Some of Africa’s best young squash talents had the opportunity to learn from top-class coaches thanks to a programme funded by Olympic Solidarity, and facilitated by South Africa and the SASCOC (South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee).
The coaching programme took place from 17-20 April at the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Centre, welcoming 12 squash players (six male and six female): six from South Africa and two players each from Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, all under the age of 23 years old.
Under the expert guidance of world-class coach Hadrian Stiff, the director and founder of Elite Squash, the U23 camp was designed to improve performance through active participation at an elite level, with the aim of leaving a lasting impact on the players and the grassroots squash scene in their respective countries.
And with the programme built to encourage further and future development of squash, the participating National Federations also sent across coaches with the intention of learning from those who have worked at the top of the sport.
The initiative was funded by Olympic Solidarity, a programme that provides assistance to all National Olympic Committees (NOCs), especially to those with the greatest need, through multi-faceted programmes that prioritise athlete development, training coaches and sports administrators, as well as promoting the Olympic values.
The programme provided dedicated sessions led by Stiff throughout the weekend that focused on different aspects of players’ on-court performance, covering a variety of topics such as how to train correctly, solo training, warming up, and case studies of the world-class athletes Stiff has worked alongside, such as 2017 World Champion Mohamed ElShorbagy.
And with a focus on player development and long-term progress, Stiff dedicated eight to nine hours on the court each day, as well as hosting workshops for the coaches that taught them his methods for lesson planning and how to apply them to their own sessions.
Alongside the sessions on court, the participating players and coaches were also welcomed to a nutrition-based talk hosted by Nicki de Villiers named ‘Fuel to Flourish’.
The session focused on match preparation and taught the players how to fuel smarter, train stronger and recover faster, providing key information for both players and coaches for future use.
The U23’s camp also saw players receive a coaching session from Jesse Engelbrecht via Zoom. Since retiring as a professional player, Engelbrecht has become a mental performance specialist, best known as the founder of SportMind, a global mental training platform integrated into the World Squash coach education syllabus.
During his session with the players and coaches, Engelbrecht hosted a presentation on breathing techniques along with an engaging Q+A with the South African sharing his experiences with top PSA players.
Following the U23 camp, South Africa’s Joffvre Duminy said: “It was an awesome experience, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
It was clear that the programme offered the young athletes a great opportunity, having the chance to learn from elite-level squash coaches, as Felix from Zambia said: “The squash camp was next level. We came in just trying to keep up, but left with faster footwork, tighter serves and a drop shot that actually drops.
“The coaches, the grind, the banter with the crew, the whole experience was awesome and so enriching. Thank you.”
Find out more about Olympic Solidarity at olympics.com.
