Coaching - Testimonials
Antonia's view......
I started lessons because I wanted someone to show me how to get the ball to go exactly where I wanted it to and not just from luck. I wanted to improve my skills and know how to play properly.
The lessons have helped me to know how to play efficiently and move around the court better. I've got the confidence to think about playing in a league now. I’ve watched my skills grow and enjoyed actually hitting the ball and getting it to go exactly where I want it to go.
Gavin is very encouraging and builds up your confidence even if you're very new to the game. I'm impressed at the professional style, feels like he really knows his stuff. I was quite nervous at first as squash is quite male dominated but Gavin quickly put me at ease.
I particularly remember trying really hard to get a difficult shot and missing it and missing it thinking I'll never get this. Then being taken through it again with encouragement and finally hitting the shot perfectly again and again.
John says......
I recently took up Squash and found that I couldn't really give my friends and colleagues a good game, I was continually being beaten by a large margin.
I decided to find a squash coach and improve my game. I found Gavin on the internet and arranged some lessons with him. I found Gavin's style of teaching very easy to understand and great fun and as an added bonus I got to play against a good squash player.
My game has improved dramatically and now the players that used to hammer me are telling me that I'm too good for them. I've always enjoyed playing squash but now I find I'm getting a lot more out of the game, I would recommend Gavin to anyone wanting to improve their squash.
Hesham explains....
Decided to take lessons to understands the rudiments of the game, in order to build upon them.
The lessons were excellent! Apart from serving to build my fitness levels like never before - knackered me out, without fail, on every occasion - Gavin was very good at spotting my weaknesses and focusing on them. But he was also weary of over-drilling thus I found the classes to be extremely effective. The Result:
I significantly improved my game within a short period. Some of my friends couldn't believe my progress. Particularly the more experienced players who began dropping games against me!
The lessons were so enjoyable that I began having 2 classes a week - you can't go wrong! After 10 years of tennis I was converted over night.
Olie's words.....
I stopped playing squash but after that year I realised how much I missed it, and the David Lloyd used to be my club, so when I saw Gavin take on David Lloyd squash, I thought I should get involved. Therefore I took coaching to get back into it.
Apart from the obvious technique and racquet skills, the lessons have re-invigorated my love for the game. With a desire to improve, the lessons have brought me on leaps and bounds.
The most important element of the game that I have learnt (and that does NOT mean I have mastered this yet! not by any means) is the movement around the court. This improved me because it meant that I didn't have to rely on my fitness to keep running round the court. The time I have over every shot now must be twice what it used to be and, I have a real idea of what I should be doing in terms of positioning, something I never learnt before.
Primarily I have enjoyed feeding off Gavin’s enthusiasm and using this to enjoy my squash far more. The informality that Gavin puts across means that there is not too much pressure to do what is required. However, this attitude also means that if you wish to improve (like I do) these lessons have been the perfect atmosphere in which to do this.
The coaching style was something that surprised me at first but now is something I feel very comfortable with. The way that Gavin teaches exactly what he knows, in the sense that every shot he teaches has its own 'knack' that will at first be allusive but eventually will click. This is a far more refreshing way than learning by the text book...and also lets me hit those shots naturally in the way that is most effective.
One memorable moment was the first lesson when Gavin videoed me playing squash and then showed me the video. At first I was well impressed by my technique, however, he soon pointed out about 6 or 7 faults in a two minute tape! That's when I knew I was in for trouble!