MOvember squash

The Norwegian team is ready to get fit during national team training this weekend in Sola, Stavanger. Squash capital of Norway. As usual the training is lead my Mark "Onefoot" Hornby and the lunch made by the lovely Reidun Ribesen. Bedsheets are handwashed by Sindres mom ;)

Participants are old farts and young farts. I am looking forward to see the younger talent group as I am not playing too much in Norway anymore.

The selection: Lotte Eriksen, Alvilde Sønju , Kim Are Killingberg, Kristian Solhaug, Ronny Aasbø, Edvard Hegbom, Hans Olav Torgersen, Sindre Roaldsøy, Lars Klæning, Niclas Østerhus, Patrik Hansen, Thomas Gjerde, Trym Aasness Åckerstrøm, Jonas Karlsen, Bjørn Rune Østerhus, Daniel Hjartland and Daniel Pinto.

Since this is the end of November I am expecting Stash, tush and trønderbart factor to be high.

New New New Job

How many jobs can a man have you might ask. Well, 2 went down the drain as massive miscommunication but me between a rock and a hard place. Hence the new coaching job at Overhout, which is going great and we just finished a great kick off event before the squash season :)

However, it is not enough to support my living and my squash career. In my squash team in Alphen aan de  Rijn is a man who owns 2 of the best gyms in Holland, Fitness 365. One located in Alphen, and one in Amsterdam. After a league match, we talked, and he heard I was looking for a job. He said he had a physiotherapist working in his gym, and this guy was looking for qualified personel.

I later forgot about it, as I for months now have been applying a lot and asking a lot without much success. A few weeks later I get a phonecall from another Jeroen. He is the house physiotherapist at Fitness 365 and looking to expand. We meet up and find a good tone. Turns out, my friend from school Andrea Marcussen is also working here. The more we talk, the more we agree on how we want to do things, and we share a similar passion for the profession and view on the finesses of the trade.

It helped having Andrea already working there so I had an extra assurance about the people and the place.

Contract, some time to think, some things to discuss, 3-2-1 GO! Day 1 patients, day 2 learn the computer system, day 3, welcome to your own clinic, You are now taking over full time. Thank you and goodbye ;)



The gym is a physiotherapists dream. I have physio specific equipment and standard gym equipment from A to Z. segway treadmills, Eccentric driven training machines, and own crossfit area, a qualified staff and a nice atmosphere. I started already with 25 patients, and looking to build on this to expand further. I am the physiotherapist at 365 Alphen aand de Rijn, which is, as mentioned the clinic in the same city as I play league in.

I work closely with chiropractors, as I did in Klinikk for Alle in Stavanger, Norway. This suits me excellent, as I know how well this works. I also have a great team of fitness trainers with various specialties that help send me patients, and take over patients from me when they are well enough. Symbiosis.

Have a look at the Fitness 365 website: http://www.fitness365.nl/ Its impressive stuff
Physio30 website: http://physio30.nl/

Oh, and I got myself an appartment in Haarlem with the woman and a cat(!)

Squash? not too good :/ First get life settled. Then whoop ass on court.

AJ Bell World Championships Manchester 2013

 
One year ago at this exact moment I suffered a nasty ankle injury on my left ankle, only 10 days before the World Open in Qatar. I still pushed through and played it, losing out 3-0 to the world no60 Oliver Pett.

This year one month ago, I suffered a deja vu as the same ankle injured on the same place. After a descent start of the season in Herentals, the injury affected me strongly during the euro club champs in Italy and I continued rehabilitating for 3 weeks after my return to Holland. The injury gave me a good chance to do some solo hits and apply the final touch on my technique that has been a bit of a project over the last years. The last touch still requires a while to get automatized, and I still didnt feel 100% comfortable with it. I managed to get 3 hits on court with a partner before taking off to Manchester. Preperations were far from optimal.

However, talking it over with coach Mark Hornby, we thought it still would be a great experience and learning arena no matter the result. If it didnt go the right way in the tournament, we could still use the time we had to work on my game a bit.

On matchday I had a good preperation with a good hit on the glass court with Shahier Razik, the number 1 Canadian player, as well as  a chat w Nick Matthew and some movement/activation drills at Northern squash club, also in Manchester. The body felt good and ready for a fight. The racket handling was not as good as it has to be.

I drew the no5 seed in qualifying and PSA ranked 39 in the world, Karim Ali Fathi. A fast player with good racket skills, liking hard hitting and a fast pace. After a good warm up, I felt ready to run down every ball and die out there if necessary. I had to, as I had little confidence in my technique.

The first 3 balls played hit all the nicks in the back, and the rest hit all the nicks in the front. Typical egyptian style squash was enforced by a dead court with huge nicks. 11-2 loss

I was told to step up the court, volley more, close down the court, run everything down, while I had to try to hit the ball properly. I could only do one thing at once ( I am but only a man), and then the other parts were not completed very well. I still managed to sneak a few extra points in the second game by keeping the length and width better and slowing the ball down more, pinning him into the back. Still the difference in ranking shone through as I lost 11-5.

In the third game I snatched a bit too much, focusing more on running than hitting, making a lot of tactical blunders to lose it 11-2

Even though it was the quickest loss in the first round qualifying, I cant beat myself up about it, thinking of what I have been through the last months. But naturally one always want to perform better on a stage like this.

All the things missing at the moment has been working well for me at one time or another lately. I just need to get them all in at once. I know I am almost there. I just need a good year of training now to put the pieces of the puzzle together. It will be hard, as I now support myself with working, but it is not impossible. Hopefully I will better myself until next year and come back to the tour stronger than ever.

Squash Kick Off Event Sportcentrum Overhout

Sunday 3d of November we are putting together a Squash event to promote this great sport to the masses and particularly the people of Haarlem.

Sportcentrum Overhout have 5 renovated squash courts of high standard right next to the canal that runs right through the heart of Haarlem city.

On this day we will get together to play a lot of squash, have a social tournament as well as demonstrations and plenty of time in the bar

Send me a mail: barekimare@gmail.com, call Overhout: 0235338777, or leave a comment under to sign up

Costs are 10 euros FOR THE ENTIRE DAY!!!

New New Job

 After my jobs in Dordrecht and in the Haag went down the drain, an opening came to my attention at Overhout Sportcentrum in Haarlem.
This is an extremely nice and cosy Sportcentrum between Haarlem centrum and Schalkwijk, right next to the main canal in a bigger sport area.
They have 15 Tenniscourts (all weather, gravel, hardcourt) outside and inside as well as 5 squash courts. The bar area is really nice and the atmosphere is great.

My girlfriends mother told me about the place, and after having a meeting with the managers I was convinced that this was a place of my liking. After introducing my ideas to the managers, they too were enthousiastic and we see eye to eye on most things.

I will start here next Monday promoting squash and trying to build up a nice and social squash environment. I want to start coaching, arranging tournaments, creating internal ladders, social evenings and maybe even signing up league teams eventually.

Check out their website for more information: http://sportcentrumoverhout.nl/

Why you should fill your company with athletes

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkwilliams/2013/10/02/why-you-should-fill-your-company-with-athletes/

"1. They have the drive to practice a task rigorously, relentlessly, and even in the midst of failure until they succeed."

2........

Rollercoasters and Rainbows

You crash you burn, you collect the ashes and pick yourself up, your on top of the world, in the basement, struggling, floating on clouds, when it rains it pours and sometimes money do grow on trees.

The last months of my life could be described from a number of different angles.

One the one hand.... My biggest sponsor pulled out, I had 2 jobs waiting for me after the holiday where one was given away to someone else for some reason, and the other one took 3 months to get started, only to not get started at all :( Im homeless, no money and no job. I'm injured and have the flu, covered with a nasty cold, I have a nasty rash in places where the sun don't shine and have a loan that will be downpaid in 30 years....if I start paying it now..which I can't...at all

On the other hand... The beginning of the year was the best year of my life, my squash has reached a better level than ever. Sun has followed me all over, and had a great week in Belgium with the national team, a fantastic week working in Norway the week after, giving lessons, courses, classes and the week after travelling to Italy for the European Club Championships playing squash with good friends and hanging with one of the best ones, Maggi in Bologna on the last day. I have a great girlfriend, family and friends who got my back. My friends Rob Grant, Steve Finitsis, Cigany, Karen and Jeannot has housed me, My mum has sponsored my squash, the squash federation and my squash club Hafrsfjord has sponsored the trips in the last months. My injury is recovering well, the flu is letting go, I am starting a new job in a new place in Haarlem next week, I will be starting to play league, which will keep me fed from week to week until I get into my new job. And in this period I started my own company and did my taxes in Dutch.

European Club Championships 2013 Riccione, Italy

On the Airport in Trondheim Norway getting ready to take off to the next adventure in Riccione Italy for this years European Club Championships. This years ECC has a record entry, so there will be many good teams and players in the Champions League of squash.





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Here is their website: http://www.federsquash.it/european-club-championship-2013

There will be live streaming from the courts here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=m-ch-fea&v=1rrgEosn2iY&app=desktop

We play at 12 and 16.30 on Wednesday 18.09

Here is the draw: http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/draw.aspx?id=9CF72105-5DA3-4944-8B28-250DE3D03418&draw=4

Unfortunatelly for me I got a small re injury on my left ankle, which is quite bothersome, and I am afraid I can not give it my all during the tournament. I hope, naturally, for a super speedy recovery, but it does not feel good. Hopefully I can play some matches to help the team, and if not we have good reserves on the team to step in. The team is already weakened as the Norway no2 is not playing either.

Happy news in the sad news, Its my birthday tomorrow!! Whoopwhoop. According to the newspapers I am 25, so we will go with that. My best bud Mags is studying in Bologna, so she will accompany me and the boys for a small get together tomorrow :)

Day 1:

First day presented us with a great challenge and probably the most important match of the tournament for us. This was against 5th seed Luxembourg led by Netherland ex professional Dylan Bennet. This was my challenge, who was first on court, with Ronny on the other court taking on Lux no1 Nathan Sneyd. Proper birthday squash as neither me or Dylan produced squash to be inspired by. With a referee worse than both of us put together it was an embarassing view and I lost 1-3. Ronny lost against a difficult player 0-3. Saved by our no3 and 4 player Lasse and Sindre, we tied 2-2 in matches and got 1 point on the board. However, they got 1 game more, so the remaining matches would be crucial.

In the afternoon we faced 4th seed Colets from England, with Jonathan Kemp as no1 string and ex world no4 Alex Gough (!!) as no4 string. The challange proved way too big for... all teams as they chopped all other teams in the group without dropping a game. My ankle was still painful, but I really wanted to play Jon Kemp, who i have watched a lot over the years. Score line was 1-7-1 as I got severly chopped on live streaming but hey. one for the history books...or not :P


Day 2:

After a good nights rest, the team got up for a good breakfast together and got ready to take on Edinburgh at 1pm local time. We knew we all had to win all 4 matches to have a chance in claiming a spot in the quarter finals, and we were all ready for it. Clever Scots however put their no2 player on the no4 spot to put sticks in our wheels, and it worked as the 4th string match ended 1-3 favouring the haggis munchin blue n whites. Ronny won 3-0, I battled my way to a 3-2 win against a tricky player, and Sindre pulled back from 0-2 down to win a great match 3-2. There was still hope as Luxembourg also did not get any games vs Colets. Thanks to poor mathematical skills from mine and Lasses side, we saw a hope of us being 1 game up vs Luxembourg and making the quarter finals... but the administrations computer, calculated otherwise, and it was us being 1 game down instead. Soooo close making top 8, which would b a great performance and an all time high (I think) but it just slipped our oily hands.

Picture below: Counting matches, games, points

Tomorrow we still fight for a good position between 9-12th place. last year we got 12th and the year before 13th, so the chances to improve our seeding are still there. Stay tuned

Day 3:

 First of all, I need to correct myself from earlier, where I said we played from 9-12. All of the teams that not went through to the quarter finals had to play for the last 9-17th spots.

First up we had to play Hungary. We knew very little about the team, and myself and Sindre started off. The Hungarians thought it was a good idea to referee themselves, and this created a number of problems for the Norwegians. Sindre lost 3-0 to a better opponent. I felt I was quite a lot stronger than my opponent, and took the first game quite comfortably. The next game was tighter, up until 9-9, where I stroked him 4 times, and his team mate refereeing gave lets and no lets. I kept fighting, even though their supporters screamed their hearts out every time I missed a shot, but lost in a long tie-break. Shame I lost a game, but for the match it suited me better. I stepped up a gear in the next 2 games and took the match 3-1. Ronny lost his match 2-3, so Lasse had to bring it home for the team. With a 3-0 win, we would go through on games, a 3-1 win would mean a draw. Unlucky for us (again) Lasse won 3-2 after playing some great squash in patches and 11-1 in the 5th. This meant we lost on one game again. I found out the Hungarians reffed Ronnys match as well in the same manner as mine, and not only that, but they pulled the same stunt in the next match against Ukraine to win on games again to get through to the 9-10 play off.

We faced Poland only 2 hours later to all win our matches. A 4-0 victory, to save ourselves from the bottom. Next up is the Belgium team Castle squash to battle for 13-14th place. A bit of a disappointment after being so close to top 8, but the job still needs to be done, no matter the opponent. Today Niclas will be stepping in for Sindre and get some good squash in his legs and good experience in the bag for future brilliance.

Day 4:

On our last day of match play in Riccione, we got up early to take on Castle club from Belgium. The referees continued their excellent system of letting our opponents ref our matches, so again I had to take on several opponents at once. My game had improved over the last days, and it was easier to hit the ball at last. I tried my best to stick to gameplan, and it worked better than earlier in the week, but it could still be even stronger. Coach said I was in full control of that match, and my opponent did all the running, but I took the ball in short still a bit too early. I noticed this, when the counter attack came and he scored points as I could not move to the front as my ankle was still sore from my injury. Moving around the T did not pose as many problems, so I should be better at working a clear opening from this position. Although I was happy with most of my game, I was disappointed for the team as I lost 3 close games 13-11, 11-9, 11-8 with a string of dodgy decisions at the end of each game, especially seeing that we lost with 7 points after a 2-2 tie and a great performance from the other team mates. Especially happy for Niclas, who got his debut win 3-1 over the Belgian number 4 player.

Although we again lost a tie, we were still happy on how we ended the tournament. Looking at it with a sense of humour as we had a huge string of bad luck throughout. Our seeding will now drop for next year, but I believe we will come back stronger.

The tournament was probably one of the best so far in terms of organization. The hotel was good, food and transport great and a nice venue. It’s a shame though that the referee quality and organization failed so badly on all aspects and pulled the tournament experience down. Many of the referees were very fresh to the game, up to 30 minutes late to not only the morning matches, but also the semi finals and letting teams referee their own way through to a better seeding is not the way to do it. Many teams and players struggled with the referees, and I personally had to educate the head referee on a very very basic concept in squash. The referee gave a let when it was a clear stroke to my opponent, as I lost equipment on court. The head referee came over to assess the situation and told us all that with loss of equipment on court it is always a let. All in shock I confronted the head referee after the match and told him the rules, where he replies that he did not see the situation, and did not know what he was saying……… que!!?? If only Jonathon Power was here… he would know what to say…

A local newspaper from the clubs hometown, made a story of the players before the championship. See it here: http://solabladet.no/index.php?page=vis_nyhet&NyhetID=8297&sok=1

Injury

Ankle...farked!  European club champs is in 2 days..... great

HOT

From the 10th until the 17th of September this year was I doing courses and lessons for my mums company HOT. HOT is short for Health and Training in Norwegian, and is a small gym located a few hours north of Trondheim (My birth city)

This company is one of my most important sponsors for my squash, so part of the agreement, is that I chip in with the competence I have and contribute with what I can.

This week has been spent giving trainings, lessons, doing courses on training and nutrition, fixing bikes, cleanig floors, cooking (!?), seeing physiotherapy patients and giving squash lessons.

It is great to see how the centre increases in interest and members year after year. The most prominent increase is in the group lessons, where it is now over booked and at times too full. The people here are really enthusiastic and spread great positive energy.

Although it has not been any squash this week, it has still been a good week in the Norwegian countryside. Fresh air, clean water, peace, quiet and the best food :))

H.O.T Helse og trening Check it out on facebook

2020 Olympic Bid

In the IOCs desicion to include a new sport in the Olympics, they chose Wrestling over Squash and Baseball. Squash got 22 votes, Baseball 24, and Wrestling got...well...more.

All I need to say about this is that the desicion speaks for itself.

If you are a squash player you know exactly what I mean, and if you are not enlightened still, you can use google to figure it out.

RESULTS and Comments, European Individual Closed Squash Championships 2013

Draw: http://www.toernooi.nl/sport/draw.aspx?id=C2866472-4AFE-4713-97E5-59ADC7CD538A&draw=1

After a tour around Amsterdam, the Norwegian delegation arrived in Haag to pick me up before we headed to "Casa ter Sluis in Breda, where we were housed for the week. Breda is approximately 1 hour away from Herentals where the tournament was held this year, and Marjolein, Marc and Tessa were great hosts for the vikings the whole week, cooking, cleaning and serving our every need throughout the week ;)

 With 4 people in the attic, and 2 of them running a nightly nasal cavity marathon, there was no sleep to get the first night. After a good start in the morning where Sindre beat his russian opponent in the morning, I was up against Gregoire Marche of France in my first round.

I was unlucky enough, just to drop out of the seedings. This meant I would have to face one of the big guns in my first match. This player is ranked 160 spots over me on the ranking at 30. This is a significant difference, and I really needed to play out of my skin to perform well. My gameplan was set early, and agreed upon by the coach. In the first few games I saw that the gameplan was not working well, as Marche was to quick on the ball. If I am not in control, it is hard to maintain gameplan. So before the third game, me and coach Mark decided on a new gameplan. This one proved more effective, but the difference in level was too great in the end, and I lost 3-0. I was still happy with the way I played in the end, as I can see that I can still play with these boys and make them run for their money. My hitting is more consistent, mental toughness is present and I am starting to move better again.

 Sindre is showing his happy face after the first Norwegian win of the tournament :D

 Lotte also started of with a strong win after a macarena warm up. She beat up and coming Belgian national champion Nele Gilis in a tough 4 setter, setting her up for the quarter finals against the winner of the tournament Camille Serme.


On the second day of play I faced Mark Burke from Belgium. An experienced player with a good reportoar of shots. I found it hard to step up the pace against a player who slowed it down a bit more. This was the only match this tournament I did not play well at all, and my focus was a bit all over the place. The score in the end was 11-9, 9-11, 12-10, 12-10, and a good sesison to work on playing big points, which Mark (coach) is stressing a lot. A sweaty encounter in 40 degrees heat, running around a squash court makes one tired. So chilling on the grass outside in the shadow is not such a bad idea :))

Sindre played world no18 LJ Anjema is a battle of the giants on court 8. This was a tough, but fun experience for the Norwegian Rolls Royce (Roaldsøy in english), ending in a 3-0 loss.

In my second round of the plate I got a bye (walkover) as the czech player pulled out from the tournament. This set up a meeting with old nemesis Rene Mijs from the Netherlands. We had some hard fought matches is the past, and I knew exactly what he was capable of. I felt a hunger to avenge my poor play the other day, and i came out blazing in the first 2 games. I dont think I ever played better, taking the games 11-6, 11-7 (I think). Then in the next games something happened as I felt all my balls were landing around the middle, and I twitched as I went for quick winners. Mark noticed that my opponent stepped further up on the T, taking away my sense of control in the game. This totally changed the pattern of the game, and probably experience from Rene's side, as he took the next 2 games. We were tied at 2-2. In the fifth game, I had a terrible start as the referees gave away 5 quick points in strokes and no lets I did not agree with. Then my opponent hit the joint between the front wall and side wall twice, making the ball die and drop dead on the spot. This was 7 points....of 11!!! Even if I played well and hung in as well as I could, it was not enough, and I lost 11-6. :(((((

With Sindres heavy legs he was not able to pull another win in the tournament, but gaining xp points like a rookie dwarf in WOW.

Lotte was unlucky to lose a tough 4 setter against Czech no1 Lucie Fialova but redeemed herself, chopping down Frenchie Maud Duplomb 3 games to 0 ending on a strong 7th place.

In my last match I was set up against Marc ter Sluis. Good friend, training partner, and room mate for the week. During training, we always play for coffee. The loser has to pay. This was no exception and so the loser had to pay the winner a coffee of choice at the place of choice. The contract was signed and sealed, and the trash talk began as usual on twitter 24 hrs before the match.

Marc has improved a lot lately and just the week before he beat me in a training match. He has cut down his error rate and starting to structure his squash better. I knew I had to play my best to win it. All games were hard fought, and neither of us did much wrong as we had long testing rallies up and down the walls. At the very end it seemed like Marc slightly ran out of juice as I could maintain the tempo for a little longer. This kept me ahead on the points and I rushed to the service box after every ball. I took the last game to deserve my coffee, but it was a good battle. #cappucinosquash

After the last match of the day we had a small dinner at the club (not allowed to take big portions, as there was not enough food) me and Marc had to prepare for a new tournament in Zoetermeer Netherlands. This is a 1 day tournament where you play up to 4 matches in one day. I was 1. seed and drew in the quarter finals the Dutch no1 who ended 7th in the EICC. Losing 3-1 after maintaining my good play, and missed out on good PSA points and next weeks food money :P

European championship preview

From the 4^th until the 7^th of September this year the European Individual Championships will be held just around the corner from me, in Herentals Belgium. This is approximately a 90 minute drive from my current location, so after some brilliant logistics from our Sport Manager and coach Mark Hornby, we arranged a rental car for transport and local accommodation at friends of mine. This helped keep the costs down for all of us.

The Norwegian representatives this year consist of Sindre Roaldsøy, myself and giant killer Lotte Eriksen. They will be flying in Tuesday, pick me up in den Haag to race down to Breda where we will be staying with 2 of the Dutch players, Tessa and Marc ter Sluis. We really appreciate you helping us out guys J

The draw can be seen above. Lotte has a bye on her first day, due to a good seeding, and might be playing on of the most talented junior players on the second day of play Tinne Gilis from Belgium. Sindre has to play a Russian player in his first match on Wednesday at 2pm. If he succeeds he will be playing Dutch no1 and world top 20 player Laurens Jan Anjema. This would be a great experience… for LJ. Because Sindre is a force to be reckoned with.

I will be playing top 50 world player Gregoire Marche from France. He is known for his fitness, athletic abilities and has made a name for himself in the top of the squash world. What he probably will not remember is that I was the head referee when he won his U19 European individual gold medal in Stavanger, Norway. However, I will not be in the same good mood when we meet on court Wednesday at 1800.

New Job

So... Since last time I had to get a job to fund my squash player life. There is at the moment a drought in sponsors and funding, forcing me to use my crazy talented skills in coaching and fitness.

I started my own company called Complete FysioFitness. I am basically self employed, offering my services to companies or individuals after demand. I offer Physiotherapy, Personal Training and Squash coaching. It is only in the start phase so far, but I have already established contact with the major fitness chain Sportcity. Sportcity is to be found all over Netherlands and offer Gym, Spinning, Group lessons, Personal Training and Squash to mention a small part of it.

I am the new official squash coach of Sportcity Den Haag, starting from next week, while I still offer PT and PT services in den Haag as well as in Haarlem.

On the 29th of September we launch a big Kick off at Sportcity den Haag, where there will be events, coaching, squash introduction and exhibition matches. This is for both members and non members to come by, have a look at the place, feel the atmosphere and enjoy the thrill, fun and fitness of squash. It will also be a great opportunity for me to introduce myself for local squash players, new squashplayers and new colleagues.

If you are in the neighbourhood, swing by:

Sportcity den Haag, Verheeskade 105, 2521 DD den Haag
tlf: 070 330 0400

Squash memories pt4(?): My first kings Trophy (National individual gold)

Around 4 years ago it struck me that I was tired of being the nations no2 squash player, a status that had stuck with me for a longer period of time.  The problem was that I was in this period also happy with it, as I did better than I expected up until this point. I regularly played finals in the Norwegian cup, but never seemed to pull through and win. The no1 at the time was Kristian Solhaug from the same club as me in Stavanger, Norway.

It all turned before one of the bigger norwegian cup tournaments (NC) where a reporter called me and asked for my prediction in the final the next day (I was playing Kristian). I told her straight out, in the same cocky manner as Kristian would have said it: "Me". Easy as that. I needed to believe it myself before actually doing it. The final the next day went to 5 games and I believe I was 6-10 down or so in the decider. I managed to pull back point after point and in the end I think I won 13-11. It was a great win for me, underlined by the many positive messages from near and far in the coming days.

This result did not mean that I was the new no1 player in the nation. But I had the confidence now to know that I could beat them all. I lost a few finals after this, and won a few.

The Norwegian Nationals this season was held in our home club in Stavanger. It houses 8 wooden wall courts and has produced most of Norways squash champions throughout the days. I remember having a tough 3-1 win over Patrick Hansen in the quarters that took a lot out of me. In the semis I played national team player Ronny Aasbø, winning 3-0, but mentally tough as he had a big crowd behind him.

In the finals they displayed the filmed finale on court 1, while there was a packed crowd behind court 8, where we were playing. I remember a lot of support for Kristian (as it is his hometown), but one of my best buds Linn showed up w the Killingberg flag after having lunch with me before to calm my nerves. That was very much appreciated :)

I recall being very nervous from the start, and even at 1-1 in the first game, I got a bad call against me, and I was screaming. Kristian screamed back so i think he was a bit tense too. He had lost the last 2 national champ finals, so he was hungry as ever for the gold. I won the first Game on what Kristian called "lucky", the following game I must have lost. I remember seeing our team mate Ronny going to coach Kristian and my other team mate Thomas coaching me eventually. The following 2 games were split. I won the 3d game 11-3 or something, and after a total meltdown in the 4th I lost it with the same cifers. After that game I felt t.o.t.a.l.l.y. f***d. I was so tired, dizzy and though this was it for me. Thomas told me:"Just play lengths and you will win, just play your lengths, thats where you're winning" Sure, might as well i thought. "He is more tired than you" Thomas said. That was hard to believe, but after a few rallies just that was exposed, as Kristian had no juice left in the old juice box. I ran away with the game in some tense moments, before feeling the greatest joy and relief I had felt for a....ever.

After I was speechless with grave stomach pain and tired mentally and physically like no time before, cramping front, back over and under, I could celebrate my first Kings trophy, which is the greatest honor in Norwegian sports

Summer!!!!

After ending the season 12/13 in style in Australia, it didnt turn out ranking wise the way I would hoped, but in the end that does not matter too much, as my personal plan is on route.

5 days after returning from Australia and just as I barely got time to adjust to the European time again, I took off to USA with a good friend from Norway, driving the east coast from New York to Miami.

Living big city life in New York, running stairs like Rocky in Philly, witnessing big fat gypsy weddings in south carolina, visiting Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida, and ending up partying like a pro in Miami. A great 2 weeks spent with very little training. I did, however enjoy the casual hit with local coach John at Princeton in New York, and some chin ups at muscle beach, Ocean drive, Miami beach ;)

Now it is back to training. Summer training that is. This means normally a world of pain in my case. This year, for 2 months I will tag along my friend Rob Grants marathon running training programme. In the beginning, I will follow his schedule as much as possible. Slowly I must adjust it towards the physical requirements of squash. This means after a month or so, I will do more 300 and 400 meter sprints, interval training and more court stuff.

The next tournaments coming up are the european individual championships in Herentals Belgium, a local closed sattelite tournament, and the european club champs in Riccione, Italy in September.In October is the World Open in Manchester.

South Australian Open 2013

 Just 90 minutes away from the grand Barossa valley wine districts, is Adelaide, more specifically, in our case, Adelaide north, where the tournament is being played.

This is the last tournament in my Australian tour this year,that so far has been successful squashwise, but I have missed out on the points.

Let's see how I made it in my toughest draw so far.

In my first round match I faced Jean Pierre Brits from South Africa. My trusted roomie in Malaysia and last week in Barossa valley. A great personality and a strong and fair player. he  is fitter than most, the worlds most annoying retriever and possess good racketskills and a boast of Borja Golan. He chopped me in Malaysia a few months ago 3-0. I was veryvery hungry for revenge.

I have had good success with tactics so far on the tour, and my gameplan was ready. However, over the last days, I have not been hitting the ball well, and moving too great for some reason. My will to win had to overcome this somehow

In the first game I put together the rallies the way I wanted to, although, since i did not hit the ball well, it was not of the accuracy level I wanted. I still stuck to the game plan, made no errors and managed to clinch more points than my opponent on concistency. 11-5 for me

Second game started off badly as my shots did not penetrate and I was stuck in the back for most of the game not feeling the good flow in my hitting. 4-11 loss

At 1-1 in games, I really tried to stay focus on placing the ball, not on hitting it perfectly. Basically the same story as the first as I took it 11-5

And as the second game the 4th took the same line of events as the second game. I lost it 2-11 as everything was presented on a silver platter for my opponent to put away in the nick... and he did.

In the fifth game I noticed I needed to relax my wrist a bit more. This made wonder for my length and general hitting, tightening up my game and finding those corners again. I still struggling with a slippery floor and on 2 important points I completely lose my footing, faceplanting, and losing important points. on 2 other points I get nervy in the front, stroking myself, losing another 2 unnecessary points. In a game that ends 9-11, those points hurt you baaaaadly.

So again...so close, but still cant pull through.

That has been the story of this tour. Players that chopped me left and right 2 months ago are really struggling to beat me now. My squash has taken leaps which has motivated me strongly to keep pushing. However, the results are what counts on paper, and there we have no change. So should I be happy or not? I am very happy, as I have overcome barriers in my own head, opening up the world of squash even further than before. I know the results will come and that I have earned a respect among the other players I have not had before.

I must still draw a line between my thoughts now and what I felt 4 years ago, when I was happy with being no2 in Norway for a long time. At some point I have to get over that I am happy with my performance even though I lose. At some point I have to step up and put my foot down. Telling myself only a win is good enough.

On this tour I have shown that I am in it to compete, I have performed well under great mental, tactical and enduring challenges. I have competed under difficult circumstances and bad days. I have dealt with unfair players, my own head, top players and unexperienced referees. I have proven a lot to myself, as this tour has so far been the most valuable  trip I have ever made. What I have learned here will be of great use in my future squash career.

Now it is back to the wifey in Holland for a few days, before a well deserved holiday in the U S and A!!!! whoooopiee!!!

Barossa Valley Toyota Open 2013

05.05.2013, 1.10pm

After driving through endless vineyards yesterday evening, we finally arrive at our Motor Lodge in Tanunda, a small town in the middle of one of Australias biggest wine districts. With the charm and qualities of a small town, I feel right at home (:P) Hoping for less exploding taxis than in Kalgoorlie (my fb friends knows about my near death experience)

The qualification draw starts tomorrow, and I will be playing Tom de Mulder of Belgium in the main draw Friday. We used to train a bit together in Amsterdam a while ago, and I know him quite well. A quality attacking player, that will set up a quality challenge for me first round.

07.05.2013, 21.23 pm

It was 6 lets on 0-0. That set the standards for the rest of the match that lasted 60 minutes. I did enough running maybe worth 1 game. The referee did his best, but did not, unfortunatelly, understand some of the more complicated concepts of the professional game. I did the best I could and still played well when there was balls to play, but sadly there were not many. I felt in control the entire match, and winning points by putting together good rallies. my length could be better in the beginning, but that resolved quickly. My opponent did not score many points, but was awarded a lot of points from the referee, as I was given no lets as my line to the ball was prevented time and time again.

I saw from the beginning what sort of match this turned out to be, so I kept my calm as best possible, as I saw the referee did not catch up on what was going on. I was amazed how close the games were still, and I even got a game. It only shows how well I played really, and the fact that I was able to keep my cool throughout the match is a very positive thing I need to bring with me.

I lost in 4, but very happy with my mental strength and squash performance. In 10 years, a match has been given away like this against me, so hopefully it will not happen again in a while. A little bitter to miss out on good ranking points, but in the end the squsah is what matters.

In my next tournament, I will play JP Brits of South Africa, who is a good and fair player. I am really looking forward to playing some good matches in my last tournament of the Aussie tour, that so far has been very successful.

City Of Kalgoorlie-Boulder PSA Int Golden Open 2013

31.05.2013, 5.00pm

After a 7 hour drive, a big group of us arrived in Kalgoorlie around 6pm in the afternoon where we were met by Dianne who is the tournament organizer. From here we were dispursed around to different billets and houses. I am staying with mr Grant who used to play a bit of squash before, but not such much anymore. My billet is not much into internet, I have no wifi here, so boredom is my friend. I got a bowl of soup when I arrived, so the first thing I did the next day was going foodshopping. Most of you know that I do not really function well without enough food :P

Being in Perth in the sun for the last weeks has spoiled us through and through, so it was a bit of a reality check to drive through the cats and dogs from the sky and into a land where weather changes like socks. At the YMCA squash centre there are 5 courts, where today it was frrrrrrreeeeeezing on the courts. Qualifying is over and it looks quite strong.

Kalgoorlie is a mining town with a long history and the main thing to check out here is the "Super pit" which is a massive goldmine right next to the city centre. Its about 4*2km and 500m deep. It takes you 1 hour to drive up from the pit from the bottom. I was up there on my second day here to check it out. see under:

How I keep myself entertained at the casa... bought 5 dvds :P

Tomorrow the main draw starts, and I am on at 3.15pm against the third seed from Bermuda, Micah Franklin. He used to train with us in Amsterdam a few years ago, and I know it will be a good match.

I started off my match controlled, working out my length and width first of all, ridding any remaining nerves. I did not have to do much, but play it tight and steady. The points started racking up. I think I was 10-5 up, when I had a bit of a tactical blackout. I lost the next 4 points by playing stupid shots, but luckily learned from my last tournament what not to do, so I closed it out 11-9. The coming games, I stuck better to my gameplan and took the sting out of a frustrated opponent. I won in 3 games to 0, which was a very good win for me :)

03.06.2013 , 4.11pm

In the quarter final of the tournament I faced Adam Auckland of England, who is an unseeded player on his way up the ranks. As many others, he starts off his career playing the Australian tour. He is a very talented player, who can play winners and shots from any position of the court. He has produced some impressive results over the last weeks beating top seeds and making finals. I knew this one would be very tough. Not giving away too much, I can still say that I had a good tactics in place for the match. However, matching myself against a player of that caliber, I really had to try to outsmart him, and even if I played flawless, it would still be hard.

The first game was tight all the way and my game plan worked. I stayed disciplined for 90% of the time, and those remaining 10% actually made me lose the game 9-11. I was 9-8 up, and playing well, but believe me, it is so so so difficult to stick 100% to a gameplan. But speaking for myself, I have never been this disciplined in my entire life. My opponent was affected by it as well, as he was stripped of options and his natural style of play. Still, his skill won him a few more points than me. Skill over mind….

The remaining 2 games followed the same pattern, and you can probably compare the score to my level of discipline and how well I stuck to my game plan. Next game: 6-11, 60% discipline, next game: 7-11, 70% discipline. I lost in 3, but still the best match I ever played tactically. I was very relaxed and moving well. I am hitting the ball ok, but still have a long way to go when it comes to adding spin to the ball, taking it early and controlling the ball well at all paces. It is good to have something to work on, but as mentioned earlier, I am glad I can finally play international tournaments at the level I know I can play. I got a lot of positive feedback after my match, which I really appreciate. People did not think I would  score many points in this match. My opponent keeps a top 100 level when he is playing well, and being able to match such a player right now, is ahead of my schedule, but a very positive sign

We are now on our way back from Kalgoorlie to Perth to depart from Perth off to Adelaide tomorrow afternoon. Here I will play the remaining tournaments of this years tour.

City of Perth international squash challenge 2013

24.05.2013, 4.10pm

In this beatiful city of Perth I kick off my Australian tour this year, starting the tournament today at 8pm against a qualifyer. The matches have been played, but I do not know still who I will be playing. So far preperations have been good but the time difference still lingers in the body a little. This will hopefully not have too big of an effect on my match which is on quite late. Looking forward to a good match and playing well.

10.13pm

First round out of the way with a comfortable 3-0 win. I played a young australian kid called Rohan, who dispatched 2 of my 3 room mates in the 2 previous tournaments. Since I am an Avenger (Thor) I knew what needed to be done.
As always, the first match holds some tension to it, but my game plan was clear and I knew my opponent well. I hit the ball well, veried the pace well and thought I constructed the rallies and the games good. My forehand and my serves could be better, but with 3 unforced errors throughout the match I cant be too displeased. Next battle is on tomorrow at 2pm local time

26.05.2013, 10.15 am

Sorry for the late update folks, but the pirate internet we are using at the hotel is not working too well, so I am updating from the squashclub on my computer today instead.
My second round match was as said against Matias Tuomi of Finland. He's a quick and experienced player who has been around for a while. I have played him quite a few times and know I can beat him if I play well.
My tactics were good in the first games, but my shots did not live up to the plan, so I lost the first game 4-11 and the second one 7-11. I was not worried though, as I now started hitting the ball well. I took the third game, feeling well in control and playing descently. I continued the same style of play in the 4th, keeping in lead and in control up until 10-7 and gameball for me. Here is where you juniors should sharpen your ears. A classic mistake was done by me as I was already laying down the tactics for the 5th game. I was so in control I could not lose this. People have recovered from worse deficits before. 4 points was not that much. A few mistakes by the referee and a few tactically poor desicions from me was all it took. I lost the match in 4, devastated with losing a match I really wanted to win.

But a massive positive to take from this, that I also hoped for before I started this tournament, was that for the first time in my life, I am actually playing squash in a PSA. I have been on court in many PSA's but none of it can really be called squash. Now I am competing, and playing well (at least in patches) and making these boys run for their money. Even though I am playing well (for my level) it still does not mean I will win it all. And there are many close opponents around, Matias being one of them. I am happy I am in Australia and playing 4 consecutive tournaments, where I can come back next weekend, and hopefully produce better results.

Next up: Kalgoorlie

Australian tour 2013

19.05.2013

Back at Schiphol, this time to conquer the wallabees down under. I am flying 12 hours to Singapore and from there another 5 hours or so to Perth, Australia. Here I have 1 tournament before I need to get to the mining town of Kalgoorlie, about 7 hours outside of Perth (!) for the second one.
The third and fourth tournament is in Adelaide, where I will depart again on the 13th of June.

Last minute, I dropped out of the top seeds in all the tournaments (I blame Micah Franklin), but I have still been given fair draws, I think. In two tournaments, I will be facing a qualifyer in my first round, in one of them, I face the second seed and in the other I will be playing Micah Franklin (I will whoop his butttttt for bumping me out of the seedings)

Really looking forward to playing these tournaments, and for the first time ever, I will be travelling to an international PSA tournament, feeling ready to play well and put up a good fight. By this I mean that I have never really showed my top game in a PSA, but some things have come together well in my game lately, giving me the opportunity to relax on court and focus on just playing squash. If I lose now, I hope that I still can say I gave it my all but my opponent was just better. Not losing because I mess up

Shit....boarding....... gotta run




20.05.2013

So what I wanted to say was........ After the European championship I had a bit of a dip squash wise. It seemed as if I lost/left my skills somewhere I dont know where. It was like I had to start all over again. Luckily, every session got better and I played some of my best squash again at the end of the week.
Experience tells tales of mental and physical drainage after peaking for a big tournament, which makes sense...

Right now it is 30 minutes past midnight central european time and 06.30 in the morning in Singapore. I had a comfortable flight over, producing a sore and restless ass over 12 hours in the air. Food served was good, but not enough, so now it seems like a little food shopping is necessary. Its only 30 minutes until boarding of my next flight. ciao!

I was met at the airport by local centre owner Don Huffer, who had arranged a ho(s)tel for some of the squashplayers, where we are 5 sharing a room with a living room and a kitchen. All in one really. But it is cheap, very centrally and close to the squashcourts. Groceries done, internet sorted, oriented around the area. Found the penguins, wallabees and koalas. We r a-ok, and ready tozzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Asics progressive Gel 2014!!

Development of the most kick ass squash shoe ever has started for the 2014 model! Stay Tuned!!!

SAVED!!!!!

Right before my departure to Australia for the all important tour, where I play 4 tournaments, some of my sponsors faced financial difficulties and could not deliver in time. For a brief moment I was very concerned, until my mum (again) came to the rescue and said herself willing to sponsor me through her firm until the sponsorship comes through.

Like previously mentioned, my mum has been a hugely important part of my career and progress, and again she plays an important part.

Her firm is named H.O.T., which does not necessarily describe the owners physical appearance, but is short for: "Helse og Trening", translated: "Health and Training" It is a small gym located on the top floor of a mall in a small village named Rissa just outside my birthplace of Trondheim, Norway.


This centre is a great display of a united community, working happily together towards a common healthier lifestyle. They are doing a great job in arranging social events for the public to boost these interests as well as having a lot of fun together. The centre is blooming and the owner, Hilde Marie (Mum ;) has been nominated for a community award preceeding her contribution to the community.





It is a small centre, but holds everything one needs of cardio machines, strength machines and dumbells. In the aerobics room you can find Zumba, Kettlebells, spinning, dancing, and aerobics and fun for people of all shapes, ages and sizes.

Check out H.O.T. on facebook. Click the link under sponsors on the right hand menu ;)