League, Round 2

Round 2 of the leagues starts next week hot on the heels of the Fall Down.

Below are the schedules and list of league members as well as a phone list in alphabetical order.  Also posted under the Leagues section

As always please be courteous to your opponent and give plenty of notice if you can make a match.

A Division Schedule             

A Division

B Division Schedule
B Division

weekly update Monday 20th Oct

Please find below this weeks weekly update.

Fall Down Classic:

The Fall Down Classic Starts this thursday for some local players.  The draws can be found by visiting the following link:   Fall Down Draws

Karakal are once again coming along with their stand for the weekend and you will be able to demo rackets and purchase clothing etc.  We will be offering generous discounts for anything bought over the weekend.

We are running a C Doubles event for anyone who loses in the first round of the B Doubles.  All matches in the C division however will be best of 3.  As well as using sudden death at 14 all in all matches we will also only be allowing 1 serve so get practising your serves!!

Leagues:

This Monday and Tuesday sees the last week of matches in round 1 before we promote and relegate before the start of round 2 which starts 27th & 28th October.  Anyone wishing to join at the half way stage needs to email me asap.  Please ensure all scores are recorded before midnight on Wednesday.

Woman's Clinic:

We had a great turn out last Friday night for the 1st Woman's Clinic.  Unfortunately there is no session this Friday due to the tournament but we will resume on Friday 31st October.  I know this is Halloween but we can always do a spot of ghosting!

Juniors:

There are no juniors this weekend or next weekend due to tournaments.  The week day sessions will be unaffected and the Saturday sessions resume on Saturday 8th November.

Courts:

Just a polite notice to all members that both this weekend and next weekend due to the tournaments you will not be able to book courts on Saturdays and on Sundays they will not be free until 4pm.

Tip of the week:

Seeing as it is tournament time I thought I would give you ways of using the 90sec between games.

1)  Re-Hydrate:  Preferably not with beer!  The first thing to do once you get off court is replace fluids you lost in the previous game. 

2)  Relax:  after grabbing a drink get your self relaxed as soon as possible, especially if the game has ended badly for you!  Even if you won it allow yourself to come down a little ready to go again in the next game.

3)  Reflect:  think about what happened in the previous game.  If you won it pick something you did well and remind yourself to continue.  If you lost it pick 1 point to do better and find a trigger word to remind yourself during the game.

3)  Refocus:  Before going back on court refocus your attention to tactics and getting back in the zone!  Saying 2 simple things is a great way of doing this.

Things to avoid especially for juniors! :

Don't get into long discussions and arguments with parents!  The time between games should be positive and relaxed, very rarely is a complete bollocking the right way to go.

Don't discuss technical things between games.  These are things you work on in practice and over weeks and weeks.  the 90 sec between games is not the time for this and actually causes confusion and diverts attention

Don't overload the information.  The stuff  between games needs to be short and simple.  No more than 1-2 things if possible.  Too much leads to confusion and can stress people out.  Much better to pick the 1 thing you feel would make the biggest difference and it needs to be simple and something the player can do!!

Have a great week and if you are playing in the Fall Down I look forward to seeing you at the end of the week.

Weekly Update 14th October

Firstly Happy Thanksgiving.  I hope you all had a great Long weekend.

Leagues:

As a result of the Holiday yesterday there are no matches scheduled tonight.  The final week of round 1 is next Monday and Tuesday.  We will then go straight into round 2 so all matches need to be completed by next week.

The Doubles league re-starts next Monday and all other leagues continue as ususal this week.

Fall Down Classic:

Entries are now closed.  The draws and start times will be available next monday.  If you did not sign up I may be able to add late if the event you wish to play in allows it but I can't guarantee spaces.

Woman's Social:

Last week I said this would start on the 24th which was incorrect.  It starts this eek which is the 17th.  Mike Wilbur and Renka Gesing thanks for pointing out this error but you were too slow!  David Guthrie won the battle by being the first to correctly point out the mistake!  Sessions run 5.30pm till 7pm and costs $10 for members and $15 for non members.

WSF Christmas Party:

Paul and Mark are again working hard to organize this years Christmas Party which will be held at Caesars on the 6th December.  I am looking forward to this years edition and am sure it will be even better than the previous two I have attended which were great occasions.  Please complete the form below to reserve a spot.  I am told seats are being sold fast!

bit.ly/wsfparty2014

Tip Of the Week:

Keep a journal!  When we write something down we are more likely to follow through with it.  Try thinking about your game and highlighting 1 thing you want to get better at.  Try and choose something which you feel will make the biggest improvement in your game.  It is usually more effective to do this after a loss. It may be a shot, movement into a particular area of the court or a tactical shortfall.  Once highlighted write it down and look at it every time you go on court.

Once we consciously make the effort/decision to improve something we are on a much better path to improvement and writing it down is a simple easy way of doing this.  You can even grade yourself out of 10 for the specific skill and after matches record improvements using the same simple scale. Be aware that improvement does not happen in a straight line so don't expect the score to improve each time.  Sometimes you will come off court and record a lower score than before, this is part of the struggle of improvement, embrace it!

Sorry for the plug but, getting a lesson once you have identified an area is a good way of getting some pointers that you can then go away and work on.  I can give you technical points as well as practices and conditioned games you can use to help progress. 

 A good example of a conditioned game is as follows.  Last year I was not happy with my FH Volley drop.  A game I used to play was every time I volleyed on my FH it had to be a drop.  This forced me to play the shot and also in every game I played I was consciously thinking about improving part of my game.  I would not do this in a serious match but in practice matches it is extremely useful rather than going through the motions.

Have a great week

Weekly Update Monday 6th October

Dear All,

Hope you all had a great weekend.  Here is this weeks update.

Junior Charity Golf Day:

Yesterday saw 32 members and friends brave the elements and take part in the Inaugural Junior Golf Fundraiser.  It was great to see so many people supporting the event both by playing and by sponsoring and donating towards the day.  We look like we have raised a little over $1000 which is brilliant.  There is a separate write up on the blog about the day but I wanted to give special thanks to Craig Guthrie for taking on and running with the mantle of organizer/host for the event.  Golf Day Blog

Leagues:

Slightly disappointed with the lack of communication last week.  Can I remind everyone that if you can't make your match it is your responsibility to contact them personally and re arrange.  It is not good enough to leave a message with the club.  As a last resort you can email me and I will pass the message on.  It is not possible for the club or me to contact players each time a change is needed.

This week is the last week before a week of next week due to Thanks giving.  Next week therefore would be a great time to make up any missed games.

Doubles League:

After discussions with those playing I have decided that if all players involved in the 9pm slot wish to re arrange then I will allow it.  However if 1 player can't/does not want to then the game must be played as scheduled and subs need to be found.  Please organize this in advance as the schedule is up!

Ladder:

I have adjusted the settings to allow challenges up to 10 places up for the month of October.  I have also reduced the time to 7 days to respond.  If you can't play simply cancel the request and allow the challenger to move on to someone else.  I hope this allows more games to be played.  

Prizes for the last 3 months are as follows:  Biggest climbers Shabaz Saleem and Marco Carnavale.  Best out right record goes to Craig Guthrie who regained top spot of the ladder.  Please can you three grab me at the club for your prizes!

Fall Down Classic:

Deadline for the Fall Down Classic is next Monday!!  Please ensure you have all signed up before leaving for thanksgiving weekend!!

Here is the link again for those who wish to sign up on House Account.

Fall Down Entry Form

Tip Of the Week:

Target the first 3 shots of every rally!  I sent the juniors to the Gary Wait Tournament at the weekend thinking about the first 3shots they play in each rally.  If you watch amateur matches it is sometimes easy to see who will win the rally or at least create the first opening after the first 3 shots.  With this in mind if we can ensure our first 3 shots in every rally are hit with purpose and accuracy we should create plenty of pressure and openings for ourselves to win points!  

  

You still need to make sure shot selection is correct but by breaking the match down into small chunks it is easy to keep your focus/attention.  

  

This is also a good ploy for players who are mentally fragile and tend to over think and worry about results rather than performance.  If you give yourself a simple target of hitting the first 3 shots of every rally perfectly then this does not allow your mind to be diverted to the more stressful things such as 'I should to be losing to this person!'   

This technique will also allow you to reflect more effectively after a match.  My return of serve was not good enough so I could never hit 3 good shots to start the rally off.  Therefore the next few weeks should be spent improving your return of serve!

Have a good week

Graeme

Golf Tourney

He can play squash, but golf....

      32 golfers bundled up and headed out for a round of golf in some cool and windy conditions, which surely counted for some of the high scores.  The money raised today will be put towards ensuring quality level junior tournaments in the future, supporting those in the program who may need financial assistance, and recruitment of new players from lower income backgrounds.

Best Dressed Golfer

      Please come out and see the top juniors in Ontario play in Windsor on November 14, 15, 16.
Thanks again to everyone who participated as well as Ben Stone and AJ Jobin for running our putting contest. Of course, a big thank you to our sponsors:


Windsor Squash and Fitness
Mousseau, Deluca, McPherson, Prince Law Firm (Tom Porter)
Riverview Steel (Andrew Dalla Bona)
Radix Controls (Nick Dimitrov)
Anis Khan
Enwin (Barry Leavitt)
Scarfone Law (Jim Scarfone)
David Scarfone

Not the winning group :)

Karakal (Graeme Williams)
South Windsor Animal Hospital (Chris Chamandy)
Holland Cleaning Supplies (Mike Wilbur)
Norm Marcouz
Valente Travel (Al Valente)
Vollmer Complex (Carol Higgins)

Here are the winners.......

Overall low score- Guthrie (Dave), Valente, Wilbur, Leavitt -3 (they will be going to a Red Wing game in the near future thanks to Andrew Dalla Bona and Riverview Steel)
Longest Drive- Mike Wilbur (not that long really)
Closest to the Pin- Craig Guthrie (what a shot too!!!)
50/50 Putting Contest- John Mill (didn't help on the course)

The winning team

The 401 Challenge

The 2nd instalment of the 401 happened last night at Windsor Squash and Fitness Club. The boys from Chatham pulled out a narrow victory over us. The matches were all tried up with one match to be played between Dan Van Morsel and Craig Guthrie. Van Morsel played error free squash that allowed him to pull out a 3-1 victory over Guthrie. Most of the matches were one sided with the exception of the Wayne Carroll/ Steve Allen match which was a slug fest that went the full 5 games. Allen pulled out the victory. Thank you to everyone who participated in this great event.

 

Beginners Clinic Sat 4th October 2pm - 3pm

This Saturday we are running a beginners clinic to cover the basic techniques, rules and tactics.  The session is $15 plus HST and all equipment is provided.

The session runs from 2pm till 3pm and is open to both existing members and non members.

Please email squash@windsorsquash.ca to register.