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 ;)

European team championship squash 2013, Frans Otten Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Tuesday 30.04.2013

This morning I woke up early to go through my preperations for my first match, the exact way I would do it the next day. This way my body gets used to the daily rythm, I will sleep better tonight, and limit the amounts of surprises that may occur.

By now I know my warm up routine, what food and drinks that work better for me and the timing of it all. This normally gets disturbed as you travel all around the world, but I will take full advantage of my "home soil"

I had a look at the stadium and had a hit. The centre is coming along nicely with live streaming from the centre court and live scoring updates on all courts. It is a big centre with many possibilities. Many of these possibilities are already being covered. The live score and stream can be found here:
http://www.squash.nl/calendarevent/18080/European-Team-Championships-2013

I am mentally prepared, physically strong, hitting the ball well, and hungrier than ever before. Tomorrow is game time and Israel will be receiving some good ol viking fury.

Wednesday 01.05.2013

First match up today against Israel was as hard as expected. We tied at 2-2 in matches, 10-10 in games and 142-144 in points in favour Israel. We then claimed 1 point each for the tie. Myself and Ronny Aasbø on the 4th spot took the wins home, while Kristian and Hansi were ever so close to taking the last deciding game we needed.

I played Ido Avron in my first match, who was top 150 in the world last year. A very powerful and skilled player. I started off quite steady with a good basic game, and he produced many errors to give me the first game comfortably. Even though he came closer in the second game, it was basically the same story as in the first. In the third game, he found some good angles, shots and caught me a bit off guard. I lost my way a bit and had to let the game go. In the fourth game, I regained focus and startet pressuring my opponent to making mistakes. 3-1 for me.
Although I got away with this match, I need to step it up tomorrow, where a stronger opponent awaits. I did not feel 100% comfortable with my hitting today, but I had a hit in the evening, where I found my groove again. Hopefully it will stick until tomorrow. Go team NORWAY!!

Thursday 02.05.2013

The crucial last group match against Sloveniawas set to be a thriller as our group was still open. I was on first playing the experienced Martin Mosnik. I began playing steady squash in the first game and a half and found myself 1-0 up and 10-8 up. however, the Slovenian used his experience to claw back and take the game on a tie break. 1-1. I upped my game again in the third, taking it 11-6, before losing a close 4th 9-11. This match by now already lasted 75 minutes and this took its toll on the opponent, who couldnt match the "Northug fitness" from Trøndelag. I ran away with the 5th and was 9-1 up, before closing the game comfortably. The opponent was empty..... I had no idea what happened on the other courts, but apparently they already played 2 matches, where Hansi won his match, while Kristian had to see a tough 5 setter go. The ever so steady Ronny took the last match comfortably, giving us the much important 1st spot in the group and setting up the quarter finals against Luxembourg.

We played Luxembourg at 4pm. We beat them last year twice, when they ended up 4th. However, this year, they lacked their number 1 player. We decided to rest Kristian, to give Sindre his debut match this year. Sindre did what he had to do, and breezed through his match 3-0. So did the rest of us, except Ronny who dropped a game. Norway-Luxembourg: 4-0. Next up: Malta in the semi finals, where I play top 60 player Bradley Hindle who is making his comeback after a nasty hip injury.

Friday 03.05.2013

Our Finals spot in this years European Championship was secured after a solid 3-1 win over Malta who did great to battle their way into the semis, which is their best ever in this tournament. They have a strong number 1 and a promising no2 player. There is a bit of a dip down to their number 3 and 4 player, while we have a quite evenly solid team throughout the ranks.

I had to see myself beaten by a better and more experienced player player today. Although progress has been good for me, this accuracy and tempo level is still a bit above me at the moment. Luckily my boys came through for me, winning comfortably 3-0 in their matches. The crucial one was the 2nd string match, where Kristian kept his cool and played well to win a match that could be a thriller. I am glad to see that the boys are playing better and better and I am confident we can all do well in tomorrows final against Israel. They also have an overall strong team, but we want this more!!!!!

Saturday 04.05.2013

FINALS DAY! D-DAY! JUDGEMENT DAY!
You choose!

After a week of hard work and good efforts from the entire Norwegian team, we reached the finals of the 3d division european squash championships 2013 in Amsterdam. A re-match of our first match against Israel who also played with a strong team this year.

Myself and Kristian were on first, which was crucial as I won my first meeting with the Israeli no1, and Kristian was ever so close to beating their no2. I had to keep up my good work, and Kristian had to step it up, something I had full confidence in, as I had followed his games from day 1.

In my first game, it was a close affair as the Israeli clinched it 11-9, both working out some nerves. A crucial game it proved to be. In the second game, I found myself 5-10 down, when I started lifting the ball more, proving to have a good effect on the smaller opponent who was not as secure on the high volleys. This lead to a nice run of points and a mental advantage as I won the game 12-10. I continued my tactics in the 3d, which awarded me the game 11-7. In the 4th game I was caught off guard as my opponent suddenly changed his tactics as well, giving himself more time to play his attacking shots. He won the game 11-3, not allowing me to enter the game at all. In the 5th game it was neck and neck all the way, but he went for his shots, and compared to our first match, this time, they went in. The 5th game was lost 7-11.

I had no idea what the score was on the other courts, but it turned out Kristian lost 3-1, and that gave us a tough, but not impossible task. However, our no3 string did not have a good day on the job and lost 3-0. An ever so steady Ronny on no4, was not really there on the day and halfway through his match we realized we had already lost the match.

It was not meant to be this time as we lost to a better team. At least we moved up one division to play with the great players in 2nd division next year in Italy.

To everyone that followed us, cheered us on, flew in with flags to support and watched the livescores. A big thank you from me and the whole norwegian squash team :)))

European Team Championship 2013 (Preview)

The ETC this year is held at the Frans Otten Stadium in Amsterdam, my "home" venue away from home, from 1st to the 5th of May. Since it is the anniversary of the Dutch Squash Federation, all three divisions for both men and women will be playing here on the 21 squash courts. It has the potential to be a great experience for all of us.

The Norwegian team is now stronger then ever, and we are basically playing with a full club team from Hafrsfjord Squash Klubb from Stavanger.

1. Kim Are Killingberg (8 national gold)
2. Kristian Solhaug ( 4 national gold, 6 silver)
3. Ronny Aasbø, (4 national gold, 1 bronze)
4. Hans Olav Torgersen ( endless gold medals, also european gold 3. div.)
5. Sindre Roaldsøy (Double gold ;)

The draw can be found at tournament software:
http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/draws.aspx?id=25EEDA37-F555-492F-B864-8956EC4131CD

We are drawn against Slovenia and Israel in pool A. Looking at all the teams, we are by far in the toughest group as far as I know. Luckily, I don't know that much. The problem is that these two teams did not play the ETC last year, and therefore has to play in 3. division again, starting with no seeding. If I would predict the top three teams from looking over them in the beginning, I would put all three teams from our pool on the top 3 spots.
I know the Slovenian no1 Martin Mosnik is a strong PSA player, but for the rest, I do not know the other players. Israel has produced several strong players both in senior and junior level, but has fallen off the map these last years, so I have no idea what team they are sending. With their best players they could go all the way.... Meaning 2nd place. As the gold medal this year is branded Norwegian