Did you know? The East Coast Squash Academy has provided $33,212 to support our best players and the game of squash in Australia!
 
The East Coast Squash Academy sponsors and subsidises several programs – in total, we donated $33,212 for our athletes during the 2015/16 year.
 
Here’s how we have supported our top players in 15/16:
 
1.    $9,500 for one High-Performance athlete
2.    $3,680 for Elite Development athletes
3.    $4,032 for eight Junior Development athletes
4.    $16,000 for junior group coaching.
 
To support junior players, we discount sessions 30-40% to give all children the same opportunities to compete and train at the highest level possible. We have also sourced some of the best coaches in the world who share our values to give every player an equal opportunity to join the next generation of champions. In addition, our director, Aaron Frankcomb, regularly donates his time to help members improve their skills.  
 
We would like to say THANK YOU to all our supporters and volunteers who have helped the Academy build up sponsorship contributions for the benefit of our local squash community.
 
•    Matthew Hollings: thank you for your kind donation towards our Junior Development, Elite Development and High Performance Strength and Conditioning programs.
•    David Fleming: thank you for providing substantially discounted accommodation for our high performance team.  
•    McGrath (Derek Farmer) & Subakette (Michael Daly): thank you for your generous contribution towards our Junior Development Program.
•    The Goodman Family: thank you for your kind donations towards our High Performance team traveling to play professional squash events.
•    Willoughby Squash Club & Bondi Waverley Squash Club: thank you for your support with our Elite Development and High Performance Team.
•    Gina Frankcomb and the canteen team: your ongoing efforts helping out with the food preparation and setup for our canteen during events is appreciated. Without your help, we’d have many hungry players on the court!
•    Junior Development and Elite Development parents! Without your support, including volunteering during event weekends for the canteen, cheering everyone on and much, much more, we would not be where we are today.
•    To our Junior Development, Elite Development, and High-Performance Teams: your generous contributions to help out with Junior Start-up Coaching and canteen work during events are noticed and much appreciated. The Academy needs big-hearted people like you to grow and expand – together we are making a difference!
 
 
With all the financial support throughout the last season, we have been excited to achieve the following results:
 
Darcy Evans is currently placed #7 and #10 in NSW and Australian National Men's Rankings. As a junior, Evans was ranked #2 in Australia in 2013 and #1 for NSW and Tasmania. He was the winner of the MC Hazel Award in 2013. Evans is also a certified Personal Trainer and Assistant Coach.
 
Shehana Vithana
2014 Australian Junior Champion Runner-up U17 Girls
2015 Australian Junior Champion U17 Girls
NSW Number 1 U19 Girls 2016
Australian Number 2 U19 Girls 2016
2x NSW Blue Tongue representative
Australian Trans-Tasman Team
Ryan Marshall
2015 NSW State Champion U17 Boys
4 x NSW Bluetongues State Team representative
2015 4th Place U17 Boys Australian Junior Championships
300 Matrix
Ranked #1 in NSW U19 Boys
Ranked #15 in Australia U19 Boys
Maggie Goodman
Ranked 2 in NSW U13 Girls
Runner-up NSW Junior Championships
2015 AJO 3rd Position U11 Girls
12th in Australia in the U13 Girls
Ken Lamb
Ranked #1 in NSW U11 Boys
Oceania U11 Boys Champion
Tom Lacy
Ranked #2 in NSW U13 Boys
Tom Hampson
Represented NSW Blue Tongues 2015
2015 top 3 in NSW
Elliot Inman
Represented NSW Blue Tongues 2015
2015 top 3 in NSW U13 Boys
Ryan Lange
Ranked #8 in NSW U17 Boys 2016
James Johnson
Ranked #7 in NSW U17 Boys
2015 NSW CHS TEAM
2015 Australian CHS TEAM
Anna Goodman
2nd Place U15 Girls 2015 ACT Junior Championships
Ranked #4 in NSW 2016
Sam Goodman
Ranked #10 in the NSW U15 boys
Oliver Boyd
2x Metropolitan Catholic Colleges School Champion
Luke Carah
7th in NSW U19 Boys 2016
 
As you can see, we’re making a difference one player at a time. Our goal is to offer every player an equal opportunity to develop his or her squash skills to the maximum of his or her availability. We feel proud of our young champions knowing that they now serve as an inspiration to other (even younger) children.
 
In a society where kids can fall into bad behaviours, our young champions are setting the bar for themselves and others to aspire to goals and ideologies that will improve our community in general.
 
Who would have thought that a game of squash could give so much hope and direction to so many young Australians!
 
In order for the Academy to continue to implement programs and training we are looking for support for the next 2016/17 season.
 
If you want to get a contribution in before the financial year-end, please contact Aaron ASAP and we can figure out how to make the best use of your donation and/or sponsorship. We have court tin advertisements, clothing/t-shirt logo ads, webpage links, email links, and corporate sponsored events/days available.
 
Thank you all for your past and continued support for our athletes and the Academy - parents, families, athletes, coaches, courts and staff, and local businesses keep us running, and we cannot express our gratitude enough.
 
Looking forward to another successful and fun squash season.
 
T  ogether
E  veryone
A  chieves
M  ore!

Sydney, NSW, Australia (24 April, 2016) –Madeline Perry has been one of East Coast Squash Academy’s Head Professionals since February of 2016. Perry has signed on for another three months, to extend her time through the winter months in Sydney.
 
Perry joins the Academy after playing full-time on the WSA/PSA tour for the past 17 years. Perry represented Ireland in 5 Commonwealth Games and is the most successful squash player in history of Ireland Squash. She has won 13 World Tour Titles, was former World #3, and was ranked within the top 10 WSA players for over 10 consecutive years. Perry retired from the professional world tour in the middle of 2015.
 
She has been coaching at both of the Academy’s locations in Willoughby and Bondi, helping to bring in new players as well as maintain the high level of coaching. Her ability to use personal experiences and deep understanding of the game has helped her become an excellent coach in a short amount of time. Perry’s passion for squash and teaching what she knows to others is evident whenever she is around.
 
Aaron Frankcomb, Director of The East Coast Squash Academy, was excited to continue her contract. “It’s great to have such great calibre of player teaching our junior, senior and masters players. Not only has Madeline shown great skills on the PSA tour but now in the coaching world she is really starting to shine,” exclaims Frankcomb. “I have had very positive feedback from her students and am pleased to have her as a part of our coaching faculty. For professional players to move out to Australia and earn a living coaching it is a great way of life. I know when I came off tour I considered moving to the United States as a lot of coaches do, but I am pleased to be able to say I can make as good a living in Sydney as I could in the US.”
 
The East Coast Squash Academy has been working to build the female squash community and Madeline’s presence is one of the key factors to driving female players to join. In addition, the Academy hopes to provide these same opportunities to other professional players by creating a place to settle down and jumpstart their coaching career after they retire from the professional tour.  
 
“I am delighted to be staying on with East Coast Squash Academy for a further 3 months” declares Perry. “I have really enjoyed being part of such a professional set up and the wide variety of coaching I have experienced. It has been extremely satisfying to see the improvements made by my players and the delight it has brought them when they increase their matrix  (ranking) or won matches at tournaments. It has also been nice to get to know my clients as people and build personal relationships. I’m excited about the next 3 months here in Sydney.”

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Be sure to get in for lessons with Madeline during her time here in Sydney. Use our bookings dropdown tab to book private lessons, video analysis sessions, or group lessons today!

"On Saturday 28 May at 5pm, two teams of 20 squash players assembled for the inaugural M40 Cup.​

The M40 Cup is named after a bus route that runs directly from outside the Willoughby Squash Club to the Bondi Waverley Squash Club (BWSC) and the idea was conceived after a challenge was issued by the BWSC to the Willoughby Squash Club's General Manager and avid squash player, Peter Aitken. 
 
Matches were played in a timed format that saw competitors play three 11 minute games with continuous scoring. Astonishingly, most competitors over the age of 40 complained that the 11 minutes was too long and the young players lapped up the lengthened games format! But of course, all of the matches were played in a tremendous spirit and this flowed into the social component of the evening where all players and many supporters of the evening and the club stayed until the club shut its doors.
 
The focus of the night was to raise funds for new lighting that BWSC requires. Some background information for those that don’t know, BWSC is a Registered Club and thus is a not-for-profit organisation that has a focus on serving the community as one of its charters. Fundraising nights like the M40 Cup goes to show that our local squash community is generous of their time and money. However, nights like these don’t happen without an enormous amount of help behind the scenes, as well as donations from supporters of the Club and members of the Club.
 
There are individuals and organisations that deserve much credit:
· Aaron Frankcomb and the East Coast Squash Academy – East Coast has their feet in both Bondi and Willoughby camps and did a tremendous amount of wrangling to get squashies interested and turning up on the night – without Aaron’s help, there would never have been such a good turnout!
· Adam Wilson and Young Henrys – Adam organised the Young Henrys Pale Ale and Lager to be donated for the evening. The players and supporters appreciated the two new brews flowing from the taps at BWSC and hope they can become a permanent fixture!
·Peter Aitken, Squash Mechanics and Willoughby Squash Club – Peter, through his contacts, organised T Shirts for the event and supper for the evening – he and his staff also promoted the event throughout Willoughby Squash Club and helped out at the venue on the night!
 
We are excited to announce that by the end of the night, funds were raised for new lighting!

.....And BWSC has also won the inaugural cup!
 
The return match is slated for October 15. Get in early, we are sure the next event will be bigger!"

--Raymond Ricciardi, Bondi Waverley Squash Club Board Member & long-time East Coast Squash Academy member at both locations


Please contact us if you are interested in playing the next M40 cup! We will see if Willoughby Squash Club can pull out the revenge victory or if Bondi Waverley will retain the cup later this year.

Photos from the event are below. Be sure to check out the picture of the cup, which features a replica of the M40 bus! As you can see from the photos, it was certainly a fun-filled event.....

We've all heard the buzz around Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and other great tennis stars playing squash as part of their cross training...we've also seen several other celebrities and professional athletes talking up the sport we love so much.

...And the hype continues! Recently Miguel Rodriguez (WR #5, COL) had the honor of playing inflatable squash with the infamous professional soccer player, Maradona.

See the tweet here, with a photo and the video of them together.