Little Squashies program grows participation in Coffs Harbour

The Coffs Harbour Squash and Swim Centre recently won the Squash Australia 2022 Club of the Year Award, with their successful participation programs hailed as one of the main reasons for their recognition.

Proud owner Peter Saxby said the club has been a labour of love and work for him and his family over the last twenty years. “We really enjoy providing a nice facility for players to come and enjoy,” explained Saxby, who runs the club with his wife Jenny.

The club’s ‘Little Squashies’ program in particular has attracted significant praise, with its very popular sessions nurturing the introduction and growth of kids aged six and up, throughout each school term. According to Saxby, the secret of this success is to “get the juniors at a very young age, getting them to have fun and just to enjoy the introduction to squash, and then build on that from there.”

It sounds like a simple approach, but of course there is a lot of work being done behind the scenes. The club staff contact local schools with promotional flyers, organise ‘Come and Try’ days and actively invite children to enrol in a 10-week program where they can establish contact with kids of similar abilities and quickly forge friendships. Those relationships usually carry on for the duration of the program or, in many cases, last for years.

“The outlay is worth the effort and rewarding,” Saxby said. “It gets kids confident and makes them enjoy learning as part of a group.”

Sessions are then structured with fun activities, focusing on hand-eye coordination, agility and team building, while at the same time working on the skills necessary to start playing a game and hopefully progress onto Junior Competition Groups, or just enjoy the sport socially with friends.

“A key aspect for Little Squashies is patience,” continued Saxby. “And the understanding required by coaches and staff, as the young ones develop at their individual pace.” The club can also rely on Squashie founder, Jemma Wratten, who is a brilliant strategist and ensures that weekly activities are diverse enough so that kids get to try something new each week - a recipe for success, according to Saxby, alongside feedback and recognition.

But the Coffs Harbour Squash and Swim Centre is not just about junior participation. The Club conducts in-house competition for senior and junior players twice a week, in addition to four tournaments that are part of the Squash NSW and Squash Australia event calendar. Their major event is the PSA Challenger Tour 10, usually held in August, which attracts players internationally and has a huge following of participants, as the Club also provides a support programme of graded and junior events throughout the five days of competition.

“We engage the support of equipment companies to display products and services, and PSA players get to spend time on court with all the juniors in the Junior Clinic, conducted on the second day of competition. It’s a fun week of squash activities for all to enjoy,” Saxby said.

Speaking of the recent Club of the Year Award, he added that it was great to have all the hard work his family and staff put in keeping the centre in tip-top condition publicly recognised, first at the Coffs Harbour Business Awards 2021 and again, in November this year, at the Squash Australia Awards night.

“There’s nothing better than getting good feedback for well-run sessions and events, knowing that what you have put into place is appreciated. This is what makes it worthwhile, being able to give something back to the whole community,” Saxby said.