Follow the East Coast Squash Academy team results on day 2 at the Australian Junior Open 2016 - 

Big match to follow today is Shehana Vithana in the Semi Finals of the U17 girls. 

The Willoughby Junior open held over the past week (March 18-20, 2016) received about 60 entries and some of the best players in the state. Juniors traveled from all over the state to compete in Sydney at the wonderful Willoughby Squash Club venue. In particular, we saw an awesome turn out for our youngest girls, for both GU11 and GU13 which is so exciting to see. East Coast Squash Academy is excited to congratulate our very own Ryan Marshall who won the BU19 draw.
Below please see our results and a gallery of photos from the weekend. A big thank you to Scott Johnson for the awesome photos, Squash.com.au as our sponsor, the entire Willoughby Squash Club Staff & counter staff, Gina Frankcomb for canteen food, the East Coast Squash Academy Junior Development/Elite Development/High Performance team for helping to run the canteen. Finally, big thank you to the rest of the East Coast Squash Academy team for helping to run such a successful junior tournament.
Thanks to all of our participants and good luck this weekend at AJOs in Tasmania!

Results:

GU11: 
1 Stephanie Head
2 Maja Maziuk
3 Tara Black

GU13:
1 Jemma Besant
2 Maggie Goodman
3 Tanai O'Brien

GU15/GU17 Combined:
1 Georgie Lane
2 Loach Skye
3 Elle Lane

BU11/BU13/BU15 Combined:
1 Ethan Bird
2 Hanni Quereshi
3 Bryn Arnold

GU19/BU17 Combined:
1 Jacob Bird
2 Bradley Fullick
3 Ryan Bushel-Keegan

BU19:
1 Ryan Marshall
2 Patrick Hart
3 Luke Carah

Willoughby squash clubs junior pennant teams win the top 3 divisions 1, 2, and 3 in the NSW squash Saturday junior competition.

There was an extremely tight match between our Willoughby division 2 team, going all the way to five games for all matches with Knox 1. It came down to Leonie Forbes from Willoughby bringing back 3 match balls in the fifth game to take the day 17-15 in the fifth. Way to stick to that mental toughness, Leonie!

It was a great performance from all our players Saturday - all competitors left there all out on the court.

Willoughby 1 beat Briars @ Thornleigh 3/0

Willoughby 2 beat Knox 1 2/1

Willoughby 3 beat Barker 1 3/0

Willoughby 5 lost to Knox 2 0/3

Well done to Bondi Waverley Squash Clubs 2 Junior Competition teams and Willoughby's 7 Junior comp teams. We look forward to the next one, starting in Term 2 2016. 

Thank  you to NSW Squash, in particular, Annie Gleeson, for running such a great competition. 

Go team!

One week ago today, we saw an exciting 5-game final for our Open draw at the Willoughby Open at Willoughby Squash Club! It was a high-energy weekend with many entrants across five different draws. Congratulations to all players for an excellent performance, and a special congrats to those who placed in their respective draws:

Mixed Grade: 
plate: Matt Fink
R/up: Dylan Brown
Winner: Vineet Jain

C Grade:
Plate: Ian Mcdaid
R/up: Luke Carah
Winner: Rob Hunt

B Grade:
Plate: Mike James
R/Up: Craig Lamb
Winner: John Mabon

A Grade:
​Plate: Andy Watson
R/up: Luke Fisher
Winner: Mathew Hui

Open:
Plate: James Dampney
R/Up: Brett Hyland
Winner: Darcy Evans


Photos to follow soon! 

A big thank you to our entire staff for putting on another wonderful tournament weekend, to Willoughby and the Willoughby Squash staff for hosting, and to all of our sponsors for the prizes and support. 

Sydney, NSW, Australia (3, March, 2016) – If squash is ever going to make the Olympics, it’s going to take a concerted effort, positive enthusiasm across all levels of the sport, from the grassroots all the way up to national and international collaboration.
 
The East Coast Squash Academy has been a proponent of squash with its on-going involvement at the highest levels of peak performance with Australian squash legend David Palmer, former World #1 staging loal squash camps at Willoughby Squash Club as well as Madeline Perry, former World #3 recently joining The Academy’s coaching faculty based at the Bondi Waverley Squash Club just last week.
 
In as much as top coaches bolster local enthusiasm for squash, additional benefits provided by The Academy have been its residency program for Elite and Professional Players.
 
David Cromwell and Tiffany Hau from Middlebury College in Vermont, USA have been residents in The Academy’s Elite Development Program in 2014 and 2015.
 
“My game has improved a lot thanks in large part to my time with The East Coast Squash Academy in 2015,” explains Cromwell. “ I jumped from #7 to #2 on my team within 1 season because I am so much more aware of everything that’s going on in all the different aspects of my game.” He adds, “my progression across the four dimensions of the game has allowed me to continue improving even after leaving Aaron’s program and returning to college squash.”

Similarly, Hau describes her experiences as “...one of the most rewarding places to train and learn. Since I have worked with Aaron and the academy, my level of improvement has increased exponentially. I am much more aware of myself, my own strengths and capabilities, and how to capitalize on others’ weaknesses while playing. In addition, I have learned much more about the game as a whole, including coaching, strategy, mindset, and technique. The opportunity to train with some of the top coaches and players has been one of a kind.” Tiffany still currently works with East Coast Squash Academy in charge of marketing and website design.

In addition, other players include Anna Kimberly from England, who currently plays #4 on Trinity College’s team in Connecticut. The team is a top ranked team for women in the college program and Anna has been one of the top players in England for years and played with the academy in 2015. In addition, Juan Vargas from Trinity men’s team visited in 2014 with Tiffany Hau, and he is currently #3 on of the top three teams in the U.S.

Lastly, Tyler Finkelstein, who plays for Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) under head coach and former World #1 Thierry Lincou, also visited in 2015. “It is clear that Aaron draws the best coaching techniques from his many years of experience playing and training,” Finkelstein says. “He understands how to think about technique, strategy, and training. And he’s an awesome guy, too”.  
The Academy has created a structured coaching framework that encompasses the 4 dimensions of peak performance development based on deliberate practice principles used by Olympians and Commonwealth Games-level athletes. These four dimensions include: The physical, strategic/tactical, technical and mental aspects of the game.

One of the components of the peak performance framework are intensive 2-5 day squash camps – popular in North America as an intensive off-season method of accelerating squash development amongst junior and elite members. The Academy caters to this group with personalised programs and residency (accommodation) support in one of the world’s most beautiful cities – Sydney, Australia!
​
The Academy, although a for-profit business, makes substantial investments in squash development projects like its residency program, always seeking to provide players (and their parents) with the highest value possible. This is made possible via the generosity of sponsors and friends of The Academy and its staff who selflessly volunteer their time and resources free of charge for the benefit and love of the game.
 
The Academy wishes to publicly acknowledge these quiet supporters who wish to remain anonymous and behind-the scenes. They include parents, siblings and friends and family of fellow squash addicts that may one day become the next David Palmer, Michelle Martin, or Cameron Pilley…
 
 
The East Coast Squash Academy:
 
Founded in 2011 when Aaron Frankcomb retired from the Professional Squash Tour, the East Coast Squash Academy set out to create a business model to expand the presence of squash within local communities surrounding squash centres. The first installation was at Willoughby Squash Club where Frankcomb was hired as the club’s resident squash pro.
 
Since inception, the Academy has produced some stellar results including: Attracting a handful of junior players with aspirations of going on the professional (PSA) tour. Its junior program has the biggest contingent of players on the NSW Squash Junior ranking list, with players on the NSW junior state teams, Australian junior teams and Australian senior players. The Academy has developed NSW and Australian Junior Champions.
 
The Academy is home base to two full time senior players that have reached careers highs of top 240 in the world on the Men’s PSA Tour.  Its best female professional reached a top world ranking  of 130.  
 
The junior program now boasts over 500 children participating in weekly squads and training sessions. Memberships and participation in squads have increased by 100% and 300% respectively and tournament registrations are at an all-time high.
 
The Bondi Waverley Squash Club is the second squash club to join the Academy, in 2014.
Contact details:
Tel: 0424 474 001
Email: [email protected]
Website: EastCoastSquashAcademy.com.au
Facebook: East Coast Squash Academy
 
 
Aaron Frankcomb:
 
Aaron Frankcomb was ranked in the top 100 professional squash players for 8 years, 4 years in the top 50, winning 3 PSA titles. He represented Australia at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, was a Junior Champion in all age groups including 2 times in the Under 19 category and holder of scholarships in the Tasmanian and  Australian Institutes Of Sport. He now coaches professionally and remains Sydney’s top ranked squash player and is still considered within the top 5 players in Australia.
 
Contact details:
Tel: 0424 474 001
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.AaronFrankcomb.com.au
Facebook: Aaron Head Pro WilloughbySquash
 
Willoughby Squash Club
Willoughby Squash Club has been Sydney’s premier squash club for over 30 years. Boasting 10 singles courts and Sydney’s only regulation championship sized doubles courts. Willoughby is also a site for Australia’s #1 squash store, with the largest selection of squash racquets, shoes, and accessories; the club also has an onsite restringing service.
 
(i) www.WilloughbySquash.com.au
(e) [email protected]
(w) 0299581399
(a) 443 Willoughby Road, Willoughby NSW 2068
 
Bondi Waverley Squash Club
Bondi Waverley is a member-run club located in the heart of Bondi Junction. A beautiful four-court centre and bar, Bondi Waverley Squash Club has entered teams in Sydney’s pennant competition for over 40 years. In addition to courts, the club is also available for functions in the spacious bar and lounge, with pool tables and poker machines. The club is now the second location for East Coast Squash Academy and hosts annual tournaments as well as regular programs for all skill levels and age groups.
 
(i) www.BondiSquashClub.com.au
(e) [email protected]
(w) 0293871452
(a) 8 Denison Street, Bondi Junction NSW 2022

A big "thank-you" to Willoughby Squash Club and Bondi Waverley Squash club for hosting the 2016
Willoughby vs Bondi Waverley Squash Summer Comp. The competition was a highly successful event, with over 25 teams competition for the top positions across 4 divisions. 
To all the participants: a wonderful showing with incredible sportsmanship and fun competition between all of the teams.

All of the finals between teams were very close in all four divisions, each team pulling out a 2-1 win to take the win. Results are as follows:
​
Division 1 –
Willoughby 1 defeated Bondi 3.
Darcy Evans (W1) bt Madeline Perry (B3)
Ryan Marshall (W1) bt Luke Fisher (B3)
Joe Moore (B3) bt Sam Higgs (W1)
 
Division 2 –
Willoughby 4 defeated Bondi 4
Rachel Donald (W4) bt Zac Zavos (B4)
Matt Palmer (B4) bt Brett Deverall (W4)
Asad Raza (B4) bt Dirk Anderson (W4)
 
Division 3 –
Willoughby 10 defeated Bondi 7
Andrew Croll (B7) bt Derek Farmer (W10)
Andrian Przelozny (W10)  bt Reinhard Wurtz (B7)
Arian Przelozny (W10) bt Andre Saramago (B7)
 
Division 4 –
Bondi 9 defeated Bondi 10
Richard Dewar (B10) bt Selywn Shapiro (B9)       
Jake Formosa (B9) bt David Fahey (B10)
CJ Cahill (B9) bt Oliver Bown (B10)
 
Bondi Waverley hosted a generous bar tab to all the players at the end of competition. I would to thank all the players for attending and enjoyed watching them have a good night.
 
All the best in the 2016 Pennant!