Asda Athletes

The summer months are for a squash player the off season, and that means one thing, summer training. It is the a period usually between may and july whereby players dont have many tournaments on the schedule and so take to the gym, track, and court to put in the hard hours of work. Whether it be strength and conditioning, aerobic workouts, or technical racket work on the court, the summer months are the time to put in the hard work ready for the start of the season.

For me the main issue I would be working on would be the strength and conditioning, adding more power to the legs in order to be more proficient under lunging. My tournaments finished midway through June, and after finishing college at the end of June, I would be ready to put a hard 6 weeks of work in throughout July and August. Fortunately for me, I was invited to train with the England senior team on their training squads throughout July. Squads have taken place each week in either Manchester or London, and last 2-3 days. These squads comprise the best squash players in the world with the England senior team having both the World’s number 1 and 2 ranked player, world champion, and a further 4 players ranked inside the world’s top 20.

There would be no better an environment to train in over the summer than with these guys, and the amount of knowledge, professionalism, and determination I have been able to absorb over the past 3 weeks has been incredible. Add to this the number of world class coaches, physios, and analyst’s, and this makes for a training ground of the utmost quality.

Being able to step on court with the world’s best players has been an experience that will no doubt benefit me as I look to make a strong start to the new season, with my first competition taking place in Toronto, Canada, mid-way through august. Watch this space!

2 weeks ago in Porto, Portugal, I achieved one of my main goals of 2012 and of my junior career in winning the European Junior Squash Championships. Its a major honour to win such a title, the trophy itself has several names on it of those who in the past 20 years have reached the very top of world squash. To be added to that list of names was a special moment. However it did not come without a bit of drama along the way.

Myself and the rest of the England team had been in anticipation of this event for some time and we travelled together to Porto on the 30th of March ahead of the start of the individual competition on the 31st. I received a bye in the first round and won my 2nd round (first match) with a steady 3-0 win(in squash we play point a rally to 11 and the best of 5 games wins).

However I was sorely tested in the third round by a talented player from Israel who attacked the court from the word go. Stretched to the full 5 games I came through 11-4 in the deciding game after some seventy minutes play. This was a real turning point in the tournament for me and I felt fully established into the competition and that from that point I could relax and enjoy myself.

My quarter final was a less dramatic affair but I came through a steady 3-1 win over one of the Portuguese players. The semi final again brought on a measure of drama as I led a 5/8 seeded Belgian player 2 games to 1 when I accidentally hit his mouth with my racket during the follow through of my shot. Unfortunately he had to go to hospital to have stitches and the game was postponed. After a 2 hour delay we resumed play early in the 4th game and after a tense period of 15 or so minutes I won the game 12-10 on extra points and the match 3-1. Extreme relief was what I felt after the match and I knew there was just one more hurdle seperating me with capturing the title.

In the final I would play my team mate and good friend Tom Ford. Its never easy competing against your team mate let alone a good friend but in these situations you have to be professional and continue with the job at hand, maintaining the respect you have for each other whilst showing passion and doing everything you can to win. On the finals day we had breakfast and interacted as a team as normal and then myself and Tom prepared ourselves mentally going our seperate ways in the hours leading up to the final. The match itself was closely contested in front of a full crowd in the modern sports complex which lay directly underneath the Porto FC stadium.

The first game was close with me taking it 11-8. The second game proved pivotal and went to extra points with both of us holding a game ball to take it however I managed to secure the game 13-11 and with it a 2-0 lead. From this point I felt condifent and led all way through the 3rd game, I managed to establish a heavy lead in this game and was able to really take in the emotion and enjoy the final few points of what would be my last junior match in an individual capacity. I won the 3rd game 11-6 and with it the title of European Junior Champion. Upon winning I went over to my team mate and we embraced and left the court to a fine ovation from the crowd. It was an emotional moment for me, this was definitely the best achivement of my career so far and although I felt sad that my days as a junior were nearing their end, I could be satisfied that I had gone out on a high.