Week 2 - Newport - Frustration

The Matches

Jenks, Nina and I all made it down to the City by the Sea, albeit at different times, in different vehicles and even at different venues. Unfortunately, the result was the same for each of us. Jenks faced the formerly nationally ranked racquet ball star of New England who just decided to start playing squash. By all accounts, the guy hit the ball about 1000 mph and 1/100 of an inch over the tin . . . every time. That is not squash! The games were semi-close but 0-3 was the result. He played a bit early because he was moonlighting at The Saltwater Edge and got the ok from the boss to quit early.

Jenks met me in the parking lot at St. George's School after my match with the history teacher/admissions officer. The guy was not in squash shape; I should have won the match, was leading 6-2 in the 5th game, lost focus, didn't stick with the game plan and lost 7-9. STUPID ASS! It deserved a huge F-bomb but there were plenty of little darlings around so I utilized the skills acquired in Anger Management 101 and vented to Jenks on the way up to the US Open.

Nina's babysitter couldn't get to her house early enough to get a ride otherwise and, of course, Alex was in surgery, so she made the trip - ALL BY HERSELF. Good job Nina! Thank goodness the default rule was changed by RISRA earlier this year to punish DEFAULTS (All team members please see blog #1.) It would have been easier to take the long distance loss. Nina played better in week #2 than in #1 but went home 1-3.

Frustration persists. There's a difference between crushing every team we played last year and not knowing your opponent this year. Prediction - By the 2nd half of the year we should be on cruise control and racking up wins. For now, we need to focus on the upside and realize that with each match we play we gain confidence in our abilities. We know we can compete in B. These guys are really beatable as long as we show up.

#4 was defaulted. This cannot happen any more. One of the reasons we did so well last year was that we only had 2 or 3 defaults all year (Rizzuto 2x).

#5 is being rescheduled. Thank you Jay and welcome back from China.

B FITNESS

Some extra work will really make the difference on court. Please try to add in an extra 5-10 minutes of hard cardio at the end of your play. Court Sprints (12 x 3 with a 30 second break between), Ghosting (3 x 3 with a 30 second break between), Self-Boasting (boast, drop, short rail, rail, boast, get it, drop, etc.), Sit-ups and Push-ups are all good drills at the end of any court time that will increase your stamina and help keep your mind focused, especially in the late games.

S . . t . . r . . e . . t . . c . . h - Stretching will reduce injuries and increase your recovery rate after a workout. Stretch after your workout. Focus on hamstrings, quads and calves (I love veal). Also, if something hurts put ice on it immediately. Freeze some water in a dixie cup with a popcicle stick in it and rub the area until numb. Athena the physical therapist used it on me and I'll swear to its attributes.

ATHENA THE PHYSICAL THERAPIST

We have an opportunity to have Athena come and stretch us out at our matches if we want to try it out. The first one is free. If we like it she can make it a regular thing. If it doesn't catch on we can drop the idea at any point. Please let me know who is interested. I think it will be great to try anyway.

THE B1 SAGA

Player B gave me a call and, as expected, told me he decided he was going to play for the other team. Good luck and have a great year. Enough said.

THE US OPEN

After our matches, Jenks and I met up with RISRA Pres., Ken Wise and made our way to the Back Bay Events Center in Boston, MA for the Quarter Finals of the 2006 US Open Squash Championship.
We saw 4 great matches: Lincou v. Gaultier, Palmer v. Shabana, Ashour v. Ryding and Matthew v. Beechill. The shots were tight to the wall, there were virtually no miss hits and the boast out of the back was seen, maybe, 1 time in 4 matches. The drop shots were out of this world. The 19 year old, Ashour, was dropping from the parking lot and the veteran, Graham Ryding, was smoked in under 35 minutes.

The food, beverages and equipment were pretty good. The collection of RICC members was significant. Gemma, Jenkins, Capt. M., TO, Nathan, Auber,Ted and Player B were all in attendance.

Remember: 1. Another rail is not that bad of a shot; 2. Know where your opponent is.
See you Tuesday.
Capt. Morgan