Laura Mylotte and Breanne Flynn: just about to start proceedings
Like I said in yesterday’s post, Mount Pleasant LTC is a great club. And it is a particularly great club when, thanks to some magnificent windows, the bar is basked in glorious sunshine. Which was the case today, at least for a few hours!
I only got to the club at 1pm to play my Men’s A 9th place play-off match against Michael Craig. I lost 3:0, mainly because Michael happened to virtually pick all of my best shots up with interest (a lot of interest). Before that there was a tough match between Neal Pollock and Neil Murphy; Murphy, as he does so often, toughed it out 3:2. Both were B-draw players who, thanks to the new mode, made it through to the A-draw. On another court Sam Olwill impressed the crowd with an array of spectacular shots, which turned out to be just about enough to get past Paul Linehan. Olwill and Murphy therewith both finished 13th in the A-draw.
Now, on to the finals: the ladies were on court first and I watched parts of the first two games. Laura Mylotte was playing at full steam, hitting powerful kill shots from all over the court, and Breanne Flynn had no weapon to counter with. Flynn managed to extend the rallies more in game two and took a 5:2 lead, but Mylotte’s relentless hitting let her catch up the three points difference, and she pretty much didn’t look back after that, taking the final 3:0. She therewith completed a spectacular run of not dropping a single game throughout the tournament – I guess that’s what you call a romp!
Derek Ryan, a real pro at giving winning speeches!
The big question was whether or not this – the current Irish champion losing – was a bad omen for Derek Ryan in the men’s final. At first the answer was no: Derek was magnificent in the first game against third seed Steve Richardson, taking it comfortably 11:3 and being in full control. But while there was much to admire with Derek’s game, Steve will have been disappointed with himself for making it just that small bit too easy in game one. Steve came back strongly in game two, which proved to be really tough. Steve has a lovely lunge on his backhand with which he picked up virtually all backhand drops and boasts of Derek, always making the next shot a hard one for Derek. Ryan snatched the game in a tie-break but that took its toll, and the third was all Steve. Game four was a nail-biter, and the tension on court grew, with the referee becoming more and more involved. There were a lot of hard calls to make and both players seemed to be disappointed in the referee’s decision-making every once in a while, but the match was played in a good spirit all in all. Derek held a matchball that Steve saved like a champion, and he then went on to win the tie-breaker. The fifth game continued at a super standard and at 6:3 up Steve looked to be running away with it. However, he got upset with one refereeing call and lost focus slightly, giving Ryan a path back into the game. 9:9, then 10:9 Richardson, but Ryan saved the matchball with a wonderful cross-court, hit at full stretch from backcourt. In the end Derek (who received a slightly comical conduct warning for time-wasting) took game five again in another tie-breaker and followed up his national championship title with the Mount Pleasant Open title.
Aidan Coppinger: thanklessly refereeing the loneliest match, aka. the one being played in parallel to the final!
It’s been a wonderful few days of Squash here in Dublin, and I’m sure there’ll be plenty more of great Squash to come in 2013! What’s particularly pleasing to see is a high amount of juniors who are really beginning to challenge for the front places, and most likely for spots in the national team over the year. Lastly, a big thank you to the crew here at Mount Pleasant (particularly Aidan Coppinger and Henry Gillanders) who put on another fabulous tournament. – Dan Z.
David Ryan serves against Conor O'Hare in the 5-8 play-off match
Not a good day for the top three seeds in the women’s competition: third seed Stephanie Ryan fell victim to Laura Mylotte in round one already yesterday, and today number two seed Ciara Moloney followed. Mylotte dispatched of her in straight games, the third game going to a tie-break. In the top half of the draw the number one seed Griffin Gillanders was taken out by the same scoreline by Irish champion Breanne Flynn; Flynn requiring two tie-breakers. Not often you see the fourteenth seed make her way to the finals, especially without dropping a game in the progress. But, Laura hasn’t been active in the Irish Grand Prix, which explains her ranking, and I think she enters the tomorrow’s final (1:30pm) as slight favourite.
In the Men’s A proceedings were a bit more straight forward: number one seed and clear tournament favourite Derek Ryan beat club team mate Nigel Peyton in the quarters and Sligoman Keith Moran in the semis. Both times Ryan recorded 3:0 victories, and similar to Mylotte and Flynn, is yet to drop a game. I got to watch some of the match, and Derek looks to be in good shape, playing with his usual spins, tricks, and perfectly weighted length. Keith never quite looked like he’d be a danger to Derek, but made a good game out of it and played some beautiful kill shots of his own.
That's how many draws you need for 88 registered tournament entries
Ryan’s opponent’s path to the final was similarly straight forward: Steve Richardson was facing Brian Byrne in what promised to be a tight match between the two and three seed. In the quarterfinals Steve Richardson had beaten Ulsterman O’Hare in three, while Byrne’s mettle was tested against yesterday’s hero David Ryan, where, in a tough five-setter, Byrne prevailed 11-6 in the fifth. Two of my friends came along to watch today, and both spoke admirably about the match, being particularly impressed with the court coverage and speed on show. Anyway, unfortunately I couldn’t watch the match between Steve and Brian, but Steve won 3:0.
So, both finals, men and women, could be close tomorrow with all four players scoring perfect records so far: three matches played, zero games dropped! And you know what, if one club is worthy of some great finals, it’s Mount Pleasant LTC – in my opinion one of Ireland’s very finest Squash clubs! Dan. Z. (former Mt. P. member 😉
Unspectacular on paper: Ryan's & Craig's 80 minute marathon
The 2013 Irish Squash season fittingly kicked off with a memorable encounter between two stars of the future: Michael Craig of Ulster and David Ryan of Leinster. Both are 16 years old and are amongst the very top players in their age group in Europe, if not the world. Judging by today’s match, this could shape up to be a great rivalry over the next decade, and it will be intriguing to see how it develops. Today, David Ryan came out on top. He is the more steady of the two, with an intimidating physical side to his powerful game, while Craig plays with some panache! He was 2:0 down and clawed the third game back, but after holding game balls in the fourth, he succumbed in a brutal fourth game tie-break that had the crowd on the edge of their seats. Incidentally, Craig and Ryan played an 80 minute match, which was longer than my match against Sean Conroy (I lost 3:0) and Kevin Moore against Connor O’Hare (Connor won 3:1) put together: we played on the parallel court.
Bryan Byrne, not at all distracted by O'Shea's piercing orange t-shirt!
Tomorrow David will be facing Bryan Byrne, who dispatched of Connor O’Shea in three tough games, which Dalibor Panic refereed with help of his fancy IPhone app (see picture). As fit as David is, I do think he’ll be feeling today’s efforts, and Bryan should be experienced enough to exploit any slight jadedness. Other than that, no upsets, though Eoin Ryan had to pull out with a calf injury, therewith giving Nigel Peyton a bye. He might need the day off since he is facing the current Irish national champion: Derek Ryan! Stevie Richardson (facing O’Hare) and Keith Moran (facing Sean Conroy) complete the line-up.
Now, I made sure to talk to my reliable informant and number one Ladies A seed Griffin Gillanders about the ladies draw. Griffin might be facing the current Irish national champion Breanne Flynn in the semis should both get past Niamh Brennan and Claire Staunton respectively, while at the bottom half of the draw Ciara Moloney looks like a likely semi-finalist. Third seed Stephanie Ryan was the only casualty of the day having lost to Laura Mylotte, whose seeding of 14 definitely does not do her justice.
Iphone scoring app: not responsible for bad let calls just yet!
So, a great opening day of the Mount Pleasant Open, this year being run by Henry Gillanders and Aidan Coppinger. As a matter of fact, the Gillanders family makes up over 5% of the tournament population of over 70 players, with Griffin, Henry, Max and Scott all having entered. So far they have won three out of four matches, though two byes were involved! Lets see if they can keep a positive balance by the end of tomorrow.
Unspectacular on paper: Ryan's & Craig's 80 minute marathon
The 2013 Irish Squash season fittingly kicked off with a memorable encounter between two stars of the future: Michael Craig of Ulster and David Ryan of Leinster. Both are 16 years old and are amongst the very top players in their age group in Europe, if not the world. Judging by today’s match, this could shape up to be a great rivalry over the next decade, and it will be intriguing to see how it develops. Today, David Ryan came out on top. He is the more steady of the two, with an intimidating physical side to his powerful game, while Craig plays with some panache! He was 2:0 down and clawed the third game back, but after holding game balls in the fourth, he succumbed in a brutal fourth game tie-break that had the crowd on the edge of their seats. Incidentally, Craig and Ryan played an 80 minute match, which was longer than my match against Sean Conroy (I lost 3:0) and Kevin Moore against Connor O’Hare (Connor won 3:1) put together: we played on the parallel court.
Bryan Byrne, not at all distracted by O'Shea's piercing orange t-shirt!
Tomorrow David will be facing Bryan Byrne, who dispatched of Connor O’Shea in three tough games, which Dalibor Panic refereed with help of his fancy IPhone app (see picture). As fit as David is, I do think he’ll be feeling today’s efforts, and Bryan should be experienced enough to exploit any slight jadedness. Other than that, no upsets, though Eoin Ryan had to pull out with a calf injury, therewith giving Nigel Peyton a bye. He might need the day off since he is facing the current Irish national champion: Derek Ryan! Stevie Richardson (facing O’Hare) and Keith Moran (facing Sean Conroy) complete the line-up.
Now, I made sure to talk to my reliable informant and number one Ladies A seed Griffin Gillanders about the ladies draw. Griffin might be facing the current Irish national champion Breanne Flynn in the semis should both get past Niamh Brennan and Claire Staunton respectively, while at the bottom half of the draw Ciara Moloney looks like a likely semi-finalist. Third seed Stephanie Ryan was the only casualty of the day having lost to Laura Mylotte, whose seeding of 14 definitely does not do her justice.
Iphone scoring app: not responsible for bad let calls just yet!
So, a great opening day of the Mount Pleasant Open, this year being run by Henry Gillanders and Aidan Coppinger. As a matter of fact, the Gillanders family makes up over 5% of the tournament population of over 70 players, with Griffin, Henry, Max and Scott all having entered. So far they have won three out of four matches, though two byes were involved! Lets see if they can keep a positive balance by the end of tomorrow.
The British Junior Open was be held from 2nd until 6th of January, 2013 in Sheffield, England. This is the biggest event in ESF junior circuit , attracting the strongest junior players from all over the world.
Irish squash brought a team of juniors to this event and we were represented in great strength at the British Junior Open in Sheffield this month with 15 players traveling!
It is a tough test of character and fitness to complete this tournament, with up to 6 matches to be played over 5 days for most players, and competition from the very best players in the world.
The experience is invaluable to our Irish players taking part.
There were some great performances most notably David Ryan’s epic and close match against Egyptian, Yousseff Aboul Makarim (who went on to finish 4th)
Congratulations to all those who took part and our thanks to all the parents and everyone who helped during the event.
Boys U13: Sam Buckley 15th,Scott Gillanders 29th, Conor Moran 35th
Girls U13: Ellie McVeigh 27th
Boys U15: Luke Logan 39th, Jack Doyle 60th
Girls U15: Stephanie Ryan 24th
Boys U17: David Ryan 18th, Michael Craig 21st, Oisin Logan 30th, Cillian Dunne 57th, Nikita Gilevskiy 60th
Boys U19: Sean Conroy 14th, Josh McVeigh 60th
Coaching juniors can be a challenge – in this article we’ll look at some ways in which we can keep them engaged and productive during your coaching sessions.
Firstly – some golden rules:
Warm up – Use the warm up to bring them to life and also to engage the parts of the body needed to be a good squash player – balance, agility, stability. We have looked at running up and down with direction changes over each shoulder at the command of the coach, also the same with side steps. Then we tried the footwork patterns to improve agility and rhythm in movement patterns. Lastly we tried the balance routines with focus on posture, control and a relaxed foot during the process. (Time: 10-15 minutes)
Introduce and demonstrate clearly what you are going to do. Example: simple volley ball control (Time: 5 minutes intro)
Use a pupil or coach to demonstrate the routine – solo/pairs hitting close to the wall. The three main teaching points-open racket face/swing length/movement of feet. You will refer to these throughout the session.
Set up routines in solo and/or pairs of similar standards and set a challenge for each pair – eg 10 shots consecutively. (Time: 10 minutes – 5 minutes on forehand and backhand).
Drink break 2/3 minutes
When you return regroup and review asking the pupils for the the 3 main teaching points and any other things they realised during the routine (as coaches we must remember to discuss with pupils rather than dictate too much, this breeds thoughtful and interactive juniors. (Time: 5 minutes)
Volley based game intro.
Demonstrate a high repetition game – e.g. a short game with all shots above service with volley option below the line. This can be progressed into the players needing to be in front of their opponent and on the volley to allow hitting below the line, this promotes good tactical awareness.
Again refer to the 3 key teaching points during the demo. (Time: 5 minutes for demo).
Volley based game
Now modify the routine to introduce scoring and king of the court to keep motivation and competition (Time: 10-15 minutes)
Review and stretch
More Q&A while stretching and reference to the 3 teaching points
When you return the following week ask what happened last week and what did we learn?
We recommend charging – €5 per session payed per term. The bigger the group the more coaches you need so as numbers increase the €5 per person helps pay for extra courts and assistants. You should try to keep a maximum of 5 pupils to 1 coach ratio.
Aim for groups to be standard based and identify your potential players and look to create an extra/separate group for these players. Long term call the groups something like ‘junior potential’ and get t shirts printed with this on the back.
Use the court shapes and condition we looked at on court to ensure all players have a relevant challenge in each routine.
The Mount Pleasant Open takes place between the 25th – 27th January 2013
We look forward to seeing you there and wish all players the best of luck.
Entries are now closed.
Leinster Junior Squash Open 2013 takes place in Carlow on the 19th & 20th January 2013.
For further information please visit www.leinstersquash.ie
The Munster Mens Masters tournament takes place in Limerick LTC on 4th and 5th January 2013.
Additional information can be found on www.munstersquash.com
We look forward to seeing you there and wish all players the best of luck.
In the ladies tour event – Breanne Flynn beat Griffin Gillanders in a close 3-1 match which showed great skill and improvement by both players. The future of Irish ladies squash looks to be in good hands. Congratulations to both players who played a great battle.
In the mens A event and competing for the Irish National title – in a thrilling battle in Fitzwilliam LTC Derek Ryan and Arthur Gaskin battled for the 2012 Irish National title. In a marathon 1 hour 43 mins the pair played a tough five set thriller that had the crowd on the edge of their seats. Gaskin played a hard hitting game wearing down Ryan. Ryan however stuck to his plan and played a steady and accurate game. In what was one of the most exciting finals in recent years and an exhibition of some really fantastic squash from both players – the momentum switched between the two players as Derek and Arthur played the game we all love pushing themselves to the very limit.
Ultimately Ryan prevailed – and went to win his 9th Irish National title – his most recent 8 years ago.. making history and a great start for what is sure to be a very exciting year ahead. Final scoreboard : 11/3; 4/11; 11/8; 8/11; 11/9.
Brian Byrne finished in third spot with a 11/7; 11/5; 12/10 win over Niall Rooney.
Interestingly and promisingly for the future there were three juniors in the top 12 this year, Michael Craig (6th), David Ryan (11th) and Sean Conroy (12th). You can find the full results here.
