In Squash - The Podcast

The first half of the 2024/25 PSA saw Hannah Craig make a name for herself, winning in Paraguay and moving well inside the world's top 100. 2024 ended with Ireland's long awaited return to the World Team Championships where Ireland placed a respectable 15th and Hannah won 4 of 6 matches. We talk about all of the above, along with her incredible years playing for Mike Way and the Harvard Crimson and most importantly her Canada/Calgary connection. Great fun, great chat!!

Canada's 11th place finish at this year's World Team Championship was the country's best since 2009, and Graeme Schnell's performance in the playoff v. Spain for that 11th place finish gave Canada the win. Graeme and I talk about Canada's performance at the World's, why things could bode well for Canada going forward, how he's managed to play his best squash in his mid to late 30s, the Calgary squash hotbed, and much more.

Finals day at the World Team Championships saw one of the most dramatic yet unexpected matches to kick off the men's final when Curtis Malik was only a few points away from giving England a 1-0 lead. Mazen Hesham's arsenal proved to be a bit too lethal in the end, but Malik put forth an incredible battle for 5 tremendous games. Curtis and I talk about his tremendous results at the World Teams which saw him go unbeaten until the final, the match v. Mazen, coach Crawford's decision to have lead off proceedings in the final, and much more.

At 35 years old, Nicolas Mueller is still playing top 20 squash, and has proven so this season with some very strong results, including a quarter final appearance in Qatar in October. Nicolas and I talk about Switzerland's 3rd place finish at the World Team Championships in Hong Kong last week, the promise that the team shows going forward, his passion for the game and dream to represent Switzerland in the LA 28 Olympics, and much more.

The short film Crack Shot tells the story of a troubled young squash player who finds himself entangled in a confrontation with the determined parent of another up and coming junior. The short film hit the streets about a year ago now, but it recently came to my attention and perhaps the larger squash community following a great Squash Player Magazine piece on the film. Alex Cohen is the young film maker behind Crack Shot, and he has a vision for growing this highly entertaining, thoughtful and contextually relevant and relatable story into a feature length film. Great chat, and you can check out the film here: https://youtu.be/u5lhJHUwvOs?si=SupNxhaDbuNwVzTe

Squash Player Magazine Editor in Chief Nathan Clarke breaks down several topics, but primarily all things Hong Kong in terms of the World Teams and last week's Hong Kong Open. Great chat.

20 plus years as England Squash National Team Head Coach, David Campion has been an instrumental part of contemporary England's National Team success and player development. In January, he stepped down from this role and today we talk about what led to this decision and what's on his plate going forward, including his new role working with Italian National Team Head Coach Marcus Berrett. We also talk at great length about elite performance and elite mindset. Great chat.

The youngest ever world junior champion, the youngest male winner on the PSA tour, and now into the world's top 30 at the age of 17, Mohamad Zakaria is most certainly following in the footsteps of all the Egyptian greats before him, and then some. Mohamad and I talk about his achievements to date, becoming the youngest ever world junior winner, his success on the PSA tour and what he's learned from playing the very best in the game. We also talk about his relationship with coach Ahmed Shohayeb.

Ranks right up there with the best conversations on the pod to date. Bill Buckingham and I talk about the joys of retirement, the evolution of Squash Radio, his years working for US Squash and the recent hiring of Nick Taylor as the US National Team Head Coach, LA 28 and beyond, the National Squash League, the PSA and Squash TV, and of course Barry Gibbs.

Recently appointed Irish National Team Head Coach Arthur Gaskin returns to the pod after a 4 year hiatus, the fault of which lays entirely on the shoulders of In Squash Pod host Gerry Gibson. Arthur talks about how the National Team position came about, the team itself, expectations and his vision. We also discuss where LA 28 figures in the plan ahead. We also look back at his time as a player with the National Team and coaches from previous teams, and his fond memories of working with two coaching legends during his playing days, the great Malcolm Willstrop (rest his soul) and Rod Martin.

Former world #2 and World Open champion, legend from one of the greatest eras in squash history, Rodney Martin joins the pod again and whenever we have Rod on, school is in session. Rod talks about the players he's been working with including Olivia Weaver who finds herself knocking on the door of the world's top 3. We also talk about his coaching philosophy when dealing with pro level players and why fundamental technique is the key to producing your best squash.

Youssef Ibrahim's US Open performance was not surprisingly electric as he more than lived up to his moniker the gunslinger; not only that, he once again performed at a top 10 worthy level, giving world #1 Ali Farag a real run for his money in the quarters. Youssef and I talk about his season till now, his US Open run, managing his chronic knee issues whilst putting himself in a position to perform at the highest level, and his first year with the Atlanta Tornadoes of the National Squash League.

Another tremendous chat with Johnny Williams which basically amounts to a rapid fire recap of what we've seen from the men and women on the PSA tour after this season's first three big events. Don't forget to check out www.opensquash.org and get involved with the Fall Fundraiser event which kicks off on October 17th.

Jackson Bragman's Bragman Breakdown is eclectic, highly entertaining; not only does he lay out College Squash and most recently and prolifically the National Squash League, he also takes on the WWE, movie reviews, and a wide range of other pop culture topics. Meanwhile, he's a full time student playing college squash Denison. Clearly, impressive is an understatement. Jackson deep dives on the highly acclaimed new US pro squash league, the NSL, and I also get his take on the college squash landscape, including Denison's chances of making inroads towards the Potter Cup. Great chat!!

After leading the English junior boys to the World Team Championship in 2022, Josh Taylor's stock had risen significantly. At the time he saw his future growth still in England, but no doubt there were opportunities aplenty, and low and behold, Josh is stateside running and growing a tremendous squash academy which is turning into quite a hub for players of all levels, including the likes of Joel Makin and several others on the PSA tour. Josh talks about his decision to move stateside, Bee Squash and The St. James, his coaching philosophy, what it takes to develop top juniors, and much more. Don't forget to check out The Open Squash Classic which starts today, October 6th; for more details go to www.opensquash.org

Delaying play, player dissent, foot faults, and interference have all been part of the WSO's mission to clarify these rules through their 2023/24 directives. Lee Drew joins the pod to discuss these issues generally and what we've seen so far in the first two events of the season. Quick heads up—recorded this in my office, and the acoustics weren’t the best from the host side. Apologies in advance! Still, a great chat with Lee, who has that silver radio tongue and sounds fantastic. Huge shout out to Open Squash, www.opensquash.org. They have their bronze event coming up on Oct. 6th, so stay tuned for that.

One of the most intriguing, exciting and as it turns out successful player/coach dynamics on tour today is undeniably James Willstrop and Mostafa Asal. James took over has Mostafa's main coach just over a year ago, and the tremendous impact that it's had on Mostafa's squash is indeed palpable. The Marksman joins the pod to talk about the progress that they've made together and his thoughts on Mostafa early on. James also takes a deep dive on Pontefract and the Malcolm Willstrop ethos which remains its guiding force to this day.

Current World #11, recent winner of the European Closed championships, Victor Crouin is ready for some home cooking whilst playing in the Paris Squash 2024 PSA platinum event which kicks off tomorrow. Victor takes several thoughtful deep dives today including on his current form, winning the European closed, the door-slam incident with Mohammed El Shorbagy, the officiating "Directive, and much more.

Paris Squash 2024 kicks off in a few days time, and former world #2 Camille Serme is a big part of the team that got that ball rolling with a PSA event in Paris this time last year, and now we have a platinum event the very best in the game taking their talents to this one. Camile talks about Paris Squash 2024, last year's learning experience, being on the comeback trail as a new mother, and French interest in this year's event.

15 years at the helm of Harvard Squash where his teams have won at least 15 Potter and Howe Cups combined, an absolute legend of the college squash coaching ranks, it's hard to believe that there was once a day when Mike Way was in Jonathan Power's corner leading him to World #1 and to becoming North America's first and only World softball champion. Mike takes a look back at his 15 years at Harvard, what it takes to build a college squash team, the challenges behind the Crimson's recent season, Harvard and collegiate squash legend Amanda Sobhy, Ali Farag's incredible run of form and the Egyptian Open final, and much more. Big shout out to Open Squash, www.opensquash.org, where growing the game and making it more accessible and more affordable for everyone is what it's all about.