Lilleshall Squash and Racketball Club
Based within the picturesque grounds of Lilleshall National Sports Centre in Telford, Shropshire, UK - TF10 9AT.
Lilleshall Squash and Racketball Club are set to compete against a series of other clubs throughout the Shropshire and Staffordshire areas in the squash league.
The squash team always welcomes friendly support, so come along and support the players when you can, and see some great matches being played. Home matches are played on Courts Four and Five (Glassbacks) at Lilleshall National Sports Centre.
2023/24 Team Fixtures:
LSRC’s annual squash and racketball tournaments concluded at the end of May 2023, with Steve McClelland and Tony Vrhaminis securing the titles in racketball and squash respectively.
The racketball final took place at 6:45pm on Wednesday 24th May at Lilleshall National Sports Centre, with Steve McClelland edging the match 3-0 against Gary Westwood, in a brilliantly close and competitive encounter, which was played in a good spirit. For Steve, it was the fourth time he has lifted the Racketball Open trophy, and he defended the title he last lifted in 2019. It was the first time the tournament had been contested since the pandemic.
And for Steve, it was a double tournament shift, as he had also made his way through the field to contest the squash final too, which took place the following evening on Thursday 25th May. This time, Steve faced former champion Tony Vrhaminis. The final was again superbly contested, and close, with some incredible rallies, but it was Tony who managed to seal the Squash Open title for the second time, with a well executed 3-0 victory. Tony had previously lifted the trophy in 2018.
A huge well done to our two champions, and to all of the other players who took part across the racketball and squash competitions, which were contested in the right manner throughout.
On Saturday 11th March 2023, between 10:00am and 12:00pm, Lilleshall Squash and Racketball Club (LSRC), in partnership with the Lilleshall National Sports Centre, and England Squash, are offering free Squash 57 (Racketball) Taster Sessions to all, including those with disabilities, to help encourage a more inclusive participation in our fun and active sport.
According to a recent report, from England Sport, adults who identify as having a form of disability, are almost twice as likely as non-disabled people to be physically inactive, and LSRC wants to ensure that everyone can be allowed to reap the health benefits of playing racketball, irrespective of disability, or your previous playing experience.
To find out more details about the sessions on 11th March, you can contact our coaches – David Johns (david.johns64@btinternet.com) or Vasan (rsvasanuk@yahoo.co.uk) to book a place, and it will be done on a first-come-first-served basis, as numbers are limited (see our FAQs below).
England Squash have kindly sponsored us with a selection of rackets and balls, and it is completely free of charge to attend the session, courtesy of Lilleshall National Sports Centre, who are providing free court time and lights.
You, a family member, or friend, would be more than welcome to come along and join us on 11th March and attend the session. Even if you’ve never picked up a racket before!
Session Details:
When is it?
Saturday 11th March 2023. Session 1: 10:00am to 11:00am, Session 2: 11:00am to 12:00am. Note: You will need to arrive 10 minutes before the start of the session to be issued with sports equipment.
Where is it?
Our courts are located within Queen’s Hall at the Lilleshall National Sports Centre, which is situated near Newport in Telford, Shropshire. TF10 9AT for your sat nav.
How much is it?
Courts, equipment, and coaching is provided completely free of charge during the sessions. Note: The purchase of any cold/hot food or drink from the Lilleshall National Sports Centre will not be covered.
Why are you doing these sessions?
The taster sessions have been facilitated by equipment provided by England Squash to encourage more diverse and inclusive participation in Squash 57 with a larger bouncier ball, which is great fun to play and easy to pick up.
Who can come?
We welcome anyone over the age of 12, including those with disabilities. All you need to be able to do is hold a racket, hit a ball, and prepare for some fun.
How many can come?
Numbers will be limited to 8 people per session (16 total, over two sessions), on two glass backed courts, with one coach on each court.
Who is providing it?
Lilleshall Squash and Racketball Club are providing the coaches and running the sessions, while England Squash have donated some rackets and balls. Lilleshall National Sports Centre are very kindly providing the squash courts and lights, free of charge.
What do I need to bring?
All younger participants must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or carer who has to remain for the whole session. Clean, non-marking, trainer type shoes must be worn. You can also bring your own water and snacks. The centre also has a café where hot and cold drinks, and hot and cold food, are available to purchase when your session is finished (Note: This cost will not be covered by Lilleshall National Sports Centre or LSRC).
What will I do there?
Our DBS cleared coaches will introduce you to the sport of Squash 57 (Racketball) and provide you with a racket, balls and eye protectors. Working in small groups on court you will be shown how to hit a ball and how it bounces. Simple routines will then help you understand the basic rules of the game.
Who do I need to contact to book a place?
You need to call coaches – David Johns (LSRC Coach) on 07802 748658 or email david.johns64@btinternet.com OR – Vasan Srinivasan (LSRC Coach) 07579 761185 or email rsvasanuk@yahoo.co.uk to book a place on the sessions.
The Lilleshall Squash & Racketball club put our budding squash stars forward for any tournament that comes along. Following an excellent participation at the Birmingham New Street exhibition, it was a no-brainer for us to go to the 2022 Shropshire Juniors Open Squash Tournament. Our squash stars were on tenterhooks as the tournament approached with spirits very high all around including the coaches and parents.
It was a beautiful sunny Saturday morning that greeted us at 9.30 a.m. for the start of the tournament, not that squash needs the weather. It does however set the mood for a friendly family day out and a tough squash test for our group. We arrived with a group of eight children (five boys and three girls) with one down, as Edward Moore was unwell. However, to set the tone for the day, his younger brother Billy stepped up into his brother’s age group to help the organisers.
The early game between Will Bubb and Billy (Boys under 13s) was very competitive and Billy put up an amazing fight, but Will emerged as victor as we had expected, given that Billy had stepped into the slot on behalf of his older brother. At the same time a young star George McGurk was competing on the next court and certainly caught our eye. Then it was time for the under 15 girls with Lee-May Carey and Emma Furnival playing. Lee-May prevailed but the girls had a great time on court. These early games got our kids familiar with tournament protocols such as warms ups, spinning the racket for serve and generally getting used to having a referee/scorer as well as a crowd watching. It was good that the organisers asked so many of the children to mark/referee the games which was a challenge for all but they all enjoyed being in the chair and it re-enforced the need for players to become comfortable with scoring accurately.
Next up was Archie Bubb verses Ben Furnival in the boys under 17s category. This was a tight match as the coaches were expecting it to be, with Archie coming out on top. Joshua Naylor and Aimee Naylor playing in the Boys U13 and Girls U15 respectively were next up playing at the top of their game, but against much tougher opponents. During many of the matches it was clear that many of the Shrewsbury children were stronger overall as they spend up to five hours a week on court either training or just playing. Our children only receive 45 minutes of coaching a week and other activities at school keep them busy all week. However, despite this our children competed with determination and a great big smile. None was better than Aimee who during the last game of the tournament against the soon to be under 15 girls champion Nia Lincoln, had everyone laughing as she chased the black dot around the court and chuckling at every point she lost – playing in the right spirit. It was a similar tough assignment when both Archie and then Ben had to play Jayden Ingram, who was operating at a national squash level for his age category and is a name to watch out for.
When the tournament finished, despite some very tough opponents we had achieved far more than we had expected. Our own Billy was the first to be awarded a trophy for Shropshire Open Champion in the under 9s boys – there was resounding applause for Billy as he even won a match in the under 13 boys category! Next was Will Bubb, as runner up under 13s boys (George McGurk the winner) and then Lee-May Carey as runner up in the girls under 15s category (Nia Lincoln the winner). Last but not least was Archie Bubb, winning runner up in the boys under 17s category with Jayden Ingram, the obvious and deserving winner.
The day was very well organised by Ian Tanner and his team which included Ben Schur. An all-day BBQ outside kept us all fed and hydrated and was so popular with our own Claire Furnival helping out. All of our parents stopped until the end and supported their children throughout. Our children’s squash is obviously still a ‘work in progress’ but certainly no work is needed on their
attitude. Well done to all.
It was the 18th of December – the day of the squash tournament at Lilleshall National Sports Centre and everyone was excited. It was what the last few months of training and preparation had been leading up to. All the coaches, participants and the guests for the day had all taken a Lateral Flow Test that morning and were all clear to attend – the messages on the WhatsApp group were full of excitement…
The coaches and some attendees turned up 30 minutes earlier to prepare the courts with Christmas decorations to make the occasion fun and memorable for everyone. Above all, key safety measures were in place – hand sanitisers, masks worn when not playing, ensuring ventilation in playing areas, etc.
The tournament started soon after 1:00pm with the ladies going first with five of them participating – each of them to play each other in first to 11 points’ games. The kids drew lots to determine who was going to play first and then we were off with two games being played simultaneously, refereed by the coaches.
The matches were very close with a range of skills on display from all players – most players winning at least one game, making it difficult to tell who was going to win and what order the others were going to finish in. With only five points separating the top three players, it came down to the last match to decide the winner. Jane A took the honours, with Jane finishing runner-up – it turned out to be a battle of wills for the Janes! Toey and Jane scored the same number of points, but Jane edged it to finish runner-up by winning more games. Kai and Kayleigh took the 4th and 5th places respectively. Another day or time, the finishing order could have easily been very different – highly entertaining games.
It was then the turn of the ten junior contenders (Archie, Billy, Emma, Lee-May, Will B, Amy, Edward, Harry, Josh and Will – aged 7 – 14 years) to battle it out – the ladies and coaches drew lots to decide the first set of opponents to take to the squash courts. They were divided into two pools of five players each playing everyone else in the pool and then the winners of the two pools were to have a shoot-out for overall winner and runner-up positions. If the ladies games were close, the junior games were simply out of this world, with most of the juniors winning at least one of their challenges, going right up to the last couple of games, keeping the pool winners a mystery to the very end.
The level of playing skills were only matched by the maturity and sportsmanship on display from our young talent – it made the coaches day to watch the games play out between all the junior players. When the dust settled, Will B took the honours for Pool A, while Will took the honours for Pool B. You couldn’t have written a script for this with the Janes coming top of the Ladies games and the Wills coming top of the juniors’.
On to a truly epic finale, with the Wills trading point-for-point in the shoot-out and there being nothing in it when they both were at ten points each – one final serve to decide the title – a pity someone had to win the game, but Will B took the winning point clinching the tournament on the last point of of the last game – a fantastic finish to the tournament – a battle of wills between the Wills!
We all retired to the café at Lilleshall National Sports Centre and the room they had there for just such an occasion, to partake of some nibbles, pizzas & drinks and some card games for the kids to determine the distribution of a variety of gifts that had been arranged by the parents of the kids.
Finally it was time to hand out the tournament shields – there were shields for each of the winners and runners up for the Ladies and Juniors, but there was also a special shield for the most improved girl and boy. Emma took the shield for most improved girl having just started training in September and making excellent progress. Archie took the shield for most improved boy, not simply for the improvement in his skills, but for showing the kind of gentlemanly behaviour and sportsmanship on court that is at the core of a true sportsman – a credit to the sport and his family.
If you would like to bring your kids to squash coaching, you are more than welcome – we are here every Saturday at Lilleshall from 1pm. Contact Martin Carey on 07812 235400 for further details or visit the Junior Coaching section of our website.
Lilleshall Squash and Racketball Club will be temporarily closing down for the annual Christmas holidays on Thursday 23rd December 2021. Courts will still be available for members to use on the evening of 23rd December and our Pitch and Play session will be taking place as normal.
Lilleshall National Sports Centre will be reopening on Monday 3rd January 2022, with our first Club night taking place on Wednesday 5th January 2022. We look forward to welcoming everyone back in the New Year.
The Committee would like to take this opportunity to thank our members for supporting the club during this difficult year and we wish all our members, and their friends and family, a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year.
Our popular ‘Pitch and Play’ squash sessions are making a welcome return in a new look timeslot from 7th October 2021 onwards.
Previously held on Wednesday evenings, the ‘Pitch and Play’ session will now make the switch over to Thursday evenings and will run from 7.00pm, allowing members to turn up and play some friendly round-robin matches against other club members of varying abilities. The session is held on our glassback courts (Four and Five), which feature a seating area, where you can chat to members, rest between games and catch your breath. The cost of the court lights is equally divided between the number of players who attend the session.
The ‘Pitch and Play’ sessions are also open to new or prospective members, who are welcome to come down and try out our club facilities, meet and play against existing members, and find out more about our club and its various other activities, such as our coaching, membership, squash ladder, racketball leagues and tournaments.
The club look forward to welcoming faces old and new back to Pitch and Play from Thursday 7th October. For further information, please contact info@lilleshallsquash.co.uk.
Lilleshall Squash and Racketball Club are delighted to announce that our Adult and Junior coaching sessions have relaunched on Saturday mornings, starting from 26th June 2021.
The coaching sessions were a popular weekly event with adults and children alike on Saturday afternoons, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but after being suspended for 14 months, as the Club was forced to shutdown during the height of the pandemic, the Club recently reopened our doors last month, and our coaching sessions have now been rebooted, with new Club Coaches Martin Carey and Nick Attree, in a brand new timeslot on Saturday mornings, with Junior Coaching taking place from 10.00-11.00am and Adult Coaching following on at 11.00am-Noon.
Commenting on the launch of the new coaching sessions, Club Coach, Martin Carey said: “We’re delighted to be finally welcoming back both Adults and Juniors on Saturday mornings to learn and develop new skills on the squash court. The primary objective of the junior sessions is that the children have fun. Along the way they will learn the skills required to play squash or racketball and also the rules of the game. Uppermost in the mind of the coaches is that this is all done in a safe and relaxed environment.”
The club has prepared a special “Return To Play” paper, that details all the conditions that will be in place for member’s safety. It is essential that members study this document and are fully conversant with its content and how it will affect you on your return to the sport. These requirements will of course be subject to change.
Following weeks of careful preparations and changes in the COVID 19 threat, Lilleshall Squash and Racketball Club are very pleased to confirm that the squash courts are now open again and we will be returning and welcoming members back to enjoy the sport.
Lilleshall National Sports Centre reopened the courts to the public on Thursday 20 May under strict, but necessary rules. The club have been in constant contact with Lilleshall’s management team throughout the pandemic and we have worked closely together to reach this much anticipated stage.
Paul Evans, Club Chairman, recently met on-site with Lilleshall’s General Manager and conducted a “walk through” on the COVID conditions in place. The club are happy that all the procedures in place fully meet Government, Sport England & England Squash requirements and therefore we have been able to agree a return for our club. The Lilleshall NSC management team have worked very hard to get us to this point and the club are very grateful for their efforts. Lilleshall NSC are very pleased to see us back.
The club’s return will take place on Wednesday 26th May from 6.00pm. The club will have squash courts reserved for the sole use of club members on Wednesday & Thursday nights. All five courts, including Court One, which was recently out of commission, will be available to existing members for three sessions (6pm, 7pm & 8pm).
The club has prepared a special “Return To Play” paper, that details all the conditions that will be in place for member’s safety. It is essential that members study this document and are fully conversant with its content and how it will affect you on your return. These requirements will of course be subject to change.
A few additional points:
If you have any concerns with the return conditions and need clarification then please contact our Club Chairman. Only return to the club if and when you are confident to do so.
And finally – enjoy your return.
We have been informed that our former club member and friend, Ray Dix, sadly passed away a few days ago.
Ray joined the Lilleshall Squash and Racketball Club back around 1970, in the ‘golden days’ of squash, and remained a member until the late 1990’s. He was a very active member of the club and formed many friendships there.
Ray was recognised as the club’s highest performing player (receiving our Jordan cup) in 1986, 88, 89, 90 & 91. He also won the Open plate in 1985, the Dave Fox trophy (Open squash handicap) in 1983 & 90 and the Over 40 (Robson) title in 1988, 89 & 90. Ray won our Spring Cup Team competition in 1988 & 92 (both as Captain) and won our Village Team competition, representing the village of Longford, in 1991, again as Captain.
Ray represented Lilleshall Squash Club over many years in the inter-club county leagues. He also captained the Over 50s county team for Shropshire. He supported his son, Stuart, in his early squash coaching career, watching him grow up to become a talented squash player.
His friends and former club members will miss him. For details of the funeral, which will take place on 18 January, please contact either our Club Chairman or Treasurer.
Our thoughts are with Ray’s wife, Judy, and the rest of his family and friends.
Paul Evans - Club Chairman
info@lilleshallsquash.co.uk
+44 (01952) 812655
Vasan - Club Treasurer
membership@lilleshallsquash.co.uk
+44 (07579 761185)
Our email addresses are for genuine club enquiries.
Any phishing emails will be reported.
