Apologies if this column is a little self-indulgent, but after 49 Balls to the Walls, my pickled little brain is feeling like a dried potjie pot, like an unlit squash court. 2012 has been a tough year.            ( Don’t we say that every year ? And doesn’t the flu get worse every year ?) As times get tougher, the pace of life becomes faster, and we helter skelter into all sorts of activities. September, traditionally, is hectic with budgets, and planning for Strategic Planning and millions of other little issues that that need to be tied up before Financial Year Ends. And it has been equally as hectic in the Squash World.

Sitting down, and reflecting, I have learned that September has made me a wiser man.

It all started with a Coaches Course which, sometimes are a bit laborious. But this one was Alive with  shared ideas and experiences. Somehow the magic was right and it became an interactive weekend of sharing, and not pouring information into empty vessels. Whoever said “ You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” should have been on that course.

I have learned that you can learn from even the most inexperienced. We are all teachers.

September saw the drawing down of the curtains on the Winter Leagues. While Londt Park Ladies and NMMU coasted through in the 1^st League, things became tight, and tense in the lower leagues,  where REAL squash is played . If you want to experience agony, ecstacy , angst and jubilation , pop down to an 11^th League encounter and watch as those competitive juices start flowing.  With my wonky knee slowing my gazelle-like leaps to the doef-doef plundering of a kudu, I dropped a league. And joined a group of guys who I had not played with before and had an awesome time. We came within a sniff of stealing the league but were always just too far behind.  And when we look back, those who won the Leagues will receive their trophies at The EP AGM and Prize Giving on 31 October, but they will soon be forgotten, and the people we played against will be remembered.

I have learned that, ( apologies to that  Grantland Rice fellow)  “… it’s not whether you won or lost, but how you played the game, but how you socialised and how many friends you made after the game”

Zoom, and we were off to East London for what used to be the biggest squash tournament in the world, the Masters Inter-Provincial. Sadly, while it was a great tournament, signs of the times, tough economic conditions saw the event shrink from just under a 1000 people to about 700. Still massive but alarum bells, they must be ringing. Changes will have to be made to the format in terms of time and expenses, or the numbers will continue to dwindle. As a result of the limited entries, the 50-55 age group  team were pushed down to join the juniors (45-50 boytjies) , and we shivered as we browsed through the names of the opposition. Former SA No 1 Trevor Wilkinson and the like stared at us. We came, we competed, we survived… just, and we surprised ourselves. More importantly, we met some wonderful people and old friendships were re-kindled

I learned that if you set the bar too low, you are going to bump your head

I also learned, that my body is a temple, and should not be abused 

As we landed back in the Bay, the Brian Bands NMMU Open was starting. Theoretically-speaking, the strength of a province’s squash (and sport, for that matter) is often directly related to the strength of the universities in the province. But the administration of students is a nightmarish task, where their commitment is similar to Kevin Pieterson’s humility and trying to get students involved in administration is about as easy as getting Heyneke to change his game-plan. For a number of years, NMMU squash has limped along as “also rans” without too much hype and activity, and with sides dotted around in various leagues , normally filled by non-students.

Earlier in the year, discussions were held, and things became a bit heated with a war of words being shot across e-mails. Maybe things needed to be said as the club has gradually flowered. Via their bursary programme, NMMU has attracted and retained some exciting players , ( if we could just persuade them to play for EP), the  1^st league side clinched the Super League and the  1^st League for, as far as I can remember, the 1^st time, the courts were jazzed up with squashy pictures and posters, and the little pub became abuzz with activity. To crown it all, with the support of Pierre Bester , the Brian Bands NMMU Open was launched. And what a marvellous success with players of all abilities contesting A,B and C divisions. Disappointingly, many of the top EP players had other commitments but Jason le Roux did an outstanding job in attracting Adi Hansen, Rudi Willemse and Gary Wheadon, all top 10 ranked players,  a pod of players from George, and Cape Town and Pano Hjiphilippou who travelled down from Gauteng.

With Brinley Forbes, Durandt Martin and Johan Thiel  set to join Jason Le Roux, Kyle Schwarz, Dane Bigara, Jarryd Terblanche and Andre Labuschagne, arguably the most improved player in the province and with Sarah O Grady and Kate Pearson stepping up to the plate, is NMMU Squash set to launch into a golden period ?

I have learned that a few well- chosen words used at a well-chosen time can produce well-chosen results

I have learned that confrontation is not nearly as bad as you thought it was going to be

I have learned that despite all the bad news, there are still some very good people out there. Read Brian Bands Sports.

To round off the month, The Difford Cup, a tournament, cateringfor women who have not played provincial squash, was played at Westview. Another resounding success with an entry of 32 players, and an exciting blend of experience and youth. Wendy Theron defeated Kendall Rowe in the 5-set final and Hayley Ward fought her way from 13^th seed to beat Megan Crook for the 3^rd position. Some incredibly tight encounters but all played in the sporting spirit that would make the Olympic officials proud.

Finally, I have learned that Squash is a magnificent conduit to health, a wealth of friends, and good times

                                ********************************************************

Where will you be on 20 October ? What will you be doing on World Squash Day ?

And maybe, just maybe, A Racquetball League is waiting to be launched. For those self- same people.

1. Rudi Van Niekerk                                          Lizelle Goosen
2. Jason Le Roux (Playing for Border)           Anlen Murray (Unavailable)
3. Zane Schwarz (Unavailable)                       Jacqui Ryder
4. Sean Bailey                                                     Elani Landman
5. Kyle Schwarz (Playing for Border)             Lume Landman
6. Thami Mngcete                                             Di Van Eyk (Unavailable)
7. Dane Bigara ( Injured)                                  Karen Schepers         
8. Paul Mason                                                    Sarah O Grady                                                          
9. Jarryd Terblanche                                        Alison Oshry ( Unavailable) 
10. Garren Kent                                                   Kate Pearson (Unavailable)                         
11. Shaun Viljoen                                                Kacey Leigh Dodd
12. Alton Senekal                                                 Ashleigh Schepers                
13. Quintin Masters                                             Michelle Roos           
14. Peter Ryder                                                    Dione Johnson                      
15. Bonakele Nomkala                                        Lisa O Grady              
16. Lonwabo Sigele                                              Joanna Dodd 
17. Brindley Forbes                                              Caroline Rose            
18. Jacques Wessels (Unavailable)                   Angela Fraser
19. Garth Plaaitjies                                              Camilla Forbes
20. Graham Hall                                                   Briggite Kohne

Balls to the Wall: Touched by an Angel

From the relative innocence of a small town education and a mind-numbing year of military service, I headed for Die Baai with hopes of vanquishing virgins as I straddled the new “free” world of student life. Sadly it was not to be. A dry white drought-like season of romance and loving, awaited me, in my first year at university. Ironically, therefore, it was lust, and not a deep philanthropic love of the game and desire to improve people’s squash, that was my raison d’etre to hurl myself into the whirlpool of squash coaching - a past-time that became a passion,  has taken me around the world ,brought me friends, more satisfaction than rands, made me a better squash player, and, I think, a better person.

I had been a school provincial player and was hovering around 1^st league level and there were some pretty good looking girls around, playing some pretty average squash. Having realised that I was not the smoothest “chatterer-up” on campus, I thought squash might be a good route to a woman’s heart and a way to getting a leg-up to finding a partner. So I started “coaching” i.e hitting with the girls and passing on titbits of coaching I had received. One evening, after a squad session , I was confronted by a Margaret Thatcher- like woman, who asked me who I was, what I was doing and how could I be coaching if I hadn’t done a coaches course, and if I wanted to continue, I had better attend a course which she would be running at Westview !!

Little did I know. I had just been touched by an angel.

I attended the course, run by Angela Difford, and could not have asked for a better grounding in the basics of technique, matters technical and the intricacies of coaching. Principled, passionate, committed, knowledgeable, disciplined, eccentric, loyal and straight-talking, Mrs Difford was clearly not a person who would suffer fools. I would be lying if I said that our relationship has been smooth and honey-moonish. No, we have often fought, argued , disagreed, and probably cursed each other.  I am sure that many a time, she has asked herself why she bothers with an idiot like this. But over the years I have realised that this is a woman who takes the road less travelled. She seeks tracks, and hammers them into highways in order to make the lives of squash players more rewarding. And I have developed a deep love, respect and admiration for this incredible woman who has meant so much to Eastern Province , and South African squash.

Last month, Angela Difford celebrated her 87^th birthday. Born and educated in Natal, Angela’s life is a list of trail –blazing and opening frontiers. After lying,( she calls it bluffing) about her age, she was accepted into the Military College, trained as an Instructor and served in the WAAF where she met her husband, John. After the war, the Diffords moved to Port Elizabeth where they married. Already a provincial hockey player and playing representative tennis and badminton. she  was re- introduced to squash by Joan Mitchell who invited her to join a small group of women “who had been given permission” to use the Old Grey courts after 8pm on Tuesday nights ! With 3 young children in tow, no maid and no transport and with hockey starting to bite into her time, the squash bug bit.

 And many lives were destined to be changed.

Frustrated by the lack of facilities, Mitchell and Difford formed a  committee which raised funds to build the original Westview courts, and  the P.E.M club was established, the first to offer equal facilities to men and women and entrenched women members on the committee. Since then, Angela has been at the forefront of establishing the EP Ladies Squash Association, now part of the EP Squash Union, the EP Schools committee, the EP Vets ( now Masters), the 1^st National Vets Inter-provincial, setting up the 1^st PE ladies league, a Housewives League, the SA Schools Squash Association, the Londt Park club, which is the now the biggest squash club in South Africa in terms of members, and the list goes on.

But it was first as a player that Angela established her name, representing the province for the first time in 1956, and continued for another 17 years. She  then graduated to the Provincial Vets  where she continued playing till 2000 when a serious knee injury forced an end to an illustrious playing career. A career which saw her being selected for the first ever Springbok side in 1963, where she filled a National Ranking of 3.  Probably the highest ranked EP women ever.

As one of the leading players in the country, she was continually being asked to help, and quickly realised that there is a huge gulf between being a good player and a good coach. In typical Angela fashion, every course was attended, every squash book bought, and every angle explored. As her competitive playing days came to an end, so she took to coaching full time. Here, again Angela became one of the driving forces in setting up SA Schools Inter-provincial tournaments where literally thousands of young squash players have benefited from being able to travel and compete. The tournaments have created a need for more specialised coaching, and there can be very few Port Elizabeth bred squash players who have not benefited from her technical expertise and her wily and experienced eye for identifying opponents’ weaknesses. And to this day, one of her major irritations, is inadequate coaching and lazy ill-disciplined coaches

By the time, the apartheid walls had come tumbling down, Angela had already identified the need for coaching, facilities and equipment amongst our township children. In 1991 , she established a Development Programme which unlike many  others, has stood the test of time. Is sustainable and successful. Today, Eastern Province stands head and shoulders above other regions in terms of the multi-racial face of our provincial teams. And testament to her skill as a coach is that protégés like Thami Mngcete, Garth Plaaitjies, Bonakele Nomkala and Lonwabo Sigele all feature amongst the top players in the province today. And there are more on the way.

Angela’s achievements have not gone unnoticed. In fact, for a person involved with a Cindarella sport, her awards speak volumes. A Headgirl’s blazer would heave under the weight of all of these scrolls but just to mention a few – State Presidents Award, Squash SA Honours Award, The Ina Ackerman Award, nominated for SABC Woman of the Year Award, and Algoa FM  Woman Distinction and, and, and…..

But for all that Angela Difford has achieved,, all of the awards and the recognition, the tough times she has travailed, ( and there have been many), the travel, the titles, the miles of meetings and the boardroom bashes, the lessons she has taught in correcting  technique, and movement, of self- motivation and belief, and how  to THINK on a court. For all of that, her fondest memory of squash is the friends she has found on the way.

If we could all just learn this lesson and appreciate how lucky we are to be playing this wonderful sport.

Angela Difford –  wife, mother, squash  player, coach and administrator, politician, pioneer, suffragette, fighter, mentor, friend. Tough, tetchy, straight-talking . But behind that façade of toughness, there is a soft,caring  woman, with a gentle heart, a loving smile and a love for good laughs and better wine. Angela - You are a very special person.

From the 1000’s of squash people, whose lives have been touched by this angel, we wish you a belated 87^th birthday. We salute you, and we hope you continue to touch our lives for many years.Balls to the Wall: Touched by an Angel

From the relative innocence of a small town education and a mind-numbing year of military service, I headed for Die Baai with hopes of vanquishing virgins as I straddled the new “free” world of student life. Sadly it was not to be. A dry white drought-like season of romance and loving, awaited me, in my first year at university. Ironically, therefore, it was lust, and not a deep philanthropic love of the game and desire to improve people’s squash, that was my raison d’etre to hurl myself into the whirlpool of squash coaching - a past-time that became a passion,  has taken me around the world ,brought me friends, more satisfaction than rands, made me a better squash player, and, I think, a better person.

I had been a school provincial player and was hovering around 1^st league level and there were some pretty good looking girls around, playing some pretty average squash. Having realised that I was not the smoothest “chatterer-up” on campus, I thought squash might be a good route to a woman’s heart and a way to getting a leg-up to finding a partner. So I started “coaching” i.e hitting with the girls and passing on titbits of coaching I had received. One evening, after a squad session , I was confronted by a Margaret Thatcher- like woman, who asked me who I was, what I was doing and how could I be coaching if I hadn’t done a coaches course, and if I wanted to continue, I had better attend a course which she would be running at Westview !!

Little did I know. I had just been touched by an angel.

I attended the course, run by Angela Difford, and could not have asked for a better grounding in the basics of technique, matters technical and the intricacies of coaching. Principled, passionate, committed, knowledgeable, disciplined, eccentric, loyal and straight-talking, Mrs Difford was clearly not a person who would suffer fools. I would be lying if I said that our relationship has been smooth and honey-moonish. No, we have often fought, argued , disagreed, and probably cursed each other.  I am sure that many a time, she has asked herself why she bothers with an idiot like this. But over the years I have realised that this is a woman who takes the road less travelled. She seeks tracks, and hammers them into highways in order to make the lives of squash players more rewarding. And I have developed a deep love, respect and admiration for this incredible woman who has meant so much to Eastern Province , and South African squash.

Last month, Angela Difford celebrated her 87^th birthday. Born and educated in Natal, Angela’s life is a list of trail –blazing and opening frontiers. After lying,( she calls it bluffing) about her age, she was accepted into the Military College, trained as an Instructor and served in the WAAF where she met her husband, John. After the war, the Diffords moved to Port Elizabeth where they married. Already a provincial hockey player and playing representative tennis and badminton. she  was re- introduced to squash by Joan Mitchell who invited her to join a small group of women “who had been given permission” to use the Old Grey courts after 8pm on Tuesday nights ! With 3 young children in tow, no maid and no transport and with hockey starting to bite into her time, the squash bug bit.

 And many lives were destined to be changed.

Frustrated by the lack of facilities, Mitchell and Difford formed a  committee which raised funds to build the original Westview courts, and  the P.E.M club was established, the first to offer equal facilities to men and women and entrenched women members on the committee. Since then, Angela has been at the forefront of establishing the EP Ladies Squash Association, now part of the EP Squash Union, the EP Schools committee, the EP Vets ( now Masters), the 1^st National Vets Inter-provincial, setting up the 1^st PE ladies league, a Housewives League, the SA Schools Squash Association, the Londt Park club, which is the now the biggest squash club in South Africa in terms of members, and the list goes on.

But it was first as a player that Angela established her name, representing the province for the first time in 1956, and continued for another 17 years. She  then graduated to the Provincial Vets  where she continued playing till 2000 when a serious knee injury forced an end to an illustrious playing career. A career which saw her being selected for the first ever Springbok side in 1963, where she filled a National Ranking of 3.  Probably the highest ranked EP women ever.

As one of the leading players in the country, she was continually being asked to help, and quickly realised that there is a huge gulf between being a good player and a good coach. In typical Angela fashion, every course was attended, every squash book bought, and every angle explored. As her competitive playing days came to an end, so she took to coaching full time. Here, again Angela became one of the driving forces in setting up SA Schools Inter-provincial tournaments where literally thousands of young squash players have benefited from being able to travel and compete. The tournaments have created a need for more specialised coaching, and there can be very few Port Elizabeth bred squash players who have not benefited from her technical expertise and her wily and experienced eye for identifying opponents’ weaknesses. And to this day, one of her major irritations, is inadequate coaching and lazy ill-disciplined coaches

By the time, the apartheid walls had come tumbling down, Angela had already identified the need for coaching, facilities and equipment amongst our township children. In 1991 , she established a Development Programme which unlike many  others, has stood the test of time. Is sustainable and successful. Today, Eastern Province stands head and shoulders above other regions in terms of the multi-racial face of our provincial teams. And testament to her skill as a coach is that protégés like Thami Mngcete, Garth Plaaitjies, Bonakele Nomkala and Lonwabo Sigele all feature amongst the top players in the province today. And there are more on the way.

Angela’s achievements have not gone unnoticed. In fact, for a person involved with a Cindarella sport, her awards speak volumes. A Headgirl’s blazer would heave under the weight of all of these scrolls but just to mention a few – State Presidents Award, Squash SA Honours Award, The Ina Ackerman Award, nominated for SABC Woman of the Year Award, and Algoa FM  Woman Distinction and, and, and…..

But for all that Angela Difford has achieved,, all of the awards and the recognition, the tough times she has travailed, ( and there have been many), the travel, the titles, the miles of meetings and the boardroom bashes, the lessons she has taught in correcting  technique, and movement, of self- motivation and belief, and how  to THINK on a court. For all of that, her fondest memory of squash is the friends she has found on the way.

If we could all just learn this lesson and appreciate how lucky we are to be playing this wonderful sport.

Angela Difford –  wife, mother, squash  player, coach and administrator, politician, pioneer, suffragette, fighter, mentor, friend. Tough, tetchy, straight-talking . But behind that façade of toughness, there is a soft,caring  woman, with a gentle heart, a loving smile and a love for good laughs and better wine. Angela - You are a very special person.

From the relative innocence of a small town education and a mind-numbing year of military service, I headed for Die Baai with hopes of vanquishing virgins as I straddled the new “free” world of student life. Sadly it was not to be. A dry white drought-like season of romance and loving, awaited me, in my first year at university. Ironically, therefore, it was lust, and not a deep philanthropic love of the game and desire to improve people’s squash, that was my raison d’etre to hurl myself into the whirlpool of squash coaching - a past-time that became a passion,  has taken me around the world ,brought me friends, more satisfaction than rands, made me a better squash player, and, I think, a better person.

I had been a school provincial player and was hovering around 1^st league level and there were some pretty good looking girls around, playing some pretty average squash. Having realised that I was not the smoothest “chatterer-up” on campus, I thought squash might be a good route to a woman’s heart and a way to getting a leg-up to finding a partner. So I started “coaching” i.e hitting with the girls and passing on titbits of coaching I had received. One evening, after a squad session , I was confronted by a Margaret Thatcher- like woman, who asked me who I was, what I was doing and how could I be coaching if I hadn’t done a coaches course, and if I wanted to continue, I had better attend a course which she would be running at Westview !!

Little did I know. I had just been touched by an angel.

I attended the course, run by Angela Difford, and could not have asked for a better grounding in the basics of technique, matters technical and the intricacies of coaching. Principled, passionate, committed, knowledgeable, disciplined, eccentric, loyal and straight-talking, Mrs Difford was clearly not a person who would suffer fools. I would be lying if I said that our relationship has been smooth and honey-moonish. No, we have often fought, argued , disagreed, and probably cursed each other.  I am sure that many a time, she has asked herself why she bothers with an idiot like this. But over the years I have realised that this is a woman who takes the road less travelled. She seeks tracks, and hammers them into highways in order to make the lives of squash players more rewarding. And I have developed a deep love, respect and admiration for this incredible woman who has meant so much to Eastern Province , and South African squash.

Last month, Angela Difford celebrated her 87^th birthday. Born and educated in Natal, Angela’s life is a list of trail –blazing and opening frontiers. After lying,( she calls it bluffing) about her age, she was accepted into the Military College, trained as an Instructor and served in the WAAF where she met her husband, John. After the war, the Diffords moved to Port Elizabeth where they married. Already a provincial hockey player and playing representative tennis and badminton. she  was re- introduced to squash by Joan Mitchell who invited her to join a small group of women “who had been given permission” to use the Old Grey courts after 8pm on Tuesday nights ! With 3 young children in tow, no maid and no transport and with hockey starting to bite into her time, the squash bug bit.

 And many lives were destined to be changed.

Frustrated by the lack of facilities, Mitchell and Difford formed a  committee which raised funds to build the original Westview courts, and  the P.E.M club was established, the first to offer equal facilities to men and women and entrenched women members on the committee. Since then, Angela has been at the forefront of establishing the EP Ladies Squash Association, now part of the EP Squash Union, the EP Schools committee, the EP Vets ( now Masters), the 1^st National Vets Inter-provincial, setting up the 1^st PE ladies league, a Housewives League, the SA Schools Squash Association, the Londt Park club, which is the now the biggest squash club in South Africa in terms of members, and the list goes on.

But it was first as a player that Angela established her name, representing the province for the first time in 1956, and continued for another 17 years. She  then graduated to the Provincial Vets  where she continued playing till 2000 when a serious knee injury forced an end to an illustrious playing career. A career which saw her being selected for the first ever Springbok side in 1963, where she filled a National Ranking of 3.  Probably the highest ranked EP women ever.

As one of the leading players in the country, she was continually being asked to help, and quickly realised that there is a huge gulf between being a good player and a good coach. In typical Angela fashion, every course was attended, every squash book bought, and every angle explored. As her competitive playing days came to an end, so she took to coaching full time. Here, again Angela became one of the driving forces in setting up SA Schools Inter-provincial tournaments where literally thousands of young squash players have benefited from being able to travel and compete. The tournaments have created a need for more specialised coaching, and there can be very few Port Elizabeth bred squash players who have not benefited from her technical expertise and her wily and experienced eye for identifying opponents’ weaknesses. And to this day, one of her major irritations, is inadequate coaching and lazy ill-disciplined coaches

By the time, the apartheid walls had come tumbling down, Angela had already identified the need for coaching, facilities and equipment amongst our township children. In 1991 , she established a Development Programme which unlike many  others, has stood the test of time. Is sustainable and successful. Today, Eastern Province stands head and shoulders above other regions in terms of the multi-racial face of our provincial teams. And testament to her skill as a coach is that protégés like Thami Mngcete, Garth Plaaitjies, Bonakele Nomkala and Lonwabo Sigele all feature amongst the top players in the province today. And there are more on the way.

Angela’s achievements have not gone unnoticed. In fact, for a person involved with a Cindarella sport, her awards speak volumes. A Headgirl’s blazer would heave under the weight of all of these scrolls but just to mention a few – State Presidents Award, Squash SA Honours Award, The Ina Ackerman Award, nominated for SABC Woman of the Year Award, and Algoa FM  Woman Distinction and, and, and…..

But for all that Angela Difford has achieved,, all of the awards and the recognition, the tough times she has travailed, ( and there have been many), the travel, the titles, the miles of meetings and the boardroom bashes, the lessons she has taught in correcting  technique, and movement, of self- motivation and belief, and how  to THINK on a court. For all of that, her fondest memory of squash is the friends she has found on the way.

If we could all just learn this lesson and appreciate how lucky we are to be playing this wonderful sport.

Angela Difford –  wife, mother, squash  player, coach and administrator, politician, pioneer, suffragette, fighter, mentor, friend. Tough, tetchy, straight-talking . But behind that façade of toughness, there is a soft,caring  woman, with a gentle heart, a loving smile and a love for good laughs and better wine. Angela - You are a very special person.

From the relative innocence of a small town education and a mind-numbing year of military service, I headed for Die Baai with hopes of vanquishing virgins as I straddled the new “free” world of student life. Sadly it was not to be. A dry white drought-like season of romance and loving, awaited me, in my first year at university. Ironically, therefore, it was lust, and not a deep philanthropic love of the game and desire to improve people’s squash, that was my raison d’etre to hurl myself into the whirlpool of squash coaching - a past-time that became a passion,  has taken me around the world ,brought me friends, more satisfaction than rands, made me a better squash player, and, I think, a better person.

I had been a school provincial player and was hovering around 1^st league level and there were some pretty good looking girls around, playing some pretty average squash. Having realised that I was not the smoothest “chatterer-up” on campus, I thought squash might be a good route to a woman’s heart and a way to getting a leg-up to finding a partner. So I started “coaching” i.e hitting with the girls and passing on titbits of coaching I had received. One evening, after a squad session , I was confronted by a Margaret Thatcher- like woman, who asked me who I was, what I was doing and how could I be coaching if I hadn’t done a coaches course, and if I wanted to continue, I had better attend a course which she would be running at Westview !!

Little did I know. I had just been touched by an angel.

I attended the course, run by Angela Difford, and could not have asked for a better grounding in the basics of technique, matters technical and the intricacies of coaching. Principled, passionate, committed, knowledgeable, disciplined, eccentric, loyal and straight-talking, Mrs Difford was clearly not a person who would suffer fools. I would be lying if I said that our relationship has been smooth and honey-moonish. No, we have often fought, argued , disagreed, and probably cursed each other.  I am sure that many a time, she has asked herself why she bothers with an idiot like this. But over the years I have realised that this is a woman who takes the road less travelled. She seeks tracks, and hammers them into highways in order to make the lives of squash players more rewarding. And I have developed a deep love, respect and admiration for this incredible woman who has meant so much to Eastern Province , and South African squash.

Last month, Angela Difford celebrated her 87^th birthday. Born and educated in Natal, Angela’s life is a list of trail –blazing and opening frontiers. After lying,( she calls it bluffing) about her age, she was accepted into the Military College, trained as an Instructor and served in the WAAF where she met her husband, John. After the war, the Diffords moved to Port Elizabeth where they married. Already a provincial hockey player and playing representative tennis and badminton. she  was re- introduced to squash by Joan Mitchell who invited her to join a small group of women “who had been given permission” to use the Old Grey courts after 8pm on Tuesday nights ! With 3 young children in tow, no maid and no transport and with hockey starting to bite into her time, the squash bug bit.

 And many lives were destined to be changed.

Frustrated by the lack of facilities, Mitchell and Difford formed a  committee which raised funds to build the original Westview courts, and  the P.E.M club was established, the first to offer equal facilities to men and women and entrenched women members on the committee. Since then, Angela has been at the forefront of establishing the EP Ladies Squash Association, now part of the EP Squash Union, the EP Schools committee, the EP Vets ( now Masters), the 1^st National Vets Inter-provincial, setting up the 1^st PE ladies league, a Housewives League, the SA Schools Squash Association, the Londt Park club, which is the now the biggest squash club in South Africa in terms of members, and the list goes on.

But it was first as a player that Angela established her name, representing the province for the first time in 1956, and continued for another 17 years. She  then graduated to the Provincial Vets  where she continued playing till 2000 when a serious knee injury forced an end to an illustrious playing career. A career which saw her being selected for the first ever Springbok side in 1963, where she filled a National Ranking of 3.  Probably the highest ranked EP women ever.

As one of the leading players in the country, she was continually being asked to help, and quickly realised that there is a huge gulf between being a good player and a good coach. In typical Angela fashion, every course was attended, every squash book bought, and every angle explored. As her competitive playing days came to an end, so she took to coaching full time. Here, again Angela became one of the driving forces in setting up SA Schools Inter-provincial tournaments where literally thousands of young squash players have benefited from being able to travel and compete. The tournaments have created a need for more specialised coaching, and there can be very few Port Elizabeth bred squash players who have not benefited from her technical expertise and her wily and experienced eye for identifying opponents’ weaknesses. And to this day, one of her major irritations, is inadequate coaching and lazy ill-disciplined coaches

By the time, the apartheid walls had come tumbling down, Angela had already identified the need for coaching, facilities and equipment amongst our township children. In 1991 , she established a Development Programme which unlike many  others, has stood the test of time. Is sustainable and successful. Today, Eastern Province stands head and shoulders above other regions in terms of the multi-racial face of our provincial teams. And testament to her skill as a coach is that protégés like Thami Mngcete, Garth Plaaitjies, Bonakele Nomkala and Lonwabo Sigele all feature amongst the top players in the province today. And there are more on the way.

Angela’s achievements have not gone unnoticed. In fact, for a person involved with a Cindarella sport, her awards speak volumes. A Headgirl’s blazer would heave under the weight of all of these scrolls but just to mention a few – State Presidents Award, Squash SA Honours Award, The Ina Ackerman Award, nominated for SABC Woman of the Year Award, and Algoa FM  Woman Distinction and, and, and…..

But for all that Angela Difford has achieved,, all of the awards and the recognition, the tough times she has travailed, ( and there have been many), the travel, the titles, the miles of meetings and the boardroom bashes, the lessons she has taught in correcting  technique, and movement, of self- motivation and belief, and how  to THINK on a court. For all of that, her fondest memory of squash is the friends she has found on the way.

If we could all just learn this lesson and appreciate how lucky we are to be playing this wonderful sport.

Angela Difford –  wife, mother, squash  player, coach and administrator, politician, pioneer, suffragette, fighter, mentor, friend. Tough, tetchy, straight-talking . But behind that façade of toughness, there is a soft,caring  woman, with a gentle heart, a loving smile and a love for good laughs and better wine. Angela - You are a very special person.

From the relative innocence of a small town education and a mind-numbing year of military service, I headed for Die Baai with hopes of vanquishing virgins as I straddled the new “free” world of student life. Sadly it was not to be. A dry white drought-like season of romance and loving, awaited me, in my first year at university. Ironically, therefore, it was lust, and not a deep philanthropic love of the game and desire to improve people’s squash, that was my raison d’etre to hurl myself into the whirlpool of squash coaching - a past-time that became a passion,  has taken me around the world ,brought me friends, more satisfaction than rands, made me a better squash player, and, I think, a better person.

I had been a school provincial player and was hovering around 1^st league level and there were some pretty good looking girls around, playing some pretty average squash. Having realised that I was not the smoothest “chatterer-up” on campus, I thought squash might be a good route to a woman’s heart and a way to getting a leg-up to finding a partner. So I started “coaching” i.e hitting with the girls and passing on titbits of coaching I had received. One evening, after a squad session , I was confronted by a Margaret Thatcher- like woman, who asked me who I was, what I was doing and how could I be coaching if I hadn’t done a coaches course, and if I wanted to continue, I had better attend a course which she would be running at Westview !!

Little did I know. I had just been touched by an angel.

I attended the course, run by Angela Difford, and could not have asked for a better grounding in the basics of technique, matters technical and the intricacies of coaching. Principled, passionate, committed, knowledgeable, disciplined, eccentric, loyal and straight-talking, Mrs Difford was clearly not a person who would suffer fools. I would be lying if I said that our relationship has been smooth and honey-moonish. No, we have often fought, argued , disagreed, and probably cursed each other.  I am sure that many a time, she has asked herself why she bothers with an idiot like this. But over the years I have realised that this is a woman who takes the road less travelled. She seeks tracks, and hammers them into highways in order to make the lives of squash players more rewarding. And I have developed a deep love, respect and admiration for this incredible woman who has meant so much to Eastern Province , and South African squash.

Last month, Angela Difford celebrated her 87^th birthday. Born and educated in Natal, Angela’s life is a list of trail –blazing and opening frontiers. After lying,( she calls it bluffing) about her age, she was accepted into the Military College, trained as an Instructor and served in the WAAF where she met her husband, John. After the war, the Diffords moved to Port Elizabeth where they married. Already a provincial hockey player and playing representative tennis and badminton. she  was re- introduced to squash by Joan Mitchell who invited her to join a small group of women “who had been given permission” to use the Old Grey courts after 8pm on Tuesday nights ! With 3 young children in tow, no maid and no transport and with hockey starting to bite into her time, the squash bug bit.

 And many lives were destined to be changed.

Frustrated by the lack of facilities, Mitchell and Difford formed a  committee which raised funds to build the original Westview courts, and  the P.E.M club was established, the first to offer equal facilities to men and women and entrenched women members on the committee. Since then, Angela has been at the forefront of establishing the EP Ladies Squash Association, now part of the EP Squash Union, the EP Schools committee, the EP Vets ( now Masters), the 1^st National Vets Inter-provincial, setting up the 1^st PE ladies league, a Housewives League, the SA Schools Squash Association, the Londt Park club, which is the now the biggest squash club in South Africa in terms of members, and the list goes on.

But it was first as a player that Angela established her name, representing the province for the first time in 1956, and continued for another 17 years. She  then graduated to the Provincial Vets  where she continued playing till 2000 when a serious knee injury forced an end to an illustrious playing career. A career which saw her being selected for the first ever Springbok side in 1963, where she filled a National Ranking of 3.  Probably the highest ranked EP women ever.

As one of the leading players in the country, she was continually being asked to help, and quickly realised that there is a huge gulf between being a good player and a good coach. In typical Angela fashion, every course was attended, every squash book bought, and every angle explored. As her competitive playing days came to an end, so she took to coaching full time. Here, again Angela became one of the driving forces in setting up SA Schools Inter-provincial tournaments where literally thousands of young squash players have benefited from being able to travel and compete. The tournaments have created a need for more specialised coaching, and there can be very few Port Elizabeth bred squash players who have not benefited from her technical expertise and her wily and experienced eye for identifying opponents’ weaknesses. And to this day, one of her major irritations, is inadequate coaching and lazy ill-disciplined coaches

By the time, the apartheid walls had come tumbling down, Angela had already identified the need for coaching, facilities and equipment amongst our township children. In 1991 , she established a Development Programme which unlike many  others, has stood the test of time. Is sustainable and successful. Today, Eastern Province stands head and shoulders above other regions in terms of the multi-racial face of our provincial teams. And testament to her skill as a coach is that protégés like Thami Mngcete, Garth Plaaitjies, Bonakele Nomkala and Lonwabo Sigele all feature amongst the top players in the province today. And there are more on the way.

Angela’s achievements have not gone unnoticed. In fact, for a person involved with a Cindarella sport, her awards speak volumes. A Headgirl’s blazer would heave under the weight of all of these scrolls but just to mention a few – State Presidents Award, Squash SA Honours Award, The Ina Ackerman Award, nominated for SABC Woman of the Year Award, and Algoa FM  Woman Distinction and, and, and…..

But for all that Angela Difford has achieved,, all of the awards and the recognition, the tough times she has travailed, ( and there have been many), the travel, the titles, the miles of meetings and the boardroom bashes, the lessons she has taught in correcting  technique, and movement, of self- motivation and belief, and how  to THINK on a court. For all of that, her fondest memory of squash is the friends she has found on the way.

If we could all just learn this lesson and appreciate how lucky we are to be playing this wonderful sport.

Angela Difford –  wife, mother, squash  player, coach and administrator, politician, pioneer, suffragette, fighter, mentor, friend. Tough, tetchy, straight-talking . But behind that façade of toughness, there is a soft,caring  woman, with a gentle heart, a loving smile and a love for good laughs and better wine. Angela - You are a very special person.

From the relative innocence of a small town education and a mind-numbing year of military service, I headed for Die Baai with hopes of vanquishing virgins as I straddled the new “free” world of student life. Sadly it was not to be. A dry white drought-like season of romance and loving, awaited me, in my first year at university. Ironically, therefore, it was lust, and not a deep philanthropic love of the game and desire to improve people’s squash, that was my raison d’etre to hurl myself into the whirlpool of squash coaching - a past-time that became a passion,  has taken me around the world ,brought me friends, more satisfaction than rands, made me a better squash player, and, I think, a better person.

I had been a school provincial player and was hovering around 1^st league level and there were some pretty good looking girls around, playing some pretty average squash. Having realised that I was not the smoothest “chatterer-up” on campus, I thought squash might be a good route to a woman’s heart and a way to getting a leg-up to finding a partner. So I started “coaching” i.e hitting with the girls and passing on titbits of coaching I had received. One evening, after a squad session , I was confronted by a Margaret Thatcher- like woman, who asked me who I was, what I was doing and how could I be coaching if I hadn’t done a coaches course, and if I wanted to continue, I had better attend a course which she would be running at Westview !!

Little did I know. I had just been touched by an angel.

I attended the course, run by Angela Difford, and could not have asked for a better grounding in the basics of technique, matters technical and the intricacies of coaching. Principled, passionate, committed, knowledgeable, disciplined, eccentric, loyal and straight-talking, Mrs Difford was clearly not a person who would suffer fools. I would be lying if I said that our relationship has been smooth and honey-moonish. No, we have often fought, argued , disagreed, and probably cursed each other.  I am sure that many a time, she has asked herself why she bothers with an idiot like this. But over the years I have realised that this is a woman who takes the road less travelled. She seeks tracks, and hammers them into highways in order to make the lives of squash players more rewarding. And I have developed a deep love, respect and admiration for this incredible woman who has meant so much to Eastern Province , and South African squash.

Last month, Angela Difford celebrated her 87^th birthday. Born and educated in Natal, Angela’s life is a list of trail –blazing and opening frontiers. After lying,( she calls it bluffing) about her age, she was accepted into the Military College, trained as an Instructor and served in the WAAF where she met her husband, John. After the war, the Diffords moved to Port Elizabeth where they married. Already a provincial hockey player and playing representative tennis and badminton. she  was re- introduced to squash by Joan Mitchell who invited her to join a small group of women “who had been given permission” to use the Old Grey courts after 8pm on Tuesday nights ! With 3 young children in tow, no maid and no transport and with hockey starting to bite into her time, the squash bug bit.

 And many lives were destined to be changed.

Frustrated by the lack of facilities, Mitchell and Difford formed a  committee which raised funds to build the original Westview courts, and  the P.E.M club was established, the first to offer equal facilities to men and women and entrenched women members on the committee. Since then, Angela has been at the forefront of establishing the EP Ladies Squash Association, now part of the EP Squash Union, the EP Schools committee, the EP Vets ( now Masters), the 1^st National Vets Inter-provincial, setting up the 1^st PE ladies league, a Housewives League, the SA Schools Squash Association, the Londt Park club, which is the now the biggest squash club in South Africa in terms of members, and the list goes on.

But it was first as a player that Angela established her name, representing the province for the first time in 1956, and continued for another 17 years. She  then graduated to the Provincial Vets  where she continued playing till 2000 when a serious knee injury forced an end to an illustrious playing career. A career which saw her being selected for the first ever Springbok side in 1963, where she filled a National Ranking of 3.  Probably the highest ranked EP women ever.

As one of the leading players in the country, she was continually being asked to help, and quickly realised that there is a huge gulf between being a good player and a good coach. In typical Angela fashion, every course was attended, every squash book bought, and every angle explored. As her competitive playing days came to an end, so she took to coaching full time. Here, again Angela became one of the driving forces in setting up SA Schools Inter-provincial tournaments where literally thousands of young squash players have benefited from being able to travel and compete. The tournaments have created a need for more specialised coaching, and there can be very few Port Elizabeth bred squash players who have not benefited from her technical expertise and her wily and experienced eye for identifying opponents’ weaknesses. And to this day, one of her major irritations, is inadequate coaching and lazy ill-disciplined coaches

By the time, the apartheid walls had come tumbling down, Angela had already identified the need for coaching, facilities and equipment amongst our township children. In 1991 , she established a Development Programme which unlike many  others, has stood the test of time. Is sustainable and successful. Today, Eastern Province stands head and shoulders above other regions in terms of the multi-racial face of our provincial teams. And testament to her skill as a coach is that protégés like Thami Mngcete, Garth Plaaitjies, Bonakele Nomkala and Lonwabo Sigele all feature amongst the top players in the province today. And there are more on the way.

Angela’s achievements have not gone unnoticed. In fact, for a person involved with a Cindarella sport, her awards speak volumes. A Headgirl’s blazer would heave under the weight of all of these scrolls but just to mention a few – State Presidents Award, Squash SA Honours Award, The Ina Ackerman Award, nominated for SABC Woman of the Year Award, and Algoa FM  Woman Distinction and, and, and…..

But for all that Angela Difford has achieved,, all of the awards and the recognition, the tough times she has travailed, ( and there have been many), the travel, the titles, the miles of meetings and the boardroom bashes, the lessons she has taught in correcting  technique, and movement, of self- motivation and belief, and how  to THINK on a court. For all of that, her fondest memory of squash is the friends she has found on the way.

If we could all just learn this lesson and appreciate how lucky we are to be playing this wonderful sport.

Angela Difford –  wife, mother, squash  player, coach and administrator, politician, pioneer, suffragette, fighter, mentor, friend. Tough, tetchy, straight-talking . But behind that façade of toughness, there is a soft,caring  woman, with a gentle heart, a loving smile and a love for good laughs and better wine. Angela - You are a very special person.

From the relative innocence of a small town education and a mind-numbing year of military service, I headed for Die Baai with hopes of vanquishing virgins as I straddled the new “free” world of student life. Sadly it was not to be. A dry white drought-like season of romance and loving, awaited me, in my first year at university. Ironically, therefore, it was lust, and not a deep philanthropic love of the game and desire to improve people’s squash, that was my raison d’etre to hurl myself into the whirlpool of squash coaching - a past-time that became a passion,  has taken me around the world ,brought me friends, more satisfaction than rands, made me a better squash player, and, I think, a better person.

I had been a school provincial player and was hovering around 1^st league level and there were some pretty good looking girls around, playing some pretty average squash. Having realised that I was not the smoothest “chatterer-up” on campus, I thought squash might be a good route to a woman’s heart and a way to getting a leg-up to finding a partner. So I started “coaching” i.e hitting with the girls and passing on titbits of coaching I had received. One evening, after a squad session , I was confronted by a Margaret Thatcher- like woman, who asked me who I was, what I was doing and how could I be coaching if I hadn’t done a coaches course, and if I wanted to continue, I had better attend a course which she would be running at Westview !!

Little did I know. I had just been touched by an angel.

I attended the course, run by Angela Difford, and could not have asked for a better grounding in the basics of technique, matters technical and the intricacies of coaching. Principled, passionate, committed, knowledgeable, disciplined, eccentric, loyal and straight-talking, Mrs Difford was clearly not a person who would suffer fools. I would be lying if I said that our relationship has been smooth and honey-moonish. No, we have often fought, argued , disagreed, and probably cursed each other.  I am sure that many a time, she has asked herself why she bothers with an idiot like this. But over the years I have realised that this is a woman who takes the road less travelled. She seeks tracks, and hammers them into highways in order to make the lives of squash players more rewarding. And I have developed a deep love, respect and admiration for this incredible woman who has meant so much to Eastern Province , and South African squash.

Last month, Angela Difford celebrated her 87^th birthday. Born and educated in Natal, Angela’s life is a list of trail –blazing and opening frontiers. After lying,( she calls it bluffing) about her age, she was accepted into the Military College, trained as an Instructor and served in the WAAF where she met her husband, John. After the war, the Diffords moved to Port Elizabeth where they married. Already a provincial hockey player and playing representative tennis and badminton. she  was re- introduced to squash by Joan Mitchell who invited her to join a small group of women “who had been given permission” to use the Old Grey courts after 8pm on Tuesday nights ! With 3 young children in tow, no maid and no transport and with hockey starting to bite into her time, the squash bug bit.

 And many lives were destined to be changed.

Frustrated by the lack of facilities, Mitchell and Difford formed a  committee which raised funds to build the original Westview courts, and  the P.E.M club was established, the first to offer equal facilities to men and women and entrenched women members on the committee. Since then, Angela has been at the forefront of establishing the EP Ladies Squash Association, now part of the EP Squash Union, the EP Schools committee, the EP Vets ( now Masters), the 1^st National Vets Inter-provincial, setting up the 1^st PE ladies league, a Housewives League, the SA Schools Squash Association, the Londt Park club, which is the now the biggest squash club in South Africa in terms of members, and the list goes on.

But it was first as a player that Angela established her name, representing the province for the first time in 1956, and continued for another 17 years. She  then graduated to the Provincial Vets  where she continued playing till 2000 when a serious knee injury forced an end to an illustrious playing career. A career which saw her being selected for the first ever Springbok side in 1963, where she filled a National Ranking of 3.  Probably the highest ranked EP women ever.

As one of the leading players in the country, she was continually being asked to help, and quickly realised that there is a huge gulf between being a good player and a good coach. In typical Angela fashion, every course was attended, every squash book bought, and every angle explored. As her competitive playing days came to an end, so she took to coaching full time. Here, again Angela became one of the driving forces in setting up SA Schools Inter-provincial tournaments where literally thousands of young squash players have benefited from being able to travel and compete. The tournaments have created a need for more specialised coaching, and there can be very few Port Elizabeth bred squash players who have not benefited from her technical expertise and her wily and experienced eye for identifying opponents’ weaknesses. And to this day, one of her major irritations, is inadequate coaching and lazy ill-disciplined coaches

By the time, the apartheid walls had come tumbling down, Angela had already identified the need for coaching, facilities and equipment amongst our township children. In 1991 , she established a Development Programme which unlike many  others, has stood the test of time. Is sustainable and successful. Today, Eastern Province stands head and shoulders above other regions in terms of the multi-racial face of our provincial teams. And testament to her skill as a coach is that protégés like Thami Mngcete, Garth Plaaitjies, Bonakele Nomkala and Lonwabo Sigele all feature amongst the top players in the province today. And there are more on the way.

Angela’s achievements have not gone unnoticed. In fact, for a person involved with a Cindarella sport, her awards speak volumes. A Headgirl’s blazer would heave under the weight of all of these scrolls but just to mention a few – State Presidents Award, Squash SA Honours Award, The Ina Ackerman Award, nominated for SABC Woman of the Year Award, and Algoa FM  Woman Distinction and, and, and…..

But for all that Angela Difford has achieved,, all of the awards and the recognition, the tough times she has travailed, ( and there have been many), the travel, the titles, the miles of meetings and the boardroom bashes, the lessons she has taught in correcting  technique, and movement, of self- motivation and belief, and how  to THINK on a court. For all of that, her fondest memory of squash is the friends she has found on the way.

If we could all just learn this lesson and appreciate how lucky we are to be playing this wonderful sport.

Angela Difford –  wife, mother, squash  player, coach and administrator, politician, pioneer, suffragette, fighter, mentor, friend. Tough, tetchy, straight-talking . But behind that façade of toughness, there is a soft,caring  woman, with a gentle heart, a loving smile and a love for good laughs and better wine. Angela - You are a very special person.

From the relative innocence of a small town education and a mind-numbing year of military service, I headed for Die Baai with hopes of vanquishing virgins as I straddled the new “free” world of student life. Sadly it was not to be. A dry white drought-like season of romance and loving, awaited me, in my first year at university. Ironically, therefore, it was lust, and not a deep philanthropic love of the game and desire to improve people’s squash, that was my raison d’etre to hurl myself into the whirlpool of squash coaching - a past-time that became a passion,  has taken me around the world ,brought me friends, more satisfaction than rands, made me a better squash player, and, I think, a better person.

I had been a school provincial player and was hovering around 1^st league level and there were some pretty good looking girls around, playing some pretty average squash. Having realised that I was not the smoothest “chatterer-up” on campus, I thought squash might be a good route to a woman’s heart and a way to getting a leg-up to finding a partner. So I started “coaching” i.e hitting with the girls and passing on titbits of coaching I had received. One evening, after a squad session , I was confronted by a Margaret Thatcher- like woman, who asked me who I was, what I was doing and how could I be coaching if I hadn’t done a coaches course, and if I wanted to continue, I had better attend a course which she would be running at Westview !!

Little did I know. I had just been touched by an angel.

I attended the course, run by Angela Difford, and could not have asked for a better grounding in the basics of technique, matters technical and the intricacies of coaching. Principled, passionate, committed, knowledgeable, disciplined, eccentric, loyal and straight-talking, Mrs Difford was clearly not a person who would suffer fools. I would be lying if I said that our relationship has been smooth and honey-moonish. No, we have often fought, argued , disagreed, and probably cursed each other.  I am sure that many a time, she has asked herself why she bothers with an idiot like this. But over the years I have realised that this is a woman who takes the road less travelled. She seeks tracks, and hammers them into highways in order to make the lives of squash players more rewarding. And I have developed a deep love, respect and admiration for this incredible woman who has meant so much to Eastern Province , and South African squash.

Last month, Angela Difford celebrated her 87^th birthday. Born and educated in Natal, Angela’s life is a list of trail –blazing and opening frontiers. After lying,( she calls it bluffing) about her age, she was accepted into the Military College, trained as an Instructor and served in the WAAF where she met her husband, John. After the war, the Diffords moved to Port Elizabeth where they married. Already a provincial hockey player and playing representative tennis and badminton. she  was re- introduced to squash by Joan Mitchell who invited her to join a small group of women “who had been given permission” to use the Old Grey courts after 8pm on Tuesday nights ! With 3 young children in tow, no maid and no transport and with hockey starting to bite into her time, the squash bug bit.

 And many lives were destined to be changed.

Frustrated by the lack of facilities, Mitchell and Difford formed a  committee which raised funds to build the original Westview courts, and  the P.E.M club was established, the first to offer equal facilities to men and women and entrenched women members on the committee. Since then, Angela has been at the forefront of establishing the EP Ladies Squash Association, now part of the EP Squash Union, the EP Schools committee, the EP Vets ( now Masters), the 1^st National Vets Inter-provincial, setting up the 1^st PE ladies league, a Housewives League, the SA Schools Squash Association, the Londt Park club, which is the now the biggest squash club in South Africa in terms of members, and the list goes on.

But it was first as a player that Angela established her name, representing the province for the first time in 1956, and continued for another 17 years. She  then graduated to the Provincial Vets  where she continued playing till 2000 when a serious knee injury forced an end to an illustrious playing career. A career which saw her being selected for the first ever Springbok side in 1963, where she filled a National Ranking of 3.  Probably the highest ranked EP women ever.

As one of the leading players in the country, she was continually being asked to help, and quickly realised that there is a huge gulf between being a good player and a good coach. In typical Angela fashion, every course was attended, every squash book bought, and every angle explored. As her competitive playing days came to an end, so she took to coaching full time. Here, again Angela became one of the driving forces in setting up SA Schools Inter-provincial tournaments where literally thousands of young squash players have benefited from being able to travel and compete. The tournaments have created a need for more specialised coaching, and there can be very few Port Elizabeth bred squash players who have not benefited from her technical expertise and her wily and experienced eye for identifying opponents’ weaknesses. And to this day, one of her major irritations, is inadequate coaching and lazy ill-disciplined coaches

By the time, the apartheid walls had come tumbling down, Angela had already identified the need for coaching, facilities and equipment amongst our township children. In 1991 , she established a Development Programme which unlike many  others, has stood the test of time. Is sustainable and successful. Today, Eastern Province stands head and shoulders above other regions in terms of the multi-racial face of our provincial teams. And testament to her skill as a coach is that protégés like Thami Mngcete, Garth Plaaitjies, Bonakele Nomkala and Lonwabo Sigele all feature amongst the top players in the province today. And there are more on the way.

Angela’s achievements have not gone unnoticed. In fact, for a person involved with a Cindarella sport, her awards speak volumes. A Headgirl’s blazer would heave under the weight of all of these scrolls but just to mention a few – State Presidents Award, Squash SA Honours Award, The Ina Ackerman Award, nominated for SABC Woman of the Year Award, and Algoa FM  Woman Distinction and, and, and…..

But for all that Angela Difford has achieved,, all of the awards and the recognition, the tough times she has travailed, ( and there have been many), the travel, the titles, the miles of meetings and the boardroom bashes, the lessons she has taught in correcting  technique, and movement, of self- motivation and belief, and how  to THINK on a court. For all of that, her fondest memory of squash is the friends she has found on the way.

If we could all just learn this lesson and appreciate how lucky we are to be playing this wonderful sport.

Angela Difford –  wife, mother, squash  player, coach and administrator, politician, pioneer, suffragette, fighter, mentor, friend. Tough, tetchy, straight-talking . But behind that façade of toughness, there is a soft,caring  woman, with a gentle heart, a loving smile and a love for good laughs and better wine. Angela - You are a very special person.

From the relative innocence of a small town education and a mind-numbing year of military service, I headed for Die Baai with hopes of vanquishing virgins as I straddled the new “free” world of student life. Sadly it was not to be. A dry white drought-like season of romance and loving, awaited me, in my first year at university. Ironically, therefore, it was lust, and not a deep philanthropic love of the game and desire to improve people’s squash, that was my raison d’etre to hurl myself into the whirlpool of squash coaching - a past-time that became a passion,  has taken me around the world ,brought me friends, more satisfaction than rands, made me a better squash player, and, I think, a better person.

I had been a school provincial player and was hovering around 1^st league level and there were some pretty good looking girls around, playing some pretty average squash. Having realised that I was not the smoothest “chatterer-up” on campus, I thought squash might be a good route to a woman’s heart and a way to getting a leg-up to finding a partner. So I started “coaching” i.e hitting with the girls and passing on titbits of coaching I had received. One evening, after a squad session , I was confronted by a Margaret Thatcher- like woman, who asked me who I was, what I was doing and how could I be coaching if I hadn’t done a coaches course, and if I wanted to continue, I had better attend a course which she would be running at Westview !!

Little did I know. I had just been touched by an angel.

I attended the course, run by Angela Difford, and could not have asked for a better grounding in the basics of technique, matters technical and the intricacies of coaching. Principled, passionate, committed, knowledgeable, disciplined, eccentric, loyal and straight-talking, Mrs Difford was clearly not a person who would suffer fools. I would be lying if I said that our relationship has been smooth and honey-moonish. No, we have often fought, argued , disagreed, and probably cursed each other.  I am sure that many a time, she has asked herself why she bothers with an idiot like this. But over the years I have realised that this is a woman who takes the road less travelled. She seeks tracks, and hammers them into highways in order to make the lives of squash players more rewarding. And I have developed a deep love, respect and admiration for this incredible woman who has meant so much to Eastern Province , and South African squash.

Last month, Angela Difford celebrated her 87^th birthday. Born and educated in Natal, Angela’s life is a list of trail –blazing and opening frontiers. After lying,( she calls it bluffing) about her age, she was accepted into the Military College, trained as an Instructor and served in the WAAF where she met her husband, John. After the war, the Diffords moved to Port Elizabeth where they married. Already a provincial hockey player and playing representative tennis and badminton. she  was re- introduced to squash by Joan Mitchell who invited her to join a small group of women “who had been given permission” to use the Old Grey courts after 8pm on Tuesday nights ! With 3 young children in tow, no maid and no transport and with hockey starting to bite into her time, the squash bug bit.

 And many lives were destined to be changed.

Frustrated by the lack of facilities, Mitchell and Difford formed a  committee which raised funds to build the original Westview courts, and  the P.E.M club was established, the first to offer equal facilities to men and women and entrenched women members on the committee. Since then, Angela has been at the forefront of establishing the EP Ladies Squash Association, now part of the EP Squash Union, the EP Schools committee, the EP Vets ( now Masters), the 1^st National Vets Inter-provincial, setting up the 1^st PE ladies league, a Housewives League, the SA Schools Squash Association, the Londt Park club, which is the now the biggest squash club in South Africa in terms of members, and the list goes on.

But it was first as a player that Angela established her name, representing the province for the first time in 1956, and continued for another 17 years. She  then graduated to the Provincial Vets  where she continued playing till 2000 when a serious knee injury forced an end to an illustrious playing career. A career which saw her being selected for the first ever Springbok side in 1963, where she filled a National Ranking of 3.  Probably the highest ranked EP women ever.

As one of the leading players in the country, she was continually being asked to help, and quickly realised that there is a huge gulf between being a good player and a good coach. In typical Angela fashion, every course was attended, every squash book bought, and every angle explored. As her competitive playing days came to an end, so she took to coaching full time. Here, again Angela became one of the driving forces in setting up SA Schools Inter-provincial tournaments where literally thousands of young squash players have benefited from being able to travel and compete. The tournaments have created a need for more specialised coaching, and there can be very few Port Elizabeth bred squash players who have not benefited from her technical expertise and her wily and experienced eye for identifying opponents’ weaknesses. And to this day, one of her major irritations, is inadequate coaching and lazy ill-disciplined coaches

By the time, the apartheid walls had come tumbling down, Angela had already identified the need for coaching, facilities and equipment amongst our township children. In 1991 , she established a Development Programme which unlike many  others, has stood the test of time. Is sustainable and successful. Today, Eastern Province stands head and shoulders above other regions in terms of the multi-racial face of our provincial teams. And testament to her skill as a coach is that protégés like Thami Mngcete, Garth Plaaitjies, Bonakele Nomkala and Lonwabo Sigele all feature amongst the top players in the province today. And there are more on the way.

Angela’s achievements have not gone unnoticed. In fact, for a person involved with a Cindarella sport, her awards speak volumes. A Headgirl’s blazer would heave under the weight of all of these scrolls but just to mention a few – State Presidents Award, Squash SA Honours Award, The Ina Ackerman Award, nominated for SABC Woman of the Year Award, and Algoa FM  Woman Distinction and, and, and…..

But for all that Angela Difford has achieved,, all of the awards and the recognition, the tough times she has travailed, ( and there have been many), the travel, the titles, the miles of meetings and the boardroom bashes, the lessons she has taught in correcting  technique, and movement, of self- motivation and belief, and how  to THINK on a court. For all of that, her fondest memory of squash is the friends she has found on the way.

If we could all just learn this lesson and appreciate how lucky we are to be playing this wonderful sport.

Angela Difford –  wife, mother, squash  player, coach and administrator, politician, pioneer, suffragette, fighter, mentor, friend. Tough, tetchy, straight-talking . But behind that façade of toughness, there is a soft,caring  woman, with a gentle heart, a loving smile and a love for good laughs and better wine. Angela - You are a very special person.

From the relative innocence of a small town education and a mind-numbing year of military service, I headed for Die Baai with hopes of vanquishing virgins as I straddled the new “free” world of student life. Sadly it was not to be. A dry white drought-like season of romance and loving, awaited me, in my first year at university. Ironically, therefore, it was lust, and not a deep philanthropic love of the game and desire to improve people’s squash, that was my raison d’etre to hurl myself into the whirlpool of squash coaching - a past-time that became a passion,  has taken me around the world ,brought me friends, more satisfaction than rands, made me a better squash player, and, I think, a better person.

I had been a school provincial player and was hovering around 1^st league level and there were some pretty good looking girls around, playing some pretty average squash. Having realised that I was not the smoothest “chatterer-up” on campus, I thought squash might be a good route to a woman’s heart and a way to getting a leg-up to finding a partner. So I started “coaching” i.e hitting with the girls and passing on titbits of coaching I had received. One evening, after a squad session , I was confronted by a Margaret Thatcher- like woman, who asked me who I was, what I was doing and how could I be coaching if I hadn’t done a coaches course, and if I wanted to continue, I had better attend a course which she would be running at Westview !!

Little did I know. I had just been touched by an angel.

I attended the course, run by Angela Difford, and could not have asked for a better grounding in the basics of technique, matters technical and the intricacies of coaching. Principled, passionate, committed, knowledgeable, disciplined, eccentric, loyal and straight-talking, Mrs Difford was clearly not a person who would suffer fools. I would be lying if I said that our relationship has been smooth and honey-moonish. No, we have often fought, argued , disagreed, and probably cursed each other.  I am sure that many a time, she has asked herself why she bothers with an idiot like this. But over the years I have realised that this is a woman who takes the road less travelled. She seeks tracks, and hammers them into highways in order to make the lives of squash players more rewarding. And I have developed a deep love, respect and admiration for this incredible woman who has meant so much to Eastern Province , and South African squash.

Last month, Angela Difford celebrated her 87^th birthday. Born and educated in Natal, Angela’s life is a list of trail –blazing and opening frontiers. After lying,( she calls it bluffing) about her age, she was accepted into the Military College, trained as an Instructor and served in the WAAF where she met her husband, John. After the war, the Diffords moved to Port Elizabeth where they married. Already a provincial hockey player and playing representative tennis and badminton. she  was re- introduced to squash by Joan Mitchell who invited her to join a small group of women “who had been given permission” to use the Old Grey courts after 8pm on Tuesday nights ! With 3 young children in tow, no maid and no transport and with hockey starting to bite into her time, the squash bug bit.

 And many lives were destined to be changed.

Frustrated by the lack of facilities, Mitchell and Difford formed a  committee which raised funds to build the original Westview courts, and  the P.E.M club was established, the first to offer equal facilities to men and women and entrenched women members on the committee. Since then, Angela has been at the forefront of establishing the EP Ladies Squash Association, now part of the EP Squash Union, the EP Schools committee, the EP Vets ( now Masters), the 1^st National Vets Inter-provincial, setting up the 1^st PE ladies league, a Housewives League, the SA Schools Squash Association, the Londt Park club, which is the now the biggest squash club in South Africa in terms of members, and the list goes on.

But it was first as a player that Angela established her name, representing the province for the first time in 1956, and continued for another 17 years. She  then graduated to the Provincial Vets  where she continued playing till 2000 when a serious knee injury forced an end to an illustrious playing career. A career which saw her being selected for the first ever Springbok side in 1963, where she filled a National Ranking of 3.  Probably the highest ranked EP women ever.

As one of the leading players in the country, she was continually being asked to help, and quickly realised that there is a huge gulf between being a good player and a good coach. In typical Angela fashion, every course was attended, every squash book bought, and every angle explored. As her competitive playing days came to an end, so she took to coaching full time. Here, again Angela became one of the driving forces in setting up SA Schools Inter-provincial tournaments where literally thousands of young squash players have benefited from being able to travel and compete. The tournaments have created a need for more specialised coaching, and there can be very few Port Elizabeth bred squash players who have not benefited from her technical expertise and her wily and experienced eye for identifying opponents’ weaknesses. And to this day, one of her major irritations, is inadequate coaching and lazy ill-disciplined coaches

By the time, the apartheid walls had come tumbling down, Angela had already identified the need for coaching, facilities and equipment amongst our township children. In 1991 , she established a Development Programme which unlike many  others, has stood the test of time. Is sustainable and successful. Today, Eastern Province stands head and shoulders above other regions in terms of the multi-racial face of our provincial teams. And testament to her skill as a coach is that protégés like Thami Mngcete, Garth Plaaitjies, Bonakele Nomkala and Lonwabo Sigele all feature amongst the top players in the province today. And there are more on the way.

Angela’s achievements have not gone unnoticed. In fact, for a person involved with a Cindarella sport, her awards speak volumes. A Headgirl’s blazer would heave under the weight of all of these scrolls but just to mention a few – State Presidents Award, Squash SA Honours Award, The Ina Ackerman Award, nominated for SABC Woman of the Year Award, and Algoa FM  Woman Distinction and, and, and…..

But for all that Angela Difford has achieved,, all of the awards and the recognition, the tough times she has travailed, ( and there have been many), the travel, the titles, the miles of meetings and the boardroom bashes, the lessons she has taught in correcting  technique, and movement, of self- motivation and belief, and how  to THINK on a court. For all of that, her fondest memory of squash is the friends she has found on the way.

If we could all just learn this lesson and appreciate how lucky we are to be playing this wonderful sport.

Angela Difford –  wife, mother, squash  player, coach and administrator, politician, pioneer, suffragette, fighter, mentor, friend. Tough, tetchy, straight-talking . But behind that façade of toughness, there is a soft,caring  woman, with a gentle heart, a loving smile and a love for good laughs and better wine. Angela - You are a very special person.

From the relative innocence of a small town education and a mind-numbing year of military service, I headed for Die Baai with hopes of vanquishing virgins as I straddled the new “free” world of student life. Sadly it was not to be. A dry white drought-like season of romance and loving, awaited me, in my first year at university. Ironically, therefore, it was lust, and not a deep philanthropic love of the game and desire to improve people’s squash, that was my raison d’etre to hurl myself into the whirlpool of squash coaching - a past-time that became a passion,  has taken me around the world ,brought me friends, more satisfaction than rands, made me a better squash player, and, I think, a better person.

I had been a school provincial player and was hovering around 1^st league level and there were some pretty good looking girls around, playing some pretty average squash. Having realised that I was not the smoothest “chatterer-up” on campus, I thought squash might be a good route to a woman’s heart and a way to getting a leg-up to finding a partner. So I started “coaching” i.e hitting with the girls and passing on titbits of coaching I had received. One evening, after a squad session , I was confronted by a Margaret Thatcher- like woman, who asked me who I was, what I was doing and how could I be coaching if I hadn’t done a coaches course, and if I wanted to continue, I had better attend a course which she would be running at Westview !!

Little did I know. I had just been touched by an angel.

I attended the course, run by Angela Difford, and could not have asked for a better grounding in the basics of technique, matters technical and the intricacies of coaching. Principled, passionate, committed, knowledgeable, disciplined, eccentric, loyal and straight-talking, Mrs Difford was clearly not a person who would suffer fools. I would be lying if I said that our relationship has been smooth and honey-moonish. No, we have often fought, argued , disagreed, and probably cursed each other.  I am sure that many a time, she has asked herself why she bothers with an idiot like this. But over the years I have realised that this is a woman who takes the road less travelled. She seeks tracks, and hammers them into highways in order to make the lives of squash players more rewarding. And I have developed a deep love, respect and admiration for this incredible woman who has meant so much to Eastern Province , and South African squash.

Last month, Angela Difford celebrated her 87^th birthday. Born and educated in Natal, Angela’s life is a list of trail –blazing and opening frontiers. After lying,( she calls it bluffing) about her age, she was accepted into the Military College, trained as an Instructor and served in the WAAF where she met her husband, John. After the war, the Diffords moved to Port Elizabeth where they married. Already a provincial hockey player and playing representative tennis and badminton. she  was re- introduced to squash by Joan Mitchell who invited her to join a small group of women “who had been given permission” to use the Old Grey courts after 8pm on Tuesday nights ! With 3 young children in tow, no maid and no transport and with hockey starting to bite into her time, the squash bug bit.

 And many lives were destined to be changed.

Frustrated by the lack of facilities, Mitchell and Difford formed a  committee which raised funds to build the original Westview courts, and  the P.E.M club was established, the first to offer equal facilities to men and women and entrenched women members on the committee. Since then, Angela has been at the forefront of establishing the EP Ladies Squash Association, now part of the EP Squash Union, the EP Schools committee, the EP Vets ( now Masters), the 1^st National Vets Inter-provincial, setting up the 1^st PE ladies league, a Housewives League, the SA Schools Squash Association, the Londt Park club, which is the now the biggest squash club in South Africa in terms of members, and the list goes on.

But it was first as a player that Angela established her name, representing the province for the first time in 1956, and continued for another 17 years. She  then graduated to the Provincial Vets  where she continued playing till 2000 when a serious knee injury forced an end to an illustrious playing career. A career which saw her being selected for the first ever Springbok side in 1963, where she filled a National Ranking of 3.  Probably the highest ranked EP women ever.

As one of the leading players in the country, she was continually being asked to help, and quickly realised that there is a huge gulf between being a good player and a good coach. In typical Angela fashion, every course was attended, every squash book bought, and every angle explored. As her competitive playing days came to an end, so she took to coaching full time. Here, again Angela became one of the driving forces in setting up SA Schools Inter-provincial tournaments where literally thousands of young squash players have benefited from being able to travel and compete. The tournaments have created a need for more specialised coaching, and there can be very few Port Elizabeth bred squash players who have not benefited from her technical expertise and her wily and experienced eye for identifying opponents’ weaknesses. And to this day, one of her major irritations, is inadequate coaching and lazy ill-disciplined coaches

By the time, the apartheid walls had come tumbling down, Angela had already identified the need for coaching, facilities and equipment amongst our township children. In 1991 , she established a Development Programme which unlike many  others, has stood the test of time. Is sustainable and successful. Today, Eastern Province stands head and shoulders above other regions in terms of the multi-racial face of our provincial teams. And testament to her skill as a coach is that protégés like Thami Mngcete, Garth Plaaitjies, Bonakele Nomkala and Lonwabo Sigele all feature amongst the top players in the province today. And there are more on the way.

Angela’s achievements have not gone unnoticed. In fact, for a person involved with a Cindarella sport, her awards speak volumes. A Headgirl’s blazer would heave under the weight of all of these scrolls but just to mention a few – State Presidents Award, Squash SA Honours Award, The Ina Ackerman Award, nominated for SABC Woman of the Year Award, and Algoa FM  Woman Distinction and, and, and…..

But for all that Angela Difford has achieved,, all of the awards and the recognition, the tough times she has travailed, ( and there have been many), the travel, the titles, the miles of meetings and the boardroom bashes, the lessons she has taught in correcting  technique, and movement, of self- motivation and belief, and how  to THINK on a court. For all of that, her fondest memory of squash is the friends she has found on the way.

If we could all just learn this lesson and appreciate how lucky we are to be playing this wonderful sport.

Angela Difford –  wife, mother, squash  player, coach and administrator, politician, pioneer, suffragette, fighter, mentor, friend. Tough, tetchy, straight-talking . But behind that façade of toughness, there is a soft,caring  woman, with a gentle heart, a loving smile and a love for good laughs and better wine. Angela - You are a very special person.

From the relative innocence of a small town education and a mind-numbing year of military service, I headed for Die Baai with hopes of vanquishing virgins as I straddled the new “free” world of student life. Sadly it was not to be. A dry white drought-like season of romance and loving, awaited me, in my first year at university. Ironically, therefore, it was lust, and not a deep philanthropic love of the game and desire to improve people’s squash, that was my raison d’etre to hurl myself into the whirlpool of squash coaching - a past-time that became a passion,  has taken me around the world ,brought me friends, more satisfaction than rands, made me a better squash player, and, I think, a better person.

I had been a school provincial player and was hovering around 1^st league level and there were some pretty good looking girls around, playing some pretty average squash. Having realised that I was not the smoothest “chatterer-up” on campus, I thought squash might be a good route to a woman’s heart and a way to getting a leg-up to finding a partner. So I started “coaching” i.e hitting with the girls and passing on titbits of coaching I had received. One evening, after a squad session , I was confronted by a Margaret Thatcher- like woman, who asked me who I was, what I was doing and how could I be coaching if I hadn’t done a coaches course, and if I wanted to continue, I had better attend a course which she would be running at Westview !!

Little did I know. I had just been touched by an angel.

I attended the course, run by Angela Difford, and could not have asked for a better grounding in the basics of technique, matters technical and the intricacies of coaching. Principled, passionate, committed, knowledgeable, disciplined, eccentric, loyal and straight-talking, Mrs Difford was clearly not a person who would suffer fools. I would be lying if I said that our relationship has been smooth and honey-moonish. No, we have often fought, argued , disagreed, and probably cursed each other.  I am sure that many a time, she has asked herself why she bothers with an idiot like this. But over the years I have realised that this is a woman who takes the road less travelled. She seeks tracks, and hammers them into highways in order to make the lives of squash players more rewarding. And I have developed a deep love, respect and admiration for this incredible woman who has meant so much to Eastern Province , and South African squash.

Last month, Angela Difford celebrated her 87^th birthday. Born and educated in Natal, Angela’s life is a list of trail –blazing and opening frontiers. After lying,( she calls it bluffing) about her age, she was accepted into the Military College, trained as an Instructor and served in the WAAF where she met her husband, John. After the war, the Diffords moved to Port Elizabeth where they married. Already a provincial hockey player and playing representative tennis and badminton. she  was re- introduced to squash by Joan Mitchell who invited her to join a small group of women “who had been given permission” to use the Old Grey courts after 8pm on Tuesday nights ! With 3 young children in tow, no maid and no transport and with hockey starting to bite into her time, the squash bug bit.

 And many lives were destined to be changed.

Frustrated by the lack of facilities, Mitchell and Difford formed a  committee which raised funds to build the original Westview courts, and  the P.E.M club was established, the first to offer equal facilities to men and women and entrenched women members on the committee. Since then, Angela has been at the forefront of establishing the EP Ladies Squash Association, now part of the EP Squash Union, the EP Schools committee, the EP Vets ( now Masters), the 1^st National Vets Inter-provincial, setting up the 1^st PE ladies league, a Housewives League, the SA Schools Squash Association, the Londt Park club, which is the now the biggest squash club in South Africa in terms of members, and the list goes on.

But it was first as a player that Angela established her name, representing the province for the first time in 1956, and continued for another 17 years. She  then graduated to the Provincial Vets  where she continued playing till 2000 when a serious knee injury forced an end to an illustrious playing career. A career which saw her being selected for the first ever Springbok side in 1963, where she filled a National Ranking of 3.  Probably the highest ranked EP women ever.

As one of the leading players in the country, she was continually being asked to help, and quickly realised that there is a huge gulf between being a good player and a good coach. In typical Angela fashion, every course was attended, every squash book bought, and every angle explored. As her competitive playing days came to an end, so she took to coaching full time. Here, again Angela became one of the driving forces in setting up SA Schools Inter-provincial tournaments where literally thousands of young squash players have benefited from being able to travel and compete. The tournaments have created a need for more specialised coaching, and there can be very few Port Elizabeth bred squash players who have not benefited from her technical expertise and her wily and experienced eye for identifying opponents’ weaknesses. And to this day, one of her major irritations, is inadequate coaching and lazy ill-disciplined coaches

By the time, the apartheid walls had come tumbling down, Angela had already identified the need for coaching, facilities and equipment amongst our township children. In 1991 , she established a Development Programme which unlike many  others, has stood the test of time. Is sustainable and successful. Today, Eastern Province stands head and shoulders above other regions in terms of the multi-racial face of our provincial teams. And testament to her skill as a coach is that protégés like Thami Mngcete, Garth Plaaitjies, Bonakele Nomkala and Lonwabo Sigele all feature amongst the top players in the province today. And there are more on the way.

Angela’s achievements have not gone unnoticed. In fact, for a person involved with a Cindarella sport, her awards speak volumes. A Headgirl’s blazer would heave under the weight of all of these scrolls but just to mention a few – State Presidents Award, Squash SA Honours Award, The Ina Ackerman Award, nominated for SABC Woman of the Year Award, and Algoa FM  Woman Distinction and, and, and…..

But for all that Angela Difford has achieved,, all of the awards and the recognition, the tough times she has travailed, ( and there have been many), the travel, the titles, the miles of meetings and the boardroom bashes, the lessons she has taught in correcting  technique, and movement, of self- motivation and belief, and how  to THINK on a court. For all of that, her fondest memory of squash is the friends she has found on the way.

If we could all just learn this lesson and appreciate how lucky we are to be playing this wonderful sport.

Angela Difford –  wife, mother, squash  player, coach and administrator, politician, pioneer, suffragette, fighter, mentor, friend. Tough, tetchy, straight-talking . But behind that façade of toughness, there is a soft,caring  woman, with a gentle heart, a loving smile and a love for good laughs and better wine. Angela - You are a very special person.

From the relative innocence of a small town education and a mind-numbing year of military service, I headed for Die Baai with hopes of vanquishing virgins as I straddled the new “free” world of student life. Sadly it was not to be. A dry white drought-like season of romance and loving, awaited me, in my first year at university. Ironically, therefore, it was lust, and not a deep philanthropic love of the game and desire to improve people’s squash, that was my raison d’etre to hurl myself into the whirlpool of squash coaching - a past-time that became a passion,  has taken me around the world ,brought me friends, more satisfaction than rands, made me a better squash player, and, I think, a better person.

I had been a school provincial player and was hovering around 1^st league level and there were some pretty good looking girls around, playing some pretty average squash. Having realised that I was not the smoothest “chatterer-up” on campus, I thought squash might be a good route to a woman’s heart and a way to getting a leg-up to finding a partner. So I started “coaching” i.e hitting with the girls and passing on titbits of coaching I had received. One evening, after a squad session , I was confronted by a Margaret Thatcher- like woman, who asked me who I was, what I was doing and how could I be coaching if I hadn’t done a coaches course, and if I wanted to continue, I had better attend a course which she would be running at Westview !!

Little did I know. I had just been touched by an angel.

I attended the course, run by Angela Difford, and could not have asked for a better grounding in the basics of technique, matters technical and the intricacies of coaching. Principled, passionate, committed, knowledgeable, disciplined, eccentric, loyal and straight-talking, Mrs Difford was clearly not a person who would suffer fools. I would be lying if I said that our relationship has been smooth and honey-moonish. No, we have often fought, argued , disagreed, and probably cursed each other.  I am sure that many a time, she has asked herself why she bothers with an idiot like this. But over the years I have realised that this is a woman who takes the road less travelled. She seeks tracks, and hammers them into highways in order to make the lives of squash players more rewarding. And I have developed a deep love, respect and admiration for this incredible woman who has meant so much to Eastern Province , and South African squash.

Last month, Angela Difford celebrated her 87^th birthday. Born and educated in Natal, Angela’s life is a list of trail –blazing and opening frontiers. After lying,( she calls it bluffing) about her age, she was accepted into the Military College, trained as an Instructor and served in the WAAF where she met her husband, John. After the war, the Diffords moved to Port Elizabeth where they married. Already a provincial hockey player and playing representative tennis and badminton. she  was re- introduced to squash by Joan Mitchell who invited her to join a small group of women “who had been given permission” to use the Old Grey courts after 8pm on Tuesday nights ! With 3 young children in tow, no maid and no transport and with hockey starting to bite into her time, the squash bug bit.

 And many lives were destined to be changed.

Frustrated by the lack of facilities, Mitchell and Difford formed a  committee which raised funds to build the original Westview courts, and  the P.E.M club was established, the first to offer equal facilities to men and women and entrenched women members on the committee. Since then, Angela has been at the forefront of establishing the EP Ladies Squash Association, now part of the EP Squash Union, the EP Schools committee, the EP Vets ( now Masters), the 1^st National Vets Inter-provincial, setting up the 1^st PE ladies league, a Housewives League, the SA Schools Squash Association, the Londt Park club, which is the now the biggest squash club in South Africa in terms of members, and the list goes on.

But it was first as a player that Angela established her name, representing the province for the first time in 1956, and continued for another 17 years. She  then graduated to the Provincial Vets  where she continued playing till 2000 when a serious knee injury forced an end to an illustrious playing career. A career which saw her being selected for the first ever Springbok side in 1963, where she filled a National Ranking of 3.  Probably the highest ranked EP women ever.

As one of the leading players in the country, she was continually being asked to help, and quickly realised that there is a huge gulf between being a good player and a good coach. In typical Angela fashion, every course was attended, every squash book bought, and every angle explored. As her competitive playing days came to an end, so she took to coaching full time. Here, again Angela became one of the driving forces in setting up SA Schools Inter-provincial tournaments where literally thousands of young squash players have benefited from being able to travel and compete. The tournaments have created a need for more specialised coaching, and there can be very few Port Elizabeth bred squash players who have not benefited from her technical expertise and her wily and experienced eye for identifying opponents’ weaknesses. And to this day, one of her major irritations, is inadequate coaching and lazy ill-disciplined coaches

By the time, the apartheid walls had come tumbling down, Angela had already identified the need for coaching, facilities and equipment amongst our township children. In 1991 , she established a Development Programme which unlike many  others, has stood the test of time. Is sustainable and successful. Today, Eastern Province stands head and shoulders above other regions in terms of the multi-racial face of our provincial teams. And testament to her skill as a coach is that protégés like Thami Mngcete, Garth Plaaitjies, Bonakele Nomkala and Lonwabo Sigele all feature amongst the top players in the province today. And there are more on the way.

Angela’s achievements have not gone unnoticed. In fact, for a person involved with a Cindarella sport, her awards speak volumes. A Headgirl’s blazer would heave under the weight of all of these scrolls but just to mention a few – State Presidents Award, Squash SA Honours Award, The Ina Ackerman Award, nominated for SABC Woman of the Year Award, and Algoa FM  Woman Distinction and, and, and…..

But for all that Angela Difford has achieved,, all of the awards and the recognition, the tough times she has travailed, ( and there have been many), the travel, the titles, the miles of meetings and the boardroom bashes, the lessons she has taught in correcting  technique, and movement, of self- motivation and belief, and how  to THINK on a court. For all of that, her fondest memory of squash is the friends she has found on the way.

If we could all just learn this lesson and appreciate how lucky we are to be playing this wonderful sport.

Angela Difford –  wife, mother, squash  player, coach and administrator, politician, pioneer, suffragette, fighter, mentor, friend. Tough, tetchy, straight-talking . But behind that façade of toughness, there is a soft,caring  woman, with a gentle heart, a loving smile and a love for good laughs and better wine. Angela - You are a very special person.

 My family hate me at Christmas. They claim that I am the most difficult  present-person to please, as I have everything a Squash fanatic needs, so they have to revert  to music, books or beer. Conversely, I think I am the easiest person to please. Buy me anything sport-related, and I’ll convert it to something with squash value ! What follows, therefore, are some gentle hints for those who struggle with squash dopeheads in their family.

If you really want to tickle the heart strings of your squash loved one, your first point of call is a new racquet, a squash bag or shoes. A new weapon, or a spare weapon in the bag  is new motivation that will have that squash freak, itching for a knock, shortly after guests have disappeared from the Christmas table. These are gifts, that like wands can create magic and have the potential to raise your stakes,  and rocket them to new year squash glory. And every time they use them, they will think of YOU. But racquets, like underwear, are very personal choices, and you will do well to check their preferred brand, make and weight. Debates over whether size matters will rage on, but when choosing racquets, weight does matter and 10g, makes a difference to performance and satisfaction

Squash players, generally, are not very fashion-conscious, and squash clothes, do become a bit pongy ( especially after being left in the bag over-night), so additions will always be welcomed. But be careful of chucking stuff out as we are sentimental folk and become attached to outfits that took us to famous victories. A new outfit might, however, create a subtle opening. Very few  Squash brands market their clothing  but Tecnifibre has launched an impressive range which will soon be available in PE.  And don’t forget those Puma Shoes, highlighted in last month’s column, which could also double up as “hunk/chick”pullers

With squash being described as “Physical Chess”, we like to think of ourselves as an  intelligent cerebral breed. Sadly, squash literature is scarce, so popular South African, Rod Durbach’s “SQUASH… with the Pro’s” is a welcome drop of wisdom. Aimed at both beginners and seasoned players, it offers advice , not only on basic technique but also addresses tactical  problems, shot selection, opponent analysis, and much more. Another great read is “Run to the Roar  - Coaching to overcome fear” by Paul Assaiante - a coaching memoir which can be applied to all walks of life as it tracks how the author brings a cosmopolitan group of individuals at his university and gels them into a record-breaking team. Running parallel to this, is his trauma at home, as he deals with a son who has gone off the rails. And then there is Richard Millman’s “Angles’ – an anthology of squash poems !

On the DVD front,David Palmer’s “The Making of a Champion” has routines and footage to make your eyes water, and your muscles cringe ! And if your squash-freak is really fanatical, he might also be interested in a DVD, entitled “Let Please” which will take him through a range of real-match let/stroke situations.

Heart Rate Monitors are useful, and not just for over-weighters, heading for old age homes . If you are serious about squash, you should be measuring your fitness and your progress, and they can also be useful in gathering information about opponents and how far they make you run. Stop-watches are key to training properly and useful for handicap tournaments and Summer Leagues when matches are time-based.

Some of the most valued gifts are those which have a personal touch. Download some squash pictures, and design your own 2012 squash calendar. Alternately, personalize a Diary/Log Book for your Squash Freak to plan the season and track progress with comments on training, matches and opponents. And spice it up with  action pictures and motivational quotes. These gifts take time, thought and creativity, but are relatively cheap, and guarantee you front of mind attention for the whole year.

Parents who have taken their children onto squash courts will know the frustration of getting the ball to bounce sufficiently so their eager offspring  can somehow make contact with the ball. Ever-innovative, the Australian Squash Coaches have developed a soft, slow bouncing foamy yellow ball which is an absolute dream for beginners from a confidence and a safety perspective. A consignment is “on the water” Expensive , and not dog-friendly.

While golfers cling to coaches for advice, Squash players seem to think it “infra dig” to seek  assistance, and blindly bliksem forwards, trailing their own path and imprinting faults indelibly into their psyche. A couple of lessons with an experienced coach may just give your squashaholic some direction.

I could go on but time, space and the divine Ms. M stare fiercely at me. Some other ideas – Lisa O Grady’s Calender Girls’ Recipe Book, on the internet, look for K Tape and S2H watches, for Coaches - Ball Machines, video cameras, reaction balls, training ladders and as stocking fillers, skipping ropes, towels, both hand and bath ( but clearly identifiable so they don’t get mixed up with the  guest bathroom towels ) squash glasses, bandannas, wristlets, grips, balls, scissors, vaseline ( for blisters), and pumice stones for calloused feet

As we prepare for the helter-skelter of Christmas, and Summer Leagues clatter to a close, for about 4 weeks, there will be no official squash activities. Cold Turkey time and cooked turkey time but also time-out time to bronze our beautiful bodies and bond again with families and friends. Thank you to those who have squished their way  through these squashy columns. Hopefully, they will have asked questions, generated discussion, remembered a memory, planted an idea, and hopefully, raised a smile.

And oh, if anyone wants a run in this “dead period”, I am always available.

 The old traditional view of Squash Clubs was of isolated, funny-shaped buildings where   dribbles of monastic-type people, with white baggy pants, knobbly knees and round, strangely-shaped bats gathered in  dark, dingy tunnels before  paying their tithes, and entering their lighted shrines to seek fitness and friendship. Once finished, they would, perhaps, shower in a cramped and cold change room, and disperse, to other more lucrative activities. Maybe squash players can be likened to psychiatric patients who need to be kept away from normal society because as things have changed, clubs are still, mostly, in isolated buildings. However, they are now, much smarter, more inviting, with glass-backed walls, bright lights, bars, lounge areas, shops, kitchens, and more spacious, but still “economically” designed change rooms.

But bricks and mortar, glass back walls, and bright lights do not a club make. In the Retail world , they talk of “The Iceberg Principle” where 20% of the consumers’  decisions of where to spend their hard earned money, is dictated by the perceived price perception and range of that outlet. The other 80 % is made up of a basket of other factors like convenience, friendliness, excitement, activity, helpfulness, cleanliness, safety… and the list goes on. The warm and fuzzy stuff that creates the character.

October and November will see club committees balancing their pennies, signing off their books and sending out AGM notices, most of which will probably be deleted, or conveniently forgotten. On the day, a straggly few regulars will gather to make a quorum, and with one or 2 changes, the straggly few regulars, will be re-elected , to once again, drive the club. Sadly,  it is usually just those straggly few, but Port Elizabeth is fortunate to have some passionate “straggly few”. Some clubs will continue to drive at 60km/ph and get from A to B, taking part in leagues, and doing the regular things. Others, will put foot on the accelerator, take some detours, hit some potholes, maybe, even have the odd collision, but somehow  the club will be taken to places  it has not been before.

What can your club do, to take itself to another level ? Some of the following ideas have been stolen from beery conversations, some are original and the others have been stolen from an article by Bruce Brunning in The Squash Player magazine.

First and foremost, the squash,  the membership fees and the  leagues that your club offers, are  that 20%, of the Retail Iceberg. The other 80% is the Hub of Club. Is it a gathering place for like-minded people, to relax, and meet and greet ? Squash is the catalyst. The vehicle for you to offer the warm and fuzzies mentioned earlier.

Keep your committee small, if your constitution allows. ( Maybe that constitution needs  to be reviewed. When was it drafted ?) Less is often more and fewer people often make better and quicker decisions. But then seek people to act as “Project Managers” – for short periods where they drive their project and then go back to their little lives.

Squash is your “core business” and your Leagues must be well organised and effectively run. The Competitive Spirit is a wonderful fuel for your club, if mixed with sportsmanship and camaraderie. And I have yet to see an effective ladder or challenge system. I know Westview and Crusaders are dabbling with proposals…

Apart from Squash, does your club offer a good mix of facilities ?  Secure areas for kids to play, exercise bikes/gym equipment, secure parking, a squash shop, convenient and effective booking system. Having a bar and ideally a braai or lounge-type area at the courts, for your members to shoot the breeze, analyse their matches and socialise, is ideal. “Don’t be afraid of allowing your membership to indulge in the bad things of life. It is probably why they joined you in the 1^st place”  says Brunning .  And a Club Tour, embracing players from all Leagues, should be an integral part of your Club’s annual programme

Once you are comfortable with the structures of your club, make sure that you maintain, by cleaning, painting and sanding where necessary. And keep the club interesting with posters, and pictures and well organised, up-dated information-baring Notice Boards.

Attracting new members ? Stealing and luring players from other clubs with financial offerings ? Let’s not go there. I also query the need to incentivise 1^st League players unless they are re-committing those funds into coaching or mentoring. Surely Membership Fees should be for the benefit of all members. But inviting players, and particularly students and juniors to your club to participate in Fun activities and impressing them with what you have to offer, must be encouraged

You cannot have enough internal competitions. This is where you can differentiate. Your club must be a hive of activity. Some ideas - Summer Leagues, Doubles evenings, Junior Tournaments, Junior Leagues and Coaching, Beginners Courses, Housewives Leagues, Training sessions, Markers and Refs Talks, Coaching Leagues, Pitch-and Plays, Handicap Tournaments, Blitz Competitions, Exhibition Matches, Club Nights where Squash and Social are mixed. Be creative.  And apart from drawing people to your club, they also generate funds

Club Fees, Light Monies and Fund-raising are always contentious issues but squash must be, arguably, one of the cheapest sports available. Some believe that Squash has sold itself short as the “Poor Cousin”. It is difficult to start increasing fees, substantially, to create funds to implement ideas, but maybe this is necessary. Break down your club fees into months, and then matches, and you will realise just how cheap squash is – and then think of the enjoyment you get out of those 45 minutes. And to really make you feel really good, compare those costs to that of our bigger, more beautiful, richer cousin, Golf. But maybe, we can also steal some ideas from him. 10 year memberships, flexible membership options, soap in the showers ?

Be aware of the Bigger Picture of Squash, and get involved in Squash SA and Eastern Province activities. While you may wonder sometimes what these bodies do, if you went behind their closed doors, you might be surprised.  If Squash continues to grow, your club’s potential is in your hands.

Some pitfalls to avoid, and to look out for.

Never disregard the value of having a 1^st league side.

Look after the women in your club. They have different needs to the average, amenable man, but ignore them, and your club will wobble

Watch out for Cliques in your club and allowing them to become too powerful.

Are you holding players with potential and aspirations back ? Sometimes throwing these players into the deeper waters of a higher league, catapults them forward.

We, squash players, are very blessed in this city. Imagine if we could just increase the numbers of those “few straggly ones” who drive our clubs and our sport forward.

                                                ***************************

Talking about innovation, it is always exciting to see new brands entering the World of Squash, and this month we see the launch of sports clothing giant, PUMA, leaping into the battle for the feet of Squash Players.

Irrespective of your ability, you will not go unnoticed. One of the Vellum 2 range is bright, and I mean bright, yellow, and for the less adventurous, there is a black partner. Very light, comfortable, with good support and very eye-catching , the PUMA Squash Shoes are a welcome addition to the Squash Shoe Market. Standing the test of time is always the acid test for Squash shoes but at R699, they will be very competitive, and make you, even more competitive.

                                                ****************************

The Crusaders Corporate League launched further innovation into EP Squash where teams  from Khuene & Nagel (Behr), Ex Es (Behr) , Aurecon, Investec, Itec, Pioneer Foods, S4 Integration, Finmap, Gentic, and Old Mutual gathered on Thursdays through October with  players ranging from  capable to crockety, from eager to experienced, and fit to fatigued. But with squash as the catalyst, new friends have been found, much fun has been had and if a few have been converted or re-awoken to the joys of squash, then success has been sealed.  And the winner of the Holy Grill will be fined.

 Balls to the Wall: I have a Dream to a A Few Small Steps to Freedom

Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King were visionaries. Mandela’s “ Long Walk to Freedom” has  inspired many to change their views and perspectives. Once demonised, he was despised, hunted, hated, abused and cursed, because he made decisions based on how he saw life from his perspective .  He stood his ground, was firm, assertive and courageous but, he also developed the ability to see things from a different perspective . Thankfully, he is now lionised, and respected, and in my humble view,  Madiba is the pride of every single South African .

Squash Referees  also walk a long road to freedom. They too, are sometimes  despised,  abused and cursed because of decisions they  make from their high chair , and their view of events, which is very different from the players, and the majority of spectators.  Referees make decisions based on their knowledge of the rules and with the hope of facilitating a fair game. Sadly, their  decisions are probably guaranteed to displease most of the crowd, all of the time.

And as much as Mandela and King were visionaries, so Squash Referees are also expected to be, visionary. No other sport demands a knowledge of the rules, PLUS the ability to:

 1) predict the future,

 2) predict the players’ intentions

 3) predict players’ relative speed and skills.

 Because of this, refereeing Squash is arguably far more difficult than other sports where decisions are made on what has already happened, where the referee can “coach” the players and where they have assistance of linesmen, line judges, hawk-eye and the like

Those players and spectators, ( and this is probably true of all sports), have probably, never read the rules, attended a seminar or debated the rules within context of the Rulebook. And as effective as the propaganda/education  of the apartheid system was, where many myths were propagated that eventually became part of many people’s belief systems, so a whole Rule Book of Myths relating to squash has evolved in the cold and echoing hallways and bars of Squash Court fiefdom. As the apartheid system blanketed people in a false sense of security, so these squash myths envelop  squash players in a similar blanket of false knowledge. And this blanket eventually causes much crying, wailing and gnashing of teeth as perceptions and bodies clash.

Let me take your hand and walk you through a real-league experience to illustrate the ugliness of these  clashes  of perception. This match, ironically, and thankfully , was between 2 sides from the same club so many of the deep-heated scars could be iced, beered,  bi-oiled and massaged back to friendship. Names and places have been changed to protect innocent people involved

“Then it was the war-horse, the Master against the Leader, the captain of the clan . And a merry time was had, as the Cee’s crept ahead with the 1^st game to the Captain. Matters were leveled by the Master, but with a new Ref in control, all was tense as they tussled, teasing each other with cunning stunts of deception and lobbing floats. Then thunder dondered. Loud. Lightning flashed. The night turned black, as the Veteran, supposedly  "TURNED", and the mood turned as a stroke was awarded. All hell broke loose. Between brutal persuasion and discussion, the Captain trying to turn the decision, was punished for dissension. At 1-2 down and 1-9 down , the Captain turned his brain back on, and the tussle was turned back on, but the Veteran, just tugged through. Off court, debates, diagnoses and discussion returned to turning and what-is-turning, and what is not-turning, but the world continued turning while the heated discussions kept on turning into the steaming showers and onto the beer-laden tables.

Then focus swung back to the courts, and it was down to the wire, as the Number 4’s unleashed their left handed swings and flailings on each other. Now, with that same veteran, sitting on his High Referee’s Horse, the combatants were far from comfortable as bodies bashed, balls flew, and curses collided as the normally peaceful , placid one, muttered, moaned, huffed and puffed as backswings and follow -through fights filled the Squash Courted Castle with tension. Eventually, the Aze sneaked in. But the air was icy on a night which is best, soon forgotten.”

So how do we prevent these  skirmishes of ugliness ? Once that Competitiveness Edge boils over, it becomes as ugly and as unreasonable as the anger created by the apartheid system.  Ideally, ( but someone will probably have to spend another 27 years in jail to change this), we need to change the Mind Set of South African Sports lovers - That Belief, that if their side lost, it is FIRST, the Ref that was to blame, and then, maybe, possibly, their side also played kak.

But Squash Referees also need to get it right, and the quickest march to this freedom from abuse, is to read and digest Rule 12 , the Interference Rule, and develop  an understanding of The 4 Freedoms of the Squash Court

1.       The Freedom to a FAIR VIEW of the ball … on rebound from the front wall

2.       The Freedom to direct, and unobstructed access to the ball after completion of a reasonable follow through

3.       The Freedom to a FAIR, and REASONABLE swing ( maybe this should read, Regular)

4.       Freedom to play the ball directly to any part of the front wall

Finally, understand that the rules have not changed dramatically, and the Only rule that has changed, is the rule related to Turning . Space precludes discussion on all of the above, so let’s just talk about the Turning and Swinging  that can turn lives, and squash league evenings, sour.

TURNING

In a rally, (and this applies to the return of service as well) , if a player strikes the ball directly towards the front wall and it hits his opponent , it is a stroke to the Striker of the Ball. If that ball is headed for the side wall, it is a let

However, if the player, allows the ball to pass around him and he turns around, either physically, or mentally, and plays the ball  which strikes the opponent, it is a stroke to the opponent ( as consolation for that blue-yellow bone-sucking bruise he now boasts)

Physical Turning = literally turning around and following the ball as it moves behind and around you. (It’s  easier to demonstrate than describe)

Mental Turning = allowing the ball to move behind and around you , without physically turning around.

Note:  If a player changes his decision to play forehand, to a backhand, with the ball passing in front of him, it is NOT Turning

The Swingers Club – A Reasonable Swing

Reasonable – is an elastic word, influenced  by perception, and players swings do differ, particularly amongst women. The best tip in terms of “defining” reasonable is to watch the Warm Up, and identify the 2 players , regular swing.

Other things to understand:

The player striking the ball has the right to play the ball at whatever stage he wants, even if it disadvantages him. His opponent must get out of the way.

The measure of how actively that opponent is attempting to clear the swing will influence the decision.

Minimal interference (where the shot is not really affected) does not automatically demand a stroke. A good guide is: Prevention of Swing = Stroke. Interference of Swing = Let

Too often, Referees’ focus is on the clash of bodies. What they should be looking at is the position of the ball, in relation to those clashing bodies

While Swinging Clubs, and swinging racquets and turners and Turncoats will forever cause dissension, with more understanding of these rules,  the Long March to the Freedom of competitive, but  friendly league evenings may become a reality.

I have a dream !!

                                                                **************************************

EP Squash Conundrum

If EP Squash can return 3 Gold medals, 4 Silvers and 8 Bronze medals from the Under-age Inter-Provincials, and have the following players ranked in the Top 10 in their age -groups:

Girls U/ 19: No 3 Lumé Landman, No 2 Elani Landman

Boys U/19: No 5 Jarryd Terblanche

Girls U/16: N 5 Ashleigh Schepers, No 1 Kacey-Leigh Dodd

Boys U16: No 8 Jethro Thornburn

Girls U/14: No 8 Hannah Knott-Craig, No 5 Aimee-Leigh Pote

Boys U/14: No 8 Dewald van Niekerk, No 2 Daine Kruger

And produce the 2 players ( Jarryd Terblanche and Elani Landman) rated as the Most Promising Male and Female  at the Jarvis/Kaplan Inter Provincial,

Why did our senior Inter-Provincial sides produce arguably, our worst results ever at the 2011 tournament ?

                                *********************************************

And while our Provincial players battled, successfully and unsuccessfully, the core of EP Squash shivered during the break , with Derek Calitz de-faulting his way to victory at the Woolstaplers Tournament, Karen Schepers adding Gold to her cabinet at the EP Handicap Tournament and Neale Emslie, weaved his magic at the Walmer Classic.

Apologies: Carol Botha, the Cornerstone of Londt Park Squash was also awarded an Honours Award at the recent Squash SA Awards dinner, but was omitted from last month’s column

And the 2^nd Half of the League Season, with all its twists, and turns, and swings, and see saws and sagas continue ……

 Balls to the Wall: I have a Dream to a A Few Small Steps to Freedom

Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King were visionaries. Mandela’s “ Long Walk to Freedom” has  inspired many to change their views and perspectives. Once demonised, he was despised, hunted, hated, abused and cursed, because he made decisions based on how he saw life from his perspective .  He stood his ground, was firm, assertive and courageous but, he also developed the ability to see things from a different perspective . Thankfully, he is now lionised, and respected, and in my humble view,  Madiba is the pride of every single South African .

Squash Referees  also walk a long road to freedom. They too, are sometimes  despised,  abused and cursed because of decisions they  make from their high chair , and their view of events, which is very different from the players, and the majority of spectators.  Referees make decisions based on their knowledge of the rules and with the hope of facilitating a fair game. Sadly, their  decisions are probably guaranteed to displease most of the crowd, all of the time.

And as much as Mandela and King were visionaries, so Squash Referees are also expected to be, visionary. No other sport demands a knowledge of the rules, PLUS the ability to:

 1) predict the future,

 2) predict the players’ intentions

 3) predict players’ relative speed and skills.

 Because of this, refereeing Squash is arguably far more difficult than other sports where decisions are made on what has already happened, where the referee can “coach” the players and where they have assistance of linesmen, line judges, hawk-eye and the like

Those players and spectators, ( and this is probably true of all sports), have probably, never read the rules, attended a seminar or debated the rules within context of the Rulebook. And as effective as the propaganda/education  of the apartheid system was, where many myths were propagated that eventually became part of many people’s belief systems, so a whole Rule Book of Myths relating to squash has evolved in the cold and echoing hallways and bars of Squash Court fiefdom. As the apartheid system blanketed people in a false sense of security, so these squash myths envelop  squash players in a similar blanket of false knowledge. And this blanket eventually causes much crying, wailing and gnashing of teeth as perceptions and bodies clash.

Let me take your hand and walk you through a real-league experience to illustrate the ugliness of these  clashes  of perception. This match, ironically, and thankfully , was between 2 sides from the same club so many of the deep-heated scars could be iced, beered,  bi-oiled and massaged back to friendship. Names and places have been changed to protect innocent people involved

“Then it was the war-horse, the Master against the Leader, the captain of the clan . And a merry time was had, as the Cee’s crept ahead with the 1^st game to the Captain. Matters were leveled by the Master, but with a new Ref in control, all was tense as they tussled, teasing each other with cunning stunts of deception and lobbing floats. Then thunder dondered. Loud. Lightning flashed. The night turned black, as the Veteran, supposedly  "TURNED", and the mood turned as a stroke was awarded. All hell broke loose. Between brutal persuasion and discussion, the Captain trying to turn the decision, was punished for dissension. At 1-2 down and 1-9 down , the Captain turned his brain back on, and the tussle was turned back on, but the Veteran, just tugged through. Off court, debates, diagnoses and discussion returned to turning and what-is-turning, and what is not-turning, but the world continued turning while the heated discussions kept on turning into the steaming showers and onto the beer-laden tables.

Then focus swung back to the courts, and it was down to the wire, as the Number 4’s unleashed their left handed swings and flailings on each other. Now, with that same veteran, sitting on his High Referee’s Horse, the combatants were far from comfortable as bodies bashed, balls flew, and curses collided as the normally peaceful , placid one, muttered, moaned, huffed and puffed as backswings and follow -through fights filled the Squash Courted Castle with tension. Eventually, the Aze sneaked in. But the air was icy on a night which is best, soon forgotten.”

So how do we prevent these  skirmishes of ugliness ? Once that Competitiveness Edge boils over, it becomes as ugly and as unreasonable as the anger created by the apartheid system.  Ideally, ( but someone will probably have to spend another 27 years in jail to change this), we need to change the Mind Set of South African Sports lovers - That Belief, that if their side lost, it is FIRST, the Ref that was to blame, and then, maybe, possibly, their side also played kak.

But Squash Referees also need to get it right, and the quickest march to this freedom from abuse, is to read and digest Rule 12 , the Interference Rule, and develop  an understanding of The 4 Freedoms of the Squash Court

1.       The Freedom to a FAIR VIEW of the ball … on rebound from the front wall

2.       The Freedom to direct, and unobstructed access to the ball after completion of a reasonable follow through

3.       The Freedom to a FAIR, and REASONABLE swing ( maybe this should read, Regular)

4.       Freedom to play the ball directly to any part of the front wall

Finally, understand that the rules have not changed dramatically, and the Only rule that has changed, is the rule related to Turning . Space precludes discussion on all of the above, so let’s just talk about the Turning and Swinging  that can turn lives, and squash league evenings, sour.

TURNING

In a rally, (and this applies to the return of service as well) , if a player strikes the ball directly towards the front wall and it hits his opponent , it is a stroke to the Striker of the Ball. If that ball is headed for the side wall, it is a let

However, if the player, allows the ball to pass around him and he turns around, either physically, or mentally, and plays the ball  which strikes the opponent, it is a stroke to the opponent ( as consolation for that blue-yellow bone-sucking bruise he now boasts)

Physical Turning = literally turning around and following the ball as it moves behind and around you. (It’s  easier to demonstrate than describe)

Mental Turning = allowing the ball to move behind and around you , without physically turning around.

Note:  If a player changes his decision to play forehand, to a backhand, with the ball passing in front of him, it is NOT Turning

The Swingers Club – A Reasonable Swing

Reasonable – is an elastic word, influenced  by perception, and players swings do differ, particularly amongst women. The best tip in terms of “defining” reasonable is to watch the Warm Up, and identify the 2 players , regular swing.

Other things to understand:

The player striking the ball has the right to play the ball at whatever stage he wants, even if it disadvantages him. His opponent must get out of the way.

The measure of how actively that opponent is attempting to clear the swing will influence the decision.

Minimal interference (where the shot is not really affected) does not automatically demand a stroke. A good guide is: Prevention of Swing = Stroke. Interference of Swing = Let

Too often, Referees’ focus is on the clash of bodies. What they should be looking at is the position of the ball, in relation to those clashing bodies

While Swinging Clubs, and swinging racquets and turners and Turncoats will forever cause dissension, with more understanding of these rules,  the Long March to the Freedom of competitive, but  friendly league evenings may become a reality.

I have a dream !!

                                                                **************************************

EP Squash Conundrum

If EP Squash can return 3 Gold medals, 4 Silvers and 8 Bronze medals from the Under-age Inter-Provincials, and have the following players ranked in the Top 10 in their age -groups:

Girls U/ 19: No 3 Lumé Landman, No 2 Elani Landman

Boys U/19: No 5 Jarryd Terblanche

Girls U/16: N 5 Ashleigh Schepers, No 1 Kacey-Leigh Dodd

Boys U16: No 8 Jethro Thornburn

Girls U/14: No 8 Hannah Knott-Craig, No 5 Aimee-Leigh Pote

Boys U/14: No 8 Dewald van Niekerk, No 2 Daine Kruger

And produce the 2 players ( Jarryd Terblanche and Elani Landman) rated as the Most Promising Male and Female  at the Jarvis/Kaplan Inter Provincial,

Why did our senior Inter-Provincial sides produce arguably, our worst results ever at the 2011 tournament ?

                                *********************************************

And while our Provincial players battled, successfully and unsuccessfully, the core of EP Squash shivered during the break , with Derek Calitz de-faulting his way to victory at the Woolstaplers Tournament, Karen Schepers adding Gold to her cabinet at the EP Handicap Tournament and Neale Emslie, weaved his magic at the Walmer Classic.

Apologies: Carol Botha, the Cornerstone of Londt Park Squash was also awarded an Honours Award at the recent Squash SA Awards dinner, but was omitted from last month’s column

And the 2^nd Half of the League Season, with all its twists, and turns, and swings, and see saws and sagas continue ……

 Balls to the Wall: I have a Dream to a A Few Small Steps to Freedom

Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King were visionaries. Mandela’s “ Long Walk to Freedom” has  inspired many to change their views and perspectives. Once demonised, he was despised, hunted, hated, abused and cursed, because he made decisions based on how he saw life from his perspective .  He stood his ground, was firm, assertive and courageous but, he also developed the ability to see things from a different perspective . Thankfully, he is now lionised, and respected, and in my humble view,  Madiba is the pride of every single South African .

Squash Referees  also walk a long road to freedom. They too, are sometimes  despised,  abused and cursed because of decisions they  make from their high chair , and their view of events, which is very different from the players, and the majority of spectators.  Referees make decisions based on their knowledge of the rules and with the hope of facilitating a fair game. Sadly, their  decisions are probably guaranteed to displease most of the crowd, all of the time.

And as much as Mandela and King were visionaries, so Squash Referees are also expected to be, visionary. No other sport demands a knowledge of the rules, PLUS the ability to:

 1) predict the future,

 2) predict the players’ intentions

 3) predict players’ relative speed and skills.

 Because of this, refereeing Squash is arguably far more difficult than other sports where decisions are made on what has already happened, where the referee can “coach” the players and where they have assistance of linesmen, line judges, hawk-eye and the like

Those players and spectators, ( and this is probably true of all sports), have probably, never read the rules, attended a seminar or debated the rules within context of the Rulebook. And as effective as the propaganda/education  of the apartheid system was, where many myths were propagated that eventually became part of many people’s belief systems, so a whole Rule Book of Myths relating to squash has evolved in the cold and echoing hallways and bars of Squash Court fiefdom. As the apartheid system blanketed people in a false sense of security, so these squash myths envelop  squash players in a similar blanket of false knowledge. And this blanket eventually causes much crying, wailing and gnashing of teeth as perceptions and bodies clash.

Let me take your hand and walk you through a real-league experience to illustrate the ugliness of these  clashes  of perception. This match, ironically, and thankfully , was between 2 sides from the same club so many of the deep-heated scars could be iced, beered,  bi-oiled and massaged back to friendship. Names and places have been changed to protect innocent people involved

“Then it was the war-horse, the Master against the Leader, the captain of the clan . And a merry time was had, as the Cee’s crept ahead with the 1^st game to the Captain. Matters were leveled by the Master, but with a new Ref in control, all was tense as they tussled, teasing each other with cunning stunts of deception and lobbing floats. Then thunder dondered. Loud. Lightning flashed. The night turned black, as the Veteran, supposedly  "TURNED", and the mood turned as a stroke was awarded. All hell broke loose. Between brutal persuasion and discussion, the Captain trying to turn the decision, was punished for dissension. At 1-2 down and 1-9 down , the Captain turned his brain back on, and the tussle was turned back on, but the Veteran, just tugged through. Off court, debates, diagnoses and discussion returned to turning and what-is-turning, and what is not-turning, but the world continued turning while the heated discussions kept on turning into the steaming showers and onto the beer-laden tables.

Then focus swung back to the courts, and it was down to the wire, as the Number 4’s unleashed their left handed swings and flailings on each other. Now, with that same veteran, sitting on his High Referee’s Horse, the combatants were far from comfortable as bodies bashed, balls flew, and curses collided as the normally peaceful , placid one, muttered, moaned, huffed and puffed as backswings and follow -through fights filled the Squash Courted Castle with tension. Eventually, the Aze sneaked in. But the air was icy on a night which is best, soon forgotten.”

So how do we prevent these  skirmishes of ugliness ? Once that Competitiveness Edge boils over, it becomes as ugly and as unreasonable as the anger created by the apartheid system.  Ideally, ( but someone will probably have to spend another 27 years in jail to change this), we need to change the Mind Set of South African Sports lovers - That Belief, that if their side lost, it is FIRST, the Ref that was to blame, and then, maybe, possibly, their side also played kak.

But Squash Referees also need to get it right, and the quickest march to this freedom from abuse, is to read and digest Rule 12 , the Interference Rule, and develop  an understanding of The 4 Freedoms of the Squash Court

1.       The Freedom to a FAIR VIEW of the ball … on rebound from the front wall

2.       The Freedom to direct, and unobstructed access to the ball after completion of a reasonable follow through

3.       The Freedom to a FAIR, and REASONABLE swing ( maybe this should read, Regular)

4.       Freedom to play the ball directly to any part of the front wall

Finally, understand that the rules have not changed dramatically, and the Only rule that has changed, is the rule related to Turning . Space precludes discussion on all of the above, so let’s just talk about the Turning and Swinging  that can turn lives, and squash league evenings, sour.

TURNING

In a rally, (and this applies to the return of service as well) , if a player strikes the ball directly towards the front wall and it hits his opponent , it is a stroke to the Striker of the Ball. If that ball is headed for the side wall, it is a let

However, if the player, allows the ball to pass around him and he turns around, either physically, or mentally, and plays the ball  which strikes the opponent, it is a stroke to the opponent ( as consolation for that blue-yellow bone-sucking bruise he now boasts)

Physical Turning = literally turning around and following the ball as it moves behind and around you. (It’s  easier to demonstrate than describe)

Mental Turning = allowing the ball to move behind and around you , without physically turning around.

Note:  If a player changes his decision to play forehand, to a backhand, with the ball passing in front of him, it is NOT Turning

The Swingers Club – A Reasonable Swing

Reasonable – is an elastic word, influenced  by perception, and players swings do differ, particularly amongst women. The best tip in terms of “defining” reasonable is to watch the Warm Up, and identify the 2 players , regular swing.

Other things to understand:

The player striking the ball has the right to play the ball at whatever stage he wants, even if it disadvantages him. His opponent must get out of the way.

The measure of how actively that opponent is attempting to clear the swing will influence the decision.

Minimal interference (where the shot is not really affected) does not automatically demand a stroke. A good guide is: Prevention of Swing = Stroke. Interference of Swing = Let

Too often, Referees’ focus is on the clash of bodies. What they should be looking at is the position of the ball, in relation to those clashing bodies

While Swinging Clubs, and swinging racquets and turners and Turncoats will forever cause dissension, with more understanding of these rules,  the Long March to the Freedom of competitive, but  friendly league evenings may become a reality.

I have a dream !!

                                                                **************************************

EP Squash Conundrum

If EP Squash can return 3 Gold medals, 4 Silvers and 8 Bronze medals from the Under-age Inter-Provincials, and have the following players ranked in the Top 10 in their age -groups:

Girls U/ 19: No 3 Lumé Landman, No 2 Elani Landman

Boys U/19: No 5 Jarryd Terblanche

Girls U/16: N 5 Ashleigh Schepers, No 1 Kacey-Leigh Dodd

Boys U16: No 8 Jethro Thornburn

Girls U/14: No 8 Hannah Knott-Craig, No 5 Aimee-Leigh Pote

Boys U/14: No 8 Dewald van Niekerk, No 2 Daine Kruger

And produce the 2 players ( Jarryd Terblanche and Elani Landman) rated as the Most Promising Male and Female  at the Jarvis/Kaplan Inter Provincial,

Why did our senior Inter-Provincial sides produce arguably, our worst results ever at the 2011 tournament ?

                                *********************************************

And while our Provincial players battled, successfully and unsuccessfully, the core of EP Squash shivered during the break , with Derek Calitz de-faulting his way to victory at the Woolstaplers Tournament, Karen Schepers adding Gold to her cabinet at the EP Handicap Tournament and Neale Emslie, weaved his magic at the Walmer Classic.

Apologies: Carol Botha, the Cornerstone of Londt Park Squash was also awarded an Honours Award at the recent Squash SA Awards dinner, but was omitted from last month’s column

And the 2^nd Half of the League Season, with all its twists, and turns, and swings, and see saws and sagas continue ……

 Balls to the Wall: I have a Dream to a A Few Small Steps to Freedom

Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King were visionaries. Mandela’s “ Long Walk to Freedom” has  inspired many to change their views and perspectives. Once demonised, he was despised, hunted, hated, abused and cursed, because he made decisions based on how he saw life from his perspective .  He stood his ground, was firm, assertive and courageous but, he also developed the ability to see things from a different perspective . Thankfully, he is now lionised, and respected, and in my humble view,  Madiba is the pride of every single South African .

Squash Referees  also walk a long road to freedom. They too, are sometimes  despised,  abused and cursed because of decisions they  make from their high chair , and their view of events, which is very different from the players, and the majority of spectators.  Referees make decisions based on their knowledge of the rules and with the hope of facilitating a fair game. Sadly, their  decisions are probably guaranteed to displease most of the crowd, all of the time.

And as much as Mandela and King were visionaries, so Squash Referees are also expected to be, visionary. No other sport demands a knowledge of the rules, PLUS the ability to:

 1) predict the future,

 2) predict the players’ intentions

 3) predict players’ relative speed and skills.

 Because of this, refereeing Squash is arguably far more difficult than other sports where decisions are made on what has already happened, where the referee can “coach” the players and where they have assistance of linesmen, line judges, hawk-eye and the like

Those players and spectators, ( and this is probably true of all sports), have probably, never read the rules, attended a seminar or debated the rules within context of the Rulebook. And as effective as the propaganda/education  of the apartheid system was, where many myths were propagated that eventually became part of many people’s belief systems, so a whole Rule Book of Myths relating to squash has evolved in the cold and echoing hallways and bars of Squash Court fiefdom. As the apartheid system blanketed people in a false sense of security, so these squash myths envelop  squash players in a similar blanket of false knowledge. And this blanket eventually causes much crying, wailing and gnashing of teeth as perceptions and bodies clash.

Let me take your hand and walk you through a real-league experience to illustrate the ugliness of these  clashes  of perception. This match, ironically, and thankfully , was between 2 sides from the same club so many of the deep-heated scars could be iced, beered,  bi-oiled and massaged back to friendship. Names and places have been changed to protect innocent people involved

“Then it was the war-horse, the Master against the Leader, the captain of the clan . And a merry time was had, as the Cee’s crept ahead with the 1^st game to the Captain. Matters were leveled by the Master, but with a new Ref in control, all was tense as they tussled, teasing each other with cunning stunts of deception and lobbing floats. Then thunder dondered. Loud. Lightning flashed. The night turned black, as the Veteran, supposedly  "TURNED", and the mood turned as a stroke was awarded. All hell broke loose. Between brutal persuasion and discussion, the Captain trying to turn the decision, was punished for dissension. At 1-2 down and 1-9 down , the Captain turned his brain back on, and the tussle was turned back on, but the Veteran, just tugged through. Off court, debates, diagnoses and discussion returned to turning and what-is-turning, and what is not-turning, but the world continued turning while the heated discussions kept on turning into the steaming showers and onto the beer-laden tables.

Then focus swung back to the courts, and it was down to the wire, as the Number 4’s unleashed their left handed swings and flailings on each other. Now, with that same veteran, sitting on his High Referee’s Horse, the combatants were far from comfortable as bodies bashed, balls flew, and curses collided as the normally peaceful , placid one, muttered, moaned, huffed and puffed as backswings and follow -through fights filled the Squash Courted Castle with tension. Eventually, the Aze sneaked in. But the air was icy on a night which is best, soon forgotten.”

So how do we prevent these  skirmishes of ugliness ? Once that Competitiveness Edge boils over, it becomes as ugly and as unreasonable as the anger created by the apartheid system.  Ideally, ( but someone will probably have to spend another 27 years in jail to change this), we need to change the Mind Set of South African Sports lovers - That Belief, that if their side lost, it is FIRST, the Ref that was to blame, and then, maybe, possibly, their side also played kak.

But Squash Referees also need to get it right, and the quickest march to this freedom from abuse, is to read and digest Rule 12 , the Interference Rule, and develop  an understanding of The 4 Freedoms of the Squash Court

1.       The Freedom to a FAIR VIEW of the ball … on rebound from the front wall

2.       The Freedom to direct, and unobstructed access to the ball after completion of a reasonable follow through

3.       The Freedom to a FAIR, and REASONABLE swing ( maybe this should read, Regular)

4.       Freedom to play the ball directly to any part of the front wall

Finally, understand that the rules have not changed dramatically, and the Only rule that has changed, is the rule related to Turning . Space precludes discussion on all of the above, so let’s just talk about the Turning and Swinging  that can turn lives, and squash league evenings, sour.

TURNING

In a rally, (and this applies to the return of service as well) , if a player strikes the ball directly towards the front wall and it hits his opponent , it is a stroke to the Striker of the Ball. If that ball is headed for the side wall, it is a let

However, if the player, allows the ball to pass around him and he turns around, either physically, or mentally, and plays the ball  which strikes the opponent, it is a stroke to the opponent ( as consolation for that blue-yellow bone-sucking bruise he now boasts)

Physical Turning = literally turning around and following the ball as it moves behind and around you. (It’s  easier to demonstrate than describe)

Mental Turning = allowing the ball to move behind and around you , without physically turning around.

Note:  If a player changes his decision to play forehand, to a backhand, with the ball passing in front of him, it is NOT Turning

The Swingers Club – A Reasonable Swing

Reasonable – is an elastic word, influenced  by perception, and players swings do differ, particularly amongst women. The best tip in terms of “defining” reasonable is to watch the Warm Up, and identify the 2 players , regular swing.

Other things to understand:

The player striking the ball has the right to play the ball at whatever stage he wants, even if it disadvantages him. His opponent must get out of the way.

The measure of how actively that opponent is attempting to clear the swing will influence the decision.

Minimal interference (where the shot is not really affected) does not automatically demand a stroke. A good guide is: Prevention of Swing = Stroke. Interference of Swing = Let

Too often, Referees’ focus is on the clash of bodies. What they should be looking at is the position of the ball, in relation to those clashing bodies

While Swinging Clubs, and swinging racquets and turners and Turncoats will forever cause dissension, with more understanding of these rules,  the Long March to the Freedom of competitive, but  friendly league evenings may become a reality.

I have a dream !!

                                                                **************************************

EP Squash Conundrum

If EP Squash can return 3 Gold medals, 4 Silvers and 8 Bronze medals from the Under-age Inter-Provincials, and have the following players ranked in the Top 10 in their age -groups:

Girls U/ 19: No 3 Lumé Landman, No 2 Elani Landman

Boys U/19: No 5 Jarryd Terblanche

Girls U/16: N 5 Ashleigh Schepers, No 1 Kacey-Leigh Dodd

Boys U16: No 8 Jethro Thornburn

Girls U/14: No 8 Hannah Knott-Craig, No 5 Aimee-Leigh Pote

Boys U/14: No 8 Dewald van Niekerk, No 2 Daine Kruger

And produce the 2 players ( Jarryd Terblanche and Elani Landman) rated as the Most Promising Male and Female  at the Jarvis/Kaplan Inter Provincial,

Why did our senior Inter-Provincial sides produce arguably, our worst results ever at the 2011 tournament ?

                                *********************************************

And while our Provincial players battled, successfully and unsuccessfully, the core of EP Squash shivered during the break , with Derek Calitz de-faulting his way to victory at the Woolstaplers Tournament, Karen Schepers adding Gold to her cabinet at the EP Handicap Tournament and Neale Emslie, weaved his magic at the Walmer Classic.

Apologies: Carol Botha, the Cornerstone of Londt Park Squash was also awarded an Honours Award at the recent Squash SA Awards dinner, but was omitted from last month’s column

And the 2^nd Half of the League Season, with all its twists, and turns, and swings, and see saws and sagas continue ……

 Balls to the Wall: I have a Dream to a A Few Small Steps to Freedom

Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King were visionaries. Mandela’s “ Long Walk to Freedom” has  inspired many to change their views and perspectives. Once demonised, he was despised, hunted, hated, abused and cursed, because he made decisions based on how he saw life from his perspective .  He stood his ground, was firm, assertive and courageous but, he also developed the ability to see things from a different perspective . Thankfully, he is now lionised, and respected, and in my humble view,  Madiba is the pride of every single South African .

Squash Referees  also walk a long road to freedom. They too, are sometimes  despised,  abused and cursed because of decisions they  make from their high chair , and their view of events, which is very different from the players, and the majority of spectators.  Referees make decisions based on their knowledge of the rules and with the hope of facilitating a fair game. Sadly, their  decisions are probably guaranteed to displease most of the crowd, all of the time.

And as much as Mandela and King were visionaries, so Squash Referees are also expected to be, visionary. No other sport demands a knowledge of the rules, PLUS the ability to:

 1) predict the future,

 2) predict the players’ intentions

 3) predict players’ relative speed and skills.

 Because of this, refereeing Squash is arguably far more difficult than other sports where decisions are made on what has already happened, where the referee can “coach” the players and where they have assistance of linesmen, line judges, hawk-eye and the like

Those players and spectators, ( and this is probably true of all sports), have probably, never read the rules, attended a seminar or debated the rules within context of the Rulebook. And as effective as the propaganda/education  of the apartheid system was, where many myths were propagated that eventually became part of many people’s belief systems, so a whole Rule Book of Myths relating to squash has evolved in the cold and echoing hallways and bars of Squash Court fiefdom. As the apartheid system blanketed people in a false sense of security, so these squash myths envelop  squash players in a similar blanket of false knowledge. And this blanket eventually causes much crying, wailing and gnashing of teeth as perceptions and bodies clash.

Let me take your hand and walk you through a real-league experience to illustrate the ugliness of these  clashes  of perception. This match, ironically, and thankfully , was between 2 sides from the same club so many of the deep-heated scars could be iced, beered,  bi-oiled and massaged back to friendship. Names and places have been changed to protect innocent people involved

“Then it was the war-horse, the Master against the Leader, the captain of the clan . And a merry time was had, as the Cee’s crept ahead with the 1^st game to the Captain. Matters were leveled by the Master, but with a new Ref in control, all was tense as they tussled, teasing each other with cunning stunts of deception and lobbing floats. Then thunder dondered. Loud. Lightning flashed. The night turned black, as the Veteran, supposedly  "TURNED", and the mood turned as a stroke was awarded. All hell broke loose. Between brutal persuasion and discussion, the Captain trying to turn the decision, was punished for dissension. At 1-2 down and 1-9 down , the Captain turned his brain back on, and the tussle was turned back on, but the Veteran, just tugged through. Off court, debates, diagnoses and discussion returned to turning and what-is-turning, and what is not-turning, but the world continued turning while the heated discussions kept on turning into the steaming showers and onto the beer-laden tables.

Then focus swung back to the courts, and it was down to the wire, as the Number 4’s unleashed their left handed swings and flailings on each other. Now, with that same veteran, sitting on his High Referee’s Horse, the combatants were far from comfortable as bodies bashed, balls flew, and curses collided as the normally peaceful , placid one, muttered, moaned, huffed and puffed as backswings and follow -through fights filled the Squash Courted Castle with tension. Eventually, the Aze sneaked in. But the air was icy on a night which is best, soon forgotten.”

So how do we prevent these  skirmishes of ugliness ? Once that Competitiveness Edge boils over, it becomes as ugly and as unreasonable as the anger created by the apartheid system.  Ideally, ( but someone will probably have to spend another 27 years in jail to change this), we need to change the Mind Set of South African Sports lovers - That Belief, that if their side lost, it is FIRST, the Ref that was to blame, and then, maybe, possibly, their side also played kak.

But Squash Referees also need to get it right, and the quickest march to this freedom from abuse, is to read and digest Rule 12 , the Interference Rule, and develop  an understanding of The 4 Freedoms of the Squash Court

1.       The Freedom to a FAIR VIEW of the ball … on rebound from the front wall

2.       The Freedom to direct, and unobstructed access to the ball after completion of a reasonable follow through

3.       The Freedom to a FAIR, and REASONABLE swing ( maybe this should read, Regular)

4.       Freedom to play the ball directly to any part of the front wall

Finally, understand that the rules have not changed dramatically, and the Only rule that has changed, is the rule related to Turning . Space precludes discussion on all of the above, so let’s just talk about the Turning and Swinging  that can turn lives, and squash league evenings, sour.

TURNING

In a rally, (and this applies to the return of service as well) , if a player strikes the ball directly towards the front wall and it hits his opponent , it is a stroke to the Striker of the Ball. If that ball is headed for the side wall, it is a let

However, if the player, allows the ball to pass around him and he turns around, either physically, or mentally, and plays the ball  which strikes the opponent, it is a stroke to the opponent ( as consolation for that blue-yellow bone-sucking bruise he now boasts)

Physical Turning = literally turning around and following the ball as it moves behind and around you. (It’s  easier to demonstrate than describe)

Mental Turning = allowing the ball to move behind and around you , without physically turning around.

Note:  If a player changes his decision to play forehand, to a backhand, with the ball passing in front of him, it is NOT Turning

The Swingers Club – A Reasonable Swing

Reasonable – is an elastic word, influenced  by perception, and players swings do differ, particularly amongst women. The best tip in terms of “defining” reasonable is to watch the Warm Up, and identify the 2 players , regular swing.

Other things to understand:

The player striking the ball has the right to play the ball at whatever stage he wants, even if it disadvantages him. His opponent must get out of the way.

The measure of how actively that opponent is attempting to clear the swing will influence the decision.

Minimal interference (where the shot is not really affected) does not automatically demand a stroke. A good guide is: Prevention of Swing = Stroke. Interference of Swing = Let

Too often, Referees’ focus is on the clash of bodies. What they should be looking at is the position of the ball, in relation to those clashing bodies

While Swinging Clubs, and swinging racquets and turners and Turncoats will forever cause dissension, with more understanding of these rules,  the Long March to the Freedom of competitive, but  friendly league evenings may become a reality.

I have a dream !!

                                                                **************************************

EP Squash Conundrum

If EP Squash can return 3 Gold medals, 4 Silvers and 8 Bronze medals from the Under-age Inter-Provincials, and have the following players ranked in the Top 10 in their age -groups:

Girls U/ 19: No 3 Lumé Landman, No 2 Elani Landman

Boys U/19: No 5 Jarryd Terblanche

Girls U/16: N 5 Ashleigh Schepers, No 1 Kacey-Leigh Dodd

Boys U16: No 8 Jethro Thornburn

Girls U/14: No 8 Hannah Knott-Craig, No 5 Aimee-Leigh Pote

Boys U/14: No 8 Dewald van Niekerk, No 2 Daine Kruger

And produce the 2 players ( Jarryd Terblanche and Elani Landman) rated as the Most Promising Male and Female  at the Jarvis/Kaplan Inter Provincial,

Why did our senior Inter-Provincial sides produce arguably, our worst results ever at the 2011 tournament ?

                                *********************************************

And while our Provincial players battled, successfully and unsuccessfully, the core of EP Squash shivered during the break , with Derek Calitz de-faulting his way to victory at the Woolstaplers Tournament, Karen Schepers adding Gold to her cabinet at the EP Handicap Tournament and Neale Emslie, weaved his magic at the Walmer Classic.

Apologies: Carol Botha, the Cornerstone of Londt Park Squash was also awarded an Honours Award at the recent Squash SA Awards dinner, but was omitted from last month’s column

And the 2^nd Half of the League Season, with all its twists, and turns, and swings, and see saws and sagas continue ……

 Balls to the Wall: I have a Dream to a A Few Small Steps to Freedom

Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King were visionaries. Mandela’s “ Long Walk to Freedom” has  inspired many to change their views and perspectives. Once demonised, he was despised, hunted, hated, abused and cursed, because he made decisions based on how he saw life from his perspective .  He stood his ground, was firm, assertive and courageous but, he also developed the ability to see things from a different perspective . Thankfully, he is now lionised, and respected, and in my humble view,  Madiba is the pride of every single South African .

Squash Referees  also walk a long road to freedom. They too, are sometimes  despised,  abused and cursed because of decisions they  make from their high chair , and their view of events, which is very different from the players, and the majority of spectators.  Referees make decisions based on their knowledge of the rules and with the hope of facilitating a fair game. Sadly, their  decisions are probably guaranteed to displease most of the crowd, all of the time.

And as much as Mandela and King were visionaries, so Squash Referees are also expected to be, visionary. No other sport demands a knowledge of the rules, PLUS the ability to:

 1) predict the future,

 2) predict the players’ intentions

 3) predict players’ relative speed and skills.

 Because of this, refereeing Squash is arguably far more difficult than other sports where decisions are made on what has already happened, where the referee can “coach” the players and where they have assistance of linesmen, line judges, hawk-eye and the like

Those players and spectators, ( and this is probably true of all sports), have probably, never read the rules, attended a seminar or debated the rules within context of the Rulebook. And as effective as the propaganda/education  of the apartheid system was, where many myths were propagated that eventually became part of many people’s belief systems, so a whole Rule Book of Myths relating to squash has evolved in the cold and echoing hallways and bars of Squash Court fiefdom. As the apartheid system blanketed people in a false sense of security, so these squash myths envelop  squash players in a similar blanket of false knowledge. And this blanket eventually causes much crying, wailing and gnashing of teeth as perceptions and bodies clash.

Let me take your hand and walk you through a real-league experience to illustrate the ugliness of these  clashes  of perception. This match, ironically, and thankfully , was between 2 sides from the same club so many of the deep-heated scars could be iced, beered,  bi-oiled and massaged back to friendship. Names and places have been changed to protect innocent people involved

“Then it was the war-horse, the Master against the Leader, the captain of the clan . And a merry time was had, as the Cee’s crept ahead with the 1^st game to the Captain. Matters were leveled by the Master, but with a new Ref in control, all was tense as they tussled, teasing each other with cunning stunts of deception and lobbing floats. Then thunder dondered. Loud. Lightning flashed. The night turned black, as the Veteran, supposedly  "TURNED", and the mood turned as a stroke was awarded. All hell broke loose. Between brutal persuasion and discussion, the Captain trying to turn the decision, was punished for dissension. At 1-2 down and 1-9 down , the Captain turned his brain back on, and the tussle was turned back on, but the Veteran, just tugged through. Off court, debates, diagnoses and discussion returned to turning and what-is-turning, and what is not-turning, but the world continued turning while the heated discussions kept on turning into the steaming showers and onto the beer-laden tables.

Then focus swung back to the courts, and it was down to the wire, as the Number 4’s unleashed their left handed swings and flailings on each other. Now, with that same veteran, sitting on his High Referee’s Horse, the combatants were far from comfortable as bodies bashed, balls flew, and curses collided as the normally peaceful , placid one, muttered, moaned, huffed and puffed as backswings and follow -through fights filled the Squash Courted Castle with tension. Eventually, the Aze sneaked in. But the air was icy on a night which is best, soon forgotten.”

So how do we prevent these  skirmishes of ugliness ? Once that Competitiveness Edge boils over, it becomes as ugly and as unreasonable as the anger created by the apartheid system.  Ideally, ( but someone will probably have to spend another 27 years in jail to change this), we need to change the Mind Set of South African Sports lovers - That Belief, that if their side lost, it is FIRST, the Ref that was to blame, and then, maybe, possibly, their side also played kak.

But Squash Referees also need to get it right, and the quickest march to this freedom from abuse, is to read and digest Rule 12 , the Interference Rule, and develop  an understanding of The 4 Freedoms of the Squash Court

1.       The Freedom to a FAIR VIEW of the ball … on rebound from the front wall

2.       The Freedom to direct, and unobstructed access to the ball after completion of a reasonable follow through

3.       The Freedom to a FAIR, and REASONABLE swing ( maybe this should read, Regular)

4.       Freedom to play the ball directly to any part of the front wall

Finally, understand that the rules have not changed dramatically, and the Only rule that has changed, is the rule related to Turning . Space precludes discussion on all of the above, so let’s just talk about the Turning and Swinging  that can turn lives, and squash league evenings, sour.

TURNING

In a rally, (and this applies to the return of service as well) , if a player strikes the ball directly towards the front wall and it hits his opponent , it is a stroke to the Striker of the Ball. If that ball is headed for the side wall, it is a let

However, if the player, allows the ball to pass around him and he turns around, either physically, or mentally, and plays the ball  which strikes the opponent, it is a stroke to the opponent ( as consolation for that blue-yellow bone-sucking bruise he now boasts)

Physical Turning = literally turning around and following the ball as it moves behind and around you. (It’s  easier to demonstrate than describe)

Mental Turning = allowing the ball to move behind and around you , without physically turning around.

Note:  If a player changes his decision to play forehand, to a backhand, with the ball passing in front of him, it is NOT Turning

The Swingers Club – A Reasonable Swing

Reasonable – is an elastic word, influenced  by perception, and players swings do differ, particularly amongst women. The best tip in terms of “defining” reasonable is to watch the Warm Up, and identify the 2 players , regular swing.

Other things to understand:

The player striking the ball has the right to play the ball at whatever stage he wants, even if it disadvantages him. His opponent must get out of the way.

The measure of how actively that opponent is attempting to clear the swing will influence the decision.

Minimal interference (where the shot is not really affected) does not automatically demand a stroke. A good guide is: Prevention of Swing = Stroke. Interference of Swing = Let

Too often, Referees’ focus is on the clash of bodies. What they should be looking at is the position of the ball, in relation to those clashing bodies

While Swinging Clubs, and swinging racquets and turners and Turncoats will forever cause dissension, with more understanding of these rules,  the Long March to the Freedom of competitive, but  friendly league evenings may become a reality.

I have a dream !!

                                                                **************************************

EP Squash Conundrum

If EP Squash can return 3 Gold medals, 4 Silvers and 8 Bronze medals from the Under-age Inter-Provincials, and have the following players ranked in the Top 10 in their age -groups:

Girls U/ 19: No 3 Lumé Landman, No 2 Elani Landman

Boys U/19: No 5 Jarryd Terblanche

Girls U/16: N 5 Ashleigh Schepers, No 1 Kacey-Leigh Dodd

Boys U16: No 8 Jethro Thornburn

Girls U/14: No 8 Hannah Knott-Craig, No 5 Aimee-Leigh Pote

Boys U/14: No 8 Dewald van Niekerk, No 2 Daine Kruger

And produce the 2 players ( Jarryd Terblanche and Elani Landman) rated as the Most Promising Male and Female  at the Jarvis/Kaplan Inter Provincial,

Why did our senior Inter-Provincial sides produce arguably, our worst results ever at the 2011 tournament ?

                                *********************************************

And while our Provincial players battled, successfully and unsuccessfully, the core of EP Squash shivered during the break , with Derek Calitz de-faulting his way to victory at the Woolstaplers Tournament, Karen Schepers adding Gold to her cabinet at the EP Handicap Tournament and Neale Emslie, weaved his magic at the Walmer Classic.

Apologies: Carol Botha, the Cornerstone of Londt Park Squash was also awarded an Honours Award at the recent Squash SA Awards dinner, but was omitted from last month’s column

And the 2^nd Half of the League Season, with all its twists, and turns, and swings, and see saws and sagas continue ……

 Balls to the Wall: I have a Dream to a A Few Small Steps to Freedom

Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King were visionaries. Mandela’s “ Long Walk to Freedom” has  inspired many to change their views and perspectives. Once demonised, he was despised, hunted, hated, abused and cursed, because he made decisions based on how he saw life from his perspective .  He stood his ground, was firm, assertive and courageous but, he also developed the ability to see things from a different perspective . Thankfully, he is now lionised, and respected, and in my humble view,  Madiba is the pride of every single South African .

Squash Referees  also walk a long road to freedom. They too, are sometimes  despised,  abused and cursed because of decisions they  make from their high chair , and their view of events, which is very different from the players, and the majority of spectators.  Referees make decisions based on their knowledge of the rules and with the hope of facilitating a fair game. Sadly, their  decisions are probably guaranteed to displease most of the crowd, all of the time.

And as much as Mandela and King were visionaries, so Squash Referees are also expected to be, visionary. No other sport demands a knowledge of the rules, PLUS the ability to:

 1) predict the future,

 2) predict the players’ intentions

 3) predict players’ relative speed and skills.

 Because of this, refereeing Squash is arguably far more difficult than other sports where decisions are made on what has already happened, where the referee can “coach” the players and where they have assistance of linesmen, line judges, hawk-eye and the like

Those players and spectators, ( and this is probably true of all sports), have probably, never read the rules, attended a seminar or debated the rules within context of the Rulebook. And as effective as the propaganda/education  of the apartheid system was, where many myths were propagated that eventually became part of many people’s belief systems, so a whole Rule Book of Myths relating to squash has evolved in the cold and echoing hallways and bars of Squash Court fiefdom. As the apartheid system blanketed people in a false sense of security, so these squash myths envelop  squash players in a similar blanket of false knowledge. And this blanket eventually causes much crying, wailing and gnashing of teeth as perceptions and bodies clash.

Let me take your hand and walk you through a real-league experience to illustrate the ugliness of these  clashes  of perception. This match, ironically, and thankfully , was between 2 sides from the same club so many of the deep-heated scars could be iced, beered,  bi-oiled and massaged back to friendship. Names and places have been changed to protect innocent people involved

“Then it was the war-horse, the Master against the Leader, the captain of the clan . And a merry time was had, as the Cee’s crept ahead with the 1^st game to the Captain. Matters were leveled by the Master, but with a new Ref in control, all was tense as they tussled, teasing each other with cunning stunts of deception and lobbing floats. Then thunder dondered. Loud. Lightning flashed. The night turned black, as the Veteran, supposedly  "TURNED", and the mood turned as a stroke was awarded. All hell broke loose. Between brutal persuasion and discussion, the Captain trying to turn the decision, was punished for dissension. At 1-2 down and 1-9 down , the Captain turned his brain back on, and the tussle was turned back on, but the Veteran, just tugged through. Off court, debates, diagnoses and discussion returned to turning and what-is-turning, and what is not-turning, but the world continued turning while the heated discussions kept on turning into the steaming showers and onto the beer-laden tables.

Then focus swung back to the courts, and it was down to the wire, as the Number 4’s unleashed their left handed swings and flailings on each other. Now, with that same veteran, sitting on his High Referee’s Horse, the combatants were far from comfortable as bodies bashed, balls flew, and curses collided as the normally peaceful , placid one, muttered, moaned, huffed and puffed as backswings and follow -through fights filled the Squash Courted Castle with tension. Eventually, the Aze sneaked in. But the air was icy on a night which is best, soon forgotten.”

So how do we prevent these  skirmishes of ugliness ? Once that Competitiveness Edge boils over, it becomes as ugly and as unreasonable as the anger created by the apartheid system.  Ideally, ( but someone will probably have to spend another 27 years in jail to change this), we need to change the Mind Set of South African Sports lovers - That Belief, that if their side lost, it is FIRST, the Ref that was to blame, and then, maybe, possibly, their side also played kak.

But Squash Referees also need to get it right, and the quickest march to this freedom from abuse, is to read and digest Rule 12 , the Interference Rule, and develop  an understanding of The 4 Freedoms of the Squash Court

1.       The Freedom to a FAIR VIEW of the ball … on rebound from the front wall

2.       The Freedom to direct, and unobstructed access to the ball after completion of a reasonable follow through

3.       The Freedom to a FAIR, and REASONABLE swing ( maybe this should read, Regular)

4.       Freedom to play the ball directly to any part of the front wall

Finally, understand that the rules have not changed dramatically, and the Only rule that has changed, is the rule related to Turning . Space precludes discussion on all of the above, so let’s just talk about the Turning and Swinging  that can turn lives, and squash league evenings, sour.

TURNING

In a rally, (and this applies to the return of service as well) , if a player strikes the ball directly towards the front wall and it hits his opponent , it is a stroke to the Striker of the Ball. If that ball is headed for the side wall, it is a let

However, if the player, allows the ball to pass around him and he turns around, either physically, or mentally, and plays the ball  which strikes the opponent, it is a stroke to the opponent ( as consolation for that blue-yellow bone-sucking bruise he now boasts)

Physical Turning = literally turning around and following the ball as it moves behind and around you. (It’s  easier to demonstrate than describe)

Mental Turning = allowing the ball to move behind and around you , without physically turning around.

Note:  If a player changes his decision to play forehand, to a backhand, with the ball passing in front of him, it is NOT Turning

The Swingers Club – A Reasonable Swing

Reasonable – is an elastic word, influenced  by perception, and players swings do differ, particularly amongst women. The best tip in terms of “defining” reasonable is to watch the Warm Up, and identify the 2 players , regular swing.

Other things to understand:

The player striking the ball has the right to play the ball at whatever stage he wants, even if it disadvantages him. His opponent must get out of the way.

The measure of how actively that opponent is attempting to clear the swing will influence the decision.

Minimal interference (where the shot is not really affected) does not automatically demand a stroke. A good guide is: Prevention of Swing = Stroke. Interference of Swing = Let

Too often, Referees’ focus is on the clash of bodies. What they should be looking at is the position of the ball, in relation to those clashing bodies

While Swinging Clubs, and swinging racquets and turners and Turncoats will forever cause dissension, with more understanding of these rules,  the Long March to the Freedom of competitive, but  friendly league evenings may become a reality.

I have a dream !!

                                                                **************************************

EP Squash Conundrum

If EP Squash can return 3 Gold medals, 4 Silvers and 8 Bronze medals from the Under-age Inter-Provincials, and have the following players ranked in the Top 10 in their age -groups:

Girls U/ 19: No 3 Lumé Landman, No 2 Elani Landman

Boys U/19: No 5 Jarryd Terblanche

Girls U/16: N 5 Ashleigh Schepers, No 1 Kacey-Leigh Dodd

Boys U16: No 8 Jethro Thornburn

Girls U/14: No 8 Hannah Knott-Craig, No 5 Aimee-Leigh Pote

Boys U/14: No 8 Dewald van Niekerk, No 2 Daine Kruger

And produce the 2 players ( Jarryd Terblanche and Elani Landman) rated as the Most Promising Male and Female  at the Jarvis/Kaplan Inter Provincial,

Why did our senior Inter-Provincial sides produce arguably, our worst results ever at the 2011 tournament ?

                                *********************************************

And while our Provincial players battled, successfully and unsuccessfully, the core of EP Squash shivered during the break , with Derek Calitz de-faulting his way to victory at the Woolstaplers Tournament, Karen Schepers adding Gold to her cabinet at the EP Handicap Tournament and Neale Emslie, weaved his magic at the Walmer Classic.

Apologies: Carol Botha, the Cornerstone of Londt Park Squash was also awarded an Honours Award at the recent Squash SA Awards dinner, but was omitted from last month’s column

And the 2^nd Half of the League Season, with all its twists, and turns, and swings, and see saws and sagas continue ……

 Balls to the Wall: I have a Dream to a A Few Small Steps to Freedom

Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King were visionaries. Mandela’s “ Long Walk to Freedom” has  inspired many to change their views and perspectives. Once demonised, he was despised, hunted, hated, abused and cursed, because he made decisions based on how he saw life from his perspective .  He stood his ground, was firm, assertive and courageous but, he also developed the ability to see things from a different perspective . Thankfully, he is now lionised, and respected, and in my humble view,  Madiba is the pride of every single South African .

Squash Referees  also walk a long road to freedom. They too, are sometimes  despised,  abused and cursed because of decisions they  make from their high chair , and their view of events, which is very different from the players, and the majority of spectators.  Referees make decisions based on their knowledge of the rules and with the hope of facilitating a fair game. Sadly, their  decisions are probably guaranteed to displease most of the crowd, all of the time.

And as much as Mandela and King were visionaries, so Squash Referees are also expected to be, visionary. No other sport demands a knowledge of the rules, PLUS the ability to:

 1) predict the future,

 2) predict the players’ intentions

 3) predict players’ relative speed and skills.

 Because of this, refereeing Squash is arguably far more difficult than other sports where decisions are made on what has already happened, where the referee can “coach” the players and where they have assistance of linesmen, line judges, hawk-eye and the like

Those players and spectators, ( and this is probably true of all sports), have probably, never read the rules, attended a seminar or debated the rules within context of the Rulebook. And as effective as the propaganda/education  of the apartheid system was, where many myths were propagated that eventually became part of many people’s belief systems, so a whole Rule Book of Myths relating to squash has evolved in the cold and echoing hallways and bars of Squash Court fiefdom. As the apartheid system blanketed people in a false sense of security, so these squash myths envelop  squash players in a similar blanket of false knowledge. And this blanket eventually causes much crying, wailing and gnashing of teeth as perceptions and bodies clash.

Let me take your hand and walk you through a real-league experience to illustrate the ugliness of these  clashes  of perception. This match, ironically, and thankfully , was between 2 sides from the same club so many of the deep-heated scars could be iced, beered,  bi-oiled and massaged back to friendship. Names and places have been changed to protect innocent people involved

“Then it was the war-horse, the Master against the Leader, the captain of the clan . And a merry time was had, as the Cee’s crept ahead with the 1^st game to the Captain. Matters were leveled by the Master, but with a new Ref in control, all was tense as they tussled, teasing each other with cunning stunts of deception and lobbing floats. Then thunder dondered. Loud. Lightning flashed. The night turned black, as the Veteran, supposedly  "TURNED", and the mood turned as a stroke was awarded. All hell broke loose. Between brutal persuasion and discussion, the Captain trying to turn the decision, was punished for dissension. At 1-2 down and 1-9 down , the Captain turned his brain back on, and the tussle was turned back on, but the Veteran, just tugged through. Off court, debates, diagnoses and discussion returned to turning and what-is-turning, and what is not-turning, but the world continued turning while the heated discussions kept on turning into the steaming showers and onto the beer-laden tables.

Then focus swung back to the courts, and it was down to the wire, as the Number 4’s unleashed their left handed swings and flailings on each other. Now, with that same veteran, sitting on his High Referee’s Horse, the combatants were far from comfortable as bodies bashed, balls flew, and curses collided as the normally peaceful , placid one, muttered, moaned, huffed and puffed as backswings and follow -through fights filled the Squash Courted Castle with tension. Eventually, the Aze sneaked in. But the air was icy on a night which is best, soon forgotten.”

So how do we prevent these  skirmishes of ugliness ? Once that Competitiveness Edge boils over, it becomes as ugly and as unreasonable as the anger created by the apartheid system.  Ideally, ( but someone will probably have to spend another 27 years in jail to change this), we need to change the Mind Set of South African Sports lovers - That Belief, that if their side lost, it is FIRST, the Ref that was to blame, and then, maybe, possibly, their side also played kak.

But Squash Referees also need to get it right, and the quickest march to this freedom from abuse, is to read and digest Rule 12 , the Interference Rule, and develop  an understanding of The 4 Freedoms of the Squash Court

1.       The Freedom to a FAIR VIEW of the ball … on rebound from the front wall

2.       The Freedom to direct, and unobstructed access to the ball after completion of a reasonable follow through

3.       The Freedom to a FAIR, and REASONABLE swing ( maybe this should read, Regular)

4.       Freedom to play the ball directly to any part of the front wall

Finally, understand that the rules have not changed dramatically, and the Only rule that has changed, is the rule related to Turning . Space precludes discussion on all of the above, so let’s just talk about the Turning and Swinging  that can turn lives, and squash league evenings, sour.

TURNING

In a rally, (and this applies to the return of service as well) , if a player strikes the ball directly towards the front wall and it hits his opponent , it is a stroke to the Striker of the Ball. If that ball is headed for the side wall, it is a let

However, if the player, allows the ball to pass around him and he turns around, either physically, or mentally, and plays the ball  which strikes the opponent, it is a stroke to the opponent ( as consolation for that blue-yellow bone-sucking bruise he now boasts)

Physical Turning = literally turning around and following the ball as it moves behind and around you. (It’s  easier to demonstrate than describe)

Mental Turning = allowing the ball to move behind and around you , without physically turning around.

Note:  If a player changes his decision to play forehand, to a backhand, with the ball passing in front of him, it is NOT Turning

The Swingers Club – A Reasonable Swing

Reasonable – is an elastic word, influenced  by perception, and players swings do differ, particularly amongst women. The best tip in terms of “defining” reasonable is to watch the Warm Up, and identify the 2 players , regular swing.

Other things to understand:

The player striking the ball has the right to play the ball at whatever stage he wants, even if it disadvantages him. His opponent must get out of the way.

The measure of how actively that opponent is attempting to clear the swing will influence the decision.

Minimal interference (where the shot is not really affected) does not automatically demand a stroke. A good guide is: Prevention of Swing = Stroke. Interference of Swing = Let

Too often, Referees’ focus is on the clash of bodies. What they should be looking at is the position of the ball, in relation to those clashing bodies

While Swinging Clubs, and swinging racquets and turners and Turncoats will forever cause dissension, with more understanding of these rules,  the Long March to the Freedom of competitive, but  friendly league evenings may become a reality.

I have a dream !!

                                                                **************************************

EP Squash Conundrum

If EP Squash can return 3 Gold medals, 4 Silvers and 8 Bronze medals from the Under-age Inter-Provincials, and have the following players ranked in the Top 10 in their age -groups:

Girls U/ 19: No 3 Lumé Landman, No 2 Elani Landman

Boys U/19: No 5 Jarryd Terblanche

Girls U/16: N 5 Ashleigh Schepers, No 1 Kacey-Leigh Dodd

Boys U16: No 8 Jethro Thornburn

Girls U/14: No 8 Hannah Knott-Craig, No 5 Aimee-Leigh Pote

Boys U/14: No 8 Dewald van Niekerk, No 2 Daine Kruger

And produce the 2 players ( Jarryd Terblanche and Elani Landman) rated as the Most Promising Male and Female  at the Jarvis/Kaplan Inter Provincial,

Why did our senior Inter-Provincial sides produce arguably, our worst results ever at the 2011 tournament ?

                                *********************************************

And while our Provincial players battled, successfully and unsuccessfully, the core of EP Squash shivered during the break , with Derek Calitz de-faulting his way to victory at the Woolstaplers Tournament, Karen Schepers adding Gold to her cabinet at the EP Handicap Tournament and Neale Emslie, weaved his magic at the Walmer Classic.

Apologies: Carol Botha, the Cornerstone of Londt Park Squash was also awarded an Honours Award at the recent Squash SA Awards dinner, but was omitted from last month’s column

And the 2^nd Half of the League Season, with all its twists, and turns, and swings, and see saws and sagas continue ……

 Balls to the Wall: I have a Dream to a A Few Small Steps to Freedom

Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King were visionaries. Mandela’s “ Long Walk to Freedom” has  inspired many to change their views and perspectives. Once demonised, he was despised, hunted, hated, abused and cursed, because he made decisions based on how he saw life from his perspective .  He stood his ground, was firm, assertive and courageous but, he also developed the ability to see things from a different perspective . Thankfully, he is now lionised, and respected, and in my humble view,  Madiba is the pride of every single South African .

Squash Referees  also walk a long road to freedom. They too, are sometimes  despised,  abused and cursed because of decisions they  make from their high chair , and their view of events, which is very different from the players, and the majority of spectators.  Referees make decisions based on their knowledge of the rules and with the hope of facilitating a fair game. Sadly, their  decisions are probably guaranteed to displease most of the crowd, all of the time.

And as much as Mandela and King were visionaries, so Squash Referees are also expected to be, visionary. No other sport demands a knowledge of the rules, PLUS the ability to:

 1) predict the future,

 2) predict the players’ intentions

 3) predict players’ relative speed and skills.

 Because of this, refereeing Squash is arguably far more difficult than other sports where decisions are made on what has already happened, where the referee can “coach” the players and where they have assistance of linesmen, line judges, hawk-eye and the like

Those players and spectators, ( and this is probably true of all sports), have probably, never read the rules, attended a seminar or debated the rules within context of the Rulebook. And as effective as the propaganda/education  of the apartheid system was, where many myths were propagated that eventually became part of many people’s belief systems, so a whole Rule Book of Myths relating to squash has evolved in the cold and echoing hallways and bars of Squash Court fiefdom. As the apartheid system blanketed people in a false sense of security, so these squash myths envelop  squash players in a similar blanket of false knowledge. And this blanket eventually causes much crying, wailing and gnashing of teeth as perceptions and bodies clash.

Let me take your hand and walk you through a real-league experience to illustrate the ugliness of these  clashes  of perception. This match, ironically, and thankfully , was between 2 sides from the same club so many of the deep-heated scars could be iced, beered,  bi-oiled and massaged back to friendship. Names and places have been changed to protect innocent people involved

“Then it was the war-horse, the Master against the Leader, the captain of the clan . And a merry time was had, as the Cee’s crept ahead with the 1^st game to the Captain. Matters were leveled by the Master, but with a new Ref in control, all was tense as they tussled, teasing each other with cunning stunts of deception and lobbing floats. Then thunder dondered. Loud. Lightning flashed. The night turned black, as the Veteran, supposedly  "TURNED", and the mood turned as a stroke was awarded. All hell broke loose. Between brutal persuasion and discussion, the Captain trying to turn the decision, was punished for dissension. At 1-2 down and 1-9 down , the Captain turned his brain back on, and the tussle was turned back on, but the Veteran, just tugged through. Off court, debates, diagnoses and discussion returned to turning and what-is-turning, and what is not-turning, but the world continued turning while the heated discussions kept on turning into the steaming showers and onto the beer-laden tables.

Then focus swung back to the courts, and it was down to the wire, as the Number 4’s unleashed their left handed swings and flailings on each other. Now, with that same veteran, sitting on his High Referee’s Horse, the combatants were far from comfortable as bodies bashed, balls flew, and curses collided as the normally peaceful , placid one, muttered, moaned, huffed and puffed as backswings and follow -through fights filled the Squash Courted Castle with tension. Eventually, the Aze sneaked in. But the air was icy on a night which is best, soon forgotten.”

So how do we prevent these  skirmishes of ugliness ? Once that Competitiveness Edge boils over, it becomes as ugly and as unreasonable as the anger created by the apartheid system.  Ideally, ( but someone will probably have to spend another 27 years in jail to change this), we need to change the Mind Set of South African Sports lovers - That Belief, that if their side lost, it is FIRST, the Ref that was to blame, and then, maybe, possibly, their side also played kak.

But Squash Referees also need to get it right, and the quickest march to this freedom from abuse, is to read and digest Rule 12 , the Interference Rule, and develop  an understanding of The 4 Freedoms of the Squash Court

1.       The Freedom to a FAIR VIEW of the ball … on rebound from the front wall

2.       The Freedom to direct, and unobstructed access to the ball after completion of a reasonable follow through

3.       The Freedom to a FAIR, and REASONABLE swing ( maybe this should read, Regular)

4.       Freedom to play the ball directly to any part of the front wall

Finally, understand that the rules have not changed dramatically, and the Only rule that has changed, is the rule related to Turning . Space precludes discussion on all of the above, so let’s just talk about the Turning and Swinging  that can turn lives, and squash league evenings, sour.

TURNING

In a rally, (and this applies to the return of service as well) , if a player strikes the ball directly towards the front wall and it hits his opponent , it is a stroke to the Striker of the Ball. If that ball is headed for the side wall, it is a let

However, if the player, allows the ball to pass around him and he turns around, either physically, or mentally, and plays the ball  which strikes the opponent, it is a stroke to the opponent ( as consolation for that blue-yellow bone-sucking bruise he now boasts)

Physical Turning = literally turning around and following the ball as it moves behind and around you. (It’s  easier to demonstrate than describe)

Mental Turning = allowing the ball to move behind and around you , without physically turning around.

Note:  If a player changes his decision to play forehand, to a backhand, with the ball passing in front of him, it is NOT Turning

The Swingers Club – A Reasonable Swing

Reasonable – is an elastic word, influenced  by perception, and players swings do differ, particularly amongst women. The best tip in terms of “defining” reasonable is to watch the Warm Up, and identify the 2 players , regular swing.

Other things to understand:

The player striking the ball has the right to play the ball at whatever stage he wants, even if it disadvantages him. His opponent must get out of the way.

The measure of how actively that opponent is attempting to clear the swing will influence the decision.

Minimal interference (where the shot is not really affected) does not automatically demand a stroke. A good guide is: Prevention of Swing = Stroke. Interference of Swing = Let

Too often, Referees’ focus is on the clash of bodies. What they should be looking at is the position of the ball, in relation to those clashing bodies

While Swinging Clubs, and swinging racquets and turners and Turncoats will forever cause dissension, with more understanding of these rules,  the Long March to the Freedom of competitive, but  friendly league evenings may become a reality.

I have a dream !!

                                                                **************************************

EP Squash Conundrum

If EP Squash can return 3 Gold medals, 4 Silvers and 8 Bronze medals from the Under-age Inter-Provincials, and have the following players ranked in the Top 10 in their age -groups:

Girls U/ 19: No 3 Lumé Landman, No 2 Elani Landman

Boys U/19: No 5 Jarryd Terblanche

Girls U/16: N 5 Ashleigh Schepers, No 1 Kacey-Leigh Dodd

Boys U16: No 8 Jethro Thornburn

Girls U/14: No 8 Hannah Knott-Craig, No 5 Aimee-Leigh Pote

Boys U/14: No 8 Dewald van Niekerk, No 2 Daine Kruger

And produce the 2 players ( Jarryd Terblanche and Elani Landman) rated as the Most Promising Male and Female  at the Jarvis/Kaplan Inter Provincial,

Why did our senior Inter-Provincial sides produce arguably, our worst results ever at the 2011 tournament ?

                                *********************************************

And while our Provincial players battled, successfully and unsuccessfully, the core of EP Squash shivered during the break , with Derek Calitz de-faulting his way to victory at the Woolstaplers Tournament, Karen Schepers adding Gold to her cabinet at the EP Handicap Tournament and Neale Emslie, weaved his magic at the Walmer Classic.

Apologies: Carol Botha, the Cornerstone of Londt Park Squash was also awarded an Honours Award at the recent Squash SA Awards dinner, but was omitted from last month’s column

And the 2^nd Half of the League Season, with all its twists, and turns, and swings, and see saws and sagas continue ……

 Balls to the Wall: I have a Dream to a A Few Small Steps to Freedom

Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King were visionaries. Mandela’s “ Long Walk to Freedom” has  inspired many to change their views and perspectives. Once demonised, he was despised, hunted, hated, abused and cursed, because he made decisions based on how he saw life from his perspective .  He stood his ground, was firm, assertive and courageous but, he also developed the ability to see things from a different perspective . Thankfully, he is now lionised, and respected, and in my humble view,  Madiba is the pride of every single South African .

Squash Referees  also walk a long road to freedom. They too, are sometimes  despised,  abused and cursed because of decisions they  make from their high chair , and their view of events, which is very different from the players, and the majority of spectators.  Referees make decisions based on their knowledge of the rules and with the hope of facilitating a fair game. Sadly, their  decisions are probably guaranteed to displease most of the crowd, all of the time.

And as much as Mandela and King were visionaries, so Squash Referees are also expected to be, visionary. No other sport demands a knowledge of the rules, PLUS the ability to:

 1) predict the future,

 2) predict the players’ intentions

 3) predict players’ relative speed and skills.

 Because of this, refereeing Squash is arguably far more difficult than other sports where decisions are made on what has already happened, where the referee can “coach” the players and where they have assistance of linesmen, line judges, hawk-eye and the like

Those players and spectators, ( and this is probably true of all sports), have probably, never read the rules, attended a seminar or debated the rules within context of the Rulebook. And as effective as the propaganda/education  of the apartheid system was, where many myths were propagated that eventually became part of many people’s belief systems, so a whole Rule Book of Myths relating to squash has evolved in the cold and echoing hallways and bars of Squash Court fiefdom. As the apartheid system blanketed people in a false sense of security, so these squash myths envelop  squash players in a similar blanket of false knowledge. And this blanket eventually causes much crying, wailing and gnashing of teeth as perceptions and bodies clash.

Let me take your hand and walk you through a real-league experience to illustrate the ugliness of these  clashes  of perception. This match, ironically, and thankfully , was between 2 sides from the same club so many of the deep-heated scars could be iced, beered,  bi-oiled and massaged back to friendship. Names and places have been changed to protect innocent people involved

“Then it was the war-horse, the Master against the Leader, the captain of the clan . And a merry time was had, as the Cee’s crept ahead with the 1^st game to the Captain. Matters were leveled by the Master, but with a new Ref in control, all was tense as they tussled, teasing each other with cunning stunts of deception and lobbing floats. Then thunder dondered. Loud. Lightning flashed. The night turned black, as the Veteran, supposedly  "TURNED", and the mood turned as a stroke was awarded. All hell broke loose. Between brutal persuasion and discussion, the Captain trying to turn the decision, was punished for dissension. At 1-2 down and 1-9 down , the Captain turned his brain back on, and the tussle was turned back on, but the Veteran, just tugged through. Off court, debates, diagnoses and discussion returned to turning and what-is-turning, and what is not-turning, but the world continued turning while the heated discussions kept on turning into the steaming showers and onto the beer-laden tables.

Then focus swung back to the courts, and it was down to the wire, as the Number 4’s unleashed their left handed swings and flailings on each other. Now, with that same veteran, sitting on his High Referee’s Horse, the combatants were far from comfortable as bodies bashed, balls flew, and curses collided as the normally peaceful , placid one, muttered, moaned, huffed and puffed as backswings and follow -through fights filled the Squash Courted Castle with tension. Eventually, the Aze sneaked in. But the air was icy on a night which is best, soon forgotten.”

So how do we prevent these  skirmishes of ugliness ? Once that Competitiveness Edge boils over, it becomes as ugly and as unreasonable as the anger created by the apartheid system.  Ideally, ( but someone will probably have to spend another 27 years in jail to change this), we need to change the Mind Set of South African Sports lovers - That Belief, that if their side lost, it is FIRST, the Ref that was to blame, and then, maybe, possibly, their side also played kak.

But Squash Referees also need to get it right, and the quickest march to this freedom from abuse, is to read and digest Rule 12 , the Interference Rule, and develop  an understanding of The 4 Freedoms of the Squash Court

1.       The Freedom to a FAIR VIEW of the ball … on rebound from the front wall

2.       The Freedom to direct, and unobstructed access to the ball after completion of a reasonable follow through

3.       The Freedom to a FAIR, and REASONABLE swing ( maybe this should read, Regular)

4.       Freedom to play the ball directly to any part of the front wall

Finally, understand that the rules have not changed dramatically, and the Only rule that has changed, is the rule related to Turning . Space precludes discussion on all of the above, so let’s just talk about the Turning and Swinging  that can turn lives, and squash league evenings, sour.

TURNING

In a rally, (and this applies to the return of service as well) , if a player strikes the ball directly towards the front wall and it hits his opponent , it is a stroke to the Striker of the Ball. If that ball is headed for the side wall, it is a let

However, if the player, allows the ball to pass around him and he turns around, either physically, or mentally, and plays the ball  which strikes the opponent, it is a stroke to the opponent ( as consolation for that blue-yellow bone-sucking bruise he now boasts)

Physical Turning = literally turning around and following the ball as it moves behind and around you. (It’s  easier to demonstrate than describe)

Mental Turning = allowing the ball to move behind and around you , without physically turning around.

Note:  If a player changes his decision to play forehand, to a backhand, with the ball passing in front of him, it is NOT Turning

The Swingers Club – A Reasonable Swing

Reasonable – is an elastic word, influenced  by perception, and players swings do differ, particularly amongst women. The best tip in terms of “defining” reasonable is to watch the Warm Up, and identify the 2 players , regular swing.

Other things to understand:

The player striking the ball has the right to play the ball at whatever stage he wants, even if it disadvantages him. His opponent must get out of the way.

The measure of how actively that opponent is attempting to clear the swing will influence the decision.

Minimal interference (where the shot is not really affected) does not automatically demand a stroke. A good guide is: Prevention of Swing = Stroke. Interference of Swing = Let

Too often, Referees’ focus is on the clash of bodies. What they should be looking at is the position of the ball, in relation to those clashing bodies

While Swinging Clubs, and swinging racquets and turners and Turncoats will forever cause dissension, with more understanding of these rules,  the Long March to the Freedom of competitive, but  friendly league evenings may become a reality.

I have a dream !!

                                                                **************************************

EP Squash Conundrum

If EP Squash can return 3 Gold medals, 4 Silvers and 8 Bronze medals from the Under-age Inter-Provincials, and have the following players ranked in the Top 10 in their age -groups:

Girls U/ 19: No 3 Lumé Landman, No 2 Elani Landman

Boys U/19: No 5 Jarryd Terblanche

Girls U/16: N 5 Ashleigh Schepers, No 1 Kacey-Leigh Dodd

Boys U16: No 8 Jethro Thornburn

Girls U/14: No 8 Hannah Knott-Craig, No 5 Aimee-Leigh Pote

Boys U/14: No 8 Dewald van Niekerk, No 2 Daine Kruger

And produce the 2 players ( Jarryd Terblanche and Elani Landman) rated as the Most Promising Male and Female  at the Jarvis/Kaplan Inter Provincial,

Why did our senior Inter-Provincial sides produce arguably, our worst results ever at the 2011 tournament ?

                                *********************************************

And while our Provincial players battled, successfully and unsuccessfully, the core of EP Squash shivered during the break , with Derek Calitz de-faulting his way to victory at the Woolstaplers Tournament, Karen Schepers adding Gold to her cabinet at the EP Handicap Tournament and Neale Emslie, weaved his magic at the Walmer Classic.

Apologies: Carol Botha, the Cornerstone of Londt Park Squash was also awarded an Honours Award at the recent Squash SA Awards dinner, but was omitted from last month’s column

And the 2^nd Half of the League Season, with all its twists, and turns, and swings, and see saws and sagas continue ……

 Balls to the Wall: I have a Dream to a A Few Small Steps to Freedom

Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King were visionaries. Mandela’s “ Long Walk to Freedom” has  inspired many to change their views and perspectives. Once demonised, he was despised, hunted, hated, abused and cursed, because he made decisions based on how he saw life from his perspective .  He stood his ground, was firm, assertive and courageous but, he also developed the ability to see things from a different perspective . Thankfully, he is now lionised, and respected, and in my humble view,  Madiba is the pride of every single South African .

Squash Referees  also walk a long road to freedom. They too, are sometimes  despised,  abused and cursed because of decisions they  make from their high chair , and their view of events, which is very different from the players, and the majority of spectators.  Referees make decisions based on their knowledge of the rules and with the hope of facilitating a fair game. Sadly, their  decisions are probably guaranteed to displease most of the crowd, all of the time.

And as much as Mandela and King were visionaries, so Squash Referees are also expected to be, visionary. No other sport demands a knowledge of the rules, PLUS the ability to:

 1) predict the future,

 2) predict the players’ intentions

 3) predict players’ relative speed and skills.

 Because of this, refereeing Squash is arguably far more difficult than other sports where decisions are made on what has already happened, where the referee can “coach” the players and where they have assistance of linesmen, line judges, hawk-eye and the like

Those players and spectators, ( and this is probably true of all sports), have probably, never read the rules, attended a seminar or debated the rules within context of the Rulebook. And as effective as the propaganda/education  of the apartheid system was, where many myths were propagated that eventually became part of many people’s belief systems, so a whole Rule Book of Myths relating to squash has evolved in the cold and echoing hallways and bars of Squash Court fiefdom. As the apartheid system blanketed people in a false sense of security, so these squash myths envelop  squash players in a similar blanket of false knowledge. And this blanket eventually causes much crying, wailing and gnashing of teeth as perceptions and bodies clash.

Let me take your hand and walk you through a real-league experience to illustrate the ugliness of these  clashes  of perception. This match, ironically, and thankfully , was between 2 sides from the same club so many of the deep-heated scars could be iced, beered,  bi-oiled and massaged back to friendship. Names and places have been changed to protect innocent people involved

“Then it was the war-horse, the Master against the Leader, the captain of the clan . And a merry time was had, as the Cee’s crept ahead with the 1^st game to the Captain. Matters were leveled by the Master, but with a new Ref in control, all was tense as they tussled, teasing each other with cunning stunts of deception and lobbing floats. Then thunder dondered. Loud. Lightning flashed. The night turned black, as the Veteran, supposedly  "TURNED", and the mood turned as a stroke was awarded. All hell broke loose. Between brutal persuasion and discussion, the Captain trying to turn the decision, was punished for dissension. At 1-2 down and 1-9 down , the Captain turned his brain back on, and the tussle was turned back on, but the Veteran, just tugged through. Off court, debates, diagnoses and discussion returned to turning and what-is-turning, and what is not-turning, but the world continued turning while the heated discussions kept on turning into the steaming showers and onto the beer-laden tables.

Then focus swung back to the courts, and it was down to the wire, as the Number 4’s unleashed their left handed swings and flailings on each other. Now, with that same veteran, sitting on his High Referee’s Horse, the combatants were far from comfortable as bodies bashed, balls flew, and curses collided as the normally peaceful , placid one, muttered, moaned, huffed and puffed as backswings and follow -through fights filled the Squash Courted Castle with tension. Eventually, the Aze sneaked in. But the air was icy on a night which is best, soon forgotten.”

So how do we prevent these  skirmishes of ugliness ? Once that Competitiveness Edge boils over, it becomes as ugly and as unreasonable as the anger created by the apartheid system.  Ideally, ( but someone will probably have to spend another 27 years in jail to change this), we need to change the Mind Set of South African Sports lovers - That Belief, that if their side lost, it is FIRST, the Ref that was to blame, and then, maybe, possibly, their side also played kak.

But Squash Referees also need to get it right, and the quickest march to this freedom from abuse, is to read and digest Rule 12 , the Interference Rule, and develop  an understanding of The 4 Freedoms of the Squash Court

1.       The Freedom to a FAIR VIEW of the ball … on rebound from the front wall

2.       The Freedom to direct, and unobstructed access to the ball after completion of a reasonable follow through

3.       The Freedom to a FAIR, and REASONABLE swing ( maybe this should read, Regular)

4.       Freedom to play the ball directly to any part of the front wall

Finally, understand that the rules have not changed dramatically, and the Only rule that has changed, is the rule related to Turning . Space precludes discussion on all of the above, so let’s just talk about the Turning and Swinging  that can turn lives, and squash league evenings, sour.

TURNING

In a rally, (and this applies to the return of service as well) , if a player strikes the ball directly towards the front wall and it hits his opponent , it is a stroke to the Striker of the Ball. If that ball is headed for the side wall, it is a let

However, if the player, allows the ball to pass around him and he turns around, either physically, or mentally, and plays the ball  which strikes the opponent, it is a stroke to the opponent ( as consolation for that blue-yellow bone-sucking bruise he now boasts)

Physical Turning = literally turning around and following the ball as it moves behind and around you. (It’s  easier to demonstrate than describe)

Mental Turning = allowing the ball to move behind and around you , without physically turning around.

Note:  If a player changes his decision to play forehand, to a backhand, with the ball passing in front of him, it is NOT Turning

The Swingers Club – A Reasonable Swing

Reasonable – is an elastic word, influenced  by perception, and players swings do differ, particularly amongst women. The best tip in terms of “defining” reasonable is to watch the Warm Up, and identify the 2 players , regular swing.

Other things to understand:

The player striking the ball has the right to play the ball at whatever stage he wants, even if it disadvantages him. His opponent must get out of the way.

The measure of how actively that opponent is attempting to clear the swing will influence the decision.

Minimal interference (where the shot is not really affected) does not automatically demand a stroke. A good guide is: Prevention of Swing = Stroke. Interference of Swing = Let

Too often, Referees’ focus is on the clash of bodies. What they should be looking at is the position of the ball, in relation to those clashing bodies

While Swinging Clubs, and swinging racquets and turners and Turncoats will forever cause dissension, with more understanding of these rules,  the Long March to the Freedom of competitive, but  friendly league evenings may become a reality.

I have a dream !!

                                                                **************************************

EP Squash Conundrum

If EP Squash can return 3 Gold medals, 4 Silvers and 8 Bronze medals from the Under-age Inter-Provincials, and have the following players ranked in the Top 10 in their age -groups:

Girls U/ 19: No 3 Lumé Landman, No 2 Elani Landman

Boys U/19: No 5 Jarryd Terblanche

Girls U/16: N 5 Ashleigh Schepers, No 1 Kacey-Leigh Dodd

Boys U16: No 8 Jethro Thornburn

Girls U/14: No 8 Hannah Knott-Craig, No 5 Aimee-Leigh Pote

Boys U/14: No 8 Dewald van Niekerk, No 2 Daine Kruger

And produce the 2 players ( Jarryd Terblanche and Elani Landman) rated as the Most Promising Male and Female  at the Jarvis/Kaplan Inter Provincial,

Why did our senior Inter-Provincial sides produce arguably, our worst results ever at the 2011 tournament ?

                                *********************************************

And while our Provincial players battled, successfully and unsuccessfully, the core of EP Squash shivered during the break , with Derek Calitz de-faulting his way to victory at the Woolstaplers Tournament, Karen Schepers adding Gold to her cabinet at the EP Handicap Tournament and Neale Emslie, weaved his magic at the Walmer Classic.

Apologies: Carol Botha, the Cornerstone of Londt Park Squash was also awarded an Honours Award at the recent Squash SA Awards dinner, but was omitted from last month’s column

And the 2^nd Half of the League Season, with all its twists, and turns, and swings, and see saws and sagas continue ……

 Balls to the Wall:  Titbits, Nipple Caps and Inter-Prov Previews

July will  see our Juniors traversing the country in pursuit of glory  at the Age-group Inter-provincials. Traditionally, EP has  dominated at this level and we look forward to see how many Top 10 rankings and winning medals return to the Bay. More important however is that the province is able to send almost 100 players to these tournaments. All of these players are winners in their own right as they have been through a tough series of trials to gain selection, from which they will gain invaluable  exposure and experience. The prayer is that their motivation for squash is not only for that provincial recognition, but also the joy of the sweat and sweet smell of success, the privilege of participating, the challenge of competition, the lessons from losing, the camaraderie of team-mates, and the opportunity to meet new friends. If they are playing for these reasons, their careers will be long and the future of EP Squash is secure...And hopefully, they will thank their parents for the sacrifices they have made.

                                                ************************************************

The Grahamstown National Arts Festival will probably never be the same again, as this year, the SAASU ( SA Universities) Squash week will be held in tandem . Festival fans will have extra options to squeeze into their days with the added option of perusing the melting pot of talent and tequila tangling, in this, the Iron Man equivalent of squash, where 24 hours, is not enough in a day. Both NMMU and Rhodes should be very competitive, and the home court advantage of the Rhodes Fridge, may well be an advantage

                                                ******************************************************

“Survive, Learn and Grow” may well be the EP Jarvis and Kaplan Cup squads’ mantra as they head off to East London for the 2011 Inter-provincial tournament. Severely hampered by the loss of Greg La Mude, coaching overseas, Jacques Laas (Scotland) , Paul Mason and Durandt Martin ( Cape Town), the unavailability of Zane Schwarz, Peter Ryder and Garth Plaaitjies and with Rhodians, Garren Kent and Matthew Ferreira unable to fulfil selection requirements, the men’s pool was looking  like some of the PE Dams. Amongst the Ladies, Jacqui Ryder, Karen Schepers and Kierryn Keeton were also not available. The fact that EP has been able to put together competitive sides is testimony to the depth of talent in the province, but the players are under no illusions and they will be starting with their backs, firmly against the walls.

Having said that, could 2011, be the year for a Changing of the Guard ? Players like Dane Bigara , who has been knocking on the door for awhile, and Grey High School’s, Jarryd Terblanche have forced themselves into the A side with some gutsy  performances. Could they be leading a little revolution in EP Men’s Squash ?  Terblanche has worked incredibly hard at his game this year and now joins an illustrious group of players like Richard Driscoll, Morgan Morris and Mark Rogers who have represented the provincial A side while still at school. The enigmatic Quintin Masters, who always seems to rise to the occasion at Jarvis and Rudi Van Niekerk at 1, add experience to the squad. And with Sean Bailey captaining the side, and Alton,”Ysterman” Senekal managing, you can guarantee that there will be no shortage of commitment. Let no province take this side lightly.

The B side is a South African Dream Team. This is no window dressing or affirmative action stuff. But here, we have a Dutchie from DF Malherbe, an English-speaking Whitey from Westering and  3 Darkies from EP’s Development programme –  (terms used are purely for alliterative effect and are meant with no disrespect.) The side will be led by the highly talented, Shawn Viljoen who has battled with back injuries but with a month to prepare, could well be back to his best. He will be supported by Thami Mngcete , Bonakele Nomkala, and Lonwabo Sigele.  Angela Difford’s legacy continues and these players’ ability to compete under very difficult circumstances –so, so commendable. Completing the squad, the fast-improving Warren Watermayer, makes his debut . This could be the start of big things for the Squashing Pastor. And if I were a Hansie Cronje, my money would be on these guys to produce our best results

Anton Van Niekerk ( 15 Jarvis Cups) will surely be making some form of history when at 54 he will compete for the 3^rd time , together with both his son, Rudi ( 6 Jarvis Cups )  and his daughter, Lizelle (8 Kaplan Cups). 29 Tournaments within the family ! Quite a phenomenal achievement. Hopefully, his  experience and tough mental approach will be infused into a bunch of talented young guns who have shown courage, commitment but erratic form. Fit, fast and talented, they still need to develop tactically and mentally and hopefully the experience will lead them closer to that holy grail. Brent Beard, Brinley Forbes, Travis La Mude and Lance Peterson have much to offer and one can only hope that the Jarvis Cup exposure will help them to join that earlier-mentioned revolution.

Lizelle Goosen and Anlen Murray will lead the charge of the Lady Brigade. Goosen has always challenged South Africa’s top players but never quite broken through and if she can just calm her mind, she has the potential to cause big upsets. Murray, after a 2 year break, returns from maternity leave. Like Kim Clijsters,  motherhood has added maturity and more variation to that incredibly competitive spirit, and she too, could well spring surprises. Only 17, Framesby’s  Elani and Lume Landman with 2 Kaplan Cups, lots of overseas experience and wise heads on fit and fast bodies, are poised to take on the best. Sadly this will probably be their last for EP as both have been offered  lucrative bursaries up north. “Again”, I hear some mutter but the reality, unfortunately, is that unless they are exposed to regular top level squash, their games will stand still.  And Alison Oshry , fresh from making her marriage vows, makes a welcome return to A Section squash. Under-rate her and this team, at your peril. EP has always had a tremendous record in the A Section of Kaplan, and there is no reason why this cannot be maintained.

Dione Johnson, again heads up the B side, comprising the crown princesses of EP Squash - Sarah O Grady, Kate Pearson and Aimee Brenner who last year debuted in Durban. Johnson has battled with work commitments, O Grady has battled with injury, Pearson, has battled with a confidence slump and Brenner, battled with a hectic Matric schedule so we have not seen their best this year. But,  under Johnson’s guidance, and with a teaspoon of self belief, they , too have the potential to make the Gautengers uncomfortable. Completing the B Squad is Gillian McGregor of Rhodes who was a bit of a surprise selection as she has had not had many results. However, she has proved herself in the past and has a wealth of experience to offer this exciting squad.

The C Team  has sprouted much discussion and probably sold many a beer as there are two extreme streams of thought on the topic. Made up mostly of the Calender Girls, Masters players, Lisa O Grady, Michelle Roos, Kathy Hoy, Caroline Rose and Pam Louwrens, together with the only debutant, EP Hockey player, Camilla Forbes ,will definitely not disappoint, and will be more than competitive. But with the possibility of losing the Landmans, Aimee Brenner, and Jacqui Ryder unlikely to be available, some feel that East London would have been an ideal arena to introduce some of the younger “bubbling under” players to provincial  squash.

There is a wealth of talent in the province with Kacey Leigh Dodd and Ashleigh Schepers, leading Under 16’s in the country but not available for Kaplan, Brigitte Kohne, Mary Anne Swiegers, Done’ Van Der Merwe. Inge Loftie- Eaton, and Sorika Tait are just some who are showing signs of breaking through. The cupboard is far from bare. The Calender Girls probably hold the key.

                                                                                                                                ***************************************

More cuedo’s for EP Squash came at an apparently controversial National Convention when Elani Landman was announced as South Africa’s 2011 Young Player of the Year, Old Grey’s Mike Burmeister received a Squash SA Honours Award for his contribution to the game and Lisa O Grady, became the 1^st  recipient, and highly deserving winner of The Administrator of the Year. So long an Unsung Hero, Lisa takes no prisoners but EP Squash would not be as abuzz as it is, without her driving the action

                ***************************************

Leagues go into limbo, but there is still lots happening at Club level. The Woolstaplers Tournament, an elite, unique little event will be on the go as we go to press, The EP Handicap Tournament, where lower league players pit their skills against higher leaguers in limited-time matches, runs from 4 – 7 July, the Walmer Classic, from 11-15 July, and the Masters Championships will be played from the 22^nd to the 24^th of July. Players wanting to participate in the Masters Inter-Provincials in September should be entering this tournament. And while all of these are on the go, the Crusaders Club will be re-vamping their courts. Clubs wishing to increase their Bar Sales are invited to invite Saders members to their clubs for a game and a beer, as we will be homeless for a month. Is this Rehab … Detox  or Punishment ?

Oh, and the reference to Nipple Caps in the  Head-line ? Naah, that was just to get the editor involved and non-squash folk interested !!

 Balls to the Wall: Please Sir, may I have some more …

While Squash, one of the biggest participation sports in the world, offers great  exercise  and competition , is economical in time, and money , is accessible to most,  come rain, shine, day or night, it is not a great spectator sport. Even worse, it does not convert well into the realms of TV viewership, where massive sponsorships lurk, waiting to exploit and dominate. Sadly many of the people who play squash, don’t really like watching it either. They want their wham-bam-thank-you-mam hour of endorphin-release, and off they go.

Squash on TV looks like a doddle. TV slows the pace  down, so the players appear to be aimlessly ambling around, gently stroking the ball around .  There appears to be no urgency, no strategy, no skills, no  drama.  All pretty boring. Advances are being made with the introduction of  all-glass courts and innovative camera work. But to appreciate squash, one needs to have played squash. A  bit like the Mona Lisa – it is a piece of Art. One needs to know what to look for.  Live viewing  allows only for limited spectatorship although massive strides have been made in using portable courts which have been erected in shopping centres and at some exotic arenas, particularly in Egypt and Saudi Arabia where the sport  has huge government  support. And watching the top guns play can be incredibly dramatic.

Sadly, and consequently, Squash does not attract huge money into the game, and administrators have tended to lean towards “begging” for donations rather than negotiating deals to attract Sponsors. This becomes a downward spiral, and becomes an erratic, unsustainable and short term resolution to our annual financial crises. So what can we do to attract these multi-million companies to our beautiful little sweat-boxes ?

Yes, we are giving the Sponsor mileage because the squash public and the public at large is aware of their involvement. And the power of the sub-liminal message can never be under-estimated. But do we maximise this mileage. Do we think of innovative ways of offering mileage. More, we have to ask ourselves, “ What can our province/club/sport offer this Sponsor that could add extra sales to his basket. We have to develop a  2-way relationship with the Sponsor. Therein lies the puzzle. And I do not have all the answers.

However, when  Sponsors do arrive and are interested in supporting our sport, we, as Squash Players need to go Balls-to-the-Wall and get behind them with all their support they can muster.

So, a Huge Welcome to Dulce and to Cadburys who have joined the Squash Family in sponsoring the League sides at Londt Park and Westview respectively. We would like to think that it is because the squash at these clubs, and in the province, is so vibrant but we hope that the squash fraternity at the clubs in particular, and the province at large will support those who are showing interest in their passion. With the economy down  and recession, still strangling, Corporates are looking closely at their Sponsorship Budgets, and are looking for return on their investment. If Squash wants to attract and retain sponsors, Squash must live the products of their sponsors. Nothing is more annoying than sponsoring an event , only to see the people who benefit from the sponsorship, using opposition product.

Hopefully, the Dulce and Cadbury relationship with Squash will be a long and rewarding one for all parties

And while on the topic of Sponsorship, I sometimes wonder why some children play squash. Sometimes I think, maybe for the sense of achievement, the recognition of making a provincial side. Hopefully, those are by-products, and they are playing for the fun of the fitness and feeling good and finding new friends and good people. And as the players climb the Squashing Tree, so more  and more carrots of sponsorship inducement are tangled in front of them from Racquet and Equipment Companies. Again here, Squash players have to understand that this is part business partnership/part relationship and is a 2-way street

Some pointers to remember when dealing with Sponsors.

Sponsorship is not a right, it is a privilege

Draw up and maintain a Players Profile/CV  annually which you can use to apply for sponsorships, and to re-apply at the end of the year

Sponsorships, like budgets are drawn up towards the end of the year. Once the season is over, draw up your “CV/Profile”, or up-date it and submit . Applications which are submitted in the middle of the year, are rarely successful

Do not brag in your CV/Profile – state facts, and be honest

Once you have been allocated a Sponsorship, maintain communication with the representative of the company.

A sponsorship should be an Inventive to improve more, and to work harder at your game. It is not a sign that you have arrived .

You are an advertisement for the company. Your behaviour on court is sometimes as important as your performances and rankings. And your behaviour off-court is also noticed

Whenever you have an opportunity, wear/show off  your sponsor’s clothes.

The sub-liminal effect of adverting is powerful

Do not wear opposition company kit.

If you are being photographed for the press, be an advertisement for your sponsor… and send him the photo, and the article

Get to know what other products/racquets are available in your Sponsor’s range so that encourage friends and other players to try the racquets/equipment/products

Keeping it in the Family …

The Van Niekerks made the EP Closed tournament a Family occasion when first young  14 year old Dewald clinched the  7^th&8^th League Sections, then Lizelle beat Anlen Murray to win the Ladies A Section and then Rudi kept the Men’s title at Londt Park when he defeated Jason Le Roux 3-1. Dad, Anton, a stalwart of EP Squash achieved a very creditable 8^th position in the first league. At 54, a pretty mean feat.  And I am sure, Mom, Salome was in the background, as always, supporting.

The tournament attracted 176 players – the biggest ever. And with the Adi Hansen Exhibition, Blitz squash,  Rhodes Open, Leagues pumping,  Top 16, EP Schools Trials, and the Crusaders tournament, announcement of Jarvis and Kaplan Provincial Teams, the Walmer tournament, the Woolstaplers tournament, Crusaders Court renovations…. Squash is abuzz in the province.

Any Sponsors out there ?

1. Rudi Van Niekerk                               Lizelle Goosen
2. Jason Le Roux                                   Jacqui Ryder
3. Zane Schwarz                                     Anlen Murray
4. Sean Bailey                                         Elani Landman
5. Thami Mngcete                                 Lume Landman          
6. Dane Bigara                                       Dianne Van Eyk
7. Quintin Masters                                  Sarah O Grady
8. Peter Ryder                                       Alison Oshry
9. Keith Stewart                                      Karen Schepers
10. Sean Viljoen                                        Dione Johnson
11. Garth Plaaitjies                                    Lisa O Grady
12. Anton Van Niekerk                          Kate Pearson
13. Jarryd Terblanche                                Aimee Brenner
14. Bonakele Nomkala                              Caroline Rose
15. Lonwabo Sigele                                 Joanna Dodd
16. Dan Schultz                                        Michelle Roos
17. Andrew  Reekie                                  Angela Fraser
18. Alton Senekal                                   Kacey Leigh Dodd
19. Jacques Laas                                       Ashleigh Schepers
20. Travis La Mude                                   Kathy Hoy
21. Rian Raubenheimer                             Inge Loftie-Eaton