Squash Canada Designates The National Squash Academy As
National Centre of Excellence
from Danny Da Costa
September 26, 2011 - Squash Canada today announced an agreement with the National Squash Academy (NSA) as Squash Canada’s National Centre of Excellence. The facility is located in Downsview Park in the heart of Toronto. The agreement provides a centralized training base for Canadian National Team members to train under the tutelage of former Malaysian National Coach and Squash Canada’s new Performance Director, Jamie Hickox. The partnership gives Squash Canada’s athletes access to some of the best coaches in the world, including former World #1 Jonathon Power, and former World #12 singles and World #1 hardball doubles player Gary Waite, as well as their team of dedicated coaches. Jonathon Power commented, saying "this is the realization of a dream for myself and all Canadian squash players. Through this partnership with Squash Canada and the vision of the National Squash Academy, we can now pool all of our resources nation-wide and give our athletes the best chance of competing on an International level”.
In May of 2011, Squash Canada conducted a High Performance Review with world renowned high performance expert Dr. Peter Davis and the top two priorities identified were to centralize training for high performance athletes and to hire a full time Performance Director / National Coach. “We feel that we are moving in the right direction organizationally, having achieved two of the main objectives of the high performance review in the past few months. As we continue to move forward, we will address the other priorities of the organization”, said Squash Canada Executive Director, Danny Da Costa.
The National Squash Academy was built in 2010 by Canadians Jamie Nicholls, Gary Waite and Jonathon Power as a dedicated training facility for aspiring Canadian touring professionals and top juniors. The National Squash Academy offers all the necessary elements for athletes to excel at the national and international level and is fully aligned with Long Term Athlete Development objectives including access to world class coaching, dedicated court time for athletes, world-class training/fitness facilities as well as therapy/rehabilitation services. In addition, the NSA provides affordable public access to its courts, a junior academy for all ages and levels, and community and school outreach programs. The newly constructed 10-court public squash facility includes 8 glass back international courts and an all glass exhibition court with the world’s first all-glass North American doubles court being installed in early 2012.
Squash Canada’s Performance Director, Jamie Hickox will conduct training sessions each week for national team / squad athletes. National Squash Academy coaches, Jonathon Power, Gary Waite and Jamie Nicholls will continue to provide coaching support as well. “This is a major step forward for our athletes. The NSA provides a dedicated facility for our national team athletes to train and excel on the international stage”, said Jamie Hickox, Performance Director. The National Squash Academy recently hosted the 2011 Harrow Canadian Squash Championships as well as Squash Canada’s Men’s National Team Selection Trial Pre-Qualifying Event.
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