Squash

With January wound down and term two already fast underway, things are looking promising for second term squash. The squash program, taught exclusively by Coach Gustavo Verna, is particularly popular in the second term, whether it is students hoping to escape from the wet term two weather, or those looking to join as squash moves into more of a competitive term, the courts are busy.   To account for the overwhelming student/court ratio, tryouts were held at the beginning of the second term and from that we were divided into two groups. The Development Group is for students who are new to the game and hope to grow their skills to a contest level, while Group A is for those already familiar to the game who hope to hone their skills for competition.  As second term progresses, the squash program will quickly shift into more of a competitive tone. Two tournaments have already been completed, which yielded promising results, surely spiking the intensity for anyone looking to compete in second term. Eight players from the Group A will be competing in most, if not all, of the tournaments to come, and hopefully as skills continue to develop, many more will join us on the courts.  For some, this was not their first tournament of the year. A league-based tournament was hosted in Victoria at Quadra Sports before the end of term one. Students were organized by skill level and challenged members of the community of varied age. Those who attended took this as a chance to judge their own skills, look on areas of development, and to gain some experience and have a little fun along the way, with high hopes of conquering their upcoming games. The squash team also took on some tough competitions at the ISA tournaments held at Shawinigan Lake School; they played to the best of their abilities and took home 4th place.  Along with attending multiple games, tournaments, and training throughout the year, some selected students will continue to participate in a weekly competitive league organized at the school. Every Tuesday evening, five Brentwood students are placed in pools against players from outside Brentwood to play best-to-five games to 15 points. This not only gives players the chance at extra experience and practice, but the opportunity to form bonds outside the Brentwood bubble with others who share the same interest.   With a dedicated coach, a handful of enthusiastic and talented players, and many tournaments to come, it looks like it will be an exciting term ahead for the squash program.  Cole P, Whittall ’15, Captain