Irish medals at the Junior European Championships are rare. There were U15 and U17 silvers respectively won at Eindhoven 2019 and Prague 2017, but David Noone is confident it won’t be long before Ireland are enjoying further podium finishes.
The Galway-based junior performance coach is all set for the U19 Europeans in Krakow, an event that will begin with nine players taking part in the individuals from next Saturday and then a half-dozen remaining on in Poland for the mixed teams from April 2nd.
Last year, Prague was the destination. Celtic’s Aaron Knox finished 16th, Sutton’s Christian Dromgoole 24th, Galway’s Danny Lynch 45th, Sutton’s Conal Jackson 50th and Fitzwilliam’s Frank O’Flynn 61st in the 64-player boys section.
Lisburn’s Lydia McQuillan was 23rd, the American-based Ella Erickson 25th, Sutton’s Ella Walsh 30th, another Suttonian Zoe Yeomans 38th and Mount Pleasant’s Riley Slade 45th in the 51-player girls section, with Ireland then finishing 13th in the 17-strong mixed team event.
New Junior Nationals boys champion Knox, Dromgoole, Jackson and O’Flynn have all been selected for Krakow, along with Tyler Dromgoole, with Erickson, Yeomans and Slade enjoying repeat selection for the girls individuals along with Shriya Drawid, this season’s Junior Nationals champion from Belfast.
An invaluable level of experience is being built up, and the hope for Noone is that the adventure in Krakow can ultimately bear medal fruit next year. “The team changes every year as people age out, but Prague was a really tough event,” explained the coach to Squash Ireland at a recent training camp at Trinity College.
“Because they performed so well in the individuals and had really big battles, when it came to the team event they were really bruised and battered bodies. The emotions were running high in the individuals, and they had to handle that as the event progressed.
“For Krakow, it’s going to be much more about handling the emotional side of things and making sure that we are sharp when it comes to the team event as well. There is a huge amount of excitement.
“Two-thirds of this team will hopefully be able to make it for next year as well, so that will be our focus, for medal opportunities to come in 2027 for the team. This team is a really strong team as well, but there is a bit of a younger age group in there as well, which is great as they are there for the next year as well.
“We have a big mix of real physical players, we have got players who have a high level of skill and who play good, dynamic squash as well, so it will be interesting to put them up against Europe’s best and see what we can do, see if we can trouble some of the best players.
“We have high expectations of ourselves, but we are just really hoping that by the time the team event comes around, we are all in good shape and physically and mentally ready to take on the best of the best.”
Knox and Christian Dromgoole have been seeded 17/32 in the 68-player individual boys event, with Yeomans 17/24 in the 53-player girls event where Drawid and Slade are listed at 25/32. The ambition is that copious preparation can pay off.
“It’s such a busy season, so any chance we have had, we have been in Belfast with the squad, we have had squads here in this new facility in Trinity as well,” said Noone. “But it’s such a busy calendar that since September, they have been events nearly every weekend.
“There is definitely plenty of preparation. This [the Europeans] was always the culmination of all the events, only the best players qualify for the team as well and it’s going to be exciting.
“We have Ella Erickson in as a wildcard as well for the U19s girls. She was very strong for us last year in the team event, so she is going to be flying in for us. That should add some strength to the team as well, so it’s quite exciting.
“Sometimes the seeds don’t necessarily reflect the level of player so someone like Ella, who is not on the European tour, she mightn’t get a seed, but she is a high-level player and it [the Europeans] is always one where you hope you just get a good draw.
“Krakow is going to be a big highlight on the calendar for the juniors. It’s always one of those events that the kids really look forward to. It creates memories as well; it’s a big event.
“An U19 event is long, and you get some really good team bonding going on as well. It’s one of the ones that you get a lot of passion. Like, it highlights the national pride, and it gets the players really focused and zoned in. It’s definitely an annual highlight on the calendar.
“The big thing with this one is that it’s the second year where two boys and two girls will play, so every point counts in the team event.
“It used to be the case where it was two boys, one girl, so you’d have a clear winner from the matches, but now we have two boys, two girls, it can become two-all in the matches. So every point counts.”
Noone has done his homework over the season. “Some of the events that I have been lucky enough to see include the British Open. That is almost like a World Championships, so you will see the traditional powerhouses of squash come through at the British.
“We have had some really competitive players doing really, really well on the European tour, but this [the European Championships] is where they will get tested.
“You will find that some of the nations don’t all play on the European tour, so this is the real test of the best of the best in Europe coming together regardless of rankings.
“It’s just going to be the best countries sending the best players, and that is what makes it particularly exciting for testing their level and finding out where they are.”
Noone will be helped in Poland by assistant coach Josh McVeigh and Breanne Flynn, the current PSA tour professional who is also a qualified physiotherapist.
Flynn, who this week achieved a career-best No.100 ranking, was part of the staff at last year’s World Junior Championships in Cairo, and head coach Noone is delighted she is on board for another junior adventure.
“She is a real powerhouse of a team member; she led by example,” he said, reflecting on the 2025 world event in Egypt. “She didn’t miss a gym session any morning. She would do absolutely everything to help the players out. I couldn’t ask for more from Breanne. She is a physiotherapist, so she helps them with the recovery as well. She is just a huge asset for the team.”
A huge inspiration, too, given his own lofty status as a professional player. “She does provide plenty of inspiration. If you are with someone like that for a long period of time, they can gain a lot of knowledge as to how to carry themselves as a professional or to bring the best out of themselves.
“She is really good at that, really good at leading by example. It’s very visible that she doesn’t shy away from hard sessions. She always managed to fit her gym, her solo, her match play, his routines in – it’s great that she is going. She will be a big asset.”
