KILWORTH SQUASH & RACQUETBALL CLUB
Registration Evenings
There has been an increased level of interest, particularly from non-members, to join the club and be more proactive in their approach to a healthy lifestyle. Both squash and racquetball offer this. We will be hosting registration evenings at the Kilworth Sports Complex from 8pm-9.30pm for the next three Thursdays starting on 31 August, continuing on 7 September and finishing on 14 September. We welcome all existing members and any newcomers to pop down, get a feel for the games, and join the club.
CONTACTS
Chris Kelleher (christopher.kelleher8@gmail.com), our club captain, and Donal Horgan (donalh92@gmail.com) are our main club contacts. If you have any queries or are interested in any of the above, please drop them an email.
MEMBERSHIP
Welcome back members and friends of Kilworth Squash. Over the coming weeks, we will be putting a big push on again to get our existing members on board, and of course, also to encourage new members, young and old, to join our club.
Our club has had reasonable success in recent years winning the Munster Division 3 and 4 leagues on a number of occasions, and last year our Division 5 team made it to the league final.
Incredibly, the membership fees for joining will be €50 for single and €80 for family. It should be noted that these rates are significantly lower than any other club in Munster, and represent fantastic value. These rates have remained static for over 5 years and we would like to thank the Sports Complex for being so accommodating. In response, the Sports Complex simply noted that all they would like to see is larger member numbers and that they will continue to support this in any way they can.
RACQUETBALL
Included in the membership is also full use of the adjoining racquetball court, or handball if this is your game. This season we will be encouraging more players to take up this game. For many, racquetball is a more simple game than squash and can accommodate all levels of abilities.
GENERAL MEETING
In order to kick start our season, we will hold a meeting on Wednesday 13 September at 8.30pm at the Sports Complex. For the most part, we will look to have as many of the officers and roles within the club proposed and provisionally agreed before this meeting. In doing this, we hope to encourage more people to attend knowing that they won’t be asked to take on a role for the year. Reversely of course, if any member or potential new member would like to be on the committee or assist the club in any way, then we will gladly consider these proposals and bring them forward to this meeting.
DIVISION 6
It appears that we are in the fortunate position of being able to field our first Division 6 team for the upcoming Munster Leagues. This will be specifically for novices, beginners and new joiners and is aimed only at having a bit of fun. A team will have five players on any one night, however, in order to be successful, a squad of 8-10 players is usually required. If you’re interested in taking part, please contact us.
DIVISION 5
Following on from last years success, we would be encouraging all the players plus more to take part again in this season’s Division 5 league. This gang of lads are the epitome of what sport is about, i.e. having the craic and enjoying the sport. Looking forward to having you all on board again this year.
DIVISION 4
We haven’t entered a Division 4 team into the league in a number of years. Hopefully some of the Division 5 players will be willing to step up to the mark peppered with some of the previous Division 4 players.
TIP OF THE WEEK – PLAN TO PLAY WELL
Start your preparations four to six weeks before you start playing matches. During the first two weeks you should do lots of on-court routines and off-court aerobic fitness work (e.g. on the bike). Every other day you should be doing a bit of light weights work.
Over the next two weeks you should play conditioned and normal games. Concentrate on what you want to improve rather than on winning the games. Also do some quick ghosting (20-30 seconds, no more) and keep up the light weights sessions. Before you actually play a match you want to make sure you’ve hit plenty of balls but at the same time that you’re well rested.
But what about the mental preparation? The key is to set yourself goals and have a clear idea of how you want to play tactically in your matches. Don’t just wander through your training routines. Every shot is important, even in practice, and needs your full energy. Even when you’re in the gym you should be concentrating on the good it will do you on court.
If you play practice matches before real matches, don’t worry if your game isn’t as polished as you’d like it. Be patient. You goal should be to play well when it counts. Once you actually start playing in a match, let yourself go onto auto-pilot. Try to play within “the zone”, meaning completely relaxed and let all the practising and training speak for itself.
