NJ Gold - Tiger Reportage!

This past weekend saw the catchily titled New Jersey Gold Tournament conducted in Basking Ridge.  Hosting was split between the Pingry School and the nearby ubiquitous Lifetime, with the older age groups at Pingry.  Pingry, the “Big Blue”, is of course famous for many reasons, not the least being the 2013 Middle School National Champions (bet you didn’t know that!) and having a very pleasant facility with seven courts run by the very welcoming Coach Odeh.  All in all a great weekend, and thanks to all the tournament staff.



Tiger Tournament Summary in 4 points:

• 25 participants, which was remarkable.

• 11 quarter finalists, which was commendable 

• 5 semi finalists, which was notable and

• 1 very, very impressed coach in attendance!

Kicking off with the seniors, Will and Ani.  Will, rebounding from some disruptions in his preparation for the season, Will played some monumental matches to make the quarter finals.  Although I’m sure he wanted more, he was both tough and skilful and that will have to be enough for the moment.  Ani was her usual effortful self finishing in 7th position and blitzing her Sunday afternoon opponents.  We’re lucky to have seniors like this in the program, still getting better, still working hard and proving some great role models for the youngsters in the club.

The boys and girls U17’s saw a combined five of our quarter finalists. In the girls, well done to Steph and Anya in their quarters, both never not competitive and played tough throughout.  In the boys JJ made a strong semifinal, defeating Eric in a brutal and may I say “crowd pleasing - match of the tournment type” five game quarter final match.  Our other quarter finalist was Shrikar, who demonstrated his best squash of the season so far.

The U15 saw Madeleine play excellent squash to make the semi final round.  Playing of a quality that was reminiscent of her excellent JCT performances last season, signs were good for Madeleine moving forwards.  Yidrew in the BU15 won out through the consolation, finishing in 9th position and looking every inch a player of the future!  Very impressive from both U15s! Shoutouts to Andrew and Allen, who battled hard in their down year and will be better for the experience!

The GU13 saw our twin (metaphorically) superstars, Mimi and Chloe, clash in the semi finals.  Mimi emerged victorious on this occasion, going through to the final.  Both girls have shown tremendous improvement in the last few months, a good reward for their hard work.

Last but not least the U11s! The girls saw Katherine make a strong semi final, fresh from her 4th place in the PA Gold a couple of weeks ago. Well done to one of our fastest improvers! The boys saw Tony defeat Ronnie to make an outstanding 6th place, with Ronnie going on to an auspicious 9/12.  Both boys are already good, and are going to be even better and we would hope all three U11's will be challenging to win Golds in the none too distant future!

Next on the Tigers Calendar is the US Open and the start of our Christmas Camps - both kick off Saturday!  Look out for our emails on tournament coaching and schedule changes for camp!  See you all at the club and let’s finish the year in style!

Tiger Tally: December Rankings Roundup

December is an opportune time to check in on our top performing Tigers in the US Squash Rankings. Briefly, 20 players in the top 32 and 9 in the top 10 across all age groups - congratulations to everyone!

Drilling down, at BU11 we have Yiden ranked 16 and Evan 27 and for the girls, Katherine at 21. Shoutout to Tony at 40 and Ronnie at 50 who will certainly make their debut in the top 32 in due course! These hard working players lead the Tigers futures pack and let us know what’s possible with hard work.

At U15 we have JJ leading the way at 4, followed by Eric in the BU13 at 10. Shout to Jonathan in the BU15 coming in at 36.

At BU17 we have the big dogs, with Colten at 6, Alex 9, Parth 11 and Arman 29. A better group of hard working young men you wouldn’t find anywhere else and the coaches are understandably proud of their efforts. Recognition also to our sole BU19, Sean, who comes in at 30 and continues to improve in his senior year!

The GU13 sees Meredith at 6, and both Mimi 21 and Chloe 22 in their down years doing big things! Chloe in particular, having just played her first JCT last month in San Francisco deserves a special mention as well as reflecting upon Meredith’s semi final success.

Girls U15 is always of interest with Reghan at 7 officially, but unofficially a clear 1 and Erika coming back from injury still ranked 15. Shoutouts to Madeleine at 41 and Meredith backing up at 44.

The GU17 sees Reghan at 2 having won the first two JCT’s of the season, Isabella at 4, Claire at 6 and Lily at 22. What a great group of young ladies they are, on and off the court. Shoutout to Anya at 48! Last, but certainly not least we have our super hard working senior, Maryam at 18 in the GU19 - looking to finish her junior career in style!

Squash is not just about rankings, every player is on their own journey. That being said, it’s always good to recognize effort, it’s always positive to recognize achievement, and well done to our top 32 Tigers - with many more to join them in the coming months!

Between Game Coaching - the do's and don'ts!

“How do you speak to players between games?”

This could be one of the most frequently asked questions to SQUASHTIGER Coaches, it’s not, but let’s pretend.

Why is this question important? Glad you asked. Two basic reasons. Firstly there may be circumstances where parents or kids may need to coach players in tournaments or occasions such as school matches, and it would be great to make this an enjoyable and successful experience! Secondly, if everyone is on board with “the process”, then it becomes easier for the player as they understand expectations and simpler for the parents, as they know what is happening and how to help.

The briefest of brief checklist looks like this…

Step 1 – Let it go

“Let it go” was fashionable in coaching, even before FROZEN! Fundamentally the most important things that can occur between games for a player is that they emerge mentally regulated and ready to compete to the best of their abilities in the next game! If the previous game was unsuccessful, the players needs to stop dwelling on their disappointment and get ready to move forward. Strangely the same problem is encountered by a player who may have been successful. Fundamentally I don’t want the player who walks off court thrilled at hitting 11 winners, I want the player to be in the mental state they were in when they first walked on court!

Step 2 – Establish a tactical agenda preferably based upon pre-match discussions and the players “A” game

I’d always suggest not to add anything new and to strongly avoid technical feedback. Fundamentally players should be most aware of “where the ball is going”, rather than “how is it getting there!” For example, if the player can’t hold the racket properly, you ain’t gonna teach them in the 90 seconds between games…

Step 3 – Affirmation

“Come on Phil, you can do this!” – is an example​,​ an unoriginal example​, but fundamentally a respectable affirmation as long as the player’s name is Phil. Ideally we send players out with an emotionally resonant exhortation. There may be no atheists in fox holes, there is certainly nothing too cheesy for an affirmation. Whatever makes the player feel empowered is more than appropriate!

A reminder that this is the most basic of basic 101 checklists and I would be loathe to break things down to “just this”… but hey, let’s not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Consider the 3 steps of SQUASHTIGER Coaching to be the between game squash equivalent of the medical practitioners Hippocratic Oath to “uphold specific ethical standards”, or at least to do no harm!