USA Junior Squash Tour

Westville Country Club will be hosting the USA Junior Squash Tour team for their 2 training sessions and a few matches. Please find their brief information below…

SCH Academy is a private k-12 school for over 1100 boys and girls in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA, USA. The squash program there has been regionally strong for decades but only over the last decade has there been a significant bump in the level of ‘softball’ squash – transitioning over from the American ‘hardball’. 

 
The Philadelphia Squash Club is a public club which rents the courts from the school to bring in the salaries of (now) 4 Pro coaches. The coaches provide seasonal (Winter) coaching of the school teams as well as providing free clinics and squash ‘gym’ classes for Grades 1-23 in the Spring and Fall. 
 
The SCHA boys school teams have stayed within the top 5 places in the annual National Team Champs for both ‘upper’ and ‘middle’ school teams. This year SCHA fielded two ‘Varsity’ teams, achieving 3rd and 15th place out of 86 teams. In the regional Mid-Atlantic Champs SCHA Varsity won the tournament (49 teams), the Second team came 5th and the Middle School 2nd out of 24 programs.
 
I am the Squash Director of both the SCHA Squash Program and the Philadelphia Squash Club, emigrating here after a year’s sojourn in Australia and prior to that, coaching the Junior Zimbabwe teams from 1997-2000. 
 
Of the 5 players on this tour, only Brian Hamilton played on the ‘First’ team at #8 (a team consists of 9 players). Our touring # 2, Luke Stauffer, played at #4 on the Second team, followed by Andrew & Eric Dolente at 5&6 and David Brenman at #9. 
 
After three days in Johannesburg / Pretoria, we arrive in Durban on June 18 and proceed to Kearsney College for our first KZN match at 3:00pm. Thursday 19th will see us practice at WCC between 11 and 12 before our 2:45pm match with Westville players at WCC. On Friday, after another morning practice, we will head out to Maritzburg College and Michaelhouse, where we will spend the night, to return to WCC early Saturday morning (or afternoon – to be confirmed by Charmaine Baker) to train with some KZN players and have some fun doubles games. After a trip to Hluhluwe we will play the Clifton College boys on Monday before leaving for Cape Town to play Bishops, Wynberg and Paarl. WPCC has kindly offered to host our training sessions before we participate in the u19 IPT B section. A brief sojourn to Victoria Falls and Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park finished up our tour. 
 
The tour is not a school activity but merely a group of interested players who will benefit greatly from the tough squash matches they will enjoy (endure) over the 3 weeks. It is also a cultural experience, as we try to get interaction with all the great people of Southern Africa and expose them to the incredible beauty of the African landscape as well as the unique wildlife activities. As a small group traveling with a (ex-) local, it makes the experience so much more than a mere tourist trip. This is the third group of kids I have brought through – all of the previous players (since 2007) have returned to the USA with profound memories and a changed perspective of life outside their home experiences. The great hospitality and lifestyle of the people in SA make sure of that!
 
The boys are great kids and are hard workers who will appreciate the trip for a very long time!
 
Many thanks for accommodating us!
 
Regards,
 
Mike Jefferys
 
Regards,
 
Quinton