January 30, 2014
Top 10 Reasons why TOC week in NYC is the best week of the year 10. The Grand Open. One of the
most competitive draws in the country outside of the Nationals, and
comes with first round TOC tickets. Extremely well run
tournament.
9. Pro players practicing at your
Club. All week. Perhaps the only thing more impressive than
watching the pros play on the all-glass court is watching them do
drills at your home Club. You never really knew how perfectly the
drill could be done until you watched them go at it.
Hypnotizing. The cross-court drop can always nick on the
crosscourt-straight drop/crosscourt-straight drop drill?
8. A former number one in the world having
a game at your Club. In 5 seconds I knew he was world class, and
five seconds later I realized that was Lee Beachill, former world #1,
having a game at my Club.
7. Qualifiers at local Clubs.
As great as the all-glass court is, seeing top-30 players go at it up
close is even more exciting. You see the spin, hear all the
noises, and see hungry qualifiers fight to the death.
6. Seeing the glass court go up in
Grand Central. The inspired idea of having the TOC in Grand
Central never gets old. Watching them put up the court and
knowing that the greatest week is right in front of you is as good as
it gets.
5. Watching an American go for it in round
1. This year it was Todd Harrity going against the world
#4. The crowd went crazy, especially for the tie-break second
game. Next year he’ll make it past the first round.
4. Seeing people watch squash for the first
time. The glass front wall is open to all passers-by. And
seeing newcomers transfixed gives you hope for the future of pro squash. 3. Seeing an all-time great recreate the
past, beat the world #1 11-9 in the 5th, then beat the world’s #5 and
#2 in succession to reclaim the title he won twice many years ago.
2. Seeing one of the three
greatest-ever women to play the game finally come to Grand Central and
win the title without dropping a game. As charming and affable as
she is off the court, she is a killer on it.
1. Hanging at the TOC bar, watching
the squash on the high-def TVs, enjoying a Palm beer (or two), and
seeing virtually every squash friend you have ever known. Not a
bad way to spend a week.
John Musto is a level 2 US Certified Coach, the Head Pro at the
Princeton Club of NY, and was the 2012 6.0 National Champion.
John competed for the US National team and was a 4-time All-American
and #1 player for the 2-time National Champion Yale team.
What's On My Mind is a column by rotating authors.
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