Racquets’ juniors make the club proud

RACQUETS Fitness Centre in Thame witnessed some top, junior squash over the weekend (December 12-13) when young players from all over the country took part in the Racquets Junior Open squash tournament. This was a nationally ranked tournament sanctioned by England Squash – the governing body of squash in the UK.

This year five of Racquets’ home-bred juniors took part in the event, including Emily Coulcher-Porter in the Girls Under 11s, Luke Hayes in the Boys Under 11s, Oliver Coulcher-Porter in the Under 13s, Molly Woods in the Girls Under 15s and Nick Harbour in the Under 17s.

Luke Hays and Alex Smith

“We are very proud of every one of them,” said Coach, Sue Martin Downhill. “Oliver Coulcher-Porter played up an age group in the Under 13s, despite being still only nine years- old. This would have given him plenty of experience of playing against much stronger boys. He did very well to reach and win the final of the plate.

“Molly Woods competed well in the Under 15 Girls. The squad of girls who travel to tournaments are very strong, and having lost in the first round of the main event, Molly was happy to win the first round of the plate. In the Under 17s, Nick Harbour, a pupil at Lord Williams’s Upper School, played very well to reach the final but narrowly lost in a tight, five set game against Marcus Connor from Aylesbury Grammar School.

“Emily Coulcher-Porter, at only seven years-old, played in the Girls Under 11s. Although Emily is a very high standard of Under 9s player, the other girls in the tournament were much older and are ranked 10 and 17 in the country. Emily, who is ranked 27 in the country at Under 11, is very keen to compete and shows great strength of character when playing in these events.

“Luke Hayes, age 10 from Barley Hill Primary School, has only been playing for around three months. Playing in the Under 11s in his very first open tournament and only his second tournament ever, Luke won his first round. Although Luke couldn’t overcome the number one seed and eventual winner of the tournament, Felix Loeffen, in the second round Luke’s natural understanding of the game of squash and his ability to follow instructions from his coach meant that his little experience at the start of the event grew throughout his matches, to run out as the winner of the plate.

“We entered Luke into the tournament because of his calm approach to sport and felt that he would be able to cope with the pressure if the standard was too high,” explained Sue. “The experience he has gained from this tournament will stand him in very good stead if he decides to play more open events as, by the end of the tournament, his serves would have caused event winner Felix to struggle. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

For the future, Sue concluded: “Racquets is looking forward to having another four or five players in the tournament next year, as the academy is producing some strong players in all age groups who will be well up for competing next year.”