Squad goals at Winchester squash club

Ruth Coolings, squash coach at Winchester Racquets and Fitness, guest blogs for England Squash about the success of their Girls Squash Squad and how having a male ally has been key in making strides.

It’s just before 4pm on a Tuesday afternoon. I am behind the squash courts tying up my shoelaces and discussing the session ahead with the head coach Gary Hinton. In the next few minutes, the first of a very lively and bubbly group of girls will be heading through the door! But this hasn’t always been the way. Junior squads have been predominantly filled with boys with just the odd, determined girl here or there. Why is this?

This was the question I asked myself when my daughter found she was the only girl left in her group after having started with several other girls. Where did they all go? Why is it that she was playing the same 3 girls at every tournament? Having played squash myself from the age of 11, I understood the importance of playing with friends. It was my best friend at school who got me started and we went up through the squash ranks together.

Setting up a Girls Squad

I approached the chair of the squash committee at Winchester Rackets Club, Matt Pye, to discuss the issue and suggested that it might be good to set up a girls only group. He was keen on the idea, and persuaded me to complete my Level 1 coaching award and set up the new Winchester Girls Squad! We started the group in October 2019 with just a handful of girls of all different standards aged from 8-14 who came from other squads or had tried out a few squash sessions with our local primary school.

I was keen to focus on the social and fun aspect and to build the group as a ‘team’ rather than an intense hour of training. We were lucky enough to get Megan Light, a great junior player, on board who committed her time to help with the coaching and just generally be a fantastic role model for the girls.

The group quickly grew with lots of the girls telling their friends who have then subsequently joined. Adult club players have brought their daughters along too and, despite lockdown, the squad multiplied to an extent that we had to split the group in half and run two sessions. We now have more than 20 girls signed up. An added bonus has been the interest that has been sparked amongst mums of the girls and we have now started a women's beginners session, led by Matt Pye, which is going really well.

A lot of the success of the group has come down to the enthusiasm of the parents who have been so supportive. One of the parents even secured sponsorship with local fish and chip restaurant, Shoal, who supplied T-shirts to the girls, which they all proudly wear.

I can now hear the approach of many noisy voices. I'm bracing myself for 2 hours of fun and squash and I know that my ears will be ringing for some time afterwards!

The power of male allies

The chair of the squash committee at Winchester Rackets Club, Matt Pye, commented on the Girls Squad:

When Ruth approached me about forming a girls squad I thought it was a brilliant idea and was more than happy to support it in any way I could. One of the highlights of the return to squash for me was seeing the girls squad meet on court for the first time in months – not as much squash played as normal because they were all so excited to be back together again – a real testament to the team spirit Ruth has created.

"The WRFC girls squad has gone from strength to strength since being formed. Thanks to Ruth and Gary this is a totally inclusive environment, some girls love playing competitively, others just love playing and all standards are welcome with open arms. The courts are alive with energy every Tuesday from 16:00 to 18:00 – just the way it should be!"

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