If anyone has been keeping up with PSA's SquashTV and/or current tournaments on PSA, you'll see that this week is the Bellevue Classic out near Seattle, WA, USA. This is a big 100K tournament for the men on the tour right now, drawing in top players like Gregory Gaultier, Ali Farag, Ryan Cuskelly, and Marwan Elshorbagy. The 4-seed in the draw is England's James Willstrop, who is currently ranked #6 in the world. 

In the first two rounds of the tournament (he plays in the semi-finals today versus Gregory Gaultier!), he had incredible 5-game wins after being down late in the fifth game. He shows all of the mental toughness any player needs in tight situations like his.

In the first round, James came up against Hong Kong's Max Lee. They battled out the first four games, Lee winning 11-9 in the first, then Willstrop coming back 11-5, 11-5 and then Lee leveling it at 2 games all with an 11-4 fourth game win. In the fifth game, Willstrop was down 9-7 but came back to win 11-9. He is a former World #1 with tons of experience...but experience doesn't directly correlate to that kind of ability to dig deep. In his interview with PSA, he said:"I had to dig in and have faith in what I was doing. I’m very pleased to come away with the win. I just had to keep it as simple as I could really, once you start clouding your head with loads of thoughts it makes it worse. I only think about what I’m out there trying to do and I simplify it rather than think about how many points I’ve got to win. It’s not very easy, but you’ve got to forget about the scoreboard as much as possible."

After this incredible win, he decided he would do it again yesterday when he took on Spain's Borja Golan! James found himself 2-0 up after winning 11-6, 11-7. However Golan stepped it up a level and won the next two games quickly, winning 11-2, 11-6. They were quite tight through the first half of the fifth game, before Golan took a lead at 10-7. Willstrop then came back to bring it to 10-10 and then proceeded to win the next two points and take the match at 12-10 in the fifth. This last game was an incredible round of points and we HIGHLY recommend watching it (highlights in this article!)

Now, what can we take away from these incredible back-to-back five game wins? It is important to note what Willstrop said in his first PSA interview (which he reiterated with the courtside emcee after his match against Golan), which was to TRUST your game. Keep it simple. Once you are in that tight situation, it is highly important not to let the scoreline or the nerves or the stress get to you. If you stay focused on the task at hand, which is executing your game plan, you give yourself the best shot at performing well and therefore the best shot at winning the point, then hopefully the game and the match.  Another option? Set yourself some mini-goals!!

If you haven't watched any of the matches yet, here are some highlights from SquashTV. If you want to watch the full match, we recommend subscribing to SquashTV! Remember, we offer all of our East Coast Squash Academy members a 10% discount on SquashTV, so contact us now for your promo code :)!

A study at the University of Sydney (30 Nov 2016) explores which few sports that are good for your health. They came out with the conclusion that "racquet ball games, swimming and aerobics were found to be most protective against death from cardiovascular causes." 

Obviously, we are stoked! There have been many other conclusions that squash is good for you, including statements that squash is the highest calorie burning sport in existence...but it is always exciting to see a source from our home city, Sydney! Although this article did not talk about squash alone, it is exciting to see racquet sports getting the acknowledgement as a tough sport but also one that is good for you and may prevent serious heart complications or diseases. AND it's a great way to have fun, stay interested, and workout at the same time; no more boring treadmills at the gym for us (yes!). 

This year, squashsite, one of the squash communities biggest squash blogs, posted a hilarious April Fool's article about a mass retirement from all of the current top players. This was extra funny because it was the weekend before two huge tournaments, El Gouna International for the men and then Women's World Championships (also held in El Gouna, Egypt), which is happening right now. 

They gave nothing away about their April Fool's prank until the very end of their tumblr post, where they write #April #Fools. However, after you read through the first paragraph, you can tell the absurdity of it and discover their funny joke. It is hard not to fall for the headline, though! Click here to become part of the prank.  .....Although we probably should've just looked at the date :)

This post though reminded us of a great squash April Fool's video post prank from SquashSkills two years ago. They also did a great job keeping their cool during the video and posted it on YouTube later with the title April Fool's. SquashSkills decided to show a "new anaerobic" court sprint exercise....which you'll just have to watch to believe. Absolutely hilarious!!!!! ***Please don't try this at home!***

With the game of squash changing, it has become even more attacking with the low tin and players are becoming fitter with each passing day. The rallies at tournaments, particularly on the glass showcourts, are incredible feats of athleticism. 

For example, we all remember the viral video of New Zealander Paul Coll (WR# ) playing against England's James Willstrop at Canary Wharf (England) last year in 2016.... (if you dont remember, it is below): 

This was one of the first big videos that went viral for squash because of Coll's insane dives an gets.....and in the end, WINS THE POINT! Even BBC covered it .....click here see their coverage. 
​WHAT. A. RALLY.

It is so exciting to see that more and more websites, not squash related, are covering the epic rallies and giving nods to the incredible athletes on tour today. Deadspin posted an article about an epic rally between James Willstrop (clearly always involved in the toughies!) and fellow Englander Nick Matthew. Even they admit they haven't always given squash credit and instead prefer to roast the sport that we at East Coast Squash Academy love....but they have to admit that this rally is amazing!

The rally is shown in a video on their article....Click here to see it!

The sport is continually reaching more and more people with its entertaining feats of strength, skill, strategy, and mental toughness. It is so exciting to see that more people who aren't players themselves reposting and sharing squash rallies ....we are seeing more and more articles and social media posts about our sport....and we love to see squash grow around the world! How exciting!!

"The past few weekends, I have been excited to be competing on court again at three local tournaments. It has been 5 years since I've retired from the tour so I am always looking forward to playing as much as possible, especially competing against all of the great local talent. 

The first tournament of the year was the Bondi Open 2017 at the Bondi Waverley Squash Club. It is always a tough tournament to play as it is the start of the year, after the Christmas/New Years break. We all played in the blistering heat of the Australian summer (and no AC!). It was fun to come back and play after winning the trophy last year. I knew it wasn't going to be easy to get it back again. The weekend started off 
with a bye but followed by a tough quarter finals match up against Rohan Toole. He hits the ball with a lot of racquet head speed, so it is difficult to feel comfortable on the T. I knew I had to hit the ball well to get it past his incredible wing span and great reach, and if I didn't, I would be in trouble. I was pleased with my efforts to keep him out of the centre of the court and win a tough 3-0. That was just the first step...I was set to play Darcy Evans in the semifinal, another difficult matchup. I knew he would be extremely fired up, just as I was playing against my coaches, Rodney Martin, Geoff Hunt, and Byron Davis....all players always really want to beat your coach. Darcy always shows how much he wants to succeed on court and that drive can always be dangerous. During this match, I was grateful for my experience being an older player which I felt helped me to win another tough 3-0. He will continue to be a tough opponent in these local tournaments. Later that same day, I was back in the heat of the club, set to play former PSA player Matthew Karwalski in the final. All I can say is that this was a brutal match with the weather and such tightly contested points. I was lucky to run away with the match after being 2-7 down in the fifth game, but was pleased to fight back. Matt played well, always fights hard, and has wonderful sportsmanship- it is always such a pleasure to get on court with Matt. I was happy to win this final match 3-2 for the title and trophy for 2017. 

A big thank you to the entire Bondi Waverley Squash Club crew for hosting this event!"

"The next tournament I played in was at the Willoughby Open in the Open draw. It was funny being on the other side of the event after hosting it for the past 5.5 years, and it was a pleasant change of pace being able to solely focus on my squash! What was great about this weekend was seeing so many familiar faces and catching up with everyone after the holidays. This draw was going to be just as tough as the previous weekend, so I knew I was in for another long series of matches. My first round I played against my former Sydney 1s teammate, Iain Tennant. He is a lefty which is always a tricky match-up as a right-handed player. This was a tough fight but I was able to cut down on his angles and I tried to limit his opportunities as much as possible. Iain is such a skillful player so I was forced to stay focused and stick to my game plan. I was pleased with my performance and able to pull out a close 3-0 win to get into the semifinals. I ended up re-matching with Darcy Evans for a Bondi Open repeat! Thankfully, I had played him recently and  knew if I didn't get early momentum, he would take advantage. Darcy was doing a great job in his game plan discipline and his approach was strong. Fortunately, early leads at the start of each of the games helped me to walk off court victorious in another tough 3 game match. I have found that momentum is such a key element in matches, and gaining momentum early can really help yourself mentally. Steve Coppinger once coached me during a match, giving me the great advice to 'try and set short term goals during games. Beat your opponent to 3, then to 6, then to 9, and then 11'. This advice has was crucial to my game (I will discuss this more at another time!! Stay tuned on our blog if you're keen to learn more). This same mentality helped me gain early leads at the start of each of the games and helped me walk off court victorious in another tough 3 game match that lasted 65 minutes. I was definitely feeling that lengthy match....Willoughby Open proved to be dejavu for me as I found myself in another Bondi Open repeat final against Matthew Karwalski. I went into the match confident after earning the W in our last couple of encounters. Since he was also a top 50 PSA player, his talent is such a great asset for everyone in the Sydney area. He retired only 2.5 years ago, so his game is still strong and his knowledge and experiences are still fresh. Matt was solid, winning all of the crucial points towards the latter ends of the games. I had a couple of chances, but he held me off with confident hitting and excellent attacking, running away with a 3 game win. He was definitely the deserved player on court that day. I look forward to a continued rivalry throughout 2017! All in all, I was still extremely happy to be runner-up at another great Sydney squash event.

​Thank you, Willoughby Squash Club!"

"This past weekend, I had the pleasure of competing at the Elanora Open. During this tournament, there was both a PSA event as well as a local event, from Open grade down to Mixed. Many people asked me why I decided not to play in the PSA draw. The PSA draw was a strict draw of 16 (for those who don't know, PSA events can either have qualifying or not- both options are common) and no qualifying. Without a qualifying draw, local players not currently competing on the PSA tour cannot enter. Therefore, I was happy to play in the local Open grade instead! During the weekend, I was excited to watch the PSA matches and saw how fit they all are and felt excitement for these young, up and coming players! They are all fit buggers and to compete with them would have been a marathon of a weekend. A huge congratulations to Zac Alexander for taking out the PSA title, a well-deserved title and it was great to catch up with a long time friend.

In the open, my first round I was up against Russ Menzies. Although on paper we had a difference on the matrix, Russ plays a steady game and hits a nice ball. He made me earn every point and I worked hard to get all three games. Then in the 2nd Round I was up again Michael O'Flynn. This was the first time I have played against Michael. After playing him, I see such a big matrix jump heading his way! He has already made great progression, having met him when I first moved back to Sydney 5+ years ago! In the semi final, I was up against Rohan Toole, a match up that I saw a couple weeks earlier at Bondi. He is currently a student at Newcastle Uni and was able to be flexible with the match schedule. A big shout out and thanks to him for being flexible to play early! I appreciate it! Rohan always continues to improve and in addition to his long reach, has a great intensity when he is on court. He will continue to be a top play in the Sydney area. Again, I felt my experience gave me the upper hand in this match and I was able to pull out a win to make it to another final. It was a great feeling to make it to my third straight final! I was set to play Darcy Evans after he had a grueling 3-2 win against Luke Hillier. I was grateful for the slight edge with less time on court in my legs but Darcy still came out firing and pushed hard throughout. I was happy to walk away with a 3-0 win and finish three tournaments in a row as the Elanora Open winner!

Thanks to everyone at Elanora for a fun weekend of squash!
 
It has been a big seven weeks of tournaments and I am pleased to walk away with two titles and a runner-up. What great results to start 2017! I look forward to competing in the up and coming tournaments across NSW as the year progresses."

~Aaron Frankcomb

When it comes to playing squash, whether for leisure or at training, it is very important to take care of yourself. This can be done in a variety of ways, including nutrition/food intake, hydration, warm up/cool down, proper rest periods, recovery, training type, and intensity. 

Something that is often overlooked is stretching and mobility, particularly dynamic movements. In our warm up routines for training, we encourage dynamic stretching exercises to best activate the appropriate muscle groups and to "loosen up the body". Many people have heard about the benefits of performing dynamic stretching versus static stretching prior to exercise, and we have definitely found the advantages of doing so. If you're stuck or unsure of what to do, an excellent resource is Man vs Weights website, where they have a database (with instructional videos!!) of 101 dynamic stretches. 

Some of our favorites include: 

• Twisted Lunge --> pictured to right
• Arm Circles
• Cat/Cow Stretch
• Lying Lower Back Stretch 
• Rolling Stretch
• Broomstick stretch
• Downdog to Cobra
• Knee Pulls
• Standing Hip Flexor Stretch
• Spider Stretch
• Leg Swings (side to side)
• Leg Swings (front to back)
• Butt(bum) kickers
• Hamstring Windmill Kickers
• High Toe Touch

​If you have ever participated in our training squads, you would have done several of these! 

A lot of players ask our coaching team about what they should do for pain, soreness, or stiffness. We hear lots of questions regarding that, but most of the time, the problem is not knowing what good stretches could be! Dynamic stretching is the answer, and now with this consolidated list, hopefully you can find the right stretch to loosen up those squash muscles and continue to play to the best of your ability! The majority of the stretches can be done in your own home and at any time since they are safe to do without working out prior. If you are ever feeling stiff or sore, just 15-20 minutes of dynamic stretching can really help - take it from us!!!! Several of our coaches train twice a day and are on court for several more, we know what it is like to be sore, and truly this is a great way to help your body feel better day after day!

HOWEVER, it is possible to "stretch too hard"!!! Always take caution and ease into your warm up or stretching routine; give your muscles the time they need to extend and warm up. 

US Squash's Squash Magazine published a great little article about humorous referee/player responses during matches. We chose our top three favorites from their article as well as two honorable mentions:

1. ​A ref denies a let to a player—so the player then quips: “You don’t know how fast I think I am.”
2. A foot-fault is called, and the player queries: “Aren’t you going to warn me first about that?” The ref answers: “And are there any other rules you’d like me to warn you about?”
3. A ref awards a stroke against a player who had gotten royally smacked in the face by a reasonable backswing. The player, after stumbling away, retorts with: “Wadda ya mean, stroke!? I was clear.”

Honorable Mentions:

• During another match, explaining to Jonathon Power why a stroke was awarded against him, the ref said: “He was right there.” Power then retorts: “Yeah, well I wasn’t.”
• A player, walking on to the court for what he knows will be a very tough match, asks the ref: “Do you take Visa, Mastercard or American Express?”

Read the full article here and comment which are your favorites or if you've heard any great comebacks during matches let us know! 

We are excited and honored to be named one of FeedSpot's top 40 squash blogs and websites for squash players and fans from around the world! As squash enthusiasts ourselves, we have been strong followers of many of the sites listed and we are thrilled to be listed alongside top squash sites and blogs. FeedSpot is a wonderful platform that allows users to see their favorite sites in one convenient location. Check out their article and the rest of the top squash blogs worldwide here! 

We have confirmed that the Academy is sending 11 juniors to compete at the Australian Junior Open tournament in January 2017. We will be sending all 3 of our elite development players and 8 of our 10 current junior development members as well. Each year, the tournament is held at different centres around the country and attracts players from all over world. The squash is always a high level and the competition is fierce. We are excited to see how our juniors will do...good luck!

Stay tuned for more info, seedings, and tournament information to come. 

To join our academy as apart of the junior development, elite development, or high performance teams, please fill out the application here.