In Squash - The Podcast

Happy New Year !! 2021 brought with it some of the most exciting squash we've seen in some time, and given the circumstances there certainly was a thirst for it from both a players and an enthusiasts perspective. Episode 202 is sort of a look back at the year through acknowledging the accolades, the exceptional play and the love for the game that the pro game has given to us this year. In this year in review we are recognizing the following: Female Prospect of the Year Male Prospect of the Year Squash Person of the Year Female Player of the Year Male Player of the Year

The long-awaited resumption of US collegiate squash takes place November 20th at Rochester for Mike Way and the Harvard Crimson. Mike talks about just how excited he and men's and women's teams are to be back playing collegiate competition again. We look ahead to this season and what his vision for "success" is based upon. We also talk about the pro success of Sabrina Sobhy and Gina Kennedy, his recent appearance at the World's in support of Ali Farag, and his thoughts on the evolution of officiating as compared to the iconic days working with Jonathan Power. Great chat with Mike Way!!

With impressive victories over Karim Abdul Gawad, Mohamed Aboulghar and a nail biting 5 set loss to Joel Makin in the semi at the Manchester Open, Yousef Ibrahim is most definitely in the ascendancy and without question the player to watch over the next year as he currently sits at 18 in the world. Yousef is preparing to resume studies and squash at Princeton next week, and he's very much looking forward to that. We talk about his recent great run of form, his decision to take the US collegiate route, and much more. Great chat!!

Winner of the 2021 PSA Tour Final last month and most definitely in the ascendancy in the world's top 10, Mostafa Asal has shown that he's primed for a run at the world number 1 spot. Unfortunately, travel visa issues led to his withdraw from the World Championships in Chicago. Yet, Mostafa sees this as an opportunity to prepare going forward and isn't going to dwell on it. Mostafa and I battled through a few minor wifi issues, but in the end this was a tremendous conversation. We discuss the travel visa debacle and all those the really supported him during that misadventure, his incredible performance in the Tour Final, his hero Mohammed El Shorbagy, Tarek Momen's tweet, and how he hopes his spirit on and off the court will bring a more youthful image to the game of squash.

With a recent PSA title under his belt and a victory over James Willstrop in the process, Victor is definitely in the ascendancy with the World Championships kicking off today in Chicago. Victor discusses his recent PSA Squash On Fire victory, the World Championships in Chicago, the unique talents of Ryosei Kobayashi, his thoughts on the current officiating debate and much more.

Having made serious inroads since taking on the pro game full-time, former Harvard standout Gina Kennedy is no doubt a force to be reckoned with at the highest levels on the PSA Tour. With her victory at the Pro Squash Challenge and an impressive runner-up finish at the Squash On Fire event in Washington last week, to the outsider it might seem unfair not to see her name in the World Championship draw. Gina's taking this all in her stride though, and we have a great chat about how pleased she is with where her game is today.

Former World #1 Laura Massaro's autobiography All In was released a short while ago, and it's received tremendous reviews across the board. We take a dive into several topics in the book particularly those that had an influence on her goal to reach #1 in the world. We also talk about working with Joelle King, the recent World Tour Finals and the current player v. referee situation. Great Chat with the former World #1! You can pick up the book here: https://lauramassaro.co.uk/product/book/

Sabrina Sobhy is only two years removed from Harvard graduating class of 2019, and she already finds herself at number 21 in the world and most definitely in the ascendancy. Sabrina talks about the Sobhy squash tradition, 4 glorious years at Harvard under the guidance of Mike Way, the decision to turn pro and how things have played out for her on tour.

David Campion, stepson to Malcolm Willstrop and Head Coach of the England National Team, caps off our tribute to Malcolm Willstrop in style.

Nick Taylor marks the podcast's 2nd of 3 tributes to Malcolm Willstrop. Nick first worked with Malcolm at the age of 17, and from that point onward Malcolm was influential in shaping Nick's squash, not only his playing career, but perhaps even more now as a coach. Nick takes us back to those early days and provides some fond memories of his experiences with Malcolm. To top it off, NIck explains how as a coach many of Malcolm's pillars shape the way he approaches working with his juniors.

The passing of Malcolm Willstrop hit the squash world very hard last week. For those who were close to him though, it's obviously been extremely difficult. Simon Parke began receiving coaching from Malcolm at the age of 10, and the impact he would have on Simon was far reaching. Simon pays a wonderful tribute to Malcolm on episode 192, and we also take a look back at his impressive squash career.

On July 10th, 17 year olds Max Good and Caleb Boateng will bike from Philadelphia to Brooklyn to raise money for the Squash and Education Alliance. Max and Caleb's story behind this is pure and simple; a love for the game of squash, and giving back to the game at such a young age seems like a no brainer for them. It was a pleasure talking with the boys about their squash and the Squash Century Bikeathon. To help them reach their goal of $25,000 visit their link and donate: https://donate.squashandeducation.org/campaign/bike-a-thon-for-sea/c325445

Marwan El Shorbagy has graced us with squash of the very highest order of late. Winner of the 2021 Blackball in Cairo and back in the world's top 5, Marwan has produced his best squash in years . We talk about how this came to fruition, his recent win at Blackball, coming to grips with officiating, the rise of padel as compared to squash, and much more.

At the age of 23, Peter Marshall was on the cusp of succeeding Jansher Khan as world number 1; a tightly fought 1994 World Open final proved it. What happened after that is nothing less than tragic. Marshall, in his prime, had to step away from the game for an extended period in order to deal with chronic fatique syndrome. What he accomplished leading up to that and upon his return speaks to his greatness as player and as a competitor. Peter looks back at all of this on ep. 189.

The World Squash Officiating (WSO)website is set to soft launch in a few days time, and it's been a passion project of Roy Gingell's for the past 5 years if not more. As Director of the WSO, Roy has good reason to proud of the end product; it's exactly what the squash world needs in terms of spreading awareness and consistency in officiating and the game. Roy's been at it for 40 years, much of that at the very highest level. He shares his insight and some incredible anecdotes on his development over the years, his first high stakes matches, changes over the generations, the matches he'd love to have back, the characters he's had to grapple with, and much much more.

After a highly successful 4 years of US varsity squash at Trinity College, and a budding pro squash career, Kanzy Defrawy retired from professional squash to pursue other endeavors which led her to the wonder city of Dubai in 2018. Kanzy talks about her vision of injecting new life into the game in Dubai and the untapped potential for squash in the super city. We also look back at her varsity and pro career, why she decided to retire, and we get her take on the current "go pro or go US varsity" debate.

Racquet Proz is an exciting new squash and racquet sports app that is unlike any squash app out there at the moment. The content is exciting and covers everything from the latest in the pro game, squash legends, Jonathan Power's insights and much much more. Eric Watson is the man behind the app, and this podcast is a reflection of the outside the box content and platform that Racquet Proz is.

One ep. didn't do it justice. Rodney Martin returns to talk his British U23 success, 3 British Open finals, Geoff Hunt, and he takes several deep dives on coaching and technique which are absolute gold.

The Squash Summit kicks off on March 5th, and Zushan Hashmi breaks it all down. The two-day event features keynote speakers Alex Gough, PSA CEO and newly elected WSF President Zena Woolbridge, along with a host of incredible guest speakers. The theme of the event is obviously growing the game, and Zushan lets us know what to expect and how the summit came about. We also talk at length about his incredibly dynamic sports media platform Sportageous.

For nearly 4 decades, the Bow Valley Athletic Club was one of the centerpieces of the iconic Calgary squash scene. Late last summer, the club's ownership group announced that it would close its doors permanently. Behind the scenes a team of investors led by Dean Brown and Darren Thomson were laying the groundwork to save the club. In less than than three months from now, the club will reopen. Dean and Darren discuss the reopening, the years leading up to last summer's announcement, their vision for the club and the growth of squash therein, as well as bringing squash back to what it used to be in the hotbed of squash which is Calgary.