The University Club San Francisco is proud to host Ian Thomas, the coach to the Shorbagy brothers who are currently #1 & #4 in the world. He will spend the session focusing on:
How to improve your game by self hitting.
How to improvise during a game.
General tips about your game.
The clinic will be held this Thursday, December 6, from 6:30-8:30 PM. Slots are available on a first come first served basis, so be sure to sign up soon!
Contact Busani Xaba if you have any questions.
‘The Howe Cup is the United States’ largest squash event for women and an annual team championship tournament run by US Squash. The annual women’s five-person team tournament began in 1928 as an inter-city competition between New York, Philadelphia and Boston. It received the Howe Cup title in 1955 when Virginia Griggs of New York City donated a permanent trophy, the Howe Cup, named in honor of Margaret Howe and her twin daughters Peggy and Betty.’ ~USSquash.com
This year the tournament was held in Philadelphia, with teams from across the country and Canada competing. Philadelphia native and founder of the Bay Area’s Squash Drive Lauren Patrizio Xaba played in the A division for one of the Philly teams, the Philly Tasteykates. The competition was fierce in the top division, with another home team, the Philly Phab Phive, ultimately taking the title.
The B division was an equally tight race, with Courtney Sabo at the helm of the Boasting Bellas. This all California team played spectacularly, and brought the title back home to the west coast. Congratulations to Courtney Sabo (Bay Club San Francisco), Juliet Lamont (the University Club), Sara Barrett (Bay Club San Francisco), Rohini Gupta (Bay Club San Francisco), and Emilie van der Hoorn (University California San Francisco) on a great win!
Usually a strong team, this years California C team was plagued by injuries leading up to the tournament. Unable to field a full team Carrie Kahn and Kelly McKinley (both University California San Francisco) joined with several Canadian players to form the international Golden Canucks. Despite great games and tight matches, the team was knocked out in the quarter finals.
Finally, the D division saw Amanda Chew (Bay Club San Francisco) play for the New York Scared Hitless. Though the name suggests otherwise the team was calm, collected, and made it all the way from the round of 32 to the quarter finals before loosing to Chicago, who ended up winning the division.
In addition to the tournament, the players were treated to an exhibition match between Olivia Fiechter and Olivia Blatchford-Clyne. Despite knowing each other since they were juniors in highschool this is the first time the Olivia’s have battled it out on the court. Fiechter had home court advantage, but Blatchford-Clyne’s experience and patience paid off with a 3-0 victory. The matches were followed by a brief Q and A session, during which we all gained some great tips and insights. Blatchford-Clyne stressed the importance of a good warmup while Fiechter focused on nutrition as key to her performance. When asked about pre-match routines, Blatchford-Clyne admitted to her love of long hot showers before a game to clear her head. Fiechter on the other hand prefers the more horizontal approach of napping. It was an inspiring way to start off the tournament, and everyone did a great job channeling their inner Olivia’s both on and off the court.
We all know the maxim: “if you don’t have anything nice to say, say nothing at all.” Instead, take it as this “only say things to yourself that you would say to others.” This is appropriate in both squash and in life. Be kind to yourself as you would to others. ~ Bailey Bondy
Congratulations to Bailey Bondy on an excellent article in this months Squash Magazine. For anyone who may have missed it, you can find a copy on Bailey’s website, Tough Minds Sport Psychology.
Bailey graduated from Stanford with a degree in psychology and a certification in sports psychology. She also played for the women’s squash team, and as captain in her senior year took them to their all time record of fifth nationally. She currently works as a squash pro at the Bay Club San Francisco, giving squash lessons and sport psychology sessions.
A huge thank you to Juliet Lamont and the University Club San Francisco for hosting a phenomenal Women’s Squash Week event on September 26. Players of all levels came to play and drill, supporting each other, the sport, and the growing community of female players in the Bay Area. Collage players faced off against beginners, while the youngest members were busy working on their racquet grip.
The start of the 2018-19 NorCal Squash League is approaching, with this years season running from mid-October through April. The league is a great way to get to know the squash community better and play competitive matches against other clubs in the area. Currently the regions include the Peninsula League, the SF City League, the East Bay League, and the Sacramento League. There is play across all divisions, from div. 1 which includes local pros through to div. 4 for those just starting to pick up the sport. Each team consists of 6-10 players, with matches against opposing teams played every two weeks. Four players from each team play each other during a match night, with best of five, rally point games. For a full explanation of the setup and rules, please click here.
For more information regarding the league, and for information on joining, please contact us!
San Francisco – Emilie van der Hoorn
East Bay – Waqas Khan
Peninsula – Michael Corbett
Sacramento – Abel Orozco
Participating clubs include: ClubSport Fremont, ClubSport San Ramon, Oakwood Athletic Club, Active Sports Oakland, Berkeley Rec Sports, Bay Club Cupertino, Rahmat Khan & HAQ International Squash Academy, Bay Club Redwood Shores, Bay Club Santa Clara, Stanford, Squash Zone, University Club, Bay Club San Francisco, University California San Francisco, Olympic Club, Bay Club Marin, Broadstone Racquet Club, Cross Court Athletic Club, Gold River Racquet Club, Laguna Creek Racquet Club, and Rio del Oro Racquet Club.
Squash is a seminal component of many women’s social lives; in fact we call it the “Squash Sisterhood.” On Saturday, September 8, the Bay Club San Francisco hosted a friendly team tournament and social event that brought together women from the Norcal region for competition, catching up, and meeting new players. The group ranged from those of us who have been playing together for the past 12 years to newer participants who are recent college grads or new arrivals to SF. Squash provides an instant sense of community in today’s transient society, particularly in San Francisco. Over 40 women attended, including local female pros Lauren Patrizio, Aisling Blake, and Shirin Kaufman.
There were 8 teams, each comprised of an A,B,C, and D player. Congratulations to the winning team, with Izzy Weisman (Club Sport San Ramon), Courtney Sabo (Bay Club San Francisco), Amara Warren (Bay Club San Francisco) and Jessica Lanham (University California San Francisco) taking home bragging rights for the year.
All divisions had a great roster, particularly the women’s D division which was oversubscribed to and had a round robin in conjunction with the team tournament. Armando Olguin has been working with many women in a Monday night clinic at the Bay Club San Francisco and the group of D players has grown as a result of his coaching and encouragement. Thank you to longtime player Jacinta Corbet for her work in organizing and helping out with the women’s D round robin!
Norcal Squash kindly provided water bottles and squash balls for the event and the Bay Club San Francisco provided the courts. There was a lot of energy and enthusiasm for continuing the tradition of a monthly women’s round robin, in addition to the annual women’s team tournament. Next months women’s round robin is hosted by Cathy Gregory at Stanford on October 13 at 2:00pm in Palo Alto. We anticipate that we will meet again in November at Oakwood Athletic Club in Lafayette, stay posted for more details and be sure to stay up to date on women’s squash events on Facebook.
By Carrie Kahn
Aisling Blake of Squash Zone and Lauren Xaba of Squash Drive are excited to host the Inaugural Bay Area Squash Women’s Leadership Luncheon on Friday, September 28th from 11:30am – 1:30pm. It will be a panel based discussion with lunch before, where they will explore the role of sport in a women’s professional career. We have some amazing panelist, including Courtney Sabo, co-founder at PadPiper, Berkeley Revenaugh, Independent Contractor and Sarah Jane Perry (current world no. 8 squash player).
Our aim is to donate proceeds to a scholarship fund for young girls (from SquashDrive and Squash On Track) to attend female enrichment camps during the summer. Click here to sign up: when you purchase a ticket a portion of it will be tax deductible and you will also get access to the afternoon session of matches at the Bay Club SF.
Best, Lauren and Aisling
The end of August saw juniors from across the Bay Area battle it out in the junior bronze tournament at Club Sport San Ramon. Congratulations to all participants for a great weekend of squash and comradery.
Kaitlyn Vahlsing convincingly took the girls U13 trophy, and Noor Nibber took the girls U15, dropping only a single game to Kaitlyn who tried her hand in the older group as well as her own age category. The boys had a full and competitive draw, with entries in the U11, U13, U15, U17, and U19 groups. In order from youngest to oldest, congratulations to Haadi Jafry, Christian Wee, Vandrick Inman-Benavente, Saad Asad, and Ahmad Haq. 
Join the Bay Club San Francisco for the annual Latitude 38 Open Singles tournament!
Registration is now open at https://www.ussquash.com/TOURNAMENTS/, search for upcoming tournaments in California to find the 2018 Latitude 38 Open. The juniors gold runs from September 21 to September 23, followed by the open/adult group September 28 to September 30. Tournament entry includes food, shirts, and admission to early round matches for the Oracle Netsuite Squash Open held at the Bay Club September 28. For any questions please contact the tournament director Gareth Webber at (408)-402-1900.