Excerpt #2 From The New Book "A Shot and a Ghost: A Year In the Brutal World of Professional Squash"
by James Willstrop
special to DailySquashReport.com
Posted: March 1, 2012
James Willstrop gives a revealing insight into his summer training.
Most years, the Yorkshireman can be found in Colorado training at altitude in preparation for a tough season ahead.
Part One
Summer training and the first day of the yearly Colorado Camp in Estes Park and Boulder, an hour’s drive from Denver. We have spent long and happy times here over the last years.
The idea was the brainchild of Damon Leedale Brown, whom I have known since I was 16. Before 1996, there was no such thing as lottery funding, or any kind of subsistence support from Sport England. There was the national coach, the governing body, and that was it. Players had to make it on their own back then.
From 1997 onwards, a central fund became available, taking England Squash, or the Squash Rackets Association as it was called then, from one extreme to the other. Suddenly money was available, and masses of it. Some young players were rumoured to be receiving £17,000 grants in one year. There was so much money, and the association had to find something to do with it.
Out of this funding came an influx of new staff. Suddenly we had regular national training camps, with psychologists, sport scientists, nutritionists and physiologists. When we played in England Team events, we were laughed at: there were more staff than players.
Damon appeared as a result of the funding; he was employed by the SRA as the lead strength and conditioning coach and his brief was to educate and oversee the training of the players who were part of the new World Class Performance Programme.
My first contact with him was over the phone: I had just reached the semi-finals of the British Junior Open in Sheffield and he rang to offer his support and advice. We ended up talking for half an hour about the correct things to eat leading up to matches and I suppose this was my first introduction to this alternative type of professionalism. I was already well suited to working hard and training, but I was about to learn about training techniques that at the time had stood outside the parameters of my squash knowledge. My relationship with Damon was about to flourish, and I was going learn how to train smart, and not always just hard. Damon was the catalyst.
As soon as I met Damon, I began working with him at squads and at home in greater depth. He was diligent and driven and would seek out times to come and visit Pontefract to do sessions there, rather than just wait for the squads. I was so committed to becoming good even back then that I intuitively knew I had to listen to him, despite much cynicism from some parties. Back in 1997, sports science was seen by many coaches as gobbledegook and many saw it as a threat. It was by no means considered in the way it is now: an entirely vital part of any athlete’s plan.
I gradually built a close relationship with Damon. I look back on these years and realise now that the work Damon put me through was bracing me for 15 years playing world class squash. His intention was to instil strength in to my young legs and to nurture a constitution bestowed with limited athletic ability. Aged 16, I was weak, angular and uncoordinated and this period of my development was absolutely vital, though I didn’t know it. Back then, I just liked Damon and loved his sessions.
Before parents of child prodigies start getting over ambitious, I must point out again that these years were not so important because I trained hard, but rather they were important because I trained cleverly. With such a lack of natural ability, this sensible work was vital for me and I would not be the same athlete now had I not done it.
I feel absolutely indebted to Damon for his consummate education and the time he so selflessly and passionately has given me. I learnt so much from his expertise, and was lucky to have met him. He taught me the principles of strength work and Olympic lifting, and how to engage in the exercises properly, specifically and safely. I learnt from him the importance of training the core muscles. I never once did a bench press or an arm curl with Damon; every single exercise was done for a reason, and that reason directly related to becoming a better squash player.
When he was shunted from the ranks of England Squash in 2003, he found a way to maintain our relationship whilst taking on another job at Sheffield Hallam University, never asking for a penny from me in the process. His passion was to improve players and to work with them hands on, not to milk money out of them, and he knew he wasn’t going to give up on me after all the hard work. Above everything, I always knew he cared, and every result of mine, now and then, nods to his work with me over the years.
After moving to the US in 2005, Damon phoned me early in 2007 to discuss his ideas for the camp in Boulder, Colorado. He had a contact for a family who ran a training centre by the name of ‘Active at Altitude’ of which he had learned from friend and British marathon runner Liz Yelling. He said it was beautiful, in the Rocky mountains, and was a triathlete’s and marathon runner’s heaven. He explained his idea, and I feared that I wouldn’t need much more convincing.
Terry and Jacqui Chiplin, who own the house and feed the campers, are perfect hosts and have become very good friends. Perched in the most serene and beautiful area, the house overlooks elegant snow-capped mountains and the only distraction is the sound of a prairie dog or a rustling squirrel.
The wake up is early, 6:35am, and the first session comprised an early morning run in Boulder, one of America’s less conservative cities, 50 minutes away from Estes Park.
It feels good to be back here again in this spectacular part of the world, although adapting to the 9,000 feet of altitude is difficult. I felt nauseous after the run; I am lacking fitness and the tiredness from the travel, together with the altitude, brought about a shocking feeling. Perhaps being fat didn’t help either.
In the afternoon Damon had scheduled our return to the Flatirons Athletic club in Boulder. On entering, it feels as if one is in some kind of boot camp for health freaks. Everyone here is fit, toned, muscular and super healthy, and the feeling is infectious. Boulder, as a city, exudes a sense of health and well being; there are no fat people in Boulder, making it almost the antithesis of the archetypal American city.
Damon took us through a good warm-up and some light routines. I had done enough after an hour and a half, so took myself out of the rest of the session. It was only ever going to be a light day today, I was sure of that.
The evenings are glorious here, back at Terry and Jacqui’s retreat. The food was ready on our return from training and we duly gobbled it up, feeling that lovely tired feeling after training. We talk and enjoy the food before sleep, and we will be ready to go again tomorrow. Vanessa and I, despite our regular visits, never fail to feel incredibly fortunate to be here.
Excerpt #1: James's Candid Views of America's Association With Squash
James Willstrop's book 'A Shot and a Ghost: a year in the brutal world of professional squash' is available from www.willstrop.co.uk, priced £9.99, and on Kindle.
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