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July 5 - 7, 2006
BLOG From Coach Chris Smith:
Team USA has had a great week in Boston as we wrap up our prep for New
Zealand and the World Championships. This week we had a couple sessions at
Northeastern University on court, on the spinning bikes and in the workout
room. On Wednesday the morning started off with a pump up talk with Paul
Assiante and then we headed to Newport for a hit at Portsmouth Abbey and a
beach workout and swim. On Thursday the team had a morning workout
followed by an exhibition for the SquashBusters kids.
The highlight of the week was Thursday night's match Team USA vs. Boston's Best. Team USA got a very necessary win to give it that extra boost heading into
next week's departure for New Zealand. Team USA won the match 4-2. The
highlight for Team USA was the chance to get on court and chat it up with
New Zealand's own Glen Wilson. Glen gave the team a little preview of what
to expect in New Zealand on court and off.
RESULTS:
Trevor McGuinness lost to Glen Wilson 3-0
Todd Harrity beat Pat Malloy 3-2
Chris Callis lost to Preston Quick 3-0
Todd Ruth beat Rags Gupta 3-1
David Canner beat Mike Sempruchi 3-1
CJ Plimpton beat Scott Poirer 3-2
Mark Froot got some very good games in with Glen Wilson as well.
Friday we have more challenge matches and then head home for packing and
rest. We all leave from our home cities on Monday afternoon to meet up in
California for our flight to NZ. Our next update will come from Palmerston North!
Posted by Squash Webmaster.
June 28 - 30, 2006
BLOG From Coach Chris Smith:
Team USA has just returned from another amazing week of training as it
gears up for its July 10th departure for New Zealand. After a week in
Greenwich CT, Team USA headed to Philly where 4 of its team members live,
to train. The team had exclusive use of the brand new and beautiful Reflex
Gym in Wilmington. This club has it all. Team USA felt like Drago must have
in Rocky III with all the best-of-breed high-tech workout gear. The club is
complete with ASB squash courts, flat panel tv's, leather couches, and a
World Champion Fitness Trainer. Reflex was a good drive from Philly but
well worth it. The club is the best suited facility around for training
international world competition. The ASB 4 wall glass court provides very
necessary experience on such a court--there are two of them in NZ that we
will play on. Its a much different game on the 4 wall glass and it takes
some getting used to. The fact we got to train on it before we get to NZ
will come back in our favor at the championships.
Damon Leedale-Brown, the club pro, did wonders for the team. Before coming
to Reflex, he was the England Squash's National Team Fitness Director and
helped train multiple World Championship Jr Teams over the years. His
fitness sessions pushed the boys and brought some amazing results out of
them. Damon's trainings are sure to equate to some wins for Team USA in NZ.
Damon is one of the best coaches around and anyone who has a chance should
get down to Wilmington to work with him. When you are done on court, there
are plenty of TV's to relax in front of.
Tuesday night, Team USA was treated to a wonderful dinner hosted by the
Harrity's and was attended by Vijay and Kevin.
Wednesday night, the team spent a wonderful couple hours at the Racquet
Club of Philly hosted by Steven Gregg and Rob Whitehouse. The team played a
few exhibition matches before a packed gallery and took to the court with
some very fired up members. Some very talented squashers where there
including former US Jr Men's Assistant Coach Duncan Pearson, former USA Jr
Champion Richard Repetto, SquashSmart's Stephen Gregg, Tony Soslow, Ryan
Bray of Tabor and Dennison fame, and Andrew Purcell--one of Episcopal and
Hobart's finest. Preston and I got a scare watching Trevor and Mark hitting
on the Rackets Court. Trevor hit the ball (or rock) as hard as he could and
broke part of a wodden chair in the gallery (12 feet above the back wall).
No injuries, but good laughs all around.
Thursday night, Team USA took to the courts against a tough Philly Area
Teaching Pro Squad. USA lost a very close and well fought 5-3 contest.
Ruth, Canner, and Plimpton had wonderful matches and kept USA close. The
match of the night came between Harrity and Joe Russell. Joe is one of the
finest players in the country right now and the young Harrity pushed Joe to
the end.
RESULTS:
Shannon Hazell versus David Canner- Canner won 3-0
Nigel Thain versus CJ Plimpton- Plimpton won 3-1
Vijay Chitnis vs.Reed Endresen- Chitnis won 3-0
Ashley Read versus Todd Ruth- Ruth won 3-0
Imran Khan versus Mark Froot- Khan won 3-0
Buck Rodgers versus Chris Callis- Rodgers won 3-1
Joe Russell versus Todd Harrity- Russell won 3-2
Preston Quick versus Trevor McGuinness- Quick won 3-0
The match could have been tied 4-4 with Chris Callis on court up 1-0 with
USA down 4-3 in matches. The entire team sat behind their teammate's court
and cheered him on. Playing this type of competition before even leaving
for NZ is an amazing advantage for us. Our play this week was a major
improvement from last week's loss to the Greenwich pros. All signs point to
a big win over the Boston Pros this week. After the match we had an amazing
dinner thanks to the Harrity's!
We wrapped the week up with some very intense and spirited challenge
matches. Its safe to say that Team USA is improving every single day. No
other US National Team has ever prepared this long and hard leading up to a
World Championship. Preston and I are very proud of the efforts of the
team, the families, and our team sponsors to allow us to get to this point.
Monday morning is our Golf Outting which we still have a few open slots for
if anyone is interested last minute. Then we get right back to work in our
final week of prep for the World Tourney. Our week includes practice at the
Union Boat Club and Northeastern University, a special team meeting with
Paul Assiante, a training day in Newport, and a head-to-head match with the
Boston Pros which include many former and current Trinity College players.
Stay tuned for more - Chris
Posted by Squash Webmaster.
April 7-9, 2006
Friday, April 7
Reed Endresen beat CJ Plimpton 3-2
9-1, (10-8), (10-8), 2, 1
Saturday, April 8
Reed Endresen beat Todd Ruth 3-1
(10-9), 10-8, 9-2, 9-0
Todd Harrity beat Chris Callis
(9-5), 9-2, 9-6, 9-0
Sunday, April 9
Chris Callis beat Todd Ruth 3-1
9-2, 9-0, 9-4
Reed Endresen beat Todd Harrity 3-2
(9-2), 9-6, 10-8, (10-9),
9-1
Final Team Standings
1. Trevor McGuinness
2. Mark Froot
3. Reed Endresen
4. Todd Harrity
5. Chris Callis
6. Todd Ruth
7. CJ Plimpton
8. David Canner
January 2, 2006
BLOG From Coaches Chris Smith and Preston Quick:
Hope everyone is recovered from the journey home. Right back to work here in the US. With Princeton on the horizon and Nationals in March, we have a couple things for your calendars-
Tentative National Team Training weekend- February 3-5-location TBD- there is a lot going on but I want to take the time we have in February to have a training weekend if this proves to be doable for enough players. Players within the top 15 of point standings after the Princeton Junior Selection Event will be invited to the training weekend. Please mark your calendars
and stay tuned for more details. Multiple locations for this training are being considered. Once Princeton is done and invitations sent, the final decision if we will hold this training will be determined based on everyone's schedules, school, work, etc.
Squads- April 7-9 at Northeastern University. Players with point totals from 3rd place thru 8th place will be invited to trials. Players who finish the 4 selection events in 1st and 2nd place automatically make the team but will be required to be present at the Trials Weekend as well. On Sunday the 16th, the team of 6 players who go to NZ will be finalized.
Best,
Chris and Preston
Posted by Squash Webmaster.
Blog | Photo Gallery | Schedule | Player's List | US Results | Full Results
Blog | Photo Gallery | Player's List | US Results | Full Results
BLOG From Trevor McGuineess:
The team is packing, light training and preparing for the long flight to New Zealand. Read blog ...
BLOG From Trevor McGuineess:
The last week of team training was Boston-based and started with a golf fundraiser at Stow Acres Golf Club in Boston. Read blog ...
BLOG From Trevor McGuineess:
The team traveled to the City of
Brotherly Love which started with a fabulous kick off fundraiser reception Read blog ...
BLOG From Trevor McGuineess:
The first full team training week took place in Greenwich Connecticut with special events hosted by team assistant coach Preston Quick Read blog ...
BLOG From Trevor McGuineess:
CJ Plimpton, Trevor McGuinness, Todd Ruth, Todd Harrity and Chris Callis took advantage of their early semester end from school Read blog ...
BLOG From Trevor McGuineess:
The squad's fundraising activities continue in earnest following the USOC
withdrawal of its $100,000 annual grant to the USSRA forcing US teams to
raise funds to subsidize travel, coaching and entry fees. Read blog ...
BLOG From Trevor McGuineess:
The final team has been selected for the World Junior Men's Championships
that will begin on July 10 in Palmerston North, New Zealand. Read blog ...
Scottish Open
Heriot-Watt Univ, Scotland - December 26 - 30, 2005
Blog | Photo Gallery | Results
US Junior Open
Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA - December 17-20, 2005
Results
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