Former World No.112 Heather Pilley discussed coaching and her passion for squash ahead of her debut at the World Squash Masters Championships in front of her home crowd this August.
The 34-year-old, soon to be 35, will compete on the international stage in Perth, Australia, alongside hundreds of squash players, all battling it out in their respective categories for the title of World Squash Masters Champion.
And with Pilley set to make her debut in the Women’s Over 35’s category, she reflected on her squash journey that started nearly 35 years ago (literally) at her parents’ squash club in Yamba, in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia.
“I was born into the sport,” she said: “I fell in love with squash from an early age, and growing up with a squash court right next door was quite ideal. The best memory was having access all the time, and we never really knew how lucky we were.
“Looking back at it now, that was amazing. And I know it wouldn’t be normal for most people, but growing up hearing squash balls hitting the walls as I fell to sleep was a comforting feeling.”
Growing up in Yamba with her brothers, Morgan and former World No.11 Cameron Pilley, she reflected on her upbringing and how it has helped her to become the person she is today on and off the court.
She said: “We played in many Junior events, and our Dad would take us all over Australia while our Mum stayed home and ran the squash centre. Looking back at those days, it was amazing.”
Reminiscing on her upbringing, Pilley also shared how it not only encouraged her to have a sport-filled youth, but also her siblings and her cousin, former World No.13 Donna Lobban, Pilley added: “There must be something in the water in Yamba.”
And whilst her brother was making strides on the PSA Tour, Heather began making the transition from a player to a coach.
“It was an easy transition into coaching, as I came out of juniors and I played on the tour for a few years, and at the time I wasn’t winning any titles in Australia and was spending a lot of money to travel around the country.
“So, when I knew I wasn’t getting into the finals in Australia anymore, I started to move into a different sporting position. So, I started working at a fitness club, where they had seven glass-backed squash courts, which in Australia felt pretty rare to have.”
With a life surrounded by squash, it seemed that it was a career move that was second nature for the Australian, Pilley continued: “It helped that I grew up with a family-run squash court, and I was helping out younger kids when I was in high school.
“I didn’t realise at the time, but working at my parents’ squash centre, it helped me to get into these positions today as it taught me a lot without even realising.”
Now with over 10 years of coaching experience, Pilley shared how she has a strong passion for seeing her players’ develop, as she continued: “It is so rewarding to see the players improve, especially when you can see them acting out what you have taught them, especially when they figure it out during a match.
“It is so rewarding, and it is great to see them learn and grow into their own kind of player,” she added.
As a squash coach, Pilley also spoke positively on treating her players like a “squash family”, something she resonates with from her own junior career: “I see them as my squash children, and they will talk to me about squash, and they feel comfortable talking to me even when it doesn’t involve the sport.
“For me, it is a really important thing because some kids might not have strong relationships with family or friends, so it’s good knowing that you can be trusted as a coach, and you can be trusted outside the sport.”
She continued: “I am still in close contact with my coach, Marc Forster, from when I moved to Brisbane and played in the PSA, he has a big part of the squash community in Queensland, alongside former World No.45 Steve Finitsis.
“So, I think that it is important to have a good relationship with your coach, and it certainly helps you enjoy playing squash.”
And these relationships have been built at her squash club, Sandgate Squash in Queensland, under the leadership of Nathan Turnbull (who is also set to feature at the World Squash Masters Championships), as Pilley added: “I have to give full credit to him, as he has done an enormous job at building the junior programme at the club.
“We have got one of the biggest Junior programmes in Queensland, and definitely on the east coast, and it is nice to see that squash is in a really good place.
Pilley continued: “We have got a great group of kids, but I think the biggest one for us here is that we have more female juniors than male juniors, which is so rare.
“We have such a huge amount of young girls playing, it’s amazing, as when I was going through my junior stage and playing in New South Wales, there would be maybe one or two of us girls, so it was a real struggle to get a full team of girls.
“Whereas these days, especially in Queensland, there is such a high number of girls playing, it is a huge thing for any female athlete in the sport.”
And with huge strides being made for squash in Australia, Heather Pilley also spoke about squash making its historic Olympic debut at the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and shared how it has inspired the next generation of players.
She said: “I think with the Olympics, it has become super important for the younger generation. Firstly, for the Olympics to be held in Brisbane in 2032 anyway, in our home state, it’s going to be such a huge thing, but if squash was included, it would be amazing.
“And it is so nice to see that the kids coming through are now going ‘How old am I going to be?’, ‘Am I going to be eligible for this?’ So we are just trying to get the next generation into playing squash and understanding that this is a big moment for the sport, and it will be huge.”
With one eye on the distant future for squash, Pilley also shared her preparations for the World Squash Masters Championships in August, as she said: “I have got back into doing solo training drills, and you forget how hard that was mentally and physically.
“I am forcing myself to do court sprints, ghosting, and solo hitting, and I have been switching up my gym routine to focus on squash-specific training.
“When I first started training, I had a lot of head noise, and I felt like I was almost regressing back to the feeling as if I was playing on the PSA Tour. I was overthinking too much and losing focus.
“I am actually doing the World Masters for fun, and I am looking forward to playing in Perth, as I want to transition away from the mentality I had playing in PSA events. I want to go in and enjoy playing in a tournament, and see people I used to play with.”
With preparation already underway ahead of her debut at the World Masters, she also shared her home soil ambitions, Pilley added: “The goal is to try and win a match at World Masters, and then I can see how I go from there.
“I never put big expectations on myself, as I don’t know who I am playing, and I try not to put too much pressure on myself, and I feel like that is when I can play my best squash.”
She continued: “But I think having less pressure on me, and not thinking about the tournament as much will help me, but I feel like I am hitting my peak in my playing career, honestly, so the tournament has come about at the right time.”
And with the tournament being hosted at both the Mirrabooka Squash Centre and the Belmont Squash Centre, as well as the all-glass show court in the Karrinyup Shopping Centre (Western Australia’s largest shopping centre), Pilley discussed how it will be a good opportunity to showcase and promote high-level squash in the region.
She said: “I think it will be a big attraction for people who will be walking past and see it. I think an event like this is a really big thing for Australian Squash.
“Even with the Australian Open on the South Bank in Brisbane, it caught the attention of people walking past, as it is a big attraction, so I’m hoping it’ll help squash in Western Australia.
“I am hoping that people will see it, and for people who haven’t played or used to play, it will help them get into the sport again.”
