HAPPY NEW YEAR

HAPPY NEW YEAR
Let’s start the new decade by wishing a Happy New Year to all of our readers. Let’s hope 2010 brings a non-stop wave of enjoyment on court, harmony between players and referees, dynamic leadership from our governing bodies, and a clear-headed vision of where the sport wants to be as we continue to pursue the dream of squash becoming an Olympic sport.

PJ BACK ON COURT
It was great to see Paul Johnson back in action in Kent last week. The former world No.4 turned out for Bromley Cricket Club in the North West Kent Priory League match against his old mate James Robbins, from Park Langley.
PJ, who is coaching in America, was back in Bromley for the Christmas holidays. He looked very sharp as he won the opening two games at a canter but his old county team-mate hit back to take the match to five.
PJ then regained his earlier composure to clinch a 9-0, 9-4, 6-9, 2-9, 9-5 victory which helped Bromley CC to an important 3-2 win over their Park Langley hosts, who are second in the table behind Tim Garner’s Dulwich all-stars!

EGYPT RULES THE ROOST
Not only did Egypt dominate the British Junior Open in Sheffield once again, they extended their mastery by winning all eight titles at under-13, under-15, under-17 and under-19 level.
Mohamed El Shorbagy led the way with his third under-19 Drysdale Cup success and his younger brother Marwan clinched the under-17 championship. And Nour El Shorbini showed what an amazing prospect she is by winning the girls’ under-19 final at the tender age of 14.
Both finals were all Egyptian affairs, as were three others, as the 40-strong Egyptian squad raised the bar in junior squash yet again.
Everybody wants to know the Egyptians’ secret. The answer is simple: numbers, with lots of great coaches and loads of kids filling the courts after school every day.
They seem to have a system that allows talented children to rise rapidly through the ranks and not be trapped in the uniformity of the European age-group systems.
The Egyptians have dazzling hotbeds of squash in Cairo and Alexandria and they are clearly able to concentrate most of their competition in those two cities. In England, our juniors (and their parents) are subjected to a relentless slog around the country to collect random ranking points, with parents often choosing to select that route before their children have mastered the basic disciplines required in shot-making, movement and tactics.
That system, by design, will always discriminate against the juniors who choose not to enter so many tournaments but are more gifted than those who do.
A lot of our kids spend more time on the motorway than they do on court, and it’s wearing them out. Some of the time it’s not just travelling to tournaments, it’s the process of finding another junior player to train with or play against because they might be the only boy or girl in their club of county standard.
Clearly, we need more work at grass-roots level to produce a dramatic rise in junior participation levels. We need more British hotbeds like Pontefract, where juniors are inspired by the presence of players like James Willstrop and work hard to emulate his achievements.
All this brings me back to Paul Johnson, and the all-conquering Kent junior team of 20 years ago. The reason for their success? Numbers, once again.
In those days we had big clubs with massive junior sections creating the kind of competitive atmosphere that we see in Egypt.
Bromley Town had 16 courts, including a superb showcourt. That’s gone, along with most of the courts. It’s now a soulless fitness club with five courts tucked away at the back of the building.
Also gone are the Howdens Club in Beckenham (10 courts), Henwood in Ashford (10), Harveys in Maidstone (6), plus Dartford, New Eltham, Dreamland and many more.
The old Medway Squash Club has also been taken over by a fitness chain that banned juniors from the premises, including a child who was number one in the national under-13 rankings.
All of this has resulted in a dramatic reduction in the numbers of juniors playing squash, especially girls. It’s so serious that any child who picks up a racket can almost walk straight into a county squad. And I know that Kent are not alone in this.
It’s hard to fight against that kind of depressing backdrop, but rest assured those of us who are left are trying to do something about it.
In the next few weeks I look forward to announcing a major development programme being launched in Kent alongside a new professional tournament, the Kent Open.
We might not be able to match the Egyptians at the moment, but to start with we’re trying to get the numbers up.
Watch this space.

JUNIOR SUCCESSES
Let's pay tribute to the the Kent juniors who are performing brilliantly and paving the way for a new era of success for squash in the county.
Georgina Kennedy (Park Langley) and Amelia Henley (Rodmersham) are now numbers one and two in the England under-13 girls' rankings. Well done girls!
Bradley Masters (Maidstone) is number three in the boys' under-13 list and big brother Josh is 11 in the under-15s with James Evans (The Mote) at 13. Josh is ranked 37 in the under-17 rankings, with Elliot Knight (Bexley) at 39 and James at 46.
We also look forward to welcoming Jonny Maltz of Tonbridge School back to the squash court after he won the British Under-15 rackets championship for the Jim Dear Trophy.
It was a shame that Josh and James were drawn against each other in the British Junior Open. After the long drive up to Sheffield it was James who won through in straight games.