SQUASH SHOTS III...

The “Mickies” Awards for 2009

As the year 2009 comes to end, I went back through all the photos I took our wonderful squash membership and picked out the most prominent images that were too good not to share with the world. In fact, they were of such a superior quality that I decided to honor them with an award – however meaningless. So without further ado, I present to you, the “2009 DAC Squash Mickies”:



The “MOST PHOTOGENIC” award goes to…. John Rakolta!

This precious snap was taken just before his club championship final match against John Markus. I’m not sure if his “I can touch both ears with my lips” smile is from pre-match nerves or his excitement in showing off his new Colgate whitening toothpaste.






The “PURPLE RING” award goes to… John Dunwoody!

Congratulations to John for receiving this most valued achievement! During the 2009 Farris Cup, John put his body and life on the line in the name of victory as he took one for the team. As you can see, John was extremely proud of his “Purple Ring” even though he was in quite some pain for days after the incident and could be seen walking gingerly around the club despite his dreamy aura. John has volunteered to take another “Purple Ring” next year, and although no promises can be made, I am sure there are many people who would like to give him one.


The “WIN AT ALL COSTS” award goes to… Remy Fromm!

Yes, while John Dunwoody takes the pain, Remy, it appears, like to dish it out. While the DAC were on the bad end of a whipping during the Keg Wars against the BAC, Remy decided to spark up the team by taking out his opponent. His swift action not only won him the match, but also side-lined his opponent for 12 months with a broken Achilles tendon. Unfortunately, we still lost the evening, and Remy has since moved on to Florida to tackle some more dangerous swamp creatures. (Of course, Remy had nothing to do with the injury, but he did take the 3-0 win…)

DAC SQUASH CLASSIC

If there is one tournament you should play, this is it. We pride ourselves on giving you – the squash player – the best possible experience at the DAC for the best value for money of any tournament in the country.

The DAC Squash Classic is an ongoing tradition at the club. It is scheduled for February 4 – 7, 2010 (the same weekend as the Super Bowl, which doesn’t affect any Detroit Lions fans!). Categories include singles from 2.5 to 5.5 and doubles ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’. Your basic entry fee includes meals every day, a tournament shirt, an endless keg throughout the weekend, and a dinner dance on the Saturday night with a fantastic live band.

Naturally, tournaments like this would not be anywhere near as successful without the generous support of our sponsors. Please take your time to read the list below and be sure to thank the member when you see them:

• Skidmore Inc. – Patrick Petz
• Smith Barney – Sean Moran
• Skillman Group – Jim Stroh / Andrew Pollack
• Corbet, Shaw, Essad & Tucciarone – Bruce Shaw
• SVS Vision – Ken Stann
• Metropolitan Baking Co. – George Kordas
• AARO Companies – Tom Fabbri
• Adlhoch & Associates – Scott Adlhoch
• Outrigger Imagine – Joe Schaden
• Kowalski Sausages – Mike Kowalski
• Holloway – Mike Doyle

We are expecting players from all over metro Detroit, Toledo, London (Ontario), Windsor, and we hope Chicago. The 2009 event had 125 entries and we are expecting at least that many for the 2010 version. Matches will start on Thursday, February 4 for local players and on Friday, February 5 for out-of-towners.

Registration closes on Friday, January 22. Click on the entry form for all the details. Hope to see you in the draw!

PITTERS PAYS THE PRICE

It’s quite remarkable that all you have to do to peak some interest is mention “free beer” and everybody’s busy work schedule suddenly clears up. In reality the Beer Challenge wasn’t any different to any other league night, except for the fact that the matches didn’t count, but for some reason the fascination of the event sparked 28 registrations, and we could have had half a dozen more if everybody signed-up on time!

Maybe it was the attraction of Phil Pitters and Scott Adlhoch going head-to-head in the feature bout, the loser of the match responsible for paying for the keg. Watching these two is kind of like watching a car accident – you know it’s going to be ugly, but you just can’t look away. More on that match in a moment. The two are pictured before the match.

The rest of the players were split into two teams. There was really no significance what so ever of which team won or lost since everybody got to drink for free anyway, but no one wants to lose and pride is always on the line. Mike Semanco and Ken MacDonald had a very close contest before Ken went down in 5 very long games. Mike is once again trying his hand at squash from that “other racquet sport” and it appears he is transitioning quite nicely. In another very tight battle, Jason Close went down 9-7 in the 5th to Chuck Doyle (Photo - action shot of Chuck and Jason). Both Jason and Chuck looked ready for an oxygen tank after the match, but I suppose guzzling a few beers instead is just as beneficial. Patrick Petz had his work cut out against Anthony Fracchia. Anthony is an awkward customer on the court. He runs all day and has a rather unorthodox technique which can throw anybody off their game. Patrick struggled in stages and was caught out a number of times with Anthony’s unexpected retrievals, but he managed to compose himself long enough to get by in 5.

Moving on the main event, the crowd was psyched for the 2 antagonists. Phil was considered the underdog (sorry, Phil!) but got off to a flying start. He built a solid lead in the first game, much to the roaring delight of the now half drunken crowd, and kept Scott at bay to take a comfortable first game. Of course, he had to chug a beer for his troubles. He continued his good form in the second, playing timely drops from the back catching Scott flat footed many time, and also took that game for a healthy 2-0 lead. In the third it all unraveled. Suddenly, the drop-winners were finding tin and Phil’s legs were losing their jump. Still, the two had some tremendous gutsy rallies where they both covered a vast amount of court unnecessarily (but entertaining!), coupled with their outright refusal to call any ‘lets’ on each other what-so-ever, their twisting and turning was enchanting to behold – especially for the now inebriated audience. Once Scott had the momentum, he ran all the way to the finish line with it and won the match in 5 leaving an exhausted Phil disappointed and with an unwanted bill. (Photo - The two are still smiling after the match!)

Small consolation that Phil’s team actually won the night – none of his team member’s offered to help pay for the keg. They only offered to drink it.

DOUBLES 100 TOURNAMENT

The second in-house doubles tournament of the season, this one brings together youth with experience. All the teams must have a combined age of at least 100. This year, with enough registrations, we will make a separate ‘A’ and ‘B’ draw. Teams in the ‘B’ draw will be allowed to also play in the ‘A’ draw if they choose.

The January 2009 event had Stu Boynton and Kevin Parsons take the title in 4 games over Bob Thibodeau and Bowden Brown - we will not have repeat winners this year (since I know Kevin cannot play), so that leaves the door open for new champions.

Just a couple of quick notes to be aware of:
• All matches are best of 5 games – no consolation draw
• Tournament will be a knock-out format
• Match times will be assigned – it is the players responsibility to make sure the matches are completed
• Any matches not played within 10 days of the deadline will be automatically forfeited.


So it’s time to nail down your partner – be quick to do so. You MUST register as a team, and there will NO exception to the combined age minimum. If it adds up to 99, you cannot pair up!

Scheduled to start on January 12, the registration deadline is January 8.

END OF YEAR CLINICS

Looking for something to do between Christmas and the New Year? Looking to work of all that extra food and wine you will no doubt be indulging yourself into? Looking at some time away from the relatives? Here’s the perfect excuse!!

I will be running a couple of clinics from Monday, December 28 to Wednesday December 30:

Beginner Clinic (level 2.5 and below) 4-5pm
Intermediate Clinic (level 3.0 – 4.0) 5-6pm

Each clinic can have between 2-4 players. Cost per person - $70. The three 1-hour sessions will involve drills and game play with emphasis on strategy.

Registration deadline is Thursday December 24.

DEFENDING CHAMPS HALF SEASON WINNERS

It was… close-ish. A twelve point buffer sounds like a lot, but that can translate into just 4 matches. The “Defending Champs” had a bye going into the final round with a 20 point lead. Second placed “The Trolls” made a strong push to catch them picking up 24 points - which sounds like enough - but the “Defending Champs” had also been playing some make-up matches over the week and managed to keep their noses in front.

Three teams shared third place with 6th placed “Stimulus Package” just 7 points back. Bringing up the rear, like they had been doing all season long, were the “Angry Dragons” and “The Reach Arounds”. Not surprisingly, those two teams also had the worst Wednesday attendance record. The “Angry Dragons” only picked up 37 bonus points, which is a miserable 42% of the possible maximum (league worst), and only 68% of all their matches (second worst). On the other end of the standings, the “Defending Champs” picked up the most bonus points with 57 – 65% of the maximum (league best) and played 81% of their matches (league best). Funny how that always seems to be the case.

Looking at individual performances, Bob Rogers (“Hell’s Kitchen”) scored the most points in the league with 27. Bob also won all of his matches 3-0, and will certainly be moving up for the second half. Picking up 25 points was Chuck Doyle (“The Trolls”) who had a 6-2 record, and Mac Nutter (“Stimulus Package”) with an impressive 7-0 record. Six players (out of 99) share the ‘reliability award’! Leading by example, captains Paul Ward (“Angry Dragons”) and Ken Katz (“The Marauders”) picked up the maximum 8 possible bonus points, meaning they turned up every Wednesday. The other 4 players are Jason Trombley (“The Marauders”) - pictured left, Mark Monaghan (“Defending Champs”), Greg Davis (“The Trolls”) and Chuck Doyle (“The Trolls”).

So, congratulations to the “Defending Champs” – they definitely are deserved first half winners. Of course, I now have to go through everybody’s win / loss record and shuffle the teams around a little, so we’ll see if they can continue to dominate. But, as the statistics always indicate, if you show up and play your matches, you are more likely to be successful… The second half of the season starts on January 6. Don’t get lazy and stay away from the courts for that long! Now is time to practice…

BEER CHALLENGE – CELEBRITY KEG-MATCH!!

What better way to enjoy a Wednesday evening than to play a competitive game of squash, quench your thirst with a cold beer, sit back and relax and watch two of your fellow members go hammer-and-tongs on the court to see who will be paying for the keg you are savoring?

Wednesday, December 16 is the date and matches start at 5pm. Anyone can register (no fee) and I will do my best to match you up against a member of a similar level to your own. You will be placed onto one of two teams, which in the grand scheme of things really doesn’t make a hoot of difference, other than who you will be rooting for in the “celebrity keg-match”!

For the main event we will see…

In the blue corner, weighing in at an estimated 175 pounds, from the back streets of the dangerous Grosse Pointe area, coming in with a record of 6 and 13 (according to the on-line rankings), the “hack-it-with-the-racquet”, the “chopper-of-the-dropper”… PHIL – run-till-you-drop – PITTERS!!!

And…

In the red corner, weighing in at an estimated 200 pounds, from parts unknown and probably unwanted, coming in with a record of 21-6, the “kinger-of-the-swinger”, the “achiever-of-the-retriever”… SCOTT – can’t-possibly-lose-to-Phil – ADLHOCH!!!

Yes, these two best of mates will go head-to-head. Don’t let their records deceive you – with a keg on the line, this could be a very close contest.

If you would like to be a part of this exciting evening of squash and play a match, I need all registrations by Monday, December 14. If you do not want to play, you are more than welcome to come down anyway, and watch, support, and of course – drink!

SHARING THE CHRISTMAS CHEER!

Christmas came a little early for the 17 players in the 6th annual Holiday Tournament. It was a festive atmosphere all around, from Ken MacDonald turning up without actually registering first, to Patrick Petz’s one green squash shoe and one red squash shoe, to the free flowing keg that never seemed to stop pouring, to Rich Stimson’s over-the-top reaction of getting the ‘Joker’ (bye) for his last scheduled match.

We had a number of new faces in this year’s event and a very wide variety of playing levels. The Holiday Tournament is set up to give everybody a chance to step on court with somebody they would normally never play against. It gives the lower ranked guys the perfect chance to experience squash and play a real game – without handicapping - against significantly stronger opposition.

For the first time since I can remember, nobody went through all 4 rounds without dropping at least one game. We also ended up with 3 winners – another first. Paul Van Tol won 7 of the possible 8 games, his one loss coming against Anthony Fracchia who is new to the squash program and will be one to look out for amongst the top levels of the Boasters League when he joins in for the second half. (Anthony also runs triathlons!) Stu Boynton and John Markus went into round 4 undefeated and played the last match of the evening. They ended up splitting one game apiece to both end up with 7 games, equaling Paul Van Tol’s total.

The gift table was again dominated with booze related gifts, but not to the extreme of years past. At least everybody stuck to the rules and kept away from the banned substances list! The jury is still out, but I am considering adding one of this year’s gifts to that list – a bright yellow DAC cotton t-shirt… anyone wearing that will be mistaken for a canary… or a banana…

It was another successful event. And after Greg Davis had finished playing Andy Housey and no one got injured, or maimed, or killed, we can all thank Santa Clause for another Christmas miracle! So drink another beer, be thankful for your health, and get back to work deciding what fantastic and expensive gift you will all buy your squash pro.

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!!!

KEG WARS!! ***CANCELLED***

***ANNOUNCEMENT***
The Keg Wars will NOT be running. The BAC have informed me that it does not fit into their calendar so have pulled out of the event.
In place of the Keg Wars an in-house will still be running - details will be posted shortly.

It’s time to psyche ourselves up! For nothing is worse than losing to our cross town rivals from the BAC – especially on our home courts!

Wednesday, December 16 is the date for the next KEG WARS. We need singles players (sorry, no doubles) to gear up and go into battle to take down the boys from Birmingham, who, just quietly, strongly believe are better squash players, better drinkers, and are more refined than us… hmmmm… we cannot of course take that lying down!!

Matches / bouts are scheduled to start at 6pm at the DAC. A keg will be provided for all to enjoy. Even if you are not playing, you are more than welcome to come on down and watch the soldiers do battle for the glory of the club… and of course drink and socialize which is what it is really all about!

We will do our best to match you up with a member from the BAC with a similar playing level. Positions will be limited, so be quick to enter. Registration deadline is Friday, December 11.

DEFENDING CHAMPS LOOKING STRONG

Boasters League Round 8-

With one week to play for the first half of the season, The “Defending Champs” are poised to end up at the top of the standings. Although they have to endure their ‘bye’ week for the final round, their 20 point lead may well be more than enough to hold off the second placed “The Trolls”. The teams from 3rd to 7th are closely knitted together with only 7 points separating them as the “Angry Dragons” sit a lonely 8th spot and the cellar dwellers “Reach Arounds” already looking for the second half to start.

It will be a mad scramble as players attempt to get their final matches made up before the December 11 deadline. It is important that everybody plays as much as possible since all the results will be taken into consideration in order to rearrange the teams for the second half. Players will be moved up or down (or kept where they are) based on their win / loss record. Every attempt will be made to keep players on their own team, but that will not always be possible.

So, boasters league players, get on the phone, get on the e-mail, and get your matches done…

BEGINNER SQUASH CLINIC

Do you know someone who wants to try out squash? Here is the perfect setting. Starting on Tuesday, December 8, I am offering a clinic for members who have never played before and would like to get themselves started. Each session is for 1 hour from 6-7pm and runs for 3 consecutive Tuesdays.

Players will learn the rules, basic technique and footwork, and basic game play. Racquets and eye-guards will be provided.

Cost is $55 per person, with a miminum of 3, maximum of 4 players required to run the sessions.

Registration deadline is Thursday, December 3.

SUPPORT YOUR SPORT

It no secret that squash in Michigan is struggling. The travel leagues are hanging on by a thread for its survival, membership is suffering, tournaments are far and few between. When I first arrived 5 years ago, I was aghast at the state of the Michigan Squash Racquets Association (MSRA). There was a complete lack of cohesion, lack of communication, lack of motivation, lack of basically everything needed to successfully promote and manage the sport and my support of the MSRA was, honestly, negligible to say the least.

But, as the ol’ cliché goes, “there is light at the end of the tunnel”. The MSRA’s new president, Hugh Stalker, has injected some much needed energy into the fray. Many new initiatives have been started which include: signing sponsors; establishing a junior program; holding benefit events; providing favorable pricing on equipment; establishing electronic pay; and a much needed revamping of the website.

Of course, at all means diddly-squat without the support of the actual squash players within Michigan. I appeal to each and every one of you to visit the new and improved website at: http://www.michigansquash.org and register yourselves, and sign-up as an MSRA member. Currently, the cost is only $25 per year, but the MSRA needs every penny to grow, promote, and market the sport – your sport - as much as possible. Your support will contribute to everyone’s success.

Clearly, there is a long way to go. The ball has started rolling and your help is required to keep it moving. Presently, the MSRA is not a recognized association in the eyes of the US Squash Association, (for reasons I will not divulge here) which is, I believe, a great pity. However, Hugh Stalker and the MSRA definitely see the importance and advantage of being a recognized association and doing just that is unquestionably one of the goals. It will, though, take a little time, and patience is required before the things in the MSRA are functioning suitably, properly, and efficiently.

While preaching the importance of support, let’s not forget about US Squash itself. You can visit the US Squash website at http://www.ussquash.com/ (also recently overhauled) for all the squash information nationwide. Signing-up as a US Squash member actually includes membership to the MSRA, and of course comes with added benefits which are too numerous to list here. It is certainly worth the money, and your much appreciated membership fees travel even further and help out not only Michigan Squash, but American Squash. We would all be better off.

DEFENDING CHAMPS CREEP AHEAD

Boasters League Round 7 –

The league leading “Defending Champs” increased their lead over second place “The Trolls” as they went head-to-head with them in week 7. It wasn’t exactly a league night bumbling with match activity; in fact the attendance level was the lowest seen all season. In the top of the ladder battle, five of the eleven matches have so far been completed, and the “Defending Champs” have won 4 of them and they collected 2 more bonus points. Their lead now stands at 8 points, which is only going to increase since “The Trolls” have their bye week coming up in week 8.

Things in the middle of the standings have tightened up considerably. Only 2 points separate 3rd from 6th, with the “Marauders” and “Duck or Bleed” (who played each other this week) gaining ground on “Stimulus Package” and “Hell’s Kitchen” but overall these four teams are slipping further back from the top two. Bringing up the rear are still the “Angry Dragons” and “The Reach Arounds” – and they too are falling more behind the rest of the field.

For round 7 match of the week, I am going with Bruce Shaw’s (“Defending Champs”) 2-1 victory over Bill Seymour (“The Trolls”). By the look of Bruce (pictured left) and his drenched t-shirt after the match, it was either very hard work or he has a severe perspiration problem. Either way, it was nothing a beer didn’t solve afterwards. Honorable mention goes to Stu Boynton’s (“The Reach Arounds”) win over Paul Ward (“Angry Dragons”) 2-1, another example of experience and grey hair overcoming youth!

Week 8 does not come up until December 2 due to a week off as we all stuff ourselves stupid with turkey, watch the Detroit Lions get annihilated by the Packers, and spend time with family during Thanksgiving. This gives all players the perfect opportunity to make up as many matches as possible, and give the standings a real shake-up.

SQUASH SHOTS II...

Here is a priceless photo of a smiling Greg Davis and a not-so-impressed Patrick Petz holding a box of muffins. Click on the photo for an enlarged view and complete the following sentence:

"This is..."

A) The remains of the Muffin Man

B) The breakfast of champions

C) The result of a successful dumpster diving expedition

D) Greg Davis’ “gift” for the Holiday Tournament that Pat Petz chose — much to his disgust

E) Why I cannot eat muffins anymore

Answer:
D) Greg Davis’ ‘gift’ for the 2005 Holiday Tournament was a box of muffins that were in less than stellar condition. Pat Petz, who had first pick of the ‘gifts’, went for the biggest box on the table and scored this gem. The muffins appeared to have been pre-sampled. It is also the reason that muffins are forever on the 'banned substances' list for all future Holiday Tournaments!

DAC WIN THE MATCHES… BUT LOSE THE CUP

McQueenie Cup – Nov. 13-14

The first ever McQueenie Cup was held at the DAC in honor of the late Jim McQueenie. A passionate squash player and influential to many of the people he came into contact with, this event is the start of a hopefully wonderful tradition that brings together Athletic Clubs from the mid-west area to compete on the squash court (and then later on at the bars!) for the beautiful McQueenie Cup.

Starting off relatively small, the inaugural tournament had 8 man teams from the DAC, the Toledo Club, the University Club of Chicago (UCC) and the Union League Club of Chicago (ULC). When creating a competition such as this, teething problems are expected and this was no different. Although the weekend went very well and all the players left extremely content with the experience, one the biggest items we forgot to cement before the event started (and it ended up biting us where the sun doesn’t shine) was how we were going to count the score to determine the winning club. Head-to-head match-ups? Total matches won? Total games won? You’d think it would have been decided whilst we were organizing it. Funny how sometimes the most obvious things slip through the cracks.

Our toughest opponents were the lads from Toledo. The DAC were, however, up to the task. George Kordas, Paul Ward and Ryan Bendzinski won their matches in terrific 5-setters, John Rakolta held off his opponent to win 3-1 and Paul Doherty blanked his guy for a 3-0 victory. We lost the next 3 singles matches, but won the doubles for a 6 match to 3 triumph. Our next opponents were the UCC. We emulated our Toledo result by winning the first 5 matches, losing the next 3, and winning the doubles for another 6 matches to 3 win. Lastly, we played the ULC team. Their team had been struggling all weekend and against us it wasn’t any easier for them. We didn’t lose any matches, although we did have to hand them one forfeit as one of our team members could not play his match. In the end, that forfeit cost us dearly.

By the time all the squash was complete, the DAC had swept the competition. Three match-ups: three victories. You would think that would do it… But hold on… For some inexplicable reason after lengthy discussions earlier that day, it was decided that head-to-head matches wouldn’t hold any weight. Nor would total matches won. (This would have had the DAC win as well). It would be decided on total games won. The DAC won 64 games. Toledo, amazingly, had won 66. (Had we not handed ULC a forfeit, we should have won that match and would have won with 67 games.) And based on that, Toledo were declared the winners. Even though the DAC beat them. Hmmmm… It’s like announcing the winning team in baseball is the team with the most hits, not the most runs. Obviously, this method needs to be revisited – and concreted - for future McQueenie Cup events. For the 2009 title, Toledo has claimed the spoils, although it must feel a little hollow.

Regardless of how the final score turned out, the event was still extremely successful and I am tremendously proud of the effort from our players. – George Kordas; Paul Ward; Ryan Bendzinski; John Rakolta; Paul Doherty; Peter Shumaker; John Birgbauer; Peter Logan. The location for next year has not yet been decided on, I am hoping one of the Chicago clubs will be hosting, but if that doesn’t materialize, we’ll be more than happy to run it again.

FINAL SCORES:
1st - Toledo - 66 games; 19 matches; 2 wins
2nd - DAC - 64 games; 20 matches; 3 wins
3rd - UCC - 46 games; 13 matches; 1 win
4th - ULC - 9 games; 1 match; 0 wins