Thor Darlington takes the juniors through the basics.
Thor Darlington takes the juniors through the basics.
Junior squash has been reinvigorated in Whanganui with a development programme for entry-level squash to help kids who haven’t played before learn to play and get into the sport.
A three-day school holiday programme has just been run by Whanganui Squash Club. The first two days were focused on skill development, aiming to get every kid to play a game of squash. On the last day, they played a tournament for a competitive game of squash against each other.
The youngest players, the 6 and 7 year-olds, begin with the White Squad. They work on hand/eye coordination and having fun on the court.
“The 9-10 year-old age group is a target because they are looking at different sports and squash is a good option for them,” said junior convenor Tim Easton.
The juniors take a quick break to pose for the camera after some tough training with Max Matthews.
Every Monday during school term, there is a junior evening from 4-6pm. They takeover the Squash Club, with about 25 juniors playing.
Three juniors are playing in the Prince Series, which involves travelling around the regions, taking in New Plymouth, Tararua and Palmerston North. They get to play against other kids at their level.
“Two of our club’s coaches involved in the holiday programme, Thor Darlington and Max Matthews, are really good juniors, both from Cullinane College,” said Easton.
Thor Darlington and the juniors take a quick break from their squash skills practice on court.
“Max has become an A Grade squash player at a national level and Thor is B1, about to go up to A Grade. Both came up through the previous junior programme,” he said.
There are other national-grade competitive players sprinkled throughout the club.
Max and Thor have played overseas as well, they went on a juniors trip to Australia in 2022 to compete in the Trans-Tasman Secondary Schools Teams Championships to represent New Zealand.
There’s a pathway through Club Juniors into the Central Squash region development squads, and then into national representation.
To join the junior development programme, Google “Whanganui Squash Club”, otherwise, turn up at the Squash Club between 4-6pm on a Monday night during school term time.
School Holiday Programme
The holiday programme runs Monday-Wednesday in the second week of the school holidays. It is aimed at kids 10 years and above who can hit a ball and are interested in squash. About 22 kids attended in the July school holidays.
The juniors take a quick break to watch squash coaches Max Matthews and Thor Darlington play a show match.
“We saw amazing development in the kids, with some arriving never having played and everyone playing great squash by the end,” said Easton.
Three coaches took the programme: Alastair White (a life member of the club), Thor Darlington and Max Matthews.
The aim of the Junior Club night on Mondays from 4-6pm is to provide:
A fun environment for club juniors to learn and play squash.
A welcoming entry into squash for new juniors.
A challenging pathway for juniors to progress along.
A way to identify juniors with potential and support their development.
A way for parents to enjoy the club.
There are five squads (White, Yellow, Green, Blue and Red) based on their ability and there are one-hour group coaching sessions and time to play on the court.
