From one of the best players of his generation to one of the most sought after coaches of the current, Wael El Hindi makes a triumphant debut on the In Squash Podcast. We take a deep dive into the current situation on the pro tour in terms of improvements in adjudicating lets and strokes, the thankless job of officiating, and some of the recent drama in the World Championships and El Guona. Wael also speaks candidly on several other topics including the recent performances of Amanda Sobhy and Di...
Jun 07, 2022•1 hr 12 min
David Baillargeon defends his title in Vancouver this week at the 2022 Oxford Properties Canadian Nationals. David is fresh off his first appearance at the World Open where he faced the best shot maker in the world, Mezan Hesham in the first round, and gave him a real run for his money. David and I talk about the significance of the Canadian Nationals, his World Open appearance, the Commonwealth Games and the benefits of training in both Montreal and Bristol. Of course, I would be remiss if I al...
May 30, 2022•29 min
Vancouver Lawn and Tennis is hosting the 2022 Oxford Properties Canadian National Squash Championships, June 1st-5th. Van Lawn and Tennis' Head Squash Professional and good friend Viktor Berg gives us the low down on the event, which is the biggest Canadian Nationals in terms of numbers since the turn of the millennium. I also take the opportunity to look back on Viktor's impressive, eclectic professional squash career which saw him reach 44 in the PSA Rankings and # 1 in the world on the SDA ha...
May 23, 2022•47 min
As humble as they come, and a talent ready to make a move into the top 10, Patrick Rooney's stock has without question risen of late. With a number of big wins and well fought battles against the best of the best, Patrick is on his way to contending in all the major events. Patrick gives an honest appraisal of his game. We also discuss the current squash calendar which is running thick and heavy, Malcolm Willstrop's tremendous influence on him as a person and a player, the significance of the Br...
May 13, 2022•48 min
Thierry Lincou achieved every pro squash player's dream: reaching world #1 and hoisting the PSA World Championship trophy. A tremendous career that saw him play in the Power/Nicol era through to the Ashour/Elshorbagy era, Thierry is now the head coach for the MIT Engineers CSA men's team, and they're fresh off their best ever season. Thierry and I talk about the Engineer's recent season and his past 9 years as head coach. Obviously, being the gentlemen that he is, Thierry indulged the host's lau...
Apr 21, 2022•52 min
Squash Stories, without question, is the largest, most knowledgeable and most eclectic collection of squash enthusiasts on social media. Jamie Maddox is the mastermind behind it all and it's always insightful and highly entertaining whenever we get the chance to catch up. Jamie and I take a deep dive on the PSA season up until now and on the growth of Squash Stories over the past few years.
Apr 11, 2022•1 hr 4 min
The Oxford Properties Canadian Open kicks off on April 11th, and CEO of Calgary's Bow Valley Athletic Club, host club for the event, drops by to to chat about the event. The men's and women's events boast world class talent inclusive of several current and past Canadian national champions. Local interest is there as well in the women's event with reigning Canadian women's national champion Danielle Letourneau and two time men's national champion Andrew Schnell, both Calgary natives.
Apr 04, 2022•33 min
John White led the Drexel Dragons men's and women's squash teams to landmark seasons in 2022, with the women reaching the Howe Cup final and the men finishing 7th overall. John looks back at how all of this unfolded, and how he's evolved as a coach since 2007 when he began on the US College squash scene. We also take a trip down memory lane by looking back at his illustrious playing career which saw him reach world #1 in 2004. John also gives his take on today's pro game and how the game has cha...
Mar 30, 2022•1 hr 13 min
Always a great chat, Jon Sharpe, aka the String Doctor, makes a return visit to the pod and I highly recommend taking notes. Jon takes us through what we all need to know when it comes to stringing our rackets, and perhaps most interestingly, how we should prepare ourselves when we visit our local stringer. We also discuss some of the pro player tendencies including whether there's any truth to the story that The French General strings his rackets at 16lbs. We end the pod with a quick look at th...
Mar 25, 2022•1 hr 4 min
2022 Windy City Open emcee and Squash Radio pod partner in crime Bill Buckingham (aka William Cunningham) makes his In Squash pod debut and does not disappoint. Bill breaks down his Windy City experience and we take a look at how the event played out as a whole. Bill also gives us his squash backstory along with how he stumbled into the emcee game. Great chat with Bill Buckingham.
Mar 15, 2022•53 min
With Harvard winning both the men's and women's CSA (College Squash Association) titles yet again within the last few few weeks, the release of Rob Dinerman's latest book, A History of Harvard Squash: The Mike Way Coaching Era, couldn't be more timely. Rob, as always, provides tremendous insight through meticulous detail and research which reveals the intriguing backstory behind Harvard's most recent squash success stories, and the General behind it all Mike Way. For anyone interested in purchas...
Mar 07, 2022•1 hr 2 min
There's a new kid in town on the Squash Youtube/podcast and analysis front, from the technical side to PSA player analysis to the squash mindset. Ahad's AR Performance Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/ARProformance) is well worth perusing. Ahad hit my radar with his first of two Mostafa Asal movement analysis videos, which he freely admits was a bit harsh in hindsight. The second is absolutely spot on and highly recommended viewing. Ahad and I talk about his unique squash backstory, ou...
Jan 29, 2022•1 hr 11 min
There's not a more timely episode than this one. Eduardo Alvarez is a Toronto squash club owner and health club consultant who is leading the desperate call to action in an effort to grow the game of squash. Eduardo and I flesh out solutions to many of the serious concerns that he has about the state of the game today. Check out his vision for squash article on Squash Mad here: https://squashmad.com/growing-the-game/club-owner-eduardo-alvarez-has-a-vision-for-a-squash-revolution-make-the-game-pu...
Jan 07, 2022•1 hr 9 min
Happy New Year !! 2021 brought with it some of the most exciting squash we've seen in some time, and given the circumstances there certainly was a thirst for it from both a players and an enthusiasts perspective. Episode 202 is sort of a look back at the year through acknowledging the accolades, the exceptional play and the love for the game that the pro game has given to us this year. In this year in review we are recognizing the following: Female Prospect of the Year Male Prospect of the Year ...
Dec 31, 2021•27 min
The long-awaited resumption of US collegiate squash takes place November 20th at Rochester for Mike Way and the Harvard Crimson. Mike talks about just how excited he and men's and women's teams are to be back playing collegiate competition again. We look ahead to this season and what his vision for "success" is based upon. We also talk about the pro success of Sabrina Sobhy and Gina Kennedy, his recent appearance at the World's in support of Ali Farag, and his thoughts on the evolution of offici...
Sep 06, 2021•1 hr
With impressive victories over Karim Abdul Gawad, Mohamed Aboulghar and a nail biting 5 set loss to Joel Makin in the semi at the Manchester Open, Yousef Ibrahim is most definitely in the ascendancy and without question the player to watch over the next year as he currently sits at 18 in the world. Yousef is preparing to resume studies and squash at Princeton next week, and he's very much looking forward to that. We talk about his recent great run of form, his decision to take the US collegiate ...
Aug 25, 2021•37 min
Winner of the 2021 PSA Tour Final last month and most definitely in the ascendancy in the world's top 10, Mostafa Asal has shown that he's primed for a run at the world number 1 spot. Unfortunately, travel visa issues led to his withdraw from the World Championships in Chicago. Yet, Mostafa sees this as an opportunity to prepare going forward and isn't going to dwell on it. Mostafa and I battled through a few minor wifi issues, but in the end this was a tremendous conversation. We discuss the tr...
Jul 15, 2021•43 min
With a recent PSA title under his belt and a victory over James Willstrop in the process, Victor is definitely in the ascendancy with the World Championships kicking off today in Chicago. Victor discusses his recent PSA Squash On Fire victory, the World Championships in Chicago, the unique talents of Ryosei Kobayashi, his thoughts on the current officiating debate and much more.
Jul 14, 2021•41 min
Having made serious inroads since taking on the pro game full-time, former Harvard standout Gina Kennedy is no doubt a force to be reckoned with at the highest levels on the PSA Tour. With her victory at the Pro Squash Challenge and an impressive runner-up finish at the Squash On Fire event in Washington last week, to the outsider it might seem unfair not to see her name in the World Championship draw. Gina's taking this all in her stride though, and we have a great chat about how pleased she is...
Jul 09, 2021•36 min
Former World #1 Laura Massaro's autobiography All In was released a short while ago, and it's received tremendous reviews across the board. We take a dive into several topics in the book particularly those that had an influence on her goal to reach #1 in the world. We also talk about working with Joelle King, the recent World Tour Finals and the current player v. referee situation. Great Chat with the former World #1! You can pick up the book here: https://lauramassaro.co.uk/product/book/
Jul 03, 2021•53 min
Sabrina Sobhy is only two years removed from Harvard graduating class of 2019, and she already finds herself at number 21 in the world and most definitely in the ascendancy. Sabrina talks about the Sobhy squash tradition, 4 glorious years at Harvard under the guidance of Mike Way, the decision to turn pro and how things have played out for her on tour.
Jun 08, 2021•51 min
David Campion, stepson to Malcolm Willstrop and Head Coach of the England National Team, caps off our tribute to Malcolm Willstrop in style.
May 20, 2021•1 hr 3 min
Nick Taylor marks the podcast's 2nd of 3 tributes to Malcolm Willstrop. Nick first worked with Malcolm at the age of 17, and from that point onward Malcolm was influential in shaping Nick's squash, not only his playing career, but perhaps even more now as a coach. Nick takes us back to those early days and provides some fond memories of his experiences with Malcolm. To top it off, NIck explains how as a coach many of Malcolm's pillars shape the way he approaches working with his juniors.
May 14, 2021•58 min
The passing of Malcolm Willstrop hit the squash world very hard last week. For those who were close to him though, it's obviously been extremely difficult. Simon Parke began receiving coaching from Malcolm at the age of 10, and the impact he would have on Simon was far reaching. Simon pays a wonderful tribute to Malcolm on episode 192, and we also take a look back at his impressive squash career.
May 10, 2021•1 hr 9 min
On July 10th, 17 year olds Max Good and Caleb Boateng will bike from Philadelphia to Brooklyn to raise money for the Squash and Education Alliance. Max and Caleb's story behind this is pure and simple; a love for the game of squash, and giving back to the game at such a young age seems like a no brainer for them. It was a pleasure talking with the boys about their squash and the Squash Century Bikeathon. To help them reach their goal of $25,000 visit their link and donate: https://donate.squasha...
May 02, 2021•34 min
Marwan El Shorbagy has graced us with squash of the very highest order of late. Winner of the 2021 Blackball in Cairo and back in the world's top 5, Marwan has produced his best squash in years . We talk about how this came to fruition, his recent win at Blackball, coming to grips with officiating, the rise of padel as compared to squash, and much more.
Apr 22, 2021•1 hr 3 min
At the age of 23, Peter Marshall was on the cusp of succeeding Jansher Khan as world number 1; a tightly fought 1994 World Open final proved it. What happened after that is nothing less than tragic. Marshall, in his prime, had to step away from the game for an extended period in order to deal with chronic fatique syndrome. What he accomplished leading up to that and upon his return speaks to his greatness as player and as a competitor. Peter looks back at all of this on ep. 189.
Mar 11, 2021•1 hr
The World Squash Officiating (WSO)website is set to soft launch in a few days time, and it's been a passion project of Roy Gingell's for the past 5 years if not more. As Director of the WSO, Roy has good reason to proud of the end product; it's exactly what the squash world needs in terms of spreading awareness and consistency in officiating and the game. Roy's been at it for 40 years, much of that at the very highest level. He shares his insight and some incredible anecdotes on his development ...
Mar 04, 2021•1 hr 4 min
After a highly successful 4 years of US varsity squash at Trinity College, and a budding pro squash career, Kanzy Defrawy retired from professional squash to pursue other endeavors which led her to the wonder city of Dubai in 2018. Kanzy talks about her vision of injecting new life into the game in Dubai and the untapped potential for squash in the super city. We also look back at her varsity and pro career, why she decided to retire, and we get her take on the current "go pro or go US varsity" ...
Feb 28, 2021•43 min
Racquet Proz is an exciting new squash and racquet sports app that is unlike any squash app out there at the moment. The content is exciting and covers everything from the latest in the pro game, squash legends, Jonathan Power's insights and much much more. Eric Watson is the man behind the app, and this podcast is a reflection of the outside the box content and platform that Racquet Proz is.
Feb 27, 2021•41 min
