Mitch Calvert
The Sunset Country Squash Club got a jump-start on the upcoming season with a instructional camp this week at the Memorial Sports Centre.
The local club brought in Richard Yendell, a pro from the Glenway Country Club in Newmarket, to offer tips on technique and strategy for 12 aspiring players from here, Kenora, and Thunder Bay.
“I want them to have a new perspective and a new voice from a coach who has squash-specific training and experience,” club co-coach Bob Tkachuk explained.
“This is our first time doing this,” he added. “The Ontario Winter Games are March 3-5 so this is kind of gearing up for that.
“He’s a pro, this is what he makes his living doing.”
Tkachuk said the camp is not just a learning experience for the athletes but also for himself.
“I’m a Level 1 coach and I’ve been doing this for years but I’m learning from this, too,” he stressed.
“I’m listening and learning a few more drills, and he’s showing me some things that should be really important that I maybe overlooked in the past.”
Yendell grew up in Sault Ste. Marie and knows the obstacles facing players in these parts when compared to southern Ontario.
“You don’t get a lot of coaching and there’s not a lot of different people to play, so if I can come here and give them different ideas or a different approach to the same ideas, and just get them pumped up to play, then I think I’ve done my job,” Yendell said.
“I think it’s good to get all of the kids together to get specific training,” he added. “I want them to be excited about playing squash.
“Anywhere outside of the GTA there’s challenges for squash because there aren’t enough clubs,” Yendell noted. “And a lot of them don’t have a guy like Bob, who’s an example of a good coach.”
Yendell has been a full-time pro for two years now, and also coaches provincially and with the regional team in Newmarket.
Unfortunately, his first trip to Fort Frances hasn’t been a care-free one as much of his belongings got lost through the airline.
“If anybody sees a couple of Dunlop bags running around let me know,” Yendell lamented. “I had a camera, tripod, rackets and clothes.
“It’s probably about $2,500 worth of stuff, for sure, so hopefully it gets tracked down.”
Along with the court time this week, those attending the squash camp also are getting some additional conditioning work from Megan Ross—specifically dealing with core exercises and interval running that emulates the training needed for the sport.
The local club will start the new season Sept. 15 and is hoping to attract younger players aged nine and under who they’ve typically steered away from in the past.
“We have a Sunday group that Sherri and Al Christiansen help us with, and we may try to take on some younger kids with that group this year,” Tkachuk explained.
“We’re going to try to start it younger, four-five years old, working mainly on co-ordination, balance, hand-eye stuff.
“We want to have a base to keep the program fed for the future,” he stressed.
