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SO LONG GOUGHY ...
Part THREE
one
two |
 Well
it had to happen someday Goughy!
From another man who doesn’t know when to call it quits it’s a bit
rich I know but it’s a sad day when a really special player decides
to hang up his racket.
And Goughy is a special player too – with his little flicks and top
spin drops and cheeky looks at the ref or someone in the crowd. I
will still be the brunt of his jokes and, quite frankly, bad temper
in exhibition matches and leagues around the country but I am used
to it, and we feed off each other like naughty schoolchildren. I
don’t think either of us will completely stop as we love the game
too much and that is highlighted by the fact that we are staying in
the game.
Goughy and I first knew each other in the juniors but we didn’t
really become good mates until he came up to train in Nottingham
after finishing his degree in Cardiff. He is a little older than me
but I was already well established on the world circuit and he was
just beginning to take it seriously. Hadrian Stiff came with him and
soon we had a ridiculous amount of top players at the club. Peter
Marshall, Jason Nicolle and Matthew Oxley were already there so it
was a fantastic squad environment with a real variety of players to
train with.
In those days I used to have my blood and sweat” no quarter given”
matches with Marsh and another day a more lighthearted
“experimental” match with Mr Gough. It was great for me, and as
Goughy improved, I think we all improved. He went from strength to
strength, beating me for the first time in Egypt, which really
rattled me, and going from a qualifier all the way to the semis of
the Al Ahram tournament.
I have seen him reduce top players such as Brett Martin, Peter
Nicol, Lee Beachill, even Jansher to average looking players. But
consistency was why he didn’t win more often – on a good day he
could beat anyone, on a bad day he could lose to my grandmother
(maybe 3-2 though). Bad days could be just as entertaining though
watching him (humorously) blaming everyone from me to the referee to
the courtsweeper and the guy at the back selling sandwiches for his
bad form.
We have had some great moments on the tour together, often sharing
rooms, and helping each other through some really tough matches. I
know he has certainly helped me win matches I would have otherwise
lost as he has a strong tactical mind and is a real thinker on the
court. He would definitely make a great coach if he ever wanted to.
But as we know he has taken a role at the PSA which I know he is
already getting his teeth into and looking forward to. Goughy, I
wish you all the best in your new job and I look forward to stuffing
you out of sight next time we play!
See you at Glastonbury!!
former world
#3 |
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 I
remember Alex virtually from the beginning of my career, when he
ended up in the semis of the worlds in Malaysia. I watched his
quarter-final against Cairns, and if I remember well, he ended the
year world number five.
We had some pretty good matches us two, you could never relax or
lose concentration for a split second, you had to keep the pace up
constantly against Goughy. He was always ready to find the shot that
would surprise you, and never let anything go. He was able to
technically make any player lose the plot really!
Bravo for your exceptional longevity, for a squash player, simply
astonishing. You’ve been an example to us all.
All the luck for the rest of your career…
former
world #1 |
 Not
quite sure where I can start with Goughy from a referee's
perspective ...
One recent recollection is when he was playing in a tournament in
Sweden:
 Typical
Alex, he was commanding centre stage - organising the referee and
Marker, stopping the crowd from walking round the side of the court,
keeping the VIP section quiet, sorting out the courtside cleaner,
asking the guys from the TV to replay the decision on the big screen
so he could let the crowd and referees know he was right.
All that was going on at the end of one particular rally while he
was involved in a great five game match with Jon Harford ...
needless to say he won the next rally !!! Poor old Jon Harford
didn't have a clue what was going on (and neither did the
referees/VIP'S/Courtside cleaner and the crowd!)
A normal day at the office for the man from Newport…
World Referee |
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Alex is a great bloke. Funny (very), great
company, intelligent (verging on mad), the life and soul of the tour
... and he will be sorely missed!
A story that sums up Goughy - when visiting us not so long ago with
Jayden, his son, Jayden asked if he could put on a dvd. Hedley said
"Of course you can Jayden, make yourself at home, do what you like."
To which Jayden responded, "Can I trash your house then?" Like
father, like son...quick as a flash, funny, intelligent.
I just love the way he's such good company - he makes people laugh
and has a razor-sharp intellect. But he's daft as well ... some of
the stories are unprintable but hilarious. Such a character. The
younger players seem so much more serious and intent. He'll really
be missed! A bit like Whitey in that respect ... who will replace
them??
You'll be missed, Alex. Hope you keep in touch and visit - but let
us know as we'll have to stock up on the cold beer! All the best in
your new career.
Lots of love,
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Alex was a great tactician; he understood the game of squash. This
showed clearly in the last couple of years as he was still able to
compete at the highest level while his body was starting to break
down.
Always difficult to play and a dogged competitor, he would always
have a comment or two to remind you just when you thought you were
playing a friendly that this was business.
Most amazing weekend of squash I have ever witnessed first hand was
in the days before responsibility in Santa Barbara. Three days, four
matches, surfing, partying and around three hours sleep total for
Alex and then he thumped me in the final. Outstanding!
former
world #1
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 GOUGHIE
& THE
PAIN OF SUCCESS!!
When I took over as the Welsh National Squash Team Manager in the
late 1980's I made a pledge that only the best would play and also
that we would become a much more professional and fit squad. My
captain was Adrian Davies - The Wizard. A definite poacher
turned gamekeeper but as Welsh as LLanboidy and a fantastic racket
player who the squad admired on and off court, especially by Alex
who is a close friend to this day.
To set the scene and show the squad that this was a new dawn we
agreed to start the first session with a little mental test. After
stretching, the squad were told to start gently jogging across
court. Easy really - and the boys started joking and laughing as
they loped back and forth. Twenty minutes later the pace was
increased and the bursts began - the talking stopped and the faces
started to look at us begging for the magic words - "just a few
minutes to go."
 There
were no magic words - the finishing line was never mentioned and
that sorted out the men from the boys. One player asked if he could
stop to adjust his tied headband .................... that pitiful
request was ignored. Suddenly another player stopped without
instruction and asked if he could vomit!! Of course you can BUT do
it on court!!! Funny how he kept going without any further signs of
sickness.
 That
day some players stepped up to the plate and amongst them was a
certain Alex Gough. He pulled a lot of faces but he dug in
and kept going. The psychology was that there would be no limits
mentioned - no finishing line to work towards & mentally that is a
killer - just like the fifth game when your opponent refuses to go
away.
By the end of that first squad weekend we had found the nucleus of a
new Welsh era and Alex was awarded with his first senior Welsh cap.
The spirit that he showed that day was to stay with him through a
remarkable career whether playing for Wales or on the PSA tour. In
1993 Alex joined the PSA and has stayed on the tour for 15 years. It
is a reflection of the spirit that he showed in 1989 that he was
still winning tour events even at the age of 37 years.
 I
remember watching him beat Laurens Jan Anjema in Saudi Arabia
in a first round match of the Saudi International in 2006 - I even
remember that it was on court one and they started at 1300 hours.
Court one is alongside my office, which is made of glass. When I
looked up from my desk the memories of 1989 flooded back as I
watched Alex dig in and work like a Pit Bull Terrier. He scampered
and harried but most of all he worked his socks off with the same
look on his face as that day in 1989 - the result was a win to the
Welshman.
 It
brought back the memory of that day in Cardiff so long ago and I
wondered if the lesson he learned then was one of the factors that
has helped him through his professional career. We often speak of
that first squad weekend - he says that he can still remember the
pain!!
There are no more court sprints planned in the future but I can tell
you Alex, that you will need that same mental resolve and toughness
in your new role as the PSA COO. It's a different discipline but
it's just as hard and equally rewarding. We have had our moments
over the years when we have differed on so many things but we have
always shared one goal - to make the PSA tour a better place for the
boys.
Good luck Goughie
the Voice of Squash |
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 I've
known Alex pretty much since I joined the psa in '96 and at that
time he was one of the best players in the world. I remember
watching him in the early days and thinking, god if he's number 5 in
the world surely I can get there! It was only when I played him for
the first time in Qatar I realised it wasn't that easy!
He's got to be one of the cleverest players I've come across, and
coupled with great movement and racquet ability he made himself a
top player. The best quality for me though is his persistence,
there's been times, a good few years ago when I was sure he was
going to retire but instead he worked things out and somehow got
back on track and that says a lot about someone.
I'm glad he's been able to choose when he retires without been
forced into it, because after such a long and eventful career he
deserves to. I wish him good luck in his new role at the psa and we
all hope he'll be as successful as he was at squash!
former world #1, PSA President (Aug '08) |
the Hammock Story
Mike Puertas
 Well
Alex, congratulations on an outstanding squash career and good luck
with your new job at the PSA. If you are even half as good in the
COO position as you were as a player then the present and future
squash pros will owe you.
With the niceties over it is finally time to bring out the
“Hammock Story”!
Back in 1997 I had retied from the tour and taken a coaching
position in Florida, Alex thought it would be a good idea (God only
knows why) to come and visit me for 10 days prior to playing in the
Al-Ahram open (It was the largest event on tour at that time).
On the evening of the hammock incident we were invited to a party at
a house on the intracostal waterway, Robert Graham was also
visiting at the time. After a hard day’s training we were a little
dehydrated so the host of the party gave us some of their rum punch
special, within about an hour it was obvious that things were going
to get interesting. Alex had disappeared and Robert and I were
frantically trying to find him, then we heard one of the guests
shout that someone was trying to start the 60ft yacht parked at the
end of the yard, sure enough when we arrived at the yacht Alex was
under the steering wheel trying to hotwire the thing!!
We rescued him from the yacht but the rum punch had obviously taken
its toll so we decided to lay Alex in the hammock at the bottom of
the yard. We left him in the hammock and heard or saw nothing of him
for the next hour.
By this time there were about a 100 people on the lawn at the party,
all of a sudden we hear shouting coming from the hammock, Alex had
finally woken up and wanted out, the only problem was that he had
become tangled in the hammock and as he tried to get out he would
fall and spin with the hammock at the same time (easily one of the
funniest sights of my life) by this stage all eyes were on this
strange little Welsh man spinning and swearing at the offending
hammock, the whole place was rolling with laughter. He eventually
got out and was not too happy, but after a few more rum punches he
forgave us.
He went on to qualify for the Al-Ahram then beat Anthony Hill,
Jonathon Power and Brett Martin to make the semi-final
only losing in a tough four game match with Jansher Khan! He
was ranked No.29 in the world at the time. Legendary stuff.
Alex, I will be buying you a Hammock as your retirement present, the
rum is optional.
 Athletic
Director, St Louis Racket Club |
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