yale was a lapse of judgement on his part. Stepping down must have been a very hard thing to do, but it was the right thing to do. I suspect, at the very least, the decision was welcomed by his coach, Paul Assaiante.

It is clear from Assaiante’s reaction at the game itself that he was not happy with what happened that day. It is also clear that he made Chaudhry apologize before the prizegiving. One can only wonder how much of the decision to apologize and withdraw from this weekend came from Assaiante. It is clear that he knew what to do from the start.

Assaiante said the following words in this regard:

“I would like to thank Baset for the tremendous effort he has given and the acclaim that he has brought over an extended period to his teammates and to the College, not just on the court, but equally important in the distinguished way he has carried himself as a student and leader. He is one of the most impressive student-athletes to step on this campus during my time here. We are proud to be associated with a young man of his quality… Baset is one of the most beloved figures on campus and a scholar-athlete who has achieved faculty honors. He had a youthful lapse of composure, and now he has voluntarily agreed to step down. It's a classy thing to do and we applaud him for it.”

He stood up for his number one player under fire. That’s takes character.

One man definitely passed the test.

Dishonorable Discharge

2010-02-25T21:42:00.000-08:00

By Brett Erasmus

The College Squash Association National Championships were decided last weekend. Trinity claimed their 12th consecutive title by beating Yale by a winning margin of 6-3. In the process they made all the news channels (even ESPN) but, unfortunately, not for the right reasons..

Trinity number 1 Baset Chaudhry’s 3-0 win over Ken Chan of Yale gave the Bantams their 5th win of the day and clinched them the title. The real news is this though: apparently there was a verbal barrage between the players on court, as well as from the supporters (again!? really!?). The players were even staring each other down between points as their tempers flared.

Then things got totally out of hand in the end. As the final point was won Chaudhry ended up physically confronting his opponent in a massively aggressive way (I don't how else to describe this, you just need to see the video, look in the blog below). And then, instead of composing himself after the initial celebration and shaking his opponent's hand, he blocked the poor guy from coming off court. Ouch. It was certainly not the most humble celebration we've ever seen. Chaudhry's antics have stirred up an incredible amount of publicity and they do not portray squash as a game played by, how shall I say this, athletes that embody the Olympic spirit. Quite the opposite actually.

The 6-3 margin was the closest of the season for Trinity. In fact, all of the match results in the finals pretty much went according to expectations based on the players’ individual rankings, so the outcome was no real surprise. Trinity had already beaten Yale convincingly earlier this season.

Still, this was quite a relief for the Trinity team (especially their number one player apparently) as all the pressure is squarely on them. They successfully continue a legacy that started 14 years ago when head coach Paul Assaiante recruited his first really good foreign player (from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in South Africa).

Trinity's match winning streak is now at 224 games. This is the longest unbeaten record of any US collegiate sports team ever. But the other schools have been catching up over the years and seem close to dethroning them of their squash supremacy. If Trinity finally decide to cap the number of foreign players they bring in from now on (they may not have an option) the balance of power will certainly shift more quickly.

On a happier note, 8 of the best professional players in the world are playing in a tournament in Westchester starting next Monday. Check out http://www.prosquashtour.org/ for all the details. If you do attend next week please note there is only money on the line, not pride, so the celebrations there should be significantly more subdued.

Squash and Sportsmanship Become a Hot Topic

2010-02-25T09:22:00.000-08:00

Squash and sportsmanship are a hot topic after this incident. Check it out:

and check out additional coverage at SquahZag:
http://www.squashzag.com/members/profile/3/blog-view/blog_730.html

Heartbreak Ridge

2010-02-18T15:45:00.000-08:00

By Brett Erasmus

I know this is a blog about squash but the Winter Olympics really has been awesome to watch, so, I digress. The big stars like Apolo Ohno, Sean White and Lindsey Vonn have so far managed to hold their nerve and deliver to their potential. But spare a thought for some of their less fortunate competitors..

Last weekend Rocket man Ohno was coming 4th in the men’s 1500m until the final corner, when 2 of the Korean skaters basically took each other out and gifted the US the 2nd and 3rd spots. Those guys trained hard for 4 years just to get to a point where they were split seconds from a 1/2/3 sweep for their country. They must be heartbroken; and their coach must be more than a little upset. A few days later one of Sean White’s big Japanese rivals bombed out in the halfpipe by trying to go one up on White, but ended up doing a pretty impressive face-plant. He was forced to go back to the top of the hill and complete his final run bloodied and embarrassed, and with full knowledge that Sean White had outdone him again. Another 4 years of hard work down the tubes (excuse the pun).

And then, one of Lindsey Vonn's main rivals in the women’s downhill had to watch as Vonn crossed the line (a few minutes before her run) to post the fastest time of the day. And Vonn was basically skiing on one leg, because the other leg was severely bruised in a recent accident. In fact, she has hardly skied at all for over 2 weeks, owing to the pain. So her leg must have hurt like hell by the time she landed the final jump at full speed (talk about gutsy!). So the Swede who followed her had no option but to also push herself to her physical limit in order to try to win the race. And she did. And this limit came with the finish line in sight, as she sat back on the last jump and literally flew 2 thirds the length of a football field before crashing through a gate and sliding across the finish line on her back. Vonn could not even bare to watch this. Fortunately, none of these Olympians broke anything or was seriously injured, but the pain of defeat in such a fashion must have been way more telling than the physical injuries they will endure.

The real test comes in how these athletes react to the defeat. Will they stand up, dust themselves off and come back to fight another day? Or will they give up and fall over the ridge of despair? There is still more competition to come for each of them.

Squash players know this feeling well. No matter how good you are, there is always someone out there who’s got your number. As we recently saw at the ToC, even the world number one has his off days. It’s not the defeat in itself that counts - everyone loses sometimes - it’s how you deal with that defeat that determines your ultimate success.

Squash Boot Camp

2010-02-12T07:54:00.000-08:00

By Brett Erasmus

So, you are just getting into the game and find that physically it's almost too much to sustain. Every time you play your legs hurt, and sometimes even your back and butt. Then, once you have become fitter and are a little used to it, you keep pulling your groin, twisting your ankles or falling victim to tennis elbow. Or perhaps you are extremely fit, but still occasionally suffer from calf, achilles or shoulder tears. Yes, squash is demanding on your body and yes you can get injured, but allow me to talk a little about the benefits of squash. I am no fitness expert, so I looked it up.

The old fashioned ways of getting in shape are of course running, cycling, weights training, and swimming. Running or cycling around central park every morning is a great cardio workout, but what does it do for upper body strength. And running can wreak havoc on joints, especially if you are not very light (like me). Weight training obviously improves muscular strength, but it is totally lacking in cardio. Getting bigger muscles is not going to promote a strong heart (or help you get around a squash court either). I know many people who think swimming is the ideal activity for a total-body workout, and I agree with this to a large extent. But, that’s only if you use the proper technique and are actually fit enough (swim specific fitness) to keep it up at a sustained intensity for longer than a few minutes.

When assessing squash against the 4 generally accepted physiological components of fitness it comes up trumps. Firstly, it is great for cardio-respiratory endurance – even if you are on court for only 30 minutes, it is as good as jogging or spinning (if not, then you are not playing hard enough..). I guess you could do 400m sprints on a track, as a good alternative. Indeed, many squash world champions swear by this (I once saw Karim Darwish do several sets of 400M and it became quickly apparent to me why these guys are so fit). Squash also promotes decent muscular strength and endurance (components 2 and 3). Don’t underestimate how important these are to squash. The muscular strength and endurance obtained playing squash is more than you would think. Sure, it is not in your biceps, but is in the part of your body which counts, your core. Squash players play extended rallies and are almost constantly running, so this builds strength and endurance in your core and lower body. There is sport specific weight training you can do to make you stronger and faster. Ask any fitness professional. Finally, the flexibility you gain from squash is not bad at all. There are many lunges, twists and turns which increase flexibility in the back and abdomen. The range of motion is probably not as much as is the case with yoga or pilates, but there is much more inertia build up as you are doing all the movements under pressure.

But the best news is when you put all these factors together, you get a workout where the calorie burn is off the charts. When measured against other sports, the energy expenditure in squash is extremely high and seems to burn a massive amount of calories. Per the American College of Sports Medicine the calorie burn rate of a 190-pound person playing squash for 30 minutes is over 450 calories. And a normal hard game of squash will easily run you about 700-800 calories. I wonder how many calories a 250 pound guy playing 5 games of squash over one hour would burn?

Of course, for professional athletes and more serious squash players, cross training is critical. You can try yoga, or weight training, or do triathlons etc. Or, you could do a boot camp at a gym - they look like hard work too. If this does not get you fit enough for squash, you could just quit your job and join the army. That’ll get you fit.

No Medals For You

2010-02-05T07:41:00.000-08:00

By Brett Erasmus (written August 14, 2009)
In anticipation of the Olympics I remember back to a piece I wrote in August last year when the IOC voted on which 2 sports to include in the Summer Games going forward:

“On August 13, 2009 the IOC voted golf and rugby sevens onto the short list for addition to the Summer Olympics. The decision to include them will be ratified next month. Karate just missed the cut. This means that, sadly, squash did not feature. Pretty surprising news, considering that four years ago squash made the cut, but actually missed getting in as a two thirds majority was required to ratify. This time around only a simple majority is required, and so golf and rugby are guaranteed a spot in the 2016 Olympic Games. As a supporter of both sports, I am happy they are included (and as a South African, I am very happy that we actually stand a chance of winning a gold medal for a change - we are rugby world champs). But as a squash fan, I am extremely disappointed. The sports were evaluated based on various criteria, like representation, accessibility, and the fact that the Olympic Games would represent the pinnacle of achievement in a given sport. This is something I am sure every professional squash player would agree with - Olympic Gold would certainly be a highlight in their careers. Tiger Woods has won The Open 3 times, has 4 green jackets and has made almost one billion dollars from golf in his lifetime. When asked what he thought of the IOC decision, he said, "I'd love to play for the rugby team". It is such a pity the IOC went for commercial appeal.”

Looking back, at the time I felt like I may have been stepping out on a limb by quoting golf’s golden boy, Tiger Woods, saying something that, although in good humor, may have been slightly out of kilter. Given what has transpired with him over the last few months I don’t think anyone will be too surprised with anything he says (or does, for that matter). Perhaps that is what squash needs, controversy and drama. If fights broke out on court and someone went Tiger off court, perhaps that would generate a little bit of media interest. And then Boom!, next thing you know squash is in the Olympics.

Sadly, I don’t see this happening. And no matter how mentally and physically demanding the game is, in terms of visual appeal it can never compete with watching Sean White doing double mctwist 1260’s in the superpipe. The Winter Olympics starts next Friday. It is going to be great viewing.

Grand Open Recap

2010-02-03T08:44:00.000-08:00

By Corey Modeste

The 2010 Metropolitan Squash Racquets Association (MSRA) Grand Open squash tournament raised an already high bar for amateur squash tournaments by drawing a record number of players to Manhattan for the third straight year. No one, not least the event’s organizers, thought this year’s event would top the 2009 record of 216 players, but the 230 participants playing across 12 men’s and women’s draws meant that even with two weeks to go before the tournament’s start, most draws had waitlists. As is common, the men’s 3.5 to 5.0 draws filled up first, but 2010 saw a large increase in the number of women players.

Lorraine Bates and Marcia Salovitz (Photo courtesy of Marcia Salovitz)

“The growth in women’s squash has been phenomenal,” according to Emily Stieff and Jessica Green, co-chairs’ of the MSRA’s women’s squash program. “Twenty percent more female players showed up to play this year,” said Green, “and those numbers quickly spurred us to add much needed women’s 4.5 and 5.5 draws. Normally, talented women like Julie Lilien and Shirin Kaufman would have competed in the men’s 5.0 draw, but there were enough equally competitive women this year that they opted to compete in an eight-strong women’s 5.5 draw.”

The 2010 Grand continued its affiliation with the professional Tournament of Champions (TOC) held at Grand Central Station, and all of the Grand’s players had access to thrilling opening rounds of play on Friday and Saturday. Not only were the Grand Open and the Tournament of Champions in play that weekend, but there were junior tournaments organized by StreetSquash, the Event Engine (organizers of the TOC) and the CityView Racquet Club.

Players Lorraine Bates, Amiee Little, Simone Stevenson and Emily Stieff enjoy the MSRA's open bar at the TOC saturday night. (Photo courtesy of Marcia Salovitz)

With players coming from as far as Florida, Illinois and California for what has been dubbed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg as “New York City Squash Week”, it became increasingly harder to predict winners of the draws. No longer could tournament organizers look no further than the rosters from various NY city clubs to seed the draws. With sometimes limited match history, one never knew whether that last minute signup from Dayton, OH was just being sincere or overly modest when he said he was a rusty ex-college player that should be in a lower draw. After making our best attempts to seed the draws, match play started on Friday evening and we were confident that all would be settled on court.

The logistics of running a three-day tournament for such a large group at five different venues are daunting, but match play progressed through the weekend much smoother than it had in the past. In an increasingly more connected world, it was much easier to communicate with players via email and text messaging in the event that match times needed to be moved. And players were much more apt to notify organizers ahead of time if they were injured or likely to be late. Starting on Sunday morning, match play was consolidated at the Sports Club LA for the semi-final and final rounds the take advantage of that club’s open layout and ample spectator space.

Sunday was marked by exciting squash all around, but match highlights came from polar ends of the skill divisions. The men’s 3.5 saw the longest final of the day, with Manish Chopra and Tarit Rao-Chakravorti going back and forth until Rao-Chakravorti won 14-12 in the fifth game. Just after scoring the winning point, he held his head in his hands and walked to the front of the court, and we could all sense the tremendous relief that he felt after having battled back and forth for the better part of 80 minutes. A similar marathon battle was seen in the women’s 5.5 semi-final between Casey Riley and Gwen Tilghman. Casey, a former #24 intercollegiate player former Princeton, easily moved through the draw in what was expected to be a showdown between her and Julie Lilien or Shirin Kaufman. Local junior Gwen Tilghman seemed outmatched much of the first three games, but after settling down (and avoiding getting trapped in Riley’s hard-hitting game), managed a fantastic upset in five games.
The 2010 Grand Open was a crowning moment in a very energetic MSRA season to date. With every draw filled to capacity, the main draw and consolation draw winners of each division know that they had to overcome incredibly deep fields of players to emerge as the victor.

Players Jen Gabler, Simone Stevenson and Jessica Green on court at Sports LA. (Photo courtesy of Simone Stevenson)

Results:
Men’s 3.0: Ranga Papanna def. Shyam Gidumal, 3-0
Men’s 3.5: Tarit Rao-Chakravorti def. Manish Chopra, 3-2
Men’s 4.0: Greg Burton def. Andrew Strasfogel, 3-0
Men’s 4.5: Eric Vlcek def. Mithun Mukherjee, 3.0
Men’s 5.0: Vikas Goela def. John Sayward, 3-1
Men’s 5.5: Edward Newhouse def. Henry Clutsam, 3-1
Men’s 6.0: Gary Power def. John Musto, 3-1
Women’s 3.0: Maggie Durant def. Marjorie Mayrock, 3-0
Women’s 4.0: Fraser Ross def. Mina Mitby, 3-2
Women’s 4.5: Martha Kelley def. Jessica Green, 3-2
Women’s 5.0: Carly Grabowski def. Beatrice Querel, 3-1
Women’s 5.5: Juliana Lilien def. Gwen Tilghman, 3-1

(Completed draws also available)

MSRA Spotlight on James Green

2010-02-01T11:49:00.000-08:00

By Corey Modeste

Midway through our conversation, and without any hint of hyperbole,James Green said, “In 2000 I earned and lost $12 million dollars.”

Prior to talking to him I anticipated learning about how he got intosquash, and what he did for a living. But, I thought, I’d much prefer to hear about a Phil Michelson-esquegambling problem, or a multi-year binge of expensive cars, hardcore drugs, andfast women. Or even a story about how a sudden gust of wind blew a winninglottery ticket out of his hands and into the East River. I was already mentally drafting how Iwould write of him celebrating his lottery winnings on an impromptu sailingtrip when the ticket slips out of his hands, him running the length of the boatin slow motion and then leaping in vain into the water, just as the ticket getshredded in the propeller. Whatever, just as long as he doesn’t do thatjerk thing where he puts out a teaser and then says, “Well, you know, I reallycan’t talk about it.”

“No”, he said, “I don’t care if anyone knows.”

I first met James a couple of years ago when we were both either playingat the New York Health and Racquet Club on Wall Street, or had mutual friendswho played there. We didn’t know each other very well, but whenever I saw him,I always thought that he seemed to have a good life. Lots of friends,very fit and active and generally always in a good mood. He also alwaysseemed to have free time to enjoy leisure pursuits, especially squash. Andwhile I didn’t know any details, there were hints of a life well travelled. Not the “I’ll name drop everywhere I’ve been in 30 seconds” kind of welltravelled, but the kind of person that could have fit in just as well in anyone of many places around the world.

Among other places, James grew up in the UK but found his way to Canadato attend university at McGill. Music was his passion and he not only majoredin music theory and played cello with the Montreal Symphony, but also playedbass with a Montreal-based rock band. His analytic side guided him to aconcentration in computer science, and his general passion for learning meantthat he also took whatever class and field of study he could find. The neteffect of this varied life was two things. First, it DID take him seven yearsto graduate, and second, it gave him as great of background for applying tobusiness school as one could have. I think the admissions team at his firstchoice UCLA (he needed to get away from cold Montreal) would have had a veryhard time turning down the application from the British punk rocker/symphoniccellist, who runs a 2:39 marathon and (just for good measure) scored in the top½ percentile on the GMAT’s.

Places where James has lived (not just visited, butlived).

After finishing business school in 1889, and after a short stint in asmaller firm, he joined The Walt Disney company where he helped set up theirfilm distribution business. It was a job that took him to live in (notjust visit!) Paris, Munich, Hong Kong and Tokyo. In 1997 while living in Japanhe met a cool Aussie film director, fell in love, got married and moved to theUS and began working at Pixar Animation Studios directly for Steve Jobs.

While Disney and Pixar are great names to work for, as best as I couldtell, they were but some of the professional projects with which he wasinvolved. There were also references to past deals, ventures launched andcompanies sold, and I started to wonder if James had done some monster spinoffat the tail end of the dot.com boom that allowed him to pursue a life of squashleisure. While I couldn’t (and didn’t want to) ask him if he had sold one ofhis companies for a large sum, I wanted to know more.

So, in my most diplomatic and deferential voice, I started telling Jamesof an ex squash league team teammate who, while in college at MIT, had sold acompany to Microsoft. My teammate told me that, “while he was not able todisclose the terms of the transaction, he was allowed to say that...” It was then that James cut me off and indoing so demonstrated another quality that makes him a great guy - the abilityto get to the heart of an issue in a way that’s direct and informative, whileremaining polite and humble. Otherwise put, “Corey, I see where you’regoing with this, and since I have no trouble disclosing this, I’ll tell youwhat happened.”

As it turns out, no gambling or coke addiction, just a stock deal gonebad. In 2000, 24/7 Media acquired James’ company and he was compensated with$12 million 24/7 Media restricted stock. His investment portfolio was rich, but his bank account remained unchanged.Restricted stock deals are common, and as long as 24/7 Media’s stock held up,he would be able to sell the stock in 12 months and celebrate…but this storydidn’t begin with how James earned (and retained) $12 million in 2009. At the time of sale, the stock was at$49 but a year later was at $0.25 cents.

However, while the big score may not have come through (yet!), therewere a number of much smaller but more successful transactions. And hecontinues to work in a field that gives him the chance to continue to combinehis analytic side with creative media. He is currently he is a partner of GiantRealm, a media technology company which sells ads for video game and entertainmentwebsites. Giant Realm represents video game sites like Filefront and CheatCodes and through aggregating adspace across these sites, is able to command better advertising fees fromadvertisers as diverse as Gillette, Electronic Arts and The Army.

And his busy schedule has plenty of time carved out for squash. He loves the MSRA leagues (demonstratedby the fact that he captains three Printing House teams) and plays most of theMSRA tournaments. In fact, I’m100% sure that he always has a bag packed and ready at home and at work to playsquash whenever and wherever the occasion arises.

James and his wife live in the West Village with their 9-year olddaughter and 6-year old son.

Home Squash Club: ThePrinting House

A Worthy Winner

2010-01-29T11:14:00.000-08:00

By Brett Erasmus

Willstrop serves to start the 2010 Tournament of Champions finals. He hits a straight drive to a forehand length which beats Ashour for width. Ashour is too high up on the T and does not see the shot as it is a basically just a hard push off a hold at the front. It is simple, clean and well executed. And it gave us an idea of what is to unfold. Ashour, expectedly, starts hitting his shots and goes up 4-2, but then tries a high soft backhand lob – this shot does not bother 6 foot 4 Willstrop in the slightest and he wins the rally with a good length shot. Ashour quickly returns to his game plan (to win in the front) and starts dropping from everywhere. He is hitting everything as early as possible, trying to force the pace. He is even hitting half volleys from the middle of the court. He is winning points like this and is gaining confidence in his game plan.

Ashour then tries another hard down the middle shot from the backhand side. But Willstrop catches this very early and to Ashour’s surprise is waiting right behind him with racquet prepared on the backhand (ordinarily the racquet would be on the forehand, to cover the cross). Stroke to Willstrop. Ashour is perplexed, how did that happen? A few points later, Willstrop holds up behind Ashour’s back off a weak forehand drop by the Egyptian; then he quickly steps around and uses his reach to hit another straight push to win the point anyway. Ashour does not even move. He clearly thought Willstrop would stop and ask for a let; he turns with a smile of embarrassment - he knows he cannot ask for the let himself, as they were both passed the interference and the ball was long gone. Willstrop is tenacious.

At 8-6 Ashour completely misses an attempted 3 wall boast from the back left. This is not a good shot when you miss it. Could it be that Ramy is not on tonight? It is 9-8 now and Ashour starts cutting down on every ball. Ashour goes 10-9 on a good short volley backhand cut shot, which may have been down and Willstrop appeals. Ashour is leaving no room in his shot, and again he goes for his favorite volley nick but tins it, as he was off balance. The scores are level. Willstrop also wins the next point (game ball) off a great forehand drive from the front right. What made it great was a hold and then a massive shoulder fake which sent Ashour’s body left, to counterattack a ball that was not there. This clearly shook Ashour up and in the final point he made a bad mental error to tin an easy forehand volley. A shot he would hit very well 19 times out of 20 on any other day. Game 1 to Willstrop.

Ashour starts game 2 with a familiar high soft drop in the front. As we’ve established, he plays this to buy himself time to recover court position. But this shot only works when it is tight to the side wall, as Matthew demonstrated a few times in Ashour’s previous match. Willstrop sets up another winner with a forehand drop from back. It is confusing to everyone that Willstrop is the one dropping from the back not Ashour, especially to his on court opponent, I am sure. Ashour just gets there and cannot get back for the cross-court. He looks shaken up again, things are not going his way. He makes another mental error and tins a forehand drop. Willstrop is working harder in this game but is up 4-1. Ashour is struggling now and panics so he goes for the forehand volley cross-court nick off the serve and, surprisingly, he misses it. He is 5-1 down and in big trouble in this game. You cannot afford to go down too far in the point a rally format. A few points later Ashour misses another sitter on the forehand volley. The world number 1 is not himself tonight. He cannot miss shots like that and expect to win. Willstrop then hits a really tight volley drop off the backhand. It looks like he is basically trying to shoot before Ashour can. Welcome to a brand new game. At 8-4 to Willstrop, Ashour hits a great cross-court angle from the backhand after sprinting the full diagonal. The crowd erupts, it was a great get, and they want him to fight back and stay in the game, but Ashour is now working way harder than Willstrop and this is taking its toll. Ashour misses another easy forehand volley and goes game ball down. Unbelievably, he hits the same shot down in the next point and loses the game by a 6 point margin. Ashour is in a world of trouble.

In the 3rd Ashour starts cutting down on the ball hard and is bringing the fight to Willstrop. Game on. Ashour misses another backhand volley and starts coaching himself. He needs to tell himself to stop hitting tins I thought. Lots of cross-courts follow from Ashour. He is trying to force the pace and keep the ball off the sidewalls to set himself up to hit his winners. But Willstrop is slowing it down and keeping it tight and just absorbing the pressure. It appears that Ashour requires pace in order to execute his game plan. Willstrop is not giving him any. He is keeping the ball moving relatively slow and as tight as possible. He only hits it hard when he knows Ashour is out of position. Like in the next point, when Ashour gets stuck in front and pops up a familiar high short shot off a tight forehand drop. The ball is off the side wall again and Willstrop does a great Jonathan Power fake to win on the cross-court. He swings at the ball twice basically, the first swing is a fake. The crowd is impressed. So Willstrop does same thing in the very next point. He wins this rally too on a forehand drive. He is playing good solid squash, but Ashour has reduced the errors is still up in this game. Willstrop is trying to keep everything wide and tight and as far away from Ashour’s volleys as possible. A nice touch forehand drop by Willstrop seems him close in on match point at 9-9 (he is 2-0 in games remember). The momentum is in his favor and he is only 2 rallies from the championship. It could end right here. The best rally of the match follows in which Willstrop has Ashour on the ropes for very long time. He gets him scrambling to every corner of the court. Willstrop works his position and finds himself with a sitter on the forehand. He tins it, probably just out of nervous anticipation. It must be hard to keep your nerve when claiming match point against the world number 1. Willstrop throws his hands in the air in disbelief and the racquet goes flying. Another unbelievable rally follows. Willstrop finds himself doing all the running now as Ashour takes charge. He is hitting everything he possibly can. He used a trickle boast and other short angles, everything and anything he could think of. He finally wins the point on an incredible backhand cross-court drop to the nick. Ashour turns and shouts loudly and does a Tiger fist pump. The crowd goes wild.

The anticipation is tangible as the players return for the 4th game. In the first point a harsh let call should probably have earned Ashour a stroke. This rattles him and he goes for his favorite backhand volley nick and misses it. He is not nearly as sharp today as he was in his last 2 games. His short cut backhand is getting Willstrop out of position and Ashour keeps hitting it. He knows he can win with it. Drama ensues as Ashour appeals a pick-up off one of these shots and the refs claim they were unsighted. It may have been a double bounce but was so quick not even Willstrop himself likely was sure. Things are not going Ashour’s way. Willstrop’s shot are sharp and crisp. Willstrop is getting to Ashour’s shots and is catching him in front with strokes when the ball is tight on the side wall. His reach and height helps with this. Willstrop is 5-1 up now and senses victory. ‘Come on James’ shouts a sole British accent. He hits a forehand volley straight kill-shot. It is a beautiful shot and sees him up 6-1. ‘Come on James’, the crowd responds with similar encouragement. Willstrop then plays a very good forehand redrop which is too tight to hit and the score goes to 7-1. ‘Come on James’. Willstrop tries this again in the next point as the players exchange about 6 forehand redrops in the front right. Someone busts out laughing during the point.. ‘Shhhhhh’ says the crowd. Ashour misses another backhand cross-court drop. The count is 9-3. ‘Come on James’ is still the shout. Willstrop hits a cross-court drop off of a massive hold in front. Ashour does not even move for the ball. He is done. ‘Come on James’. At the end Willstrop uses a flat volley cut very effectively to get the ball tight to the floor and far away from any possible Ashour attacking shot. He wins the match 3-1 and is visibly elated. He shakes Ashour’s hand, then turns and throws his hands in the air. Willstrop is genuinely very happy. I did not know he could smile that broadly. The tears follow shortly after.

Based on his junior record, Willstrop is one of the best squash players England has ever produced. I am sure everyone was hoping that someday he might achieve the impossible and claim the world number one spot back from the Egyptian players who have dominated the game in the recent past. He showed this potential tonight. He was incredibly disciplined, obviously well prepared (on what to expect from Ashour) and how to contain him, and made hardly any errors in the match. In the process of winning this game, he has done something that no other squash player has done (not as far as I know) – he beat the current 3 best Egyptian players in a row and all in one tournament: Shabana in the quarters, Darwish in the semis, and Ashour in the finals.

Willstrop and his team of supporters have worked really hard for many years to get to this point. Willstrop admitted in his acceptance speech that this is the highlight of his career to date. He clearly meant it as he was getting emotional. He took a moment to compose himself and pulled out a few notes, much to everyone’s surprise. He had written down whom to thank, to be sure not to miss anyone. He joked that he does not often get to give acceptance speeches and that, if we would indulge him, he would like to take his time with this one. Willstrop reads from a long list of people who supported him over his career. He is immensely gracious. Willstrop is a very worthy winner.

Grand Open and the Rise in Women's Squash

2010-01-29T07:29:00.000-08:00

Grand Open player Sarah Odell writes about "Squash Week" in NYC - TOC, Grand Open and the rise in Women's squash. FairGameNews.com: Is that SQUASH in Grand Central? Yep (just part of ’squash week’ in NYC)

It's an International Affair

2010-01-28T09:47:00.000-08:00

By Brett Erasmus

It is semi-final night at Grand Central in the 2010 Tournament of Champions and we have 2 Egyptian players and 2 English players left in the draw. The first match of the night is Karim Darwish versus James Willstrop - world number 5 against world number 7. Darwish is favored (he is actually top seed for the tournament) but Willstrop has been looking good this week and anything can happen.

Willstrop starts off strong and soon takes charge. A few rallies in he hits a low angle into the front left corner, which is not a drop and not a trickle boast – it is in between those 2 shots. But it works and Darwish is left completely flat-footed right behind him, only a step away. I think he was fooled by a very high backswing from Willstrop. Irrespective, Darwish’s movement is suspect and his shots are loose to start with. Unforced errors soon appear in his game. He does still make good use of soft straight volley drops, especially off the back foot on the forehand, probably his best shot. Willstrop meanwhile is hitting devastating winners to the back of the court. Darwish looks settled in finally at the end of the game and hits 3 impressive but meaningless winners – he is too far back in points to catch up. Willstrop wins a pretty one-sided first game 11-6. In the 2nd, as you would expect, Darwish comes out shooting, but he hits a string of tins to go 0-4 down. Then the rallies get tight and Darwish claws his way back to 3-5, after hitting a cross-court drop off the forehand that finds Willstrop struggling to go down and to the left to retrieve the shot. The big man had surgery to his foot last year and we hope that this is not affecting his movement. But Willstrop is tough and does appear physically and mentally ready for this match. He continues using big backswings to keep Darwish on the back foot. He has a massive swing which anyone would struggle to deal with. Willstrop makes a few more errors going down and to the left again trying to reach moving boasts, but his length is still outstanding and wins him the game 11-5.

The 3rd game is more closely contested. Half way through Willstrop slips at the back of the court after a very long hard rally. He stays down on the floor for some time. The crowd is nervous – they know he just had surgery. He finally gets up and buys himself a little more recovery time to check his foot by coming off court and complaining about a slippery floor. The refs protested their innocence, in fact, to their credit, they had themselves swept it twice before the match to avoid exactly this situation. Darwish tries to capitalize on this change of momentum with a few angles in front but he still looks a little slow to move around the court. With the scores tied at 7-7 Darwish hits a high lob that hits the back right corner nick and just rolls softly out. The crowd applauds a great shot. Darwish normally uses the lob as a frequent attacking shot from the front court, but tonight not many of these were successful. Willstrop is very tall and can take the ball from high up, so a lob has to be close to perfect to beat him. Willstrop was very disciplined from this point in the match and gave nothing away. He seems to always play the right shot at the right time and does not try to do too much with the ball. He does not make many unforced errors at all. He only makes errors when pushed. In the end, Willstrop wins it relatively comfortably in 3 games and this match was a good example of how English squash (played well) can be better than Egyptian squash.

The second match of the night was more of a battle and featured world number 1 Ramy Ashour against world number 2 Nick Matthew. From early in the match Ashour uses more of the soft high drops at the front which he used in the previous game to buy himself time and get himself out of trouble. It really looks like a nothing shot, but is surprisingly effective in getting him back into a rally. Matthew knows it is coming and often steps in quick to hit it before it’s on the side wall. He hits many of these this match that come really hard and straight past his body down the middle of the court toward the door (a la Jon White). This shot often gets inside Ashour as his hands are on the left for the quick cut off (aka cross-court volley nick). Nevertheless, Ashour goes 7-2 up off a backhand cross-court nicked drop, we’ve seen that shot before for sure. Ashour wins the next point by forcing a weak cross from Matthew off of a good lob which Ashour hit to the back left corner. This sets up his first backhand volley cross-court nick of the night. Matthews’s lobs are sublime and he gets a few points back, but Ashour is already 9-4 up after a forehand volley cross-court nick, his first of the match (we’ve definitely seen that shot before too). Matthew holds on and hits a forehand trickle boast to go 7-9 and Ashour goes the wrong way. Surprisingly, here Ashour found himself totally committed to going right, in the opposite direction of where the ball is headed. Immediately he starts coaching himself again. This mental focus works and he wins the 1st game on a backhand short cut. He loves that shot too and bounces off the court.

In the 2nd game Ashour is now sporting strapping on his right ankle. We hope he is ok. It would be sad if this show ended in injury. In the 1st point Ashour misses his backhand cross-court nick and Matthew hits an exquisite redrop to win the point. This has always been one of his best weapons. He is good at the counter-attack. Ashour knows this and seems to decide to let the high back-hands go, unlike in the former match when he hit that shot seemingly every other rally. He cannot afford to miss that nick against Matthew. A few points later Ashour plays a high soft drop again which Matthew crushes cross-court requiring Ashour to run the full court to recover the ball from back left. It was an awesome get, but the boast is down and the crowd goes ‘Aaaah’. The crowd appears to be split 50/50 between the players. Ashour then decides itis time to try his favorite shot again - he goes for the cross-court nick off the back-hand volley, but he is too casual and misses it to go down 3-1. A long drop-lob series ensues which ends when Ashour misses a cross-court backhand drop. Half the crowd goes wild; they are urging Matthew along. Ashour is not amused at all, he seems angry, so he hits a return of serve with his favorite shot and nicks it. When the going gets tough he turns to his shots. When they work this is a great idea. But they did not work too well this game. In between rallies Matthew is pointing to the floor. He appears to be indicating a foot fault. And he is right, but the refs have no idea, they enough to deal with during the rallies. To go down 3-8 Ashour dives for a short forehand and almost recovers it. The crowd is impressed with Ashour’s athleticism. Matthews hits a few more really good lobs and tight backhand rails and starts to take control of this game. Matthew gets game ball with a perfect forehand drive, Ashour is there but it’s stuck on the side wall and unplayable. Matthew finally wins an incredible game with a backhand short winner. The game score is now 1 a piece.

In the next game Matthew goes for a few shots early on, but this is not his natural game and he quickly goes 4-0 down. Then he makes a few more errors to go 6-0 down. Some great topspin backhand volley straight kills follow from Ashour. Nobody else can play this the way he does. It must be because of his grip. The Englishman is struggling now and some more errors see him go 9-2 down, the game is all but over. The game ends at 11-2 off an Ashour cross-court backhand drop to the nick. He is back. It is 2-1 to Egypt.

Game 4 starts and I witness one of the best rallies I have ever seen live. Both players do laps around the court after trading a drop-lob series, which repeatedly takes both players all the way forward then all the way back. Ashour wins this crucial rally with a very wide backhand cross-court kill from front left – the crowd goes nuts and he is off talking to himself again… he’s probably saying something like: ‘Good shot Ramy, now just remember to hit that again at the end of the next long rally’. At 4-1 a short cut by Ashour wins the point. Matthew is in big trouble now and is making too many unforced errors. He is now down 5-2 and he comes off the court to complain to the refs about something. You can literally see the match slipping away from him. At 6-2 Ashour does another of his soft high shots in the front and again Matthew is all over it and slams it straight passed his body and seemingly right by Ashour, who brings up his racquet a touch late. But a stroke is awarded to Ashour, which most of the crowd boo's, as they suspect the ball came by way too quick and Ashour could never have hit it. They may have been right, but the refs disagreed. They give Ashour credit for his hand speed. This does not help Matthew at all. He is now 6-3 down and shaken up instead of 5-4 down and coming back. In the next rally the players are both diving across the front wall to retrieve each other’s drops. Matthew appears to nick the ball but Ashour swipes at it and continues play. He gets a let call from the refs who were undecided on whether he actually got it. Matthew comes off again to complain that the ball was on the floor – Matthew's remark to the refs, for the crowd to hear too obviously, was that he (Matthew) is always honest and regularly calls his own shots down, but that nobody else in the tournament does the same. He may have been right about this, and he did get the last (spoken) word in this contest, but unfortunately for him it did not alter the inevitable result. The match ends shortly thereafter. In contrast to the prior match, this one was a great example of how Egyptian squash (executed well) can be better than English squash.

Tonight in the finals of the tournament Willstrop’s high backswing will catch Ashour and will force him to give space to his opponent. And Willstrop’s perfectly tight drives will remove Ashour’s ability to hit winners off the volley, for a while anyway. I think eventually, after enough running, Willstrop will struggle to get down and to the side, off Ashour’s barrage of winning angles in the front. Ashour has volley nicks, 2 wall boasts, trickle boasts and cross-court drops that he will undoubtedly be hitting (everything but a reverse angle basically). It is going to be the best of Egyptian creativity and shot-making versus the toughest of English discipline and consistency. It’s still an international affair and it’s going to be great.

Genius at Work

2010-01-27T08:42:00.001-08:00

By Brett Erasmus

So last night, in the second round of quarterfinal matches, the world numbers 1 and 2 showed why they deserve their rankings. Nick Matthew of England and Ramy Ashour of Egypt both progressed and will play each other in the semifinals tonight. Before that, at 6.30pm, the other semifinal will also feature an Englishman and an Egyptian - James Willstrop versus Karim Darwish.

Last night’s match between Ashour and the Frenchman Gaultier was the highlight of the tournament for me thus far, as we got to see Ashour’s full arsenal. Man this guy can hit some winners. It started in the warm up. Ashour’s 1st (yes first) 2 touches of the ball were dead nicks off the forehand. Gaultier picks up the ball and throws it away and asks the refs for another – because there must have been something wrong with the first one right? He was already in trouble. The game begins and Ashour’s first 2 winners are backhand drops, which he plays with a fully extended wrist. He follows this up shortly with a backhand cross-court volley into the nick at the front right. This was to be the first of many. Mid game you can tell Ashour has settled in as he starts using holds to move his opponent around the court, often catching him stepping in the wrong direction. Nevertheless, Gaultier is quick and wins a close fought game, but it was not entirely a victory as he was working way harder than necessary from very early in the match.

As the game progresses Ashour starts hitting more and more backhand cross-court volleys into the nick. He feels good now and starts hitting the ball with topspin (and sometimes even inside out backhands). You can see literally see the ball pick up on the front wall and then it jumps to the back corner off the floor. Another shot he hits which we have seen a lot of this week is the hard low cut from the front court, which dies before the side wall. This shot forces your opponent down and to the side and is often a winner when someone is slightly off center. A lot of rallies this week have ended with this shot. More of them than you normally see at an amateur level, probably owing to the lower tin. Another thing Ashour does which I like is played off a tight backhand drop – he gets there late and instead of trying to put the ball in the nick or tight to the tin, he just pops it up high and soft on the front wall. This shot may seem a little silly from a professional but he does it for 2 reasons. Firstly, it buys him just enough time to recover his court position (he is buried in the front corner); Secondly, he hits it so that it gravitates to the side wall and often stays there. If Gaultier tries to hit a winner off this shot it often comes off at an angle and Ashour is right behind him to either 1) put the ball into the cross-court nick or 2) claim an easy stroke. Ashour repeats this too often for it to be mistake, it is deliberate and is a smart way of getting out of trouble in the front. Of course, he is relying on his ability to hit a volley nick, on demand.

Despite Ashour’s shots, Gaultier works incredibly hard and goes 2-1 up in games, primarily owing to tins by Ashour. In the 4th Gaultier does everything he can to beat the world number one and finish off the match, but Ashour reduces the errors and covers the court well in this game. So much so that sometimes it seems that Gaultier does not know what to do to win a point. At 3-2 Ashour hits a forehand drop off a hard low cross at full stretch, which is one of the best drop shots you will ever see. It could not have been any tighter. But this was the exception (and was lucky, he tries it again in the next point and tins it). The real winning position for Ashour was high on the backhand. During this game the 2 players exchange a few high soft backhand rails, at which point I noticed something. The way Ashour holds his racquet out front and the fact that he often hits the cross-court nick from this extended position means Gaultier has to stay on his toes and cannot step back off the T to cover the straight shot. Ashour tracks the ball like a tennis player would, letting the racquet hang just below the ball. And he does not require racquet preparation to hit the cross-court nick. Gaultier knows this, so if Ashour so much as twitches while the ball is in flight, Gaultier would step right in anticipation of getting to the cross-court nick. The threat of hitting the winner alone was enough to keep Gaultier unbalanced and kept him honest on the T. Ashour seems to do the same thing with the backhand boast, he tracks the ball with his racquet and you don’t know if he is going to hit it or not. Sometimes he does, sometimes he does not and just lets it go then takes it off the back wall. His racquet is not giving anything away. Gaultier is likely watching Ashour’s shoulders and his feet for some indication that a shot is coming. In the middle of the 4th game there are 2 long rallies which end in lets. Gaultier’s position in the match weakens considerably and he loses that game, but not until after getting unsympathetically run around the court by his opponent.

Ashour’s shots get better in the 5th game, whilst Gaultier is tiring finally and begins allowing mistakes to creep in. Ashour is firing on all cylinders and he just keeps hitting winner after winner. His backhand volley nicks are relentless. He must have hit well over 20 of them during the match, many during the final game. Even the ones he misses are too tight to do anything with. The ones he gets die completely. My friend David counted 11 clean nicks off the backhand cross-court volley. That’s 11 out of 33 points he needed to win the whole match. And that’s off of one shot in his arsenal. To make things even worse for his opponent (and everyone else he will ever play), the only errors Ashour made in the final game are when he actually had time to think; or when he had time to take his racquet back. Every time Ashour made an error in the 5th he would talk to himself with gestures that look like he was giving himself coaching advice. I think we may be watching the world number 1 literally improve himself during a squash match! The timing’s not great(!), but who better to coach him than himself?

Tonight Ashour faces Nick Matthew, whom he has beaten twice in the last 2 months. If Ramy’s backhand is on (and he listens to his inner genius), I don’t see the outcome being any different.

Who Wants It?

2010-01-26T08:03:00.000-08:00

By Brett Erasmus

Photo Courtesy of Ira Veridiano

Last night in the first round of ToC quarterfinal matches, James Willstrop defeated Amr Shabana and Karim Darwish defeated David Palmer. Both players now move into the semi-finals on Wednesday, where they will face each other. My money is on Darwish. His game against Palmer last night was definitely the one to watch. Shabana lost in a quick 3.

Darwish has beaten Palmer pretty convincingly the last few times they have met on the professional tour. There was a time when Palmer had won every encounter, but since Darwish got married to a top women’s professional, Engy Kheirallah, it has been a pretty one-sided affair. Additionally, Palmer’s best days appear to be behind him. He is 34 years old, a time when most professional players seriously consider retiring. The beating their bodies take is tough to withstand. 34 to 35 years old seems to be the age that most players call it a day in the PSA.

(Despite his age) Palmer went up 1 game after some really consistent play. Darwish went to the front too early, where Palmer is really good and he capitalized on the opportunity. In the second game Darwish regained his concentration and was more patient in going short. But as his opponent slowed and small openings developed, Darwish started going for his shots. About mid game he hit 2 great forehand winners in the front right and he then proceeded to follow up a few rallies later with 3 forehand winners in a row driven to a dying length. His forehand was killing the Australian and Darwish rounded out the game with it. It appeared that the tide had turned. The 3rd game started off really tight, as you expect. Palmer did not come here to lose and he got stuck in. At 4-3 Darwish bounced off Palmer and did a backward slide in a seated position, a la Kobe Bryant (he did not get 2 points, but he did pick up a let). Darwish was un-phased by the contact and knew he had Palmer on the ropes; he started to beat Palmer in the front now with a series of straight and cross court drops. Sensing victory, he was going for everything, trying to win every rally with a touch in the front. Darwish hit a backhand drop to close out the game. This shot was a flat volley from the T hit with as much cut on it as you can possibly hit a squash ball. It sounded like this: 'shhhwick'.

Darwish has trained with Shabana for most of his career and it shows. He has learnt how to play the short game from a master. In the 4th he continued to hit some unbelievable winning drops. The Aussie still won most of his points at the back of the court with hard sharp angled shots. At 7-8 Palmer dived across the front of the court to retrieve yet another backhand cross court drop. It wasn’t looking good for Palmer. I mean, when your feet are leaving the court surface you’ve got to be in trouble right? The ball is not up - Palmer hits it away in frustration, and the ball got stuck in the overhead lighting. They had to warm up another ball but the match is all but over. At 9-7 down Palmer does a dive at the back that was awesome. He took off at an angle higher than the horizontal and landed unbelievably hard. Most people would not get up after a hit like that, especially someone his size. He stood up and was bleeding from various places. And to add insult to injury, he lost the point anyway, is now match point down, and is forced to leave the court to take care of the blood coming from his knee and his hand. Palmer just wanted it to end right there but the refs enforced the rules - rightfully so. There was a pause for a few minutes while the doctors worked, but the game was long over. Palmer got one point back on the return but it was a lucky winner. Darwish wins 3-1 and progresses to the semis.

Realistically the match was over at the end of the 3rd game when Darwish started hitting winners. Palmer was not as fast and as fit as we have ever seen him. This is the 1st tournament for Darwish after 3 months off and he looks fresh. Another factor for Darwish is he gets to rest for a day before his semifinal against Willstrop. A good thing for him considering the tough match he just had and the fact that his next opponent did not have much of a quarterfinal match at all against an out of sorts Shabana. You can read about the match at http://www.squashzag.com/

Squash is a hard game and requires training and preparation and sacrifice. So the real question is: ‘Who wants it?’ In the end we answered that last night pretty convincingly, I would say. Add that in with the fact that his wife is breaking down his opponent's game real time and sometimes coaching him on this between games, makes it even harder for his opponents. There is only one squash player on the court but you are really playing 2 great squash minds out there. Darwish has all the confidence and support he needs to win his next game and I think he will do very well.

ToC fireworks

2010-01-24T22:34:00.000-08:00

By Brett Erasmus

Rob White Photography

Well, we are down to the final 8 at the Tournament of Champions in New York and it played out like we thought. The best players in the world have entered this event and they are the ones who are left in the main draw. We have the squash players currently ranked world numbers 1 through 8, excluding Englishman Barker (6) who did not enter. In his stead, world number 11 and the best New York based squash professional, Wael El Hindi, rounds out the quarterfinalists.

Wael's route to the quarters was not easy. Tonight, Sunday January 24th he faced a German player, Simon Rosner. The players are both tall and have incredible reach and great shot-making ability. This was a 5 game thriller and was arguably the closest and most entertaining match of the tournament thus far. El Hindi comes out wearing a baby blue outfit that most grown men would never wear. He looked pretty good though, compared to what he normally wears anyway (black sleeveless tops). The first game the players were neck and neck all the way; a no let at the front right for El Hindi at 9-8. He appeals but the ball was stuck to the side wall and too tight to reach, so the game goes to 9-9. El Hindi wins the next point and serves at 10-9 and plays a backhand drop this time. Rosner does not ask for the let but gets awarded it anyway. He refuses to take it and El Hindi applauds his sportsmanship. In the end Rosner digs deep and wins the game 12-10, after some really well executed straight drives.

In the first rally of the second game Rosner did a tour of the court at the end of which El Hindi cupped his face in his hand in a gesture to almost say 'well done, my son'. At 5-4 El Hindi guesses left to cover a straight drive but gets a let. He drops his racquet in disbelief. He clearly expected a stroke. At 7-5 Rosner gets a stroke - he holds his forehand at the back and El Hindi moves across too soon. El Hindi's comment to the refs was basically: 'You don't see a call that bad every day'. The crowd was suitably amused. At 9-7 Rosner is serving and some guy in the crowd shouts out 'step it up' really loudly during the rally - Rosner does that and gets to game ball. 'Niiice!' is the appreciative response from the unwanted guest (whom is soon escorted out by security). This game also goes down to the wire. At 10-10 Rosner plays through interference and then shoots an unbelievable winner into the front left corner. El Hindi literally head butts the wall in frustration, that must have hurt. Rosner wins the game in the same front left corner, on a beautifully executed forehand overhead kill this time. What a nice way to win a game, I thought.

So El Hindi returns this gesture at the start of the next game, by drilling the ball straight into the same nick. Not to be outdone, Rosner does the same again in the immediately following point. It's game on. The pace is furious and serious physical contact now unavoidably ensues in every rally. These guys were all over each other this game. The scores were close again. At 9-7 down the marker was overruled, as Rosner scrambled to a ball that was called down but was good. El Hindi regroups and wins the next rally and the game, the beginning of a great comeback. In the 4th game El Hindi switches shirts and is now in his trademark sleeveless design. I have never seen one of those in baby blue, not on a squash court anyway. At 9-5 down in the 4th Rosner hits yet another forehand volley nick off the serve, a desperate shot at this point, but the only thing he could probably think of that was working well. El Hindi rounds out another incredibly physical game 11-7 and the match goes to 5.

Again the first point of the game was insanely long, and it ended in a let. The players were all over each other again and after the first 3 rallies El Hindi was warned to clear his shots. A few points later the warning went to Rosner for abuse of the ball (like that's possible) as he hits the ball away in frustration, after going 5-1 down. The game is all but lost. El Hindi held strong and seemed more mentally tough in the 5th. The game was poised at 5-2 as Rosner runs into El Hindi and totally floors him. Rosner hits the shot anyway and wins the point. This physical contact does not appear to phase El Hindi at all. In fact, I suspect this is exactly what he wants. He seems to thrive on it. He goes up 7-4 with a nice lean on his opponent at the T as he hits a straight volley kill. The game is all but over, Rosner's spirit visibly broken. After holding a few match points with winners hit out of pure desperation, Rosner hits a reverse angle and the game ends in a stroke right on the T. It was not pretty, but this was the kind of fight we have come to expect from El Hindi. Nobody said playing top level squash would be easy. El Hindi won this grueling match 10-12,10-12,11-9,11-7,11-6. An entertaining match to watch and I suspect only the first in a line of fireworks still to come.

So we have 4 Egyptians in the mix (El Hindi, Ashour, Darwish and Shabana), 2 English players (Matthew and Willstrop), a Frenchman (Gaultier) and an Australian (Palmer). The Frenchman won it last year, the year before it was the young man, Ashour; and in 2006 and 2007 Shabana was victor. It would be nice to see one of the English players win for a change, but I suspect that is not going to happen. If Ashour holds out Gaultier on Tuesday evening I think he will go through to the finals on Thursday and will face another Egyptian, likely Darwish. Both of these guys are looking very strong and relaxed this week. Darwish was walking around chatting to supporters with his usual comfortable smile on this face. Probably because he does not have the pressure of the number one world ranking on him anymore; he has nothing to lose really once he is in the semis. I expect to see him perform at his very best. Ashour is going to be hard to beat though, he recently attained the world number one ranking and is playing unbelievable well. The way he hits the ball is novel, and is very different to how the game is taught - he uses a very closed face and practically no back-swing on certain shots. His style may revolutionize the game actually (more on this later in the week). His talent is enormous and he has actually improved since last time he played here. If he keeps this up I suspect he will hold the world number one spot for many years to come. Winning this tournament will entrench him in that top spot. Of course, he has to beat the defending champ first on Tuesday. We'll see what happens.

Check back later this week for an update. If you cannot wait and need more ToC commentary, check out http://www.squashzag.com/ a comprehensive resource for squash in North America.

Let's Get Ready To Rumble!

2010-01-21T21:03:00.000-08:00

By Brett Erasmus

Well, the qualifiers are over and today the prize fight starts for real. If you are playing in the Grand Open, also starting today (http://msra.net/tournaments/grandopen_entrants.asp), be sure to go over to Grand Central when you are done in order to watch the pros - the competition there will be just as fierce. In fact, the field for the Tournament of Champions is wide open this year and anyone could win it. The draw is full of players who are at the top of their professional game. Let's take a little look at the quality of players in the main section:
First off, as you would expect, we have last year’s ToC winner, as well as the winner from the year before. Then we have the current world number 1 and 2 players, as well as the guy who held the number 1 spot for most of last year. We have the most recent US Open Champion, and we have the current US National Champion. We also have all the top professionals from New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia in the draw. Then finally, just for good measure, we throw the best players that Princeton and Trinity College have ever produced right into the mix. There is a reason it is called the Tournament of Champions. Keep checking back as we uncover all the names and results on this blog site.
It is clear that any one of a handful of players has the talent and ability to win this thing - it just depends on who has the current strength, support and motivation to do it. It truly is anyone's title and it's going to be awesome to watch them fight it out….. "Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!"

Squash Blogs

2010-01-21T15:19:00.000-08:00

Like our blog? Want more squash online? We will be posting more soon but in the mean time the Squashist, a fellow squash blogger, has compiled a great list of squash blogs, check it out: The Squashist: The Mind Wanders...

SquashZAG, another great squash blog has also compiled a list of squash blogs, including a ton of squash websites: SquashZAG Links

All Guts, All Glory

2010-01-14T22:18:00.000-08:00

By Brett Erasmus

Last week, the Trinity College squash team, who are on the longest winning streak of any American collegiate sports team in history (undefeated for 11 years now), played a few exhibition matches at clubs in the city. How many squash teams do you know of, that actually do road shows like this? Despite being marketed only to Trinity Alumni, these events were well attended, owing to the massive popularity of this team. They are the best young players from several countries around the world. And they are seriously like rock stars. Ask anyone who went to Trinity and they will tell you, it’s not just court-side where they are well known, it’s like that everywhere on campus. It’s all jokes and smiles and signing autographs, as they push through the crowd. These guys are awesome.

So anyway, if you are a fan and watched a bit last week, but only got a taste for the action and desperately want to see more topflight squash, then do I have good news for you: The world’s best professional squash players will be competing in the Tournament of Champions starting next week. And, because the entrance fee is pricey and economic times are tough, allow me to tell you how you can watch the world’s best without paying a cent:

You can watch qualifying games at the StreetSquash Center in Harlem next week (http://www.streetsquash.org/get-involved/directions/),

You can also watch opening rounds in Long Island City next Wednesday and Thursday (http://www.cityviewracquet.com/squash.asp),

You can volunteer to be part of the ToC team at Grand Central (ushering services, very easy job) - the volunteer form is at www.tocsquash.com under Volunteer,

If you are a women 5.0 or a men’s 5.5 (or stronger) you can still sign up for the Grand Open Tournament (http://www.msra.net/tournaments/GrandOpen_index.asp),

You can even get your kids in (U13, U15, U17), if they play in the junior tournament, look under ToC Junior Open at www.tocsquash.com,

Failing that, you can just show up and watch from the all-glass front wall, like I normally do, where there will be standing room.

All the info you need is at www.tocsquash.com. It’s almost Squash Week in New York - it’s going to be entertaining, just like Shark Week, except the action will be live and it’s all guts, all glory (and hopefully not gory).

Winter Warm-Up Recap

2010-01-13T07:14:00.000-08:00

By Josh Giesey

This past Sunday the MSRA, with help from StreetSquash, hosted the First Annual Winter Warm-up, part of the MSRA's new One Day Tournament series. This tournament was designed to give New York area squash players tournament style matches before this years Grand Open. Thirty Eight players filled all 8 of the StreetSquash courts throughout the day, playing tough, competitive, fast-paced matches. Of the days overall draw the men's lower levels had strongest representation with 21 players filling two groups for each the 3.0 and 3.5 divisions. The women's draws showed good numbers as well with 12 entrants split between a 3.0 and 4.0 draw. While the MSRA organized the event in a tournament fashion, the overall spirit was one of sportsmanship with many players hopping on available courts just to hit or to squeeze in an extra game or two with player outside of their draw. For instance, two 3.0 and one 3.5 mens players filled entrants in higher draws who cancelled allowing for the draws to be played without interruption (thanks Josh, John and Andrew!). All 3 players displayed great determination and gave the higher level players tough, close matches, despite being outranked and playing double the number of matches.

Of particular interest is that three of the seven divisions were won by StreetSquash participants with each going undefeated throughout the day. The three StreetSquash winners included Jamel Key winning the Mens 3.5 Group 1 draw, Julian Hackney winning the Mens 3.5 Group 2 draw and Lizzie Gatling winning the Womens 4.0 draw. Rounding out the rest of the divisions, the winners were as follows: Sunil Mathew winning the Mens 3.0 Group 1 draw, Jacques Raphael winning the Mens 3.0 Group 2 Draw, John Randall winning the Mens 4.0 draw and Julie Herskowitz winning the Womens 3.0 draw.

In other news, the First Annual Winter Warm-up confirmed that squash players love to eat! Throughout the day 38 players managed to eat over 40 bananas, drink over five cases of bottled water and eat sixty slices of pizza! All in all the day was a great success. The MSRA and StreetSquash are looking forward not only to next year's Winter Warm-up but also the next one day tournament to be held later in the spring.