Small progressions in 2015

This was the Club's eigth year and still we have a steady increase our Membership; many find us through the website. This, together with our on-line booking system,are a big influence in helping us recruit new members. We also started to give serious consideration to when we might submit our third court plans to the Planning Authority.

The monthly leagues continue to be well supported and, once again, our Teams continued to achieve during the first half of the 2015-16 season, notably our North Wales First Team who top their league, and both North West Counties Teams who are looking for promotion - see details below.

Club's 2015 AGM

This year's Annual General Meeting of the Squash Club was held on 11 May, in the Sports Club.

The big issue was around whether we could sustain a Third Court - this was an important opportunity to get members' input into the future direction of the Club.

Other highlights were the agreement to hold subscription rates for the following year.
Member Subscriptions for 2015-2016 in the following three categories:-
Senior - £70;
Junior / Student (in full time education) - £35 or £60 for 2 children from same family;
Family (2 adults and children) - £100.

The meeting agreed that the court light fees should be held at current levels i.e. £3.00 per 45 minute session.

Click on the link below for a note of the meeting.

At the meeting, Officers for 2015-16 were agreed as follows:

Chairman - Mark Davies;
Secretary - Jim Tunley
Treasurer - Kevin Jones
Assistant Treasurer - Mannon Goddard
Teams rep. - Rob Evans
Ordinary Members - Geraint Jones, Thomas Koscinski & Darren Lee.

Some highlights from 2015 ...

Geraint's epic victory in Fast & Furious

Despite a disappointing response, together with a number of forced withdrawals from this year's Fast & Furious Tournament, we ended 2014 by witnessing some outstanding squash played over the weekend 12 / 13 December.

Two stand-out matches were in the Finals of the Group A and B events. In the Group B Final between Gareth Williams and John Williams; over the best of three, games were 1-1 and in the final game, John led at 8-7 only to be pegged back by Gareth who went on to win it 11-8 - some really excellent squash from both.

The climax of the weekend came with the Group A Final and again some superb squash from both finalists - Geraint Jones in particular played out of his skin to beat the number one seed, Darren Lee in straight games.

In a tight first game that went to 8-9, Darren lost the service to Geraint who held his nerve to take it 11-8. In the second game, Geraint was quickly out of the blocks to take a 6-2 lead; he regained the service and went 9-3 up then continued the pressure to win it 11-5.

This was an epic victory from the Siver Fox and there is now an unconfirmed suggestion that he may soon be sponsored by Purple Moose, without whose help this famous win may not have been possible !

All topped up !

On 21 January 2015, CourtCare returned to the Club to complete a further top-up of the sand / aggregates behing the front walls of both courts - we hoped now that there would be little doubt about whether that ball was good !

Come on Wales !

With the Six Nations Rugby Tournament underway, Hannah Davies was in Cardiff for her PGCE Course and spotted giving some encouragement to Welsh star, Jamie Roberts.

Improving student participation !

Always keen to improve participation, on 5 February, the Club hosted over 20 First Year Sports Science students from Glyndwr University who were playing squash as one of a series of practical taster sessions in a range of different sports.

The students were given tips on the game by Mark Davies and their Senior Lecturer, Duncan Mascarenhas, with help from Club player and Glyndwr student, Jack Hayes

Old guys rule in Newport !

Over 7-8 February, four of our "senior" players were at Newport Squash Club taking part in the 2015 Welsh Masters Tournament with the huge incentive in that those who did well have the opportunity to represent Wales later in the year at the 4 Nations Tournament in Dublin.

In the Over 40s event were Jonathan Davies (seeded 2) and John Ashton; in the Over 45 group we had Neil Rawlings; and Mark Davies played in the Over 55s.

All four had some impressive results - Jonathan went on to win the Mens Over 40 event, beating Matthew Crowley 3-0 in the Final.
Mark lost a tough Mens Over 55 Final by 3-1 to Mike Workman, while both John and Neil made it through to their Semi Final stages - a good weekend was had by all !

2015 British National Championships

Fresh from his victory in Newport, Club member Jonathan Davies competed, in the 2015 British National Champions (Mens Over 40 event) held in Manchester in February. Jon lost on this occasion to the eventual winner.

The Champions were - Sarah-Jane Perry who beat Number 1 seed Laura Massaro by 3-2 in 80 minutes and
the Mens Number 1 seed Nick Matthew who beat the 3/4 seeded Daryl Selby in 45 minutes.

Racketball Evening - Cancelled

With some disappointment we had to cancel a proposed evening of Racketball, to have been hosted by Wales Squash & Racketball, on 6 March; this due to a lack of response to the invitation issued to members.

Representing Wales ...

Two players from the Club represented Wales in the 2015 Home Internationals that took place in Dublin in March; Jonathan Davies was part of the Welsh Over 40s Team, playing at No 1, while Mark Davies also played at 1 in the Over 55s Team

Congratulations to both players on their selection - another superb weekend.

Light work ...

In May, a group of volunteers gave up their morning to help brighten up the courts, by fitting new fluorescent tubes - thanks to Brian Wynn, Lee Harrison, Andy Offless, Mark Davies and Jim Tunley.

Racketball - a big hit !

We persisted with idea of an evening of racketball at the Club and ten members took part in an excellent session on 28 May.

Thanks to Darren Lee (for his organisation and belief) and to Mike Povey (who kindly sponsored the balls). The evening pitched all standards, old and young, against each other to make it a real fun event.

Champion retains the title

The 2014 Champion came through to retain the 2015 Club Championship on 20 June, winning a hard fought Final match by 3-1 against John Ashton in a match lasting 55 minutes.

It was a great weekend of squash, through the Semis and Final (including a third / fourth play-off, which went all the way), with all players showing superb levels of fitness and a high quality of squash.

THE RESULTS:
Jonathan Davies beat John Ashton - 9-10, 9-1, 9-5, 9-1.
3/4 match: Darren Lee beat Rob Evans - 9-3, 9-1, 8-10, 6-9, 10-8.

NEW - Summer Racketball League

Following up on the the successful Racketball Evening, we tried a new summer Racketball League to run from 1st July until 31st September 2015; this included those who attended on 28th May.

Following some initial interest, however, very few matches were played and the format has now been dropped.

Simon takes the Plate !

The Plate Final of the 2015 Club Championships eventually took place on 14 August and was contested between Simon Koscinski and Kevin Lloyd.

It was a fast and furious match but Simon got into the pace much better to take it in three games: 9-3, 9-6, 9-4. Congratulations to both players for getting to the Final.

Accolade for Mark

At the Wales Squash & Racketball (the sport's Governing Body in Wales) Annual Presentation Evening in Cardiff on 8 August, Mark Davies was awarded "2015 Senior Volunteer for Services to Squash in Wrexham and Powys".

This Award acknowledges the coaching and development work put in by Mark over several years, not only at the Wrexham Brymbo Club but also at Llanfyllin and Newtown.

New on twitter !

In September this year, thanks to Hannah Davies, the Club finally embraced social media and got its own twitter account -

@wxmbrymbosquash

This is now used to keep up to date with all Club announcements, the latest team information and much more!

Squash misses out on Olympic Games

The whole of the squash community was disappointed again as squash failed to be nominated as one of the five sports to be recommended for the Tokyo Games in 2020.

Played in 185 countries around the world, squash also missed out at the 2013 IOC Conference in Buenos Aires when it was one of three sports shortlisted for full inclusion at Tokyo; wrestling won.

World Squash Day ... success

We had a great time with four teams of six players competing in the World Squash Day - "Teams Challenge" at the Club on 10 October.

Players of all ages and ability came together for some fun squash, while raising money on the day for the global charity, UNICEF.

A super effort by all involved, with special thanks to our event organiser, Hannah Davies.

2015 North East Wales Open

In November, some of the Club's players featured in the final stages of the 2015 Nort East Wales Open at the Deeside Leisure Centre.

Congratulations went to Mark Davies on winning the Mens C Event Final, as well as to Darren Lee who lost at the Semi Final stage of the Mens B Event.

Others from the Club taking part (and playing some superb squash) were Jonathan Davies, Rob Evans and Jack Hayes, as well as the following juniors - Thomas Koscinski, Katie Hayes, Josh & Lewis Davies and Will & Jamie Silvester.

The Mens Champion for 2015 is Joel Makin and the Ladies Champion, Tesni Evans.

Heating & Hot Water ...

Great frustrations continued for two weeks in November as part of the Complex, and the Squash Club in particular, were without any gas supply, resulting in a very cold building and no shower facilities.

We had to cancel one of our weekly junior coaching and there was a real concern for risk of injury to our members and teams playing in these conditions.
With much regret we also had to postpone our annual Christmas Tournament from 27 / 28 November, until the weekend of 8 / 9 January 2016. Ultimately, the situation was resolved with a new gas pipe required to be laid acrosss the Complex and down to the Club !

New Club Shirts were available to order

In December, a new set of Club shirts were available to order in two contrast styles.

Club's sponsorship

In December 2015, we were most grateful to Malcolm Williams (aka Big Mal) who, on behalf of Redwither Ltd, gererously agreed to sponsor the Club's Teams this season - with match balls and shirts.

Like father ... a new Champion

We were pleased to welcome a new Champion in the Club - Josh Davies (son of Club Champion, Jonathan) who won the Welsh Junior Closed Championship, in the Boys Under 11 group.

A (late) Fast & Furious success !

It was possibly our best yet (very late) Christmas Tournament the 2015 Fast & Furious Tournament over the weekend 8 / 9 January 2016.

Hannah and Mark Davies worked hard to ensure its success and most pleasing this year was the entry spread from all ages and abilities; it was excellent to see some of the very youngest members taking part and helping to make it such a fun event.

Winner of the main event, for the third time, was our 2015 Club Champion, Jonathan Davies, with Runner-up, Darren Lee.

Our Teams in 2015 ...

The new season started in September with three teams again in the North Wales Leagues (Tuesday evenings) and two in the North West Counties Squash Leagues (Thursdays).

Teams should be posted each week on the Teams Page.

TEAMS SPONSORSHIP:
Our match ball sponsor (for two seasons) went one better in 2015-16 by generously sponsoring team' shirts. The Club is most appreciative of this support from Mr Malcolm Williams (Big Mal) of Redwither Ltd.

December 2015 - Mid Season Report

North Wales Leagues:
Contrasting fortunes for our three teams so far this season. Our First Team have been very impressive in winning the First Division title. A combination of youth and experience have been the key factors in achieving this success. Youngsters like Jack Hayes, Hannah Davies and recently returned Richard Ackerley have all performed admirably, with help from experienced players like Mark Davies, Laurie Jones, Rob Evans, Paul Murphy and Jonathan Davies who all made contributions when needed. The Second half of the season could be very interesting!

Not all good news, however, as our Second Team have been relegated from the Second Division - a surprising conclusion considering the quality of players available to the Team. Injuries haven't helped but this does not detract from the fact we should have done better. We now all need to pull together to ensure we win the Third Division in 2016.

Meanwhile, our Third Team were again well marshalled by Captain, Tom Trueman; they've had a good season with Tom introducing new players to taste league squash for the first time. There will be some rivalry in this division with two Brymbo teams fighting for promotion in the second half !

North West Counties Squash Leagues:
Both teams are currently top of their respective divisions going into the second half of the season.
Our First Team have really achieved (considering the loss of John Ashton for most of the season, and with Jonathan Davies absent on a number of occasions - both through work commitments). Our younger players, like John Evans & Hannah Davies, both stepped up and performed with great success.
Up to the Christmas break, two members of the Team (John & Jonathan) remain unbeaten - the double handed skills work for some ! Importantly, our established players, Darren Lee & Rob Evans continue to do the business.

The Second Team are top of Division Three South, perhaps not a major surprise considering the side they can put out, if all are available.
Captain, Mark Davies has rotated players all season and will continue to do so barring injuries. A welcome addition to the side this season has been Stuart Fisher (Wrexham lad but ex-Tattenhall player) has proved a major coup for the Club and Team. The usual stalwarts - Geraint Jones, Laurie Jones, Pete Davies and Neil Rawlings have all played their part, with young Jack Hayes really starting to assert himself in the team, above some of the "oldies" in the side.

Let's hope both teams can maintain their form and look forward to a double celebration at the end of the season !

A formal handover of shirts took place with members of our top of the table NWCSL First Team on 3 December.

The new Season in the North West Counties Squash Leagues commenced on 17 September. Since then the First Team have maintained their excellent start and head their Division.

Fixtures for our Thursday Teams are shown via the link below.

The 2015-16 Season for the North Wales Leagues started on Monday, 7 September; it followed a Teams Meeting held at the Sports Club on 27 July.

Fixtures for our Tuesday Teams are shown via the link below.

2014 - 2015 Season

May 2015 - End of Season Report

Teams this season have had mixed fortunes.
In the North West Counties Leagues, our First Team (Division 2 West) finished 5th with our Second Team (Division 3 South West) finishing 4th.
Injuries were a huge problem this season with so many players out. Perhaps we are all just getting older!!!
As the First Team always has preference, the Seconds suffered greatly and it has probably cost them at least 2nd or even 1st place in their Division.
Thanks to our Captains - Rob, Darren & especially Geraint for all his running around and incurring a large phone bill.

In the North Wales Leagues we had three teams competing in each of the three Divisions.
Our First Team, marshalled by Jack Hayes, finished in a comfortable position in the First Division.
Our Second Team, captained by Dave Thomas struggled at start of season but finishing strongly to remain in the Second Division.
Our Third Team, in Division Three was Captained by Tom Trueman, it has provided an opportunity for several members to experienced league squash for the first time and all of their comments have been most positive.

December 2014 - Mid Season Report

All teams in the North Wales & North West Counties Leagues have had a reasonable first half of the season despite the number of injuries that have continued throughout the season so far. Hopefully in the second half these will clear up and all our teams can make a bid for promotion !

North Wales League: The First Team held its own in Division One primarily due to having a settled side. Our two youngsters, Jack Hayes & Aled Goddard both adapted well to playing in this higher league with the old stalwarts of Lawrie Jones, Paul Murphy and John Williams picking up points. A new member, Joe McGoldrick, played some matches at No1 but unfortunately hurt his Achilles and is still on the road to recovery.

The Second Team narrowly missed promotion to Division One by a single point. This was a top effort considering all the team selection issues which have resulted in the league giving us a warning for the second half.

Meanwhile our Third Team, well marshalled by Tom Trueman, have performed very well in the Third Division with a number of new players having a taste of league squash for the first time namely Paul Holland & Lewis Jones. Youngsters like Thomas Hewitt (15) & Thomas Koscinski (14) have both made their debuts this season and another youngster, Owen Platt, ready to give it a go in the second half.

North West Counties League: Our teams have done remarkably well considering the long injury list. At one point there we had a stronger team on the side-lines than was available to play! However, a strong finish to the first half by the First Team has put them in a good position to challenge once again for promotion.

Meanwhile, our Second Team has suffered more due to the First Team calling on players to step up ! But once again they rallied to finish a creditable fourth in the league, with Captain Geraint in particular having an excellent season.

This year, reviewed at the Christmas half way point, the Club had been clear about arranging its teams in the North Wales Leagues on the basis of a "pool" system. This is allowed greater eligibility for selection to more members, including an opportunity to occasionally field some of our younger junior players - as a consequence, some players in the team would rotate every couple of weeks.

For our North West Counties League (NWCSL) Teams, selection rests, as previously, with the Team Captains.

For this 2014-15 Season, we would have a team in each of the three North Wales Leagues (Tuesday) and two teams in the NWCSL (Thursday).
We tried to establish also that each week, all teams selected would be identified as soon as possible and posted on the website.

Our Juniors in 2015 ...

Our Junior Coaching programme started each Monday (from September) with three groupings (beginners; intermediate and advanced), at the usual times from 4.45 pm.

Child Safety & Equity

The Squash Club fully supports and welcomes the work of its National Governing Body, Wales Squash & Racketball in the area of child safety and, as such, members and parents may be interested to see the WSRB Safeguarding Policy & Procedures in Squash document.

"Child Safety - Our Priority"

Eye Protection - our Policy

At the start of another season and a new Junior Coaching Programme, it is important for everyone to understand the Club's approach to Eye Protection - a policy which is also adopted by Wales Squash & Racketball (WSRB).

To view our policy click on either the link below or the graphic (right).

Eye Protection - our Policy

Calling all potential coaches . . .

Do you have what it takes to become a qualified squash coach - if so, your Club needs you!

If any Club member has an interest in committing to become a qualified coach, the Squash Club may be able to assist with necessary fees and mentoring.
Please contact either Mark Davies or Jim Tunley to chat it through.

Some highlights ...

January 2015

Good response by our Juniors

We had an excellent response from our juniors to start off the New Year's Junior Coaching Programme on 4 January.
Apart from a break at half term this programme ran through until schools finished at Easter.

For the advanced group of players (starting at 6.15) from 19 January until the Easter break, the programme changed to comprise a double session, finishing at 7.45 - this was to reflect the need for that particular group of players to have more time time on court.

February 2015

Current and future champions ?

Club members, Josh & Lewis Davies were obviously thrilled to have their photo with the current World Champion, Nick Matthew in Manchester as Matthew gained a record seventh British National title with a dominant 3-0 display against Daryl Selby.

Champions !

Academy Training over the half term break

Some of our juniors were involved in a North Wales Academy Training Squad session at Deeside during half term - this gave them an opportunity for extra tuition and play.

Warm down 1

Warm down 2

Josh and Lewis at the Open

Over the weekend 7-8 February two of our Juniors, Josh and Lewis Davies played in the 2015 Metalmin North Wales Junior Open at The Saints Club, Prestatyn.

It was a pity that more of our juniors did not take the opportunity to enhance their games by taking part in this local tournament - both Josh and Lewis had a good weekend.

March 2015

Academy Squad

The North Wales Academy Squad is for Wrexham, Denbighshire & Flintshire players who are not National Squad players but, for their continued development, deserve the chance to have additional coaching by a National Squad coach Andrew Evans, assisted by Mark Davies.

Players for the squads are selected by club coaches and if these players do not perform then they can be withdrawn from the squad at any time.
Likewise, should club coaches feel at anytime that other players within their club deserves a chance to participate in these sessions, then this would be discussed with Andrew with a view to their acceptance.
The first session was on 21 March at Brymbo; it comprised 2 hours of general routines, similar to club routines, but on a much more intensive basis.

An Easter comp.

The final coaching session before the Easter break on 23 March, took the form of a mini tournament and skills test.

April 2015

2015 Tri-Series

Many of the Club's juniors were involved in the annual Tri-Series match, against the Newtown and Llanfyllin Squash Clubs on 19 April at Newtown Leisure Centre.

The 2015 match included players selected from the Club in five age categories: Under 11s to Under 19s (some of the Team are pictured below)

We were holders of the Shield in 2014 but narrowly lost out this year by 3 points (with some matches not completed !)

Our thanks to all of the players and parents who took part, for helping make it a memorable day.

2015 Tri-Series - Ieuan

2015 Tri-Series - David & Lewis

2015 Tri-Series - Finlay, Owen, Lewis, Jamie & Ben

High Performance session

Some of our juniors were invited to attend a tough coaching session at the Club on 18 April with WSRB High Performance Coach, Andrew Evans.

Three juniors were able to attend - Josh & Lewis Davies as well as Thomas Koscinski - each were put through their paces during an individual session with Andrew.

High Performance Session - Lewis & Josh Davies

High Performance Session - Thomas Koscinski

Easter break

Our Junior Coaching started up again after the Easter break on 13 April.

North Wales Academy 2 Squad

The latest Academy Squad 2 Training session took place over the Easter break on 7 April at Deeside LC.

May 2015

North Wales Development Event

Several juniors from the Club took part in a North Wales Development Event at Deeside on 17 May - this was a graded eventand excellent experience for our younger players.

The Club had juniors playing in two of the three competition categories, as follows:-
A Event - Thomas Koscinski (Runner-up); Josh Davies (3rd); Owen Platt (5th); Jamie Roberts (6th).

B Event - Lewis Davies (4th); Katie Hayes (5th); Ben Thomas (6th).

Congratulations and well done to all of our juniors

May Holidays

All juniors and parents are asked to note that during May there will be no junior coaching on 4 and 25 May.

The coaching programme will continue on all of the other Mondays.

June 2015

Health Awareness at Barkers Lane

On 26 June, coaches from the Club were busy taking part in a Health Awareness Promotion Day at Barkers Lane CP School where pupils from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 all took part in the Mini Squash Experience.

We hope that some of these young people will soon follow up their interest in playing squash with a taster session at the Club.

Barkers Lane CP School - Year 3

Barkers Lane CP School - Year 4

Barkers Lane CP School - Year 5

Barkers Lane CP School - Year 6

Mini Squash at Bangor on Dee

Over two weeks in June, coaches from the Club took the Mini Squash Experience to Bangor on Dee, Ysgol Sant Dunawds CP - in particular to their Year 3/4 group.

Pupils had fun while gaining new skills and all will be invited to attend a taster session at the Club.

Many thanks to Abbie Barkley, Llinos Evans and Jim Tunley for giving up their time.

Ysgol Sant Dunawds Year 3/4 - First Group

Ysgol Sant Dunawds Year 3/4 - Second Group

July 2015

Under 11s at Fun Series

Five juniors from the Club attended a WSRB Under 11 Fun Series event in Cardiiff over the weekend 18/19 July, testing themselves against others from across Wales.

Congratulations to David Thomas, Will and Jamie Silvester as well as Lewis and Josh Davies who all attended.

In particular, well done to Josh who was Runner-up in the Individual Event and to Lewis, who was part of the Runners-up in the Team Event.

Fun Series Runner-up - Josh Davies

Fun Series Players - Cardiff July 2015

Mini Tournament to end season

For those who were available, the season's Coaching Programme concluded on 13 July with a tournament for each of the three groups:
First Group - we had Ieuan playing newcomer Harvey and Lacey taking on some skills tests. It is so good to see our younger players enjoying their game!

Second Group - only five available this evening but we still managed some excellent, hard fought matches.
On top came Max, followed by Cameron, then Chloe, Poppy and Matthew.

Third Group - So tight and competitive were these matches that we almost ran out of time. Congratulations on some excellent games to all players - Owen, Nick, Jamie, Josh, David, Will, Ben and Lewis.

Good luck and have a great weekend to all of those taking part in the WSRB Fun Series event in Cardiff on 18 July.

PLEASE NOTE - the Junior Coaching Programme will commence again on Monday, 7 September

August 2015

Josh triumphs in Llanwrst

Huge congratulations to Josh and Lewis Davies on their First and Fourth place finishes in the Llanwrst Junior Open on 8 August.

This is a great achievement for both players and testament to the benefit of regular, consistent play by juniors.

2015 Llanrwst Open - Winner, Josh Davies

2015 Llanrwst Open - Fourth Place, Lewis Davies

2015 Llanrwst Open - all the winners

September 2015

Local boys do well at Welsh Junior Open

Congratulations to four of our junior players who played at the 2015 Welsh Junior Open in Cardiff over the weekend (11 - 13 September).

The Tournament was part of the European Junior Squash Grand Prix and, as such, had some of the best junior players from across Europe.

All were competing in the Boys Under 11 event with three making it to the Quarter Finals stage.

Jamie Silvester was Runner-up, losing in the Final to a young guy from Ireland.
Josh Davies finished in 6th place.
Will Silvester was 7th.
Lewis Davies came in 9th place.

Really well done to all four players and their parents for taking part in this important national event.

Welsh Junior Open - Jamie & Will

A new season starts ...

The Club's new Junior Coaching Programme for the 2015-16 Season got underway on Monday, 7 September.

The programme would follow the usual format, for the Beginners Group to start at 4.45 pm (45 minute session), followed by the Intermediate Group at 5.30 and then the Advanced Group at 6.15.

An achievement for Jamie & Will

Congratulations to both Jamie and Will Silvester who recently took part in the 2015 Junior Squash Tournament at Wycliffe School, Gloucestershire.

The School has a fantastic record of producing some top junior players and so it was to their great credit that Jamie finished as Runner-up, while Will took the third place.

Jamie Silvester

October 2015

Junior Coaching takes a break ...

With schools on their Half Term break (w/c 26 October), junior coaching also takes a week off.

We will start again on Monday, 2 November and will then go through to the Christmas break when we conclude with our Juniors Christmas Tournament on 14 December.

Young players invited to Academy sessions

Several of our young players have been invited to the North Wales Academy 2 series of coaching sessions, held at the Deeside Leisure Centre over the winter months.
Under the supervision of WSRB High Performance Coach, Andrew Evans, it is an invaluable opportunity for players to extend themselves and in the company of other juniors from across the region.

Introducing ... our two youngest players !

It was a great pleasure for the Coaching Team to welcome Kian and Cory (ages 5 and 4) to their first junior coaching session on 19 October.
Both youngsters had great fun with their routines and showed a real aptitude for the game.

Stars of the future ?

Kian and Cory - their first coaching session

Busy weekend for Juniors

Four of our juniors competed in the 2015 World Squash Day event at the Club on 10 October and then went on to represent North Wales Under13s at the Inter Counties match against three other regional county teams in Manchester on the 11th October.

Given the young age of the North Wales Team, they performed really well to achieve a third place.
Congratulations on a busy weekend of squash to Josh and Lewis Davies and Will and Jamie Silvester.

North Wales Under13 Inter Counties Team

Boys of Steel !

We are pleased to acknowledge again the achievements of Josh & Lewis Davies - both played in the 2015 Sheffield Junior Open on 4 October with Josh making it through to the Final, finishing Runner-up and Lewis coming in Fifth Place.

These are superb results for the two young players, not to mention the great experience they are gaining.
The tournament was played in parallel with the Nick Matthew Academy' Steel City Open and the former World Champion was there to make the awards (see below).

2015 Sheffield Junior Open - Josh Davies

2015 Sheffield Junior Open - Lewis Davies

Always learning ...

The Squash Club hosted a WSRB Coaching Mentoring Session on 4 October; this was open to all Registered Coaches across North Wales (including Mark, Hannah and Jim from the Club) and was run by High Performance Coach, Andrew Evans.

The Session was entitled Racket Preparation and included talking points and learning techniques on the following:-
· Setting the racket early
· Decision making on what shot to play
· Perception and adjusting swing
· Early preparation allowing you to hit the ball earlier and with more options
· Adapting to the modern game
· Creating Opportunities.

Juniors ... now you know what we're looking for !

November 2015

New Club shirts available to order

We introduced a new set of cool Club T shirts available to order now for juniors in ages 5/6, 7/8, 9/10 and 12/13 priced at £6.00. For £8.00 the shirt could include their initials.

If the child prefered a small adult size shirt, the cost was £10.00 (£12.00 with their initials).

Parents could place an order through one of the Coaching Team or via e-mail to the Secretary.

Our new Juniors Cool T Shirts

Our new Adult Contrast T Shirts

Squad Masterclass at Club

Eight juniors were invited to take part in a three hour WBSC Squad Masterclass with HPC Coach, Andrew Evans on 21 November.

All worked very hard, going through many routines, taking on a number of physical challenges and condition games - well done all !

Squad Masterclass - the Group

Squad Masterclass - the Warm Down

A new school takes up Mini Squash

As part of the Wrexham Schools Squash Programme, Abbie Barcley and Jim Tunley took the Mini Squash Experience to Ysgol Cefn Mawr for the first time on 18 November, working with their Years 5/6 pupils.

Thanks to Abbie and Jim again for giving up their time.

Ysgol Cefn Mawr - Year 5/6

Mini Squash returns to Bangor-on-Dee

Members of the Club's Coaching Team returned with the Mini Squash project to Ysgol Sant Dunawd, this time working with their Year 3 group of pupils

Thanks to Abbie Barcley, Hannah Davies and Jim Tunley for giving up their afternoon; we hope to return to Bangor-on-Dee early in the New Year.

Ysgol Sant Dunawd Year 3 - Group 1

Ysgol Sant Dunawd Year 3 - Group 2

Introducing ... another young player !

On 9 November, the Coaching Team to welcomed another youngster to his first coaching session - Joseff (age 6).

It's great to see these new juniors taking to the sport and again, Joseff has shown a real aptitude for the game - another star of the future ?

Joseff's first coaching session

Juniors in Wales Squad

Four junior members of the Club's Coaching Programme took part in a Wales Under 13s Mixed Squad Session at Bangor University on 7 November - they were Josh and Lewis Davies as well as Will and Jamie Silvester - well done to them.

Welsh Under 13 Squad

Will, Josh & Jamie at Bangor University

Success in Powys

Congratulation to Will and Jamie Silvester on doing so well to gain a First and Second place in the Boys B Event at the 2015 Powys Junior Open in Newtown on 1 November.

Coaching starts again

The Junior Coaching Programme commenced again on 2 November - it now runs through to 14 December.

December 2015

Juniors Christmas Tournament ...

We finished off the Club's Junior Coaching Programme for 2015, with our annual Juniors Christmas Tournament on 14 December.

Unfortunately, on the night, our numbers were down for each of the three groupings, due to clashes with the schools holding their concerts, etc. - it's that time of year !

We started off with a skills test and games for our younger players, but then standards were raised through the evening, culminating with some high quality matches in the advanced group.

All members of the Coaching Team would like to wish our juniors and their parents a super Christmas break and we look forward to seeing you all again on Monday, 11 January 2016

Juniors - First Group

Juniors - Second Group

Juniors - Advanced Group

Our Welsh Junior Closed Champion

Four of our juniors took part in the 2015 Welsh Junior Closed Championships at the National Centre in Cardiff over the weekend 11 - 13 December - Josh & Lewis Davies and Will & Jamie Silvester.

Congratulations to them all but, in particular, to Josh Davies who took the Welsh Boys Under 11 Championship. Jamie finished in 3rd place and Lewis came 5th. Will competed in the Under 13s age group.

Josh - just Champion !

Josh & Jamie - First and Third

Welsh Junior Closed - Under 11 winners

Powys players help to raise the game !

On 5 December, some of the better juniors from our Club played against an invited team from Powys, which included the top ranked players in Wales (for their age group). So strong were they that the Wrexham group drafted in Jonathan Davies, Hannah Davies and Simon Koscinski (to put them through their paces !).

Our juniors involved were:- Josh & Lewis Davies, Will & Jamie Silvester, Owen Platt, Thomas Koscinski and Jamie Roberts

Some of our younger players

Nia's off to Australia

We wish Nia Johnston, one of junior players, our very best as she jets off to Australia for twelve months.

With her Mum and her brother, Nia flew to Brisbane on 1 December to join her Dad who is out there working. Nia called at the Club to say cheerio; she will be taking her racket, has promised to keep in touch and hopes to see us all again in a year.

Nia's off to Brisbane