It will be quite the moment for Tyler Dromgoole when he steps on court in Canada as part of the Ireland BU19 team at the Junior World Championships.
The squash latecomer has dreamed of wearing the green team shirt at the highest level, and he will now see that ambition realised at Niagara-on-the-Lake.
He has already proudly played for his country in the individual section this season, striding into the European Championship arena in Poland last March.
But what’s on the horizon in North America is different gravy for Dromgoole – inclusion in the individual Worlds draw followed by being part of the team that includes his younger brother Christian, Aaron Knox and Conal Jackson.
“This is my first time ever getting to play for the Ireland team,” he enthused. “I have been working towards this for probably four years now. I am really proud to have finally gotten the jersey to play for my country.
“It’s just been consistency over the years. The past two, three, even four years I have been on court nearly every day, and my skills attest to that now. It’s putting in time, hard work every day.
“I have always been a quite cyclical player, so the past two years I have been really focusing on my tactical play and my movement, trying to be a bit more decisive with my shot making compared to just relying on my fitness.”
That endeavour resulted in the crowning achievement when he learned he had made the cut for the Canadian trip. “I was coming home from school and my dad had the letter in his hand.
“He had me and my brother’s letter with him when we came home. Very proud moment for my family and me. Great pride and relief I had finally done it.
“There had been a lot of pressure on me waiting for that letter to come through. Pressure from myself because it’s my last chance to actually make the team, so I have really been putting a lot into the season trying to get that call-up.
“I was a bit later into my training compared to the others; I really only took squash up when I was 13, so a lot of the guys I am with on the team had already played for the country at that age,” he continued, explaining his delayed acceleration along a Squash Ireland pathway where players should never give up chasing their dream.
“So, what I would say to a lot of the younger players is even if you are not making the younger teams, U13, U15, if you are putting in the work, you will definitely make it.”
Dromgoole’s World Championships selection is made all the more admirable by having to juggle his squash commitments with his Leaving Certificate studies.
“My form was quite good up until really January but then obviously I have been doing my Leaving Cert, so I had to take a bit of time off to focus on my study for around January and February. And then last month I had to taper down again, but I am now full tilt.
“It was quite difficult (juggling squash and school) because I wanted to be doing as much as I can, but it was more important for me to focus on my study at those times, but now I have no more commitments in school so I can really focus on my training.
“I have been trying to do at least an hour or two on court every day and then an hour either in the gym or doing fitness, so aiming for three to four hours a day.
“I’m expecting the level to take another jump and the pressure to really be on, but I will be ready for it when it comes around; I have been putting in all the hard work and doing all the training so I will be ready for the big day,” he continued, looking ahead to the Worlds.
Taking on the top-ranked players won’t faze him. “It happened to me at the Europeans; I ended up playing the No.1 seed in my first match [Amir Khaled-Jousselin of France] and that was very difficult.
“But I quite enjoy playing the higher-ranked players. I enjoy the experience of testing myself and really seeing where my standard is at compared to these guys. I wouldn’t mind playing a higher-ranked seed even if it means I have to push myself a little bit more. I’d like to be able to get my name out there.”
Seeing his siblings enjoy squash was what ultimately convinced Dromgoole to give the sport a shot.
“My two brothers started playing, and what really got me wanting to go was they were getting to go to other countries, and they would get to miss two to three days of school. I just really wanted to get out of the classroom and travel with my family and my friends,” he explained.
“My oldest brother, I’d say he had probably been playing for five or six years before I started up, and then my little younger brother probably three years before me.
“I played rugby when I was younger, but I have never particularly been a big guy, so this sport was more in tune with my capabilities. I just love being able to run around, being able to push my body. I found squash lets me do that.
“There is also the friendships you make. You make a lot of friends through the sport, whether it is just down the road from me or across the world.
“We are all quite close,” he added about the Irish squad for Canada. “Because of the minimal (number of) players we have in Ireland, we are all quite friendly with each other because there is so little other people to play with.
“We are all training together every other week compared to other countries where they have 10s or 100s of players; we really only have each other to train with.”
Making a breakthrough at the Junior Nationals was a big moment for Dromgoole, who eventually wants to give full-time squash a go. “My favourite memory would probably be winning my first national title last year, U17. That was a big moment for me.
“It showed all the hard work that I had put in, finally being able to hold the trophy and show that I had the title to be able to prove that I had done the work.
“What really motivated me and who motivated me a lot was David Ryan. He was a big influence on me when I was younger. Seeing him get a scholarship into Harvard and work his way up the professional rankings, he was a big influence when I was younger.
“I definitely will try to do a career in the professional. Even if I only do it for a couple of years, it will definitely be worth the experience to give it a go. It would be a shame to put all of my hard work to waste, to give it up when I turn 19.”
Lining out alongside his brother Christian on the four-strong Ireland team will be special. “Christian is only a year younger than me. It’s a really big moment that the two of us are on the team together, half the team being represented by the Dromgoole name.
“It [the Dromgoole sibling rivalry] is quite competitive, but we have always been fair with each other. Even though it does get a bit gritty now and then, it will always be fair playing together.
“My parents and my family are very proud that we can play together and represent our country. My whole family is coming over to support. My mum and dad and my two other brothers.”
In total, five of the eight players representing Ireland at Niagara-on-the-Lake hail from Sutton. Why is the North Dublin club so strong?
“The main thing is we just have a larger amount of players coming from the club and obviously our coach Eoin Ryan, he puts in a lot of hard work, getting them down to the club and motivating them to keep training, keep pushing,” said Dromgoole.
“Another thing he does quite well is he often motivates the older players to train with the younger guys. So, the likes of Sam Buckley and Conor Moran help out with our training, and then likewise Christian, Conal and I train with the younger players in the U17s and U15s.
“That is what contributes the most to getting the highest standard out of all the players: the players with the higher standards training with the younger guys.”
