Brentwood School - Brentwoodian 2020

47 U19 Every year Brentwood School Squash has grown hugely in terms of its presence in the School, and the huge numbers of people it has attracted to the sport. This year has featured many exciting events, matches and tournaments that have showcased the talent and commitment of the U19 team. Notably, I have also seen a large number of the Sixth Form starting to play squash, with lunch-time and after- school sessions always full of people. We also ran a world squash day event on 12th October 2019 encouraging new people to play. It is great to see this new talent and passion emerging for the sport! Towards the start of the year the U19 team competed in the Epsom Public Schools Tournament. What is impressive to see, is the younger members of the team, Ellis Sooprayen, Reggie Edwards and Matthew Yip, playing competitive squash despite being matched with far older players. These Squash tournaments are a great way for the team to compete against multiple schools and a huge variety of players. The team has also experienced many closely-fought friendly matches with Harrow School (where squash was founded) and always prove to be entertaining events. In terms of our internal events at school, as a team, we have been very fortunate to be part of the Christmas charity tournament and also the Old Brentwoods Day. The charity tournament saw Oren Goddard crowned as school champion and Olivia Mitchell crowned as girls’ school champion, achievements they should both be very proud of. The tournament also raised almost £200 for charity which is amazing to see. The Old Brentwoods Day was also extremely valuable for us as a team, because Daryl Selby (a professional English world-ranked squash player) spent time on court with us developing our skills. Finally, on behalf of all the players, I would like to thank Mr Wood and Jake Byrne for putting together another fantastic year of squash through their hard work and committed coaching and we all look forward to the next! By James Maltby U16 A and B Overall, I am very proud of all the people who helped contribute to the squash teams, and you should all be very proud of yourselves. Special thanks to Mr Wood and Jake Byrne for outstanding and flawless management this year. I moved up from seed 2 to seed 1 with a solid performance all-round, also collecting a range of headbands to complement my game style. Toby McBurney retained his spot in the A team with excellent and confident squash. Harry Thomas stood out to the rest of the squash team. He was eager to improve his powerful game and is a credit to the team. Joe Ludlow-Gibbon’s love of squash and Richie Fallows’ influence ensured he made every ball, even if he had to dive around the court! I can see he has taken his diving skills to the next level and also put it into his football career as well. Callum Ewens played some outstanding squash and used his drop shots to wipe out opponents. Ellis Sooprayen conjured up some admirable squash and showed everyone that he is improving. In the B team, Archie Flashman played some excellent squash throughout the season with a lot of enthusiasm. Damon Pearse showed some character on and off the court whilst sustaining a decent level of squash. Rory Hopkins was dedicated to the sport and played some good-level squash. Alice Lindsay played her heart out, putting maximum effort into every point she had to play. Jack Haynes pulled out some amazing shots in training and overall, played some very good squash. The A team competed in the National Schools Competition, beating Haberdashers’, The Leys School and Felsted in a nail-biting first round. In round two, we narrowly lost to Trinity School and St Paul’s, but overcame Eton College, coming 3rd.