Ashbrooke
Squash
What a season 2018/19 has been for the club. We have three out of
four teams on the verge of promotion. One of these is the fourth team
in only its second season, the first time we have had this many sides
in over two decades.
We have started a junior academy, which is going from strength
to strength, and are on the verge of having our first Women’s team in
over ten years.
Ultimately, there is a really good feeling around the club. We
have placed a strong emphasis on social events and inclusion over the
past three years, to bring all of the teams together and create more
of a one club feel. As a part of this we are having our first tour in
May, with eleven players from across all four sides traveling down
to Scarborough to play a local team. We also run a club night on a
Monday night, which gives players of all standards the opportunity to
come along and play.
We are bouncing back from an extremely disappointing season
last year, which saw two of our teams relegated. Most notable was
the first team dropping out of the Northumbria Premier League,
as watching our guys take on the best players in the local area had
attracted a lot of spectators.
However, the first team is looking likely to bounce straight back,
and we are hoping to use their success to push on with various projects
around the club.
The progress at the club began when we were awarded a Sport
England Grant to improve our courts and changing facilities. Our
fourth court had fallen totally out of use, while the other three were in
a seriously poor state of disrepair.
We are now fortunate to have some of the best facilities in the
North East and are desperate to put them to good use. To us this
means building a future for the club through our junior academy, and
by encouraging more women to come down and play at the club.
The junior academy is going from strength to strength and after
just one full season we are up to two fully booked kids classes on a
Sunday morning. We have just added to our coaching team and are still
pushing hard to increase participation through schools engagement
programmes and school holiday camps.
Youth development is of huge importance to us as a club. The
average age of our team players is getting older and older and if we
are going to keep the club running longer term then we need some
young blood. Squash is a fantastic game, that demands so much
in terms of skill and fitness, and we would love to pass it on to the
younger generation.
In fact, Forbes’ magazine rated squash as the healthiest sport in
the world, in a study that took into account different health benefits,
as well as injury risk.
With the introduction of the fourth team we are now providing
a much smoother pathway for junior players to find their way into
the adult leagues. There is a steady pathway for a developing junior
player, right from the internal leagues, into the Northumbria summer
development league and then on to the more competitive winter
teams.
For women’s squash we began a ‘ladies night’ on a Tuesday night,
which was seeing 5-10 women coming along to learn the game. We
now have women participating in the internal leagues, and the girls
are on the verge of holding their first friendly fixture against another
club.
We have many challenges over the next few years. We need to
keep up the momentum with our junior and women’s projects, to
ensure stability for the club for years to come. Having both junior and
women’s teams competing within the local leagues is something we
are aiming for in the next two/three years.
We have to add to our currently limited coaching team, to allow
us to do more with the local community. We are also looking into
alternative equipment that would allow us to take squash out to the
community.
In order to do this we need to add sponsorship to boost our modest
budget, and still have three courts available to be sponsored.
Maintaining a consistent Premier League team is a big priority
for us, to allow juniors something to aspire to, and to keep the good
atmosphere at the club to continue.
As a club we are proud to cater for all ages and abilities. If anyone
is interested in joining an upcoming, welcoming and successful club
please contact [email protected]
GREAT FOOD,
GREAT ATMOSPHERE
At The Alexandra, we pride ourselves on the high
quality of our food and our great customers always
ensure we have a fantastic atmosphere, too!
BRING THE FAMILY!
The Alexandra Steakhouse is a fantastic place for
the whole family to eat. With a fantastic variety of
food and a kids menu available, everyone can find
something they enjoy!
Only the Best Quality Food at Affordable Prices
0191 5101100 OR: 0191 5672774
[email protected]
WWW.ALEXTEXASSTEAKHOUSE.CO.UK
QUEEN ALEXANDRA ROAD, GRANGETOWN, SUNDERLAND, SR2 9PF
“We first got involved with the club through one of the guys
that works here, he is involved with the club through their little
one. We were asked if we could sponsor a junior team down at
the club. We have been doing that for the past year now and
have our company on the team kits.
We look forward to continuing our support for the juniors in
the future. From everyone at the Alexandra Texas steakhouse
we would like to wish Sunderland Rugby Club and Ashbrook
Sports Club all the best for the rest of the season and look
forward to seeing the clubs grow.”
Steve, Alexandra Texas Steakhouse
GREAT FOOD,
GREAT ATMOSPHERE
www.sportip.biz
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