Squash

England Squash has now released their new Junior 101 content for 5-11 year olds:

Here are some great video activities from England's James Willstrop and Daryl Selby, and former World No.4 Tania Bailey showing you some mini squash drills and exercises to keep you active and engaged with squash when you're away from the court. Watch now.

Squash trivia and challenges: England squash has allowed us to include their printable activity sheet which is bursting with mental, craft and physical squash-related challenges guaranteed to keep you occupied for hours! Download now.

Keen to find a squash court near you? It's so easy with the court finder from England Squash. Just click on this link and have fun playing this great sport at safe, approved clubs. englandsquash.com/finder

This month we have spoken to squash player Will Salter to tell you all how he got started in the sport and why you should give it a go. Will also built his own squash court at home during lockdown so he could keep playing!

I first played squash when I was 9 years old. About once every couple of weeks I would head on down to the courts with my dad. I immediately made loads of friends at the club and I have found that most squash clubs have a really friendly feel with everyone happy to help out.

For most people who do not know squash, it can seem a complicated sport to understand, however, it is actually quite simple once someone has explained it to you. You just need to hit the front wall and keep the ball inside the red lines!

When I turned 16, I decided to start training regularly. I built up to a routine of playing twice a day and I started improving quickly. There are five levels of tournaments in England, ranging from smaller Copper level events to larger Platinum events like the English and British Junior Championships. I began with the Copper level tournaments and as my English ranking improved, I was able to move to Bronze, Silver and finally Gold and Platinum Tournaments. The last tournament I played before the lockdown was the English Junior Championships where I finished 15th in the Under 19’s category. I now know most of the players at these tournaments as you get to know people fairly quickly and I have really noticed how kind and welcoming the squash community is.

Whatever level you are, whether you have never played or are an experienced player, your local club is sure to provide you with plenty of people to play squash with and have a good time. If you feel like you are ready to test yourself, you can enter into the different levels of tournament that I mentioned and be challenged by other likeminded players who love squash!

Squash really is a great game for making friends, having fun, and staying fit and healthy at the same time. It is no wonder to me that squash has been rated the healthiest sport in the world! I am currently playing squash at university where I hope to make improvements to my game and play professionally on the PSA (Professional Squash Association) World Tour in a few years’ time.

My dream is that one day I can play for England in the Commonwealth Games. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for me and I am excited to continue pursuing my goal of becoming pro. I hope you will pluck up the courage to head down to your local club as you will not regret it. Who knows, you may end up on court with me one day!