The survival of a squash player in Europe heavily depends on playing for clubs in various domestic competitions. After the first season, I felt the pinch and realised that I had to get as many league games as I could. I started asking around and was lucky enough to be helped by friends to get in touch with various clubs. By the time I got back to Europe in September, I had teams in five countries across the continent.
IGT Winchester - Premier Squash League - England
Austrian League
I got a call from my Austrian club at the last minute and was all set to make my debut. I flew to Vienna on Friday morning and was met by the team at the airport and we caught a flight to the lovely city of Innsbruck where we played the first tie. The atmosphere at the club was impressive and definitely not what I was expecting. It was good to see people getting together to watch Squash. The team got the result they wanted and it was a good start to the season for the defending champions. The host team took us to a very nice place for dinner afterwards and it was great to meet and get to know the locals.
The next morning I had a walk in town and we were soon off to Salzburg where we played our next tie. The team won and as much as I would have liked to have a look around the city, I could understand that everyone wanted to get back home. The Salzburg castle looked magnificent from a distance and I look forward to visiting it next time. It was a 3 hour drive to Vienna and I had a good rest before flying back to Holland the next morning.
PSL – England
It had been a hard weekend in Vienna with the Squash and the travelling. However, the week had just started and my next appointment was in Winchester where the local club was making its first appearance in the Premier Squash League – known as the strongest in the world. I flew to London on Tuesday morning after a brutal training day on Monday. At Winchester they had sold 120 tickets for the inaugural match and there were approximately 150 people in the seats to watch us play against St George’s. The lights went off and the spotlight was on the MC as he introduced each player onto the court. The atmosphere there was the best I have ever seen in a club match and much better than most international events. The team came close to winning but it wasn’t to be. However, the winner was the Winchester Squash club for organizing the night and everyone was buzzing after watching the Squash. Well done Winchester Squash Club.
Dutch League
My flight back to Amsterdam was at 6am and Kirby drove me to the airport at 3:30 am. I got home at around 10 and took the much needed rest before I played my first match of the season for my Dutch league team Zwolle. I was feeling the effects of training, travelling and the matches over the last ten days but knew that it was important to keep going. It was hard to play but we did well and the team managed to secure our first win in the Dutch league. I was absolutely knackered when I got back home just after midnight and planned a very light day with some hitting with Steve.
I am unable to play Danish league this month due to the tournaments in Canada and Italian league doesn't start till next year. Back in Netherlands, the third week of training is over and I can rest and recover for another good week of training before heading out to North America. Looking forward to the coming events.
.JPG)
