Squash BC - May 2003

The 2003 Canadian National Squash Championships, Edmonton British Columbia - Mike’s Hard News

JONATHON POWER – “LET” IT BE!

Over 380 participants took part in the 2003 Canadian National Squash Championships in
Edmonton April 30 through to May 3 rd , 2003. The Royal Glenora Club provided an
excellent host facility for the 650 plus matches over the 4-day event.

Over 1000 people attended and paid top dollar to see the final open women’s and men’s
display their world-class skills. The showcase glass court allows spectators to watch from all sides. Sitting in front of the glass court provides a rare-perspective of the fine details of high- level squash that you just have to experience to appreciate.

The 2003 Canadian National Squash Championships opened my eyes to the squash
culture in Canada. It is probably not widely known, but Canada boasts some of the best
squash players in the world. For the price of a flight to Edmonton and the entrance fee to
the tournament (all in, less than $450), I was exposed to an endless amount of world-class squash and blown away by the hospitality of the squash community in Edmonton. On top of that, I played two games in the Men’s B draw, received an excellent tournament
package, enjoyed 2 extravagant dinners and witnessed the true comradeship of squash
players from all over Canada and all walks of life.

I have been playing squash now for just shy of three years and this was my first (of
hopefully many) National squash experience. This article spawned from the idea that
there are probably many other players at various levels, both male and female, who didn’t
make it out to Nationals, but might in the future if they knew a little bit more about it.

MY EXPERIENCE - GAME ONE

Fresh off the plane and ready to do battle; I had my game face on right from the start. My
first opponent was Omar Angeles. He had the touch of a professional and I could see
from the start that it was not going to be easy. We had long tight rallies and exchanged
service for what seemed an eternity only to be tied 4-4 after at 15 minutes of play. One
long rally broke me and my focus dipped for a few rallies. Soon afterwards the first game
ended 9-5 in favour of Omar. Off the court during the 90 second break, I insisted that this
only meant that we would have to play at least 4 games now, stressing to my opponent
and the referee that it was not over yet. The next two games lasted another 30 minutes,
and in each one I gained an extra point, however, in both games I was shy of the required
number of points to claim victory. Result: Omar 3 - Mike 0. I was expedited to the
consolation bracket.

GAME TWO

Facing elimination, but remaining calm, my new focus was the consolation finals. I think
I won the warm- up! But it went downhill from there, only accumulating at total of 12
points as I extended Dave Hine to three games. My strategy going in was to run him and
tire him out. He had played a match earlier in the day that went to five games, so this
seemed the logical strategy. He had the look of a marathon runner, and I have the look of an offensive linesman. Clearly I had the wrong game plan. Anyone offering ‘Squa sh 101
for dummies’? Indeed the rallies were long, but the result was the same. To quote Loree
Adams, I went “One, Two, BBQ”. But the BBQ was good!

Now that all the pressure of winning the B’s was gone, I could enjoy all that the Royal
Glenora had to offer and watch some of the best squash players on the planet.

INTERESTING PLAYER COMMENTS

I may have been eliminated quickly, but I wasn’t down and out. My focus switched yet
again and with a little bartering at Future Shop, I had myself a digital recorder and began
interviewing any player that would give me 5 minutes. I managed to interview players
ranging from the “D” category to the Men’s 2003 Canadian Champion Jonathon Power,
who is currently ranked #3 in the world. Thus was the genesis of ‘Mike’s Hard News’.
What follows is a compilation of players’ comments, observations, motivations and
stories.

Andrew Lynn (Vancouver – Men’s 30+ Champion)

Jonathon Power (Montreal) – Men’s Open Champion, World #3
Interestingly enough, my first attempt at interviewing Jonathon was a tremendous
success, however, as a rookie in the interviewing game, I forgot to turn the recorder on!
Luckily, Martin Roland was there to capture most of it on video. I’d have to say that it
was a tremendous pleasure talking with Jonathon. He has a certain ‘je ne sais pas’
presence that people find magnetic.

He is also quite a character on the court providing humorous banter with his opponent
and the referee. He was constant ly making facial expressions and gestures that raised
laughter and smiles from the spectators. He has won at all levels and been ranked the top player in the world. When asked what he had left to accomplish in squash, he said “I love to compete and I’d like to bring more notoriety to the sport”.

Watching his matches, I often found myself wondering what made this player so much
better than his opponents. He didn’t seem any fitter or stronger, nor did he seem to hit the ball any harder or move any quicker. What seemed to be the difference was that he
always knew where his opponents where going to hit the ball. He got to everything. Just
when you thought it was down, he’d gracefully and effortlessly get to it and make an
amazing return to challenge his opponent…time and time again! He made the game look
simple and in slow motion. However, his opponents informed me that he constantly
pushed the pace of the game and he moves like a cat out there. He is a true champion and it was a pleasure to watch live.

I had a chance to talk with him after he won his fifth consecutive Canadian National
Championship. Here are some of his responses to Mike’s Hard News:

Q Are you disappointed they don’t present you with a big cheque for winning these
events like in tennis or golf?
A “Yes, that hurts a bit, but I’m looking forward to the big cheque in Vancouver
next year.” (Boag – take note here)

Q Did you play other sports growing up?
A “My dad ran all the gyms on a military base, so I grew up playing every kind of
sport. He made me decide when I was 12 that I had to pick one sport and do it full
time. I was more inclined to an individual sport. I picked squash. We took it
seriously. I watched all the pros play and picked up different things and ideas.”

Q Why will the lower level players benefit from participating in tournaments like
this National event?
A “Basically, they don’t get much exposure to top level squash. It helps all aspects
of your game to improve by watching this kind of level. If you are keen on a sport
and you have the opportunity, I think you’d want to get out and watch the best
players in the world.”

Q Squash is such a mental sport – how do you remain so mentally tough out there on
the court?
A “I think it is definitely my will and competitiveness. I want to win. That is
probably my mental strength. Otherwise, keeping my concentration. I could
probably be better at that…there is room to go…but that is the most important
thing.”

Q What should the young and aspiring players focus on to improve their game?
A “You have to do a lot of drills. It is easy to just go out there and play all the time,
but if you want to get better in any sport you have to do drills…they may not be
exciting, but they engrain how to do certain things and get rid of bad habits.”

Jay Anderson (Nelson, B.C., Men’s A, 2 nd Place)

Jay is 31 years old and started playing squash about 8 years ago. He has steadily
moved up the squash rankings and is currently ranked 17 th in B.C. He was really easy
to talk with and had lots of suggestions for the lower level players on how to improve
their games. More than that, he is the epitome of all the great people that make up the
squash community. He always offered a smile and carries such a positive perspective
on life. Here are some of his responses to Mike’s Hard News:

Q What do you like about squash?
A “I like to describe (squash) as physical chess…cause there is a lot going on out
there, it is not just hitting a ball. There is fitness, the game plan, and how you are
directly affecting your opponent, I like that challenge”

Q How do you change your game when you are down 2-0?
A In the tight games there are “ three things to focus on (1) Tighter – keep the drop
shots tight (2) Deeper – really good length to keep the person behind you and (3)
Smarter – smarter shots, force your opponent to take you, your not giving it
away!”

Q What are your goals in squash?
A “I own a (squash) club in Nelson, I am teaching and playing…I am just looking to
be the best I can be. I play as many people as I can and try to get better. Nelson is
a small part of the province (they call me ‘Mr. Hick’ when I come to Vancouver),
but I love it where I am and wouldn’t live anywhere else…at tournaments, like the
Nationals, it is lots of fun to meet and play different people, see other clubs, stay
healthy and be competitive.”

Q Why should the B/C/D levels participate in the Nationals?
A Players at all levels will “enjoy themselves and have fun…the Nationals
experience is unreal, to play and to watch all the top players”

THE GRIGG SISTERS
There are some amazing families involved in the sport of squash. The Grigg family is one of them. Five members of the Grigg family participate in squash. Leona (18) and Kyla (22) are both ranked in the top 20 in Canada, and they met in the semi- finals of the
Women’s Open Consolation draw. What lovely young women they are, in all aspects.
Kyla eked out a win over her older sister, despite being down 2-0 and then went on to
win the consolation final. I had a chance to talk with Kyla after her match with her sister
as we watched her mother compete on court. She has such a great attitude and a smile
that would light any room. She said “I find it different every time I play (Leona). Today I
was just taking it one point at a time. I had to tighten my game, as the first 2 were too
loose. But Leona played very well and she kind of let up. That seems to happen a lot
between us because neither of us really wants to beat the other”.

She had a clear message for all the women squash players “GET OUT HERE – it is such a great event. You are never too old, that is ridiculous cause there are ladies over 60 here and they are having a blast ”. Kyla won the junior Nationals a few weeks ago and
will be competing in the Worlds this August. Good luck to her!

DAVID PHILLIPS (Montreal – Men’s Open)

Hosting the championship trophy, David Phillips made a celebratory entrance to the
Standard Nite Club Saturday evening after the closing events at the Royal Glenora Club.
Shortly afterwards, several of the top players joined Phillips in drinking beer from the
cup as if it was the holy grail of squash! David won the Men’s Open consolation final,
beating out Robin Clarke of Ontario. After one of his matches, I had a chance to hear
about David’s life outside squash. He ma y train all day, but he spends his evenings
playing the drums. To David, it “counterbalances everything”. Despite finishing in the
top 10, David explains that the “top 8 players in Canada are just really good players,
they are also high world ranked players and it is a different level. That is why squash is
so amazing; it is not like tennis where the 150 th ranked player in the world can beat
Sampras one day. It doesn’t really happen like that in squash”. David is himself an
amazing player and I wouldn’t be surprised if we find him in that Top 8 elite category
sooner than he leads on. Beat on David.

Jody Evans won the Men’s B consolation final, but almost missed his first consolation
game. He explains: “I played at noon and lost in the quarters, so I looked at the
consolation draw and I didn’t play again, so I started drinking. I’d had a few rum and
cokes and a couple of beers when Mike Revell comes up and says to me ‘what are you
doing drinking?’ I go ‘man, it is party time!’ He says ‘Dude, you have to play in less than
an hour, you advanced to the third round of the consolation draw’. So I went down thereand played and beat this poor guy 3-0. The next day everyone is telling me to make sure I have a few cocktails before I play!”

What I love about squash is that no matter how old you are, or how good you are, there is plenty of competition. And besides, no other professional sport provides such easy access to the best players in the world. Whether it is watching their games, engaging in
discussions about the game strategy, or just sitting back enjoying a game of pool or a cold beer together, squash’s great athletes are just great people. I not only admire their
dedication and athleticism, but also their down-to-earth nature and approachability.
My hope is that this narrative will spur more players of all levels to participate in future
squash Nationals. If you would like to know more or have comments, please, by all
means, send me an email. If I don’t hear from you, I hope to see you next year at the
Nationals. You can guarantee that I’ll be there. Until then, ‘Let’ it be.

Mike’s Hard News
Mike McIsaac, Bentall Athletic Club – Vancouver
mmcisaac@pacificopportunity.com