Dedication and research pay off for Thame squash player

A budding Thame squash player has proved that applying yourself to one sport for just a year and studying the professionals, can produce great results.

The squash tournement entrants relaxing after the competition – James Portsmouth is second from the left, front row

James Portsmouth’s well-earned success came last Saturday, January 30, when Racquets Squash Academy in Thame held its January, One-Day Junior squash tournament. “There as a smaller entry than previous tournaments,” said squash coach, Sue Martin Downhill,” but by no means a less competitive one.

“We had new young players enter from Henley and Abingdon as well as home-grown players from Racquets, making up a tournament of a huge variety of standards. The ages in the tournament ranged from nine through to 14. We handicapped the tournament so that the better players had to secure more points than the others giving everyone the chance to take first place.”

Sue’s fellow Racquets coach, Will John, said: “For the better players this requires a lot of concentration as the loss of any points can prove disastrous with some of the newest players, only needing three points for a win!”

The results were sixth place – Elio Babb (Henley), fifth place – Matt Harper (LWS year 7), fourth place – Sam Crowley (Abingdon), third place – Joey Monti (Barley Hill year 5).

The final was between Luke Hayes (Barley Hill year 5) and James Portsmouth (LWS year 7) with Luke starting on zero and James starting on -8. “Luke is a strong competitor as we have seen in the last few months, with his recent great tournament results, “explained Sue, “but James has improved his game markedly in the past month, taking first prize in a display of controlled, quality squash with great technique and touch.

“James has been dedicated to squash for a year now watching PSA events on Youtube and SquashTV for hours every day, taking note of racket technique and movement on court by the professionals. This is showing in his improvement and I expect to see him challenging higher up the leagues and ladders and hopefully we will be able to arrange for him to attend some local national ranking tournaments in the coming year.”

To start playing squash or for more informatin, give Simon Martin or Sue a call at Racquets Fitness Centre on 01844 261754. The club is particularly keen to encourage ladies and juniors who have never played before as they have new groups who have started learning this year, and they are very keen to have more players.