Like most sports, squash suffers from a big drop in participation amongst girls when they hit their teens. It’s a classic age when many withdraw from sport and physical exercise — and some never return (writes Squash Player Magazine).
Self-consciousness, body image issues, lack of confidence, social pressures or negative previous experiences of sport all contribute to this trend, and over the years sport governing bodies, funders, charities and coaches have sought to address it with varying degrees of success.
Squash Ireland, a national squash federation with a growing reputation for innovation and dynamism, has just launched its own initiative which uses squash as a vehicle to get teenage girls active again.
It may not turn them into the next Irish squash champion, or even into a regular squash player, but that is not necessarily its aim. The scheme is designed to be appealing and beneficial to girls who have self-labelled as ‘not sporty’, get them together with friends, have fun, learn something new, get exercise and want to come back and try it again.
The project is called Disco Squash, and is funded by Sport Ireland as part of its ‘Her Moves’ initiative to empower and motivate teenage girls to find something that gets them moving.
Squash Ireland got the idea from an adults’ Disco Squash night at Leinster Cricket Club in Dublin, where they played squash under UV disco lights, with colourful court lines, dayglo clothing and loud music.
The pilot Disco Squash session, delivered at Limerick Squash Club with 15 girls from Limerick Youth Service, was both similar and very different at the same time.
For two hours per day over the course of a week, Limerick Squash Club’s volunteer coach Avril Cairns led a blend of skill- and confidence-building social activities that the girls themselves said they would enjoy: bracelet making, t-shirt design, art, treasure hunts, aerobics, yoga, Zumba and Tabata workouts, all with their own music playlist playing on a speaker in the background.
Each day, these activities were blended carefully with fun, pressure-free squash activites on court. On the final day, the girls wore their self-designed t-shirts to a glow-in-the-dark disco on the squash court with lights, decorations, neon balls and rackets. They played matches to the beat of their self-chosen playlist.
“Some of them had no experience of sport at all, so it was about making them comfortable first of all, and introducing it to them on their terms,” said Avril.
“Whilst a lot of them would say they’re ‘not sporty’, they are into music or fitness, so it’s about designing squash in a way they might best connect with it by basing it on fun and friendship.”
The programme was devised by Maxine Strain, Squash Ireland’s former Women in Sport Officer (a role funded directly by Sport Ireland). She based it on the pillars of the Her Moves programme:
– Empower girls by giving them choices and a voice in how they move;
– Include all levels by creating safe, welcoming spaces with no prior experience required;
– Make it fun by blending sport with social, creative and energetic activities;
– Build confidence by allowing girls to try something new, move their bodies, and be part of a supportive group.
Maxine said: “It’s not really about the sport, it’s about offering a very social environment, presenting the sport in such a way that it’s totally attainable and accessible to them and they’re not being judged on their level.
“It’s not about teaching them a shot and practising it 30 times over. They paint their faces, choose their own playlist, do some creative activities and enjoy the squash, but it’s deliberately not the main focus.
“The squash content is entirely left up to the coach. It may be movement or strength work, which research shows they need at that age. It’s about the other skills that would be complimentary to the game itself, not just the skills of the game.
“The girls don’t necessary need to compete, just be involved in physical activity so they can come back to it at some point later in their lives and feel confident in themselves.”
She accepts that this method of introducing young people to squash may be completely alien to traditional squash coaches and governing bodies, but insists a radically different approach is what’s needed in order to reactivate this problem demographic.
Maxine says: “I can understand why some squash coaches might be very uncomfortable delivering something like this, but they need to understand what the research says about engaging teenage girls.
“Governing bodies tend to say, ‘We want teenage girls playing our sport, but we want them on our terms.’ That’s a problem. They have to accept that to get participation, you have to shape it around them in order to successfully engage them.
“It was so enjoyable to see them singing to the music and dancing while they were waiting their turn to hit the ball. That’s what made me realise that what we’d delivered was really impactful.”
Squash Ireland CEO Scott Graham says the federation is now looking to roll out the programme across other clubs across the island of Ireland.
“We’re always trying to be innovative and this programme is about designing sport so it works for teenage girls. We’re not saying, ‘This is what we do, why not come along?’ We’re asking them, ‘What do you like to do?’ Let’s give them that and weave a bit of squash in it, get them active and having fun with their friends.”
