Industry news

Outlook good for squash, says SA coach

More people, however, play squash as a leisure activity and this market segment is definitely growing as more and more people realise the health benefits of squash. Squash is also becoming more popular with athletes who excell in other sport like hockey and cricket, as it improves their ball skills.

He comments that more players from different races are enjoying squash in SA and the transformation can be seen in the number of black, Indian and coloured players that are playing squash.

The reason for the decline in league players, says Castle, is that people are too busy to commit to playing squash seriously. Also, club membership fees have become higher and the expense is a turn-away point for many players.

A few years ago the average age for male squash players in test series was 30; now the average age is 25. The fact that the players are younger means that the involvement in the sport is getting stronger. A sport can only grow and benefit if the youth has a strong interest in it. Most professional squash players start at a young age and have already shown potential before they go to high school.

The problem is that schools simply cannot afford to build squash courts and membership to fitness clubs are expensive. Castle believes the solution lies in building what he calls a multi-zone — an open-air cement construction with two walls where children of all communities, especially disadvantaged ones, can bounce balls off the walls. It is also suitable for basketball or tennis practice.

Castle has been playing squash since he was four and was national junior squash champion at the age of 12. At the age of 16, he started coaching at school level and by the time he was 21 he was a level 2 squash coach. In the 90s Castle became the Gauteng senior squash coach, but also played professionally.

His team won the Jarvis/Kaplan cup three years in a row and in 2003 he was asked to coach in KwaZulu-Natal. During that year the men’s squash team won in the A, B and C section and the women’s team the C section.

In 1997 Glenn Whittaker, former SA champion, started training with Castle. In 2001, 2002 and 2003 Castle and Adrian Hansen won the men’s doubles tournament and had great winnings with Jeanne Cowdrey. In 2004 Castle was appointed by Squash SA to coach the national team.

Funding is the biggest problem for squash. The National Lottery started funding Squash SA in 2005 and these funds enables them to send four players overseas to expose them to the international arena. SA squash players therefore have the opportunity to turn professional, but only when they are within the top 40 in the world — for example 20-year old Tenille Swartz (world #35) who is currently training in Germany. Swartz has been training with Castle for two and a half years and he says she has the potential to become world #1.

Some squash players return to SA to receive training, for example Milnay Louw, but Holland, Germany and other European countries are the best training grounds since the world’s strongest players train there — and, according to Castle, you can only better yourself once your opposition is the best.

The most expensive aspect of squash, and the reason why many SA children cannot play squash is the price of the racquet. Castle therefore appreciates it when brands try to bring out the best racket that they can and sell it at a lower price range.

His sponsorship with Dunlop is in an advisory capacity — and while he will not sell Dunlop products to his players, he does believe that Dunlop’s new range of Aerogel rackets have really hit the spot with the extended sweet-spot and a very good multi-filament.