What's Your Excuse?

By Brett Erasmus

So, you are wondering what to do in the summer fitness-wise. You’ve tried yoga, boxing, rowing, rock-climbing, salsa dancing, spinning, the list 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 a friend of mine who raced last year did manage to sucker me into volunteering for the New York City triathlon.

What it Takes to be a World Champ

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).

The Mile High Factor

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)..

For Queen and Country

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.

An Awesome Effort

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.

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

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).

'Are you ready for this, champ?

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...

An Even Bigger Apple

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.

Heart, Mind, Body and Soul?

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.

Can a Tiger Really Change his Stripes?

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..?

Top Gun

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.

Character Test

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.

Dishonorable Discharge

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.

Heartbreak Ridge

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).

Squash Boot Camp

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.

No Medals For You

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.”

A Worthy Winner

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.

It's an International Affair

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.

Genius at Work

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.

Who Wants It?

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.