West Coach JCT - Tiger Report!

San Francisco hosted the second JCT of the season this past Fall Break weekend. Our four coaches mentored 16 players over two venues and three days. When the dust settled, we again had Jack standing tall, having won the BU19 and backing up from his dominant victory in Connecticut at JCT #1.  Additionally, Reghan, Alex, Yiden and Riyanshi made quarter finals, with Parth and Jude finishing strong in the respective divisions to make top 10 finishes.

For those unfamiliar with JCTs, US Squash explains them as the “highest level of junior tournament, which attracts the best players from around the entire country. US Squash accredits 5 JCT tournaments each year and each event is played over the course of three full days.” Long story short, the best 32 players from each age group get together and test each other roughly once a month in season… it doesn’t get more fun than that!

Starting from the top, Jack won his second consecutive BU19 title - which is no small feat! After dropping only 40 points at the Connecticut JCT, the field was highly motivated not to be similarly dismissed. To their credit, the big guy went to five on several occasions and although never looking like losing, he did drop more than 40 points!

Other U19’s to make a splash were Alex, who defeated team mate Parth in a high standard round of 16 war and Reghan, who shone out (as always) to finish 6th.  There will be better weekends for all three, but there was nothing to be dismayed about in this performance.  Parth, although obviously coming for more, righted the ship and dominated the consolation to finish 9th, Alex showed the heart and grit that has always made the coaches proud as did Reghan, who left it all metaphorically on the court.  Quick mention to Colten who unfortunately had to withdraw with illness and was unable to defend his 4th place from Connecticut - he’ll be ready for Virginia!

Although the big four were, well, the big four, there were some great matches and moments up and down the age groups for the other dozen players. In particular shout-outs to Yiden on his quarter in the BU13, Riyanshi on her first ever “real” JCT appearance in the GU11 (does the Super JCT count??) and Jude on his top 10 finish including at least one statement victory.  Coach Paul special mention goes to Yidrew, who demonstrated exceptional concentration and class in some turbulent moments on a couple of notable occasions!

Finally a thank you to Coaches Laurent, Claire and Lyall for all their hard work. Not only expert coaches, but conscientious and caring, often first to arrive and last to depart... we're lucky to have them!

LOOKING FORWARD

The next JCT takes us to Virginia in November, where we’ll have a full team of coaches at the two venues. Also save the date for our third Rehearsal Tournament of the year which is only two weeks away in NJ—get your entries in early - if it’s anything like the first two events (see here and here) you don’t want to miss out!

Someday these will be the good old days!  See you all at training!