Squash, Montréal and a trip down memory lane

This weekend, I’m in Montréal for the Canadian Nationals, playing in the “geriatric” 45+ division, as my friend put it last night. The draw is comprised some of the juniors I grew up with 28 long years ago and had played year in and year out from 11 to 25 years old, when I retired from playing. Some have made squash a career, teaching at clubs around the continent. Others went into engineering or financial services or started businesses but still today, we all share the bond of having competed against each other, traveled with each other and having built memories from weekends around the world so it’s been wonderful to be back to do it again and his weekend.

Last night, I played one of my oldest squash friends. He grew up in Winnipeg, his was the house I got drunk at for the first time (on peach schnapps and thus couldn’t eat fuzzy peach candy for 15 years) and 6 times a year on tournament weekends, we’d bomb around the squash club hanging out and doing kid stuff. Youth sports are the best. At 17, after years of him being a lot better than me, I had one of my biggest career wins against him in the quarter finals of “The Jesters” tournament. That win was what gave me the confidence and belief to realize that yes, my goal of making the Junior national team was achievable and the next year, I ultimately did. Hilariously, this picture surfaced from when we were 16. Doug now lives in Denver and we play every week and Trevor I haven’t seen in 20+ years. Youth is wasted on the young.

Squash is a beautiful sport. Two people are locked in a room and when you emerge, someone is declared the victor for that day. Unlike team sports where selection is subjective and subject to many intangibles, individual sports pit merit against merit and while nothing is permanent, for at least that day, you know who the better player was. Trevor and I had a battle yesterday that I snuck out 3-1. We ran each other hard and I’ll admit I was deeply fatigued in the 4th and was lucky to win it. I’m not sure I had the legs for the 5th.

Today, I head to the old Montréal forum at 12:20 mountain time to play in the glass court they have in the atrium. Should you wish to watch, the quarter finals for the Men’s and Women’s pro event follow for the rest of the day at this link.

In November, we will be bringing the glass court to Denver and setting it up on the Auroria Campus downtown for a Pro event from November 14-18 and I hope you accept my invite and come check it out.

Win or lose today, or tomorrow or whenever I play next, I have rediscovered the joy of playing that I had when I was younger, and spending the weekend with my sister and her boyfriend here is added gravy.

Have a great weekend (and yes, the mustache is a joke… but I’m sticking with it for the weekend).