Celia Allamargot
Head Squash Coach,
Sacred Heart Greenwich,
Greenwhich CT

There are quite a few differences between squash here in the U.S. and in France.The first one that comes to my mind is between turning pro or going to college. In France, every top junior wants to become a professional and play on the tour as soon as they graduate, whereas in the U.S., top players are aiming for the best colleges and to play for their squash team. In France, middle class players can afford to play squash and take lessons, whereas in U.S. it’s a bit more of an elitist class that you will see play squash. That is also the reason why a lot of Europeans are coming to the U.S. to make a living as a squash coach, as it is so much harder to do so in France and Europe in general.

Before Sacred Heart built our new courts, the girls had to travel to clubs in the area to be able to practice. Some of those clubs didn’t have enough courts or time slots to accommodate more than one team so the coach had to make some cuts. With six courts, we can now have two middle school teams, a jv and a varsity, which gives a better opportunity to the girls to play squash for their school team.

When transitioning from tour player to coaching the first thing I had to realize is you are now on the other side of the court. It is sometimes hard as you would rather play than stressing out when your player makes the wrong choices, is playing a tie break or a five setter. You have to remember your career is behind you and it’s now all about the kids you’re coaching, so the approach is different. You can’t ask the same things of your players or at least not all of them. Some just want to play for fun while some want to be on the U.S. junior team, so you have to adapt.

The most useful speakers at Squash Summit 2015 for me as a coach were AJ Kohlepp and Dave Reiss as well as the panel discussion about college squash. I also liked the diversity of subjects. It was really great to hear from different speakers about the way they run their club or association, their experience, their background.

I used to be on the French team with Greg Gaultier and Camille Serme
and played numerous tournaments alongside them. It was gratifying
to see them play so well at the U.S. Open. And to be there when
Greg won against Mohamed and then back it up by being the
winner of the U.S. Open, again, was really great months. Camille played her
first junior national championships in 1997 in U12. It’s the year I won it, it was my first national title. She was only playing for a few month and she had to play me first round. I ended up winning 0,0,0!

My last professional match was at the Greenwich Open in 2013 against Sarah Kippax, and it was probably my best match ever so not a bad way to retire. I started to play a bit of hardball doubles and I really like it. It’s so much fun. I am hoping to join the tour soon, but being in my first year at the school, I wanted to be fully involved in it before starting to play doubles tournaments.

Days off for me are days without squash! I do that every day all week long so when I get a chance I completely unplug. My fiancé and I don’t often have days off at the same time, but if we can we would spend this day together playing some golf or going to a movie and enjoying a nice meal at a restaurant in the evening.

Going into this year’s High School Championships not being the defending champions doesn’t mean the spotlight is now off our team. There is always the element of expectation that the team will be there or there about at the end of the season. We are always a strong force at the nationals and this year will be no different. I have a fantastic team again this season and It’s my job to make sure the girls are prepared physically and mentally this season to go one step further and regain the title.

I wouldn’t say team coaching appeals to me in particular. I am very passionate about squash. I loved being a professional player in the game and I love being able to relay that same passion onto my players., I believe that all coaching squash as a whole is something that I feel knowledgeable and passionate enough about that I want to do the best I can for all players and enthusiasts in whatever capacity I can.

I would never say never to any direction for my coaching, including college. I am always trying my best to improve my coaching (standards and ability?) College squash is improving all the time and I hope that it continues to thrive in the country as much as it has done over these past few years. Right now I am working well with Greenwich Academy and US Squash with the Regional Squads and events such as the British Open so I am currently fully focused on continuing and growing the great work we are doing with that.

It’s an honor for me to work with Team USA and be able to coach the top kids, including taking 36 juniors to the British Junior Open. Coaching at a tournament is much different to the day to day training/coaching. It’s all about making sure the player is preparing well to perform to their optimum on court. Advice throughout tournaments could be with nutrition, sleep schedule, warm ups, tactics/gameplans, cool downs, hydration, I could go on! It’s the whole package solely focused on having the players get the best results and in this case hopefully bringing success for Team USA!

Greenwich is a wonderful place to live and is definitely a hot bed for squash. As we all know the squash season is very busy and jam-packed. I do manage to take some time away from the courts as I tend to enjoy my summers away spending time with my wife, family and friends.

I grew up playing soccer at a decent level and I’ve grown to like playing golf a lot. However if I was to choose a sport, other than squash, between those two, I’d have to choose Soccer. One of my childhood dreams was to score a goal in the English Premier League for my hometown club Huddersfield Town I’m going to go with that one. Prior to moving to the states I was working as a credit card debt collector to fund my professional squash tour and adventures…. So hopefully I will not do that again!!

Lyall Paterson: Head Coach, Scozzie Squash, King of Prussia, PA

I was born and raised in a small town called Stonehaven, in the North of Scotland, the same region as Peter Nicol. In the summer of 1997, aged nine, I was asked for a game of ‘squash’ by my next door neighbor and best friend. As a first-timer and avid soccer player, I immediately investigated the rules and was hesitant with what I heard; individual instead of team sport? In a confined space indoors? Using a racket instead of your feet?! Reluctantly, I agreed as a favor to my best friend and along we went to the local three court facility, which had a total membership of 39 players. Within ten minutes of hitting, I’d fallen in love and had a new favorite sport!

The Squash Culture in Scotland is very different. From a junior development perspective, Scotland has a very long-term focus of establishing its most prominent junior players into prospective professionals who can go on to represent (and hopefully win medals for) Scotland at major events – the Commonwealth Games, World Championships and European Championships. The focus at the majority of junior events in Scotland is targeted towards learning and rehearsing, with a Nationals being the exception. In comparison, the US has a very unique squash culture centered around college, an experience which exists nowhere else in the world. With aspirations of playing college squash, kids are motivated from a young age and the team environment mirrored at High and Middle School Nationals provides an exciting taste of what’s to come.

I earned 1st Class Honors in Kinesiology and won the University Medal in Sport Coaching when I graduated in 2010. It definitely provided a platform for my development as a coach. The degree had three primary components; sport physiology, sport psychology and biomechanics. All three have given me a great insight into how the mind and body function in sport specific environments and allowed me to develop my coaching philosophies. The degree also made me realize I enjoyed teaching more than playing competitively.

The Scozzie Squash Academy was founded in 2011 to provide an accelerated development pathway for juniors looking to progress into their next level of achievement. The word Scozzie is a playful portmanteau of the combining of Scotland and Australia (Ozzie) – the director is Paul Frank, who is Australian. The 2015/16 Academy moved to a four-tier system with JBS (Just Beginning Squash), Scozzie Lite (for weekend only training), Scozzie Academy (full time junior training program) and SAS (Scozzie Academy Select). The Scozzie Methodology has been successfully used for 20+ years worldwide and currently we have either the #1 or #2 player in seven of ten age divisions in the US rankings. The methodology involves a Scozzie Playbook which lists drills specifically targeted toward technical/tactical development as well as providing an off-court conditioning program for physiological development and injury prevention.

The Fairmount Athletic Club has been a pivotal host for the junior academy, providing 14 singles courts with the best coaching layout in the world and access to high-tech conditioning equipment. The location is prime for all the local schools and we’ve been very fortunate to attract/retain staff with the same enthusiasm and vision for the club and program.

Quoting John Wooden, ‘A leader’s most powerful ally is his/her own example’. One of the concepts I have carried over from player to coach is to try and better yourself every single day. Read, listen, learn and constantly reflect on how to become better. Experience is everything in squash. I’m lucky to work alongside seven squash professionals every day. To teach the sport you love brings natural passion and enthusiasm, and hopefully it passes through to the kids in their own individual pathways and careers. I went from being a hot headed teenager, to a 21-year-old in the Commonwealth Games, to a retired pro at 23 and now an aspiring squash coach.

If I’m not coaching you will find me a long way away from a squash court! If you haven’t experienced a Movie Tavern yet, immediately add it to your bucket list! One recently opened in Flourtown, PA, with full reclining seats, full dinner menu and drinks list which they serve as you watch your movie of choice. I recently went to see London Falling at 7:00pm on a Saturday night and absolutely nothing beats watching a movie with your feet up and cold beer/pizza delivered on cue! It was actually so good, I immediately went to the next door 9:30pm screening of The Revenant! Let’s just say at 12:30am the next day I was glad my fiancée was the designated driver!