Evesham Rowing Club - Squash Section

General Info.
  Welcome
  News
  Information
  Members
  Calendar
  Club Night
  Ladders
  Leagues
  Coaching
  Stringing
  Tournaments
  Web Links

Teams
  Fixtures
  Rankings
  Club Locations
  Squash Rules

Committee
  Members
  Documents

Thomas Heneghan's Squash Party - 8th May 2005

New idea for Birthday Party

Thomas Heneghan had a new idea for a birthday party this year - a squash party - the first of its kind, I believe!  It took the form of a mini squash tournament, where Thomas and his nine sporty friends battled it out on the squash courts before finishing with a barbeque and a bit of football outside.

The Teams

The two most experienced players, Thomas and Toby, were elected as team captains, and they picked the teams and decided on the teams' names.

The teams were very closely matched, and many games were only decided in the last few points.

The Tournament

Every player played one game (American scoring up to 21 points) against each player from the opposing team, so we had 22 games in total (should have been 25, but we ran out of time - and the smell of the barbeque was difficult to resist).  Originally, we had decided to handicap the event, but in the warm up, it became clear that everyone could hit the ball pretty well, so it wasn't really necessary.

All the games were played in a very sporting way, with everyone giving 100%.  Jacob attempted 110% with one shot, slid 2 metres across the floor on his knees and the friction nearly set fire to his tracksuit bottoms!

The Players

Each player deserved an award, so I've listed the players and their awards here.

• Leo Brice - most chivalrous player.  What a gentleman!  Leo was determined to play well and win his games, but he did it with such a nice manner that it was a joy to watch.  If he thought players weren't quite ready, he would always offer to replay the point.  He played some really good squash as well, and could be depended on to give 100%.
• Rory Flowers - best user of squash angles.  I was impressed with Rory's squash.  He never whacked the ball, but instead played controlled shots - a tactic that paid off.  He also showed a great talent for using angled boast shots that struck the side wall before the front wall.
• Thomas Heneghan - best squash tactician.  Thomas showed that you can be small and also a very good squash player.  His tactics in particular were extremely good, and he worked his opponents up and down the walls.
• Jacob Hudson-Wood - best come-back player.  Jacob excelled in letting his opponents get about 10 points in front of him, and then reeling them back in to cause an exciting end to the game.  That's a very useful ability to have in squash.  If there were an award to be given for the longest distance slid on a player's knees across a squash court, Jacob would win that as well!
• Callum Hughes - most concentrated player.  Concentration in squash is vital, and Callum is lucky to have buckets of it.  Although he hadn't played any squash before, he progressed really well throughout the tournament, and displayed a lot of natural ability.
• Emily Lyth - speediest player.  Emily showed an amazing turn of speed on the squash court.  Not only could she sprint at amazing speed from one end of the court to the other, but she showed a natural cat-like ability to recover position after each shot.
• Laura Lyth - most sporting player.  Laura is lucky to have very good racket skills and presented some pretty tough opposition to her predominantly male opponents.  However, the most impressive thing about her squash is that it didn't matter whether she won a rally or lost it, her manner on court was impeccable.  It was a joy to have her participating in the tournament.
• Adam Mennel - best volleyer.  Adam's squash made great progress throughout the tournament.  He is very lucky to have a natural volleying skill - particularly on the forehand side.  Anything in the air, he picked off with ease.
• Jonathon Musgrove - most improved player.  Jonathon hadn't played any squash before, and had difficulty keeping the ball in court at the beginning, but he was a fast learner, and got stronger in each game.  In his last games, he was playing some really good squash.
• Toby Robinson - best all-round hitter of the ball.  Toby is a natural squash player.  He has a really good eye for the ball, and has mastered the concept of keeping his opponents at the back of the court.

Clash of the Titans

The final match was between Thomas and Toby.  This was a match that we were all looking forward to as they are very evenly matched and always have some great rallies.  Their styles are slightly different - Thomas is always looking for a winning shot - drop shot, boast or straight drive to the back, Toby concentrates on getting good length, with the ball bouncing close to the back wall.

Thomas & Toby

Thomas took the initial lead with some good clean squash, keeping the ball near the side wall.  Then Toby got into his stride and kept driving hard to the back forcing weaker shots out of Thomas.  This strategy took him to a 6/2 lead, and then on to 8/3.  Thomas had the very difficult task of trying to close this gap, and remarkably, he did it.  By concentrating hard, and sticking to straight drives with the occasional crosscourt, he clawed his way back to go 17/16 in front!  Now that he had a real chance of winning the game, he got overexcited, and served faults on two consecutive points.  Toby kept his head, did some excellent serves and played steadily to go through to 20/18.  The crowd were getting really excited, and cheered Thomas on to superhuman efforts to save one game point to make it 19/20.  Could he do it again?  He tried, but Toby was determined not to let any more points go, and kept driving hard to the back of the court.  One of the shots nicked at the back of the left-hand service box, and gave Toby his final point and game.

This was an excellent game with both players showing a lot of skill and determination.  It could have gone either way, but on the day, it was Toby's.  Well played to both players.  I look forward to their next battle!

Tournament Outcome

We added up the game scores to see the final outcome to the tournament.  It turned out to be very close; 12-10 to the Donkeys.  After the barbeque, medals were awarded to the two teams

I think every one enjoyed the tournament.  I certainly did!  It was a pleasure to see so many children playing squash in such a sporting way.  I was also impressed with the quality of the squash - particularly as so many had never played before.

Paul Heneghan Squash Secretary 01386 871565