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 LOVELY
TIME AT
THE LOST CLUB
My first visit to Lee on Solent,
didn't start well, with a "hell of a journey".
But I'm glad I got there, as
I was warmly received, and ended up
having a lovely time in the Lost Club.
Framboise |
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IAN ROBINSON LOVES SQUASHSITE…
You must have heard of Ian Robinson. Come on, Ian Robinson was an
England International, winning 55 caps for his country over several
successful European campaigns, remaining undefeated in the 1997 World
Teams, and also was the Yorkshire County Champion from 1973 to 1981 and
European Individual Grand Prix Champion in 1976. Ian has also been a
commentator on many TV and Radio stations, including BBC Grandstand, and
is the author of several books on squash.
 A
level four coach, he has managed several successful league teams and since
1997 has been manager of the Guildford National League team. But he was
involved with Guilford since 96. It was then that he met Barry
Hitchcock, Director of Sports of the University of Guilford, “who does
more for squash that he will ever admit…”
“We have a lot of ambition for squash development in Guilford. We intend
to cover the whole spectrum: the grassroots with mini squash, a players
development academy, the organisation of events, new facilities, (we are
about to increase our number of courts from 5 to 10). We hope to increase
our success in the National League, of course, but most of all, we are
hoping to put in place a comprehensive squash programme. ”
And the man loves our site: “Squashsite is the most up-to-date, the most
lively, the most colourful site around, and you can quote me on this one.”
Don’t you just love Guilford???? |
PAM WEBBER:
THE GEM OF LEE…
 All
over the world, there are people like Pam Webber. Nobody talks about them.
Because their kids were involved in squash as juniors, like so many
parents, she has been sucked into squash…
“It just started 10 years ago with Junior squash really”, she smiles. “My
husband and I became members in 1988. Then our kids started to play, and I
started helping around. And now, I find myself helping the coaches to run
the National League”.
 Lee
on Solent, the “Lost Club”, as they call themselves, is a members’ club
founded in 1908, at the time as a tennis club. In 1930, two squash courts
were built, and in 1978, they added the two back glass courts. Like a lot
of clubs, they remodelled a court (they used to have 7 squash courts) to
have a bigger gym, and the members today enjoy a very modern fitness
suite, along with sauna and steam room.
“The club has always been of a very high standard. It was the case when we
joined, and it’s still true today. The club is very friendly, warm,
extremely sociable and… comfortable…”
Hear hear…
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Lee on Solent 1 ...
UniSport Guildford 4 |
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Lars
Harms lost to
Stacey Ross
7-9, 2-9, 7-9 |
“Stacey
played well today, in particular his lower shots (low cross courts
especially). As usual, I struggled to get into the match, and started to
feel comfortable in the third.
“So
of course, I’m disappointed, as I didn’t play to my limit, or even close
to my limit. I know I’ve only been here for three months, and I still need
a lot of match practice.
“I
guess I’ve also improved for a while, and I feel like I’ve stopped
improving. Hopefully, I will start improving again soon…”
Lars Harms
“I played well in parts. I came back
from the US on Saturday, where I had bad results. I don’t seem to have
much of a consistency.
“I know how well I can play, but I seem to be prone to lose my
concentration… I guess I also miss match practice, like everybody else,
due to the Christmas break.”
Stacey
Ross
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Greg
Tippings lost to Stephen Meads
7-9, 5-9, 9-5, 7-9 |
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Shahid Khan lost to
Neil Frankland
9-3, 6-9, 4-9, 7-9 |
“I was happy of my game today. In the first game, I succeeded to play the
ball early. Then later, I found myself under a lot of pressure, and got
tired at the end.
“But I have been working a lot on my fitness with Frank Dixon who has
designed a lot of conditioned routines for me, and I play longer
games in practice.
“I also concentrated on playing deeper game, not to rely only on a shot
game, and also to take advantage of my height and of my reach.”
Shahid Khan
“Well I had a bit of a dodgy start! I’m so used to playing on the left
court, so I was enjoying the match between Chris and Jesse, when Steve
Meads told me that I was on next after the ladies’ match.
“So I had to run and change, didn’t have time to warm up or anything! And
I have to say he didn’t make it easy by playing very well, and taking the
ball early. Starting from the second game, I starting to wait for the
right ball to attack, pushing him around, and I really enjoyed the game.
“Shahid has got very good cross court volley drops, he played a lot of
them in the first game.
“I’ve only started to train again for three weeks now, in view of the
intercounty and the Scottish Nationals, as I hear that Johnny White is
moving to the States, and I’m not sure that Martin Heath may be not too
focused on competition at the moment. So I think I could have a shot at
the Scottish Title.”
Neil Frankland |
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Chris
Simpson lost to Jesse Engelbrecht
4-9,9-7,9-6,2-9, 4-9 |
“The match swung
both ways really. The first two games, I was mostly in control. Then, I
thought it was going to be easy, and that’s when he started to take the
ball early.
“So I went back to basics, chipped the ball around, slowed down, and
forced him to make the error, and he tinned the ball earlier than me,
maybe due to the lack of experience on his part, as he is still a junior
after all.
“At the moment, I’m training very hard with Neil Frankland, I’m back at
the gym, back on the treadmill, after going back home to Zimbabwe for the
holidays, and some pretty good parties on the Mozambique beaches…
Jesse
Engelbrecht
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A NEW FACE AROUND…
And a pretty one as well!
Emma Mathews (“with one t”, she emphasises…), 16 years old, was
playing for Guilford today. “I’m the only one they could find,” she
laughs…
Believe it or not, she was competing at the BJO in Sheffield, a few days
ago, in the U17, and she lost in the second round against the runner-up of
the event Annie Au.
And I missed her. How could I? Sorry Emma…
Her goal in the next two years is to get in the top five U19. And after
that? She would like to get on the pro circuit. And her goal tonight?
“Score points…”
Bless ... |
A HELL OF A
JOURNEY
81 miles.
3 hours.
Not happy, I was, let me tell you. And the cherry on the cake was that,
because of an accident, of course in the portion of the A3 that is single
lane, it took me (and a lot of people around me, let me tell you) 60
minutes to drive 3 miles.
And I swear I’m not exaggerating.
I have to say I just wanted to turn round, and go home. But I’m glad I
didn’t, as I was warmly received, and ended up having a lovely time in the
Lost Club. So, as you say in English, all is well…
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Carla
Khan beat
Emma Mathews
9-1, 9-0, 9-1 |
“I love it! I think I played well, even if
I realised that my fitness is not as good as hers…
I also had trouble getting to her boast, and of course, I found it
difficult to return the ball when she was hitting the ball very hard.
But I would do it again any time…”
Emma Mathews
“She is a good player. She hits the ball quite hard, and now you tell me
she is only 16, she definitely has got potential.
And I think it’s great that she is given the opportunity to play against
us, as it’s the only way to learn. I also think she’s got a lot of
confidence.
If it had be me at 16, I probably would have frozen and lost it before
starting the match!”
Carla Khan |
CARLA KHAN: MET HER AT LAST…
 If
you read my report on Chichester/Lee, you may remember that I was looking
forward to meeting Carla Khan. But as she had traffic problems, and
had to leave early, I never had the chance to meet the beautiful lady.
It’s now done.
“My mum is English and my dad is from the Khan family, from Peshawar", she
said. "I was brought up in London, but I go back a lot to Pakistan. At the
moment, I'm training with a family member who used to coach in Kuwait,
Saleem Raza. We started working together two weeks ago, especially on my
fitness, but also in polishing my game.”
“My goal in a year’s time is to be in the top 15, and from there, to go
higher and higher.”
 I
asked Carla who were the people, in the sport community or elsewhere, she
was looking up to…
“I admire Sarah Fitz-Gerald a lot, she was just unbelievable, she was a
champion all over, and also, Mohammed Ali. But most of all, my parents, as
they have given up so much to support me and my sports career. I look up
to them a lot.”
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Team Solent lost to UniSport Guildford
1-4 (7-17)
Lars Harms lost to Stacey Ross 7-9, 2-9, 7-9
Greg Tippings lost to Stephen Meads 7-9, 5-9, 9-5, 7-9
Shahid Khan lost to Neil Frankland 9-3, 6-9, 4-9, 7-9
Chris Simpson lost to Jesse Engelbrecht 4-9,9-7,9-6,2-9, 4-9
Carla Khan beat Emma Mathews 9-1, 9-0, 9-1 |
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