Squash Tigers gave their all in the Golden State JCT! Overall we should be very proud of the dozen ST’s who qualified and played some magnificent squash up and down the age groups.
The West Coast JCT was conducted this past weekend in San Francisco in the rather salubrious surroundings of two of the Bay Clubs in Fremont and Redwood Shores respectively, with Squash Zone being the home base of the U19 fraternity. Squash Zone was also the home to the PSA Silicon Valley Open, a large professional event that ran concurrently with the JCT and added some additional “squashie interest” to the club and the area in general. Many thanks to Coach Claire who bore the brunt of the travel to and from Fremont and Redwood Shores to cover our younger crew with Coach Lyall and myself mostly on duty with the older brigade. All in all, it was an enjoyable and challenging few days on the sunnier coast of the USA.
Squash has flourished on the West Coast in the past few years and some of the best and brightest prospects have come from Charlie Johnson’s Academy in Redwood Shores, so it was a treat for all of us to be back in what is an enthusiastic and passionate part of the squash world. With news of several new builds and many, many new courts springing up all over, the future of the sport is certainly looking bright in California, once the ugly duckling of US Squash. US Squash ran the event exceedingly well, with their staff working long days and yet always managing to be a voice of reason… Truly, the event was a pleasure and conducted for the most part in accordance with high levels of sportsmanship and it never hurts that the ST kids played fantastically well!
For those unfamiliar with JCT’s they are explained by US Squash 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 out roughly once a month in season… it doesn’t get more fun than that!
Squash Tigers had stand out performances throughout, although it often is the case, the older age groups stole the show. Parth and Colten played a remarkable event, finishing in 11/12th position. Parth played some spectacular squash and enjoyed some key victories. Colten, on his behalf, played a much neater event than in Connecticut and it should be noted that he is still eligible for the BU17 and would have been favored for the title, but chose to test himself with the big guys. Similarly Reghan, having just turned 15 was also playing GU19 and went down in a tight, high standard second round encounter before finishing strong and closing out 17th.
With our eyes on the impending opening of Squash Tigers Philadelphia, we should make reference to Coach Laurent’s players and their success in the event. Most notably Coach’s son Jack, reigning BU17 National Champion, made his second straight BU19 semi final and finished in an impressive 3rd position gaining a little revenge over his playoff opponent who defeated him in the first JCT in Connecticut. Also worth mentioning was James M., who despite just having aged up, made the draw and waltzed away with three victories and a 25th place in what was a nice reward for his recent hard work.
The U17’s saw Lily make her second consecutive quarter final and eventually win out to finish 5th! Showing composure and skill in addition to her usual excellent demeanor and sportsmanship, Lily was awesome. Eric had some real breakthroughs on court in his 17-18th place finish and Shrikar enjoyed a victory on his way to 27th - only one week after making the final of the San Francisco Gold. I’m sure the Gopinath’s will be very happy to not fly across the country for quite a while!
Yidrew in the BU15, in just his second JCT, played some absolutely stunning squash to finish in 20th position. Sticking rigorously to game plans and exhibiting some real physical toughness, there is much to come from him this season, especially as some of the other players age out. Similarly Madeleine in the GU15 closed out 13-16th position for the second straight JCT and took a couple of very handy victories through her draw.
The U13’s saw Mimi in 12th, Chloe in 14th and Yiden in 25th. Mimi fought well throughout, and although would have liked more, showed some great character in the pursuit of victory. Chloe struggled with illness, unfortunate at any time, but especially after a particularly effortful preparation for the event - sometimes squash just isn’t fair! And finally it should be remembered that Yiden has just aged up from his run to a top 8 ranking in the BU11 last season and is using some great racket skills to combat much larger opponents!
Overall the West Coast JCT was a huge success. Congratulations to the players and thank you to the parents who gave of their time to escort the kids and give them the opportunity. Many thanks also to Coaches Claire and Lyall, who made the trip, coached attentively all day in sometimes difficult conditions, and yet always had a smile and a patient moment. It is easy to talk to kids about dedication, but even better to be an example of it, and role models don’t come any better than our coaches.
Back at the club it’s a VOLLEY DROP week, preparation for the Penn Gold this coming weekend (amongst other things) and a brief turn around until the UVA JCT next month. It’s been a spectacular season so far and we’re just starting! See you all at training, bigger things ahead.
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