And so begins yet another Squash season and what a good start it was - getting the right amount of lessons and confidence in my first few events of the year. However, the results need to get a lot better if I want to give myself a shot at playing in the World Champs in Seattle this year - something I have set as a goal for myself.
The Build up
Preparation for the season had gone really well. I managed to put in the required amount of work, without getting injured. I had lost a bit of time with a broken hand and a hip flexor strain last year. However, I stayed out of trouble this time around and completed all phases of Off and Pre Season quite well. Achieving the best weigh in for over 10 years was a huge high and very motivating to keep working.
Tournament Plan
With a few PSA events in New Zealand this year, the tournament plan was made quite simple. To play all our PSA World Tour events in June and the two bigger ones in Australia in July and August. The main thing about planning is to try and peak for the right event. Timing is everything when one is focused on a particular event and in my case - it was the NZ Classic in the first week of June and the Australian Open in August.
Te Puke Open
My first event of the season was the Te Puke Easter Open. I had never played this popular event and found out out why it was so. Excellent event and hospilatlity by the club. We had rented a house as we travelled with our Academy group. I saw off a challenge from Chris Lloyd in the semi to reach the final against Evan. After a long, hard four setter Evan got the better of me. he played well and didnt give me much to play off. I was a lot fitter than I had been before but could see that match fitness and sharpness could improve.
Palmerston North Open
At home, I was seeded first and defended my title successfully. Our visiting friend Dave Guest played a good match against me to take me to four games. It was a good wake up call in a couple of ways and especially a good speed session in wake of Dave's skills. I played near perfect squash in the first two games of the final against Chris van der Salm. He came back strong in the third and won it - making life difficult for me. it was a battle from then on and we were neck and neck in points. I am glad experience was on my side as I took the last couple of points to win the match.
As promised, I donated all my prizemoney to our club in face of our financial issues. Just a small way to thank you for being good to me and for making it a perfect base for me as a player and coach.
PSA Waikato Open
The first PSA event of the season was a new one on the PSA World Tour Calendar. The Hamilton Squash Club did a wonderful job in running this event and it proved to be a great spectacle of Squash. I beat Chris in the quarters and went down to an in form Evan Williams who won the tournament to win his first title. I felt I played wrong tactically and couldve done much better. Evan played brilliantly - especially in the second where he didnt miss any shots at all. Excellent learning for me once again and I certainly picked up things about myself as well as my opponents.
Training Time
There are three weeks to the next major event and its time to put in some hard training. Treadmill sessions, ghosting and a lot of Squash is on the agenda for the next few weeks as I prepare for my goal of the year - The PSA World Tour event - New Zealand Classic at SquashGym, Palmerston North.
NZ Super 8 / Havelock North
I took this fast growing event as part of my training. Had a massive overload week and went into the event feeling like the end of a hard week long tournament. It worked well and fitness and recovery were good. I lost to Lance in 5 - yet another tactical loss rather than a physical one. Disappointing to not be able to stay error free in the last game but all credit to Lance to put the pressure on. Played better on the last day and recovered well to beat Ben Grindrod in 4 games.
Overall, very pleased with how my fitness training is showing results. Now to put it all together for the NZ PSA circuit which starts in a week. Until then its more preparation and hopefully some good matchplay.
Cousins Shield
SquashGym, Palmerston North had decided not to go to Whangarei for Cousins Shield this year. The busy schedule and the cost of getting there and back were the reasons the players decided not to go at all. I wanted to focus on the upcoming PSA series as well as the HP Meet I was helping out with the following week.
However, a late call up from Belmont Park gave me the opportunity to get a few matches under the belt as well as to catch up with squash mates from all over the country. I had been a part of the event for 15 years in a row and would be good to keep this tradition going.
Had an absolute ball in Whangarei with a few good matches and a great time at the Superhero themed do on the last night. The photos from the event said it all. I am glad I could get up there and thank you to Belmont Park for the opportunity.
On to the NZ PSA Series that starts next week.
Overall, very pleased with how my fitness training is showing results. Now to put it all together for the NZ PSA circuit which starts in a week. Until then its more preparation and hopefully some good matchplay.
Cousins Shield
SquashGym, Palmerston North had decided not to go to Whangarei for Cousins Shield this year. The busy schedule and the cost of getting there and back were the reasons the players decided not to go at all. I wanted to focus on the upcoming PSA series as well as the HP Meet I was helping out with the following week.
However, a late call up from Belmont Park gave me the opportunity to get a few matches under the belt as well as to catch up with squash mates from all over the country. I had been a part of the event for 15 years in a row and would be good to keep this tradition going.
Had an absolute ball in Whangarei with a few good matches and a great time at the Superhero themed do on the last night. The photos from the event said it all. I am glad I could get up there and thank you to Belmont Park for the opportunity.
On to the NZ PSA Series that starts next week.
