In squash - The Podcast

2 time world junior champion Mostafa Asal, aka the raging bull, brings his enormous talents to the podcast and does not disappoint. We cover the whole 9 yards here, but in particular Mostafa looks back at his break out season last year, and his decision to turn pro over going stateside for the US collegiate experience. He also gives an impassioned take on Rami Ashour, and he explains who every Uber driver in Cairo thinks is Egypt's #1 player.

Damien Mudge won every professional doubles title, set every record, and reigned supreme with several different partners on the pro doubles squash circuit; he announced his retirement a few weeks ago after dealing with a series of injury setbacks. Squash journalist and pro doubles aficionado Rob Dinerman provides a look back at Damien's illustrious career and what made him a truly unstoppable force on the doubles court. Rob also gives some interesting insight on the US college scene and Ramy Ashour whom he's spent some time with over the last few years.

2018/19 was a break out season for Millie Tomlinson, reaching a career high of 20, earning her first English cap and defeating legend Nicol David in Hong Kong of all places. Millie sort of flew under the radar until last season, but she's definitely among the best players in the world now. Nantes is her first event of the 2019/20 season, and she's looking to hit the ground running.

Fresh off a 3 medal haul performance at the Pan Am Games in Lima this summer, Hollie Naughton is set to get her 2019/20 season under way at the China Open next week. Hollie talks about the highs and lows of the Pan Am Games and her 2018/19 season. Obviously she's had an eventful summer with the Pan Am Games, but even more she enjoyed a bit of R&R in Colombia with Nicol David and Amanda Sobhy, and shortly afterwards had her wisdom teeth extracted :).

For the past few years Gary Nisbet and Jesse Engelbrecht have provided the squash community with a wealth of content via SquashSkills and their own respective academies. On this episode we flesh out several very practical things that I think apply to all of our games regardless of your level including the mental game and winning the critical points, injury prevention techniques, and the subtle differences b/t watching the ball and watching your opponent. These among several other technical and strength and condition related topics make this a must listen for all of us.

Canada performed admirably, reaching 6 of 7 possible podiums at last month's 2019 Pan Am Games in Peru, and calling the shots was none other than former world number 4 and 6 time Scottish national champion Martin Heath. Martin gives us his assessment of the Pan Ams, how things went for his Rochester Yellowjackets in 2018/19 and how he's grown over the years as head coach. We also reminisce about years on the circuit, particularly with respect to the impact Peter Nicol had on his playing career.

Jonathon Power was a player like none before or since. World champion, world number 1, British Open champ, 8x Canadian National champion, and Commonwealth Games gold medalist, JP was must watch squash whether it was round 1 v. a qualifier or the World Open final v. Peter Nicol. JP and I talk about the whole nine yards, including his unique development as a junior, the Peter Nicol rivalry, winning the World Open 2008 and the current "advances" in officiating.

A brief backstory of the In Squash Podcast and its host Gerry Gibson as a prelude to Episode 100

The greatest female player of all time graced the In Squash podcast online studio with her presence, and she well exceeded all expectations. Her resume is the stuff of legend: 109 consecutive months at #1 in the world, 8 World Open championships, countless medals at the Commonwealth and Asian Games, very much in a nutshell. Nicol looks back at how she was able to overcome the physical adversity of playing girls/ladies much older and stronger than her during her junior years, how she was able to avoid any serious injury throughout her illustrious career, her mindset as the playing days were winding down, and her current passion, the sweet science :)

2018 Canadian national champion Danielle Letourneau is coming off her best professional season to date, reaching a career high of 36 in the PSA rankings. In fact, 2018/19 was noteworthy for the entire Canadian women's team, all of whom are inside the world's top 40. Danielle describes her 2018/19 season, the wave she rode after winning her first national title, and how the wins and losses at the highest levels of the game are preparing her for bigger and better things. Most importantly though, we take a look at the Canadian Women's Team and how they have their sights set on bringing the team gold back to the great white north.