Sunday, November 18, 2012

Squash memories pt.2: Toothless, alone and abroad

It was the year of the Lord 2003, when young mr Killingberg had been squashing for about a year and was invited with the netional team to Sweden to play the Nordic Junior Open in Malmø, Sweden



Proud as a Rooster to be included and to play on the National team. The feeling was intense. From what I remember, I was travelling with great company. Thomas, Steffen, Bjørni, Karianne, Majken, Eline, Stig, Lotte, Maren and Edvard I believe. This was 10 years ago, so please forgive me if I forgot someone.

I did not have a ranking going into this tournament, so I was put in the B-group of the under 19 class. Which was suitable, as I think I lost all my matches.

In one of my last squash matches I faced an English player named Ben. He has been known as Ben the "Dentist" after this incidence, and I will tell you why.

In the second game, Ben decides to fake a backhand drop shot, Killingclumsy moves forward as Ben decides to hit a hard length instead and throws his racket back...into my Face. My team mates sitting outside watching the match, said they could hear the cracking sound of my teeth. I remember something along the lines as lying horizontally in the air before lying on my back swearing hard.

There was blood and teeth everywhere, as my two front teeth were not chipped of, but in thousand fragments all over the squash court. I wanted to kill that player, but that would be the end of the squash career I guess. My opponent just walked off court as my coach brought me out.

I remember sitting in the stairs and people coming to watch.... they quickly turned away.
I asked my coach to go straight away to the dentist, but he said we had to wait until we returned to Norway. He didnt trust Swedish dentists, which is funny, as in Norway all the dentists are Swedish. I didnt like my coach either at this moment, and took my icepack firmly in my face and took off.

Looking forward to meeting some nice squash girls, but it was hard to work my game with 3 cuts in my lip giving me an Eddy Murphy look, and no front teeth, making my S" into an PH".

Pho... Where u from phuper phexy lady??

I actually went to the movies with the rest of the group.... It was embarassing

Showing up to the courts the next day to complete the match was equally embarassing as I could not run... If I got my pulse up I had to breathe through my mouth which meant cold air straight on my nerve... That was hanging loose in my mouth. Two words: Paaa--IIINNn
It was even worse that my opponent gave me a consolation game, before destroying me in the last one. I was over the whole squash thing anyway, and tried to get away as soon as possible.

The rest of the week consisted in a lot of porridge, a desperate attempt of eating lasagna...which failed, and a snack pack called risi frutti, which is basically ricepudding. I am not the most lactose tolerant person on the planet, but at this stage I was at my lowest so I didnt care.

Leading to next day: No teeth, Diahrrea, feeling sorry for myself, telling my mum over the phone who laughed hysterically made me feel like a million dollars. Sleeping in could be a perk as I thought I was done for the weekend. My coach called me as I was snoozing, telling me I had to go play my last match... 30 minutes ago. Guess what...I lost.. To an islandic player....

Returning to my hometown arranging a dentist appointment as soon as humanly possible, trying to avoid all human contact, I meet on the airport the only person I did not want to meet. The girl I had a crush on at that time.

FML...

I am trying to retrieve some pictures from that incidence but I can only show u the second round of toothache/break

This is what my teeth used to look like:                                   






 



This is what they looked like last week, with courtesy of  Geoff Hunt....

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Squash Basics pt. 4: Crosscourt drop

Pack your bags, hold your horses and keep ur socks on!!! Finally the 4th video of the squash basics school is back.

A perfect beginners course to this wonderful game of ours, today covering another hit the bottle exercise, where the goal is to hit the bottle.

Instructions:

S et up the bottle in your favourite corner
W ear your Apple bottom Jeans and Boots with da furrrr
A ssess the wind direction, all Newton's laws of physics and calibrate racket v ball ratio interference
G row a mo, as it is Mo-vember and walk in slo mo at the end of the session