Squash Ireland CEO Scott Graham has spoken enthusiastically about the vision Ballypatrick Squash Club has for the sport.
Located near Kilcash Cross in Co Tipperary, 14 kilometres from Clonmel, Ballypatrick recently launched its new junior section and has a myriad of ideas to grow membership and enhance facilities at the Sports Capital Programme-funded sports centre it shares with the local tennis club.
Committee members Aaron Kelly and Patrick Coady were on hand for the 3 Rivers League outfit when Graham stopped by on Friday, and the impression they made was indelible.
“It was great to get out and meet one of our clubs,” enthused the Squash Ireland boss following his visit to the club, which this season has also returned to the Munster League for the first time in a while. “There is a lot of positivity about growing their membership, growing their junior section.
“I was very happy to meet them. I dropped in a junior development pack filled with rackets, balls and goggles, all that sort of stuff. We received these packs from the Community Sports Facility Fund and distributed them to clubs, so I basically hand-delivered them to Ballypatrick.
“I had a good conversation with their committee members. They recently launched a junior section and have been working with the local school, bringing in school children for coaching a couple of times a week.
“The two guys got trained up and qualified with a level one coaching qualification and we discussed the need to qualify more coaches.
“We are going to put on another coaching course in the next couple of months, and the club plans to put forward a couple of people to complete that course to help the junior section deliver more programmes.
“We also provided some advice on the upcoming Community Sports Facility fund, which we expect to open in the next couple of weeks or months. Ballypatrick is considering an application to increase its size and renovate the changing facilities.
“That would make it more suitable for hosting league matches, and they are also looking at the potential of putting in glass doors to increase the visibility of its courts.
“We also spoke about the Squash Ireland partnership with Access Courts and how an outdoor court would complement their indoor courts and allow more players to play in the summer.
“The committee is considering that and hopefully will put in an application for capital funding when that comes around.”
