Part 1:
Neil
Harvey:
The Player and the Coach
What was your ambition when you
started your career as a coach?
I left university in 1979 and qualified as a P.E. Teacher. In those days,
P.E. teaching was not competition orientated. So, I got myself a full time
job as a coach. At that time, I'd be really keen on playing, and I'd just be
using coaching to make a living.
When did you decide to start competing?
Well, I then moved to a club called Wanstead, probably one of the strongest
clubs in the UK at the time by playing standards. I started to play as the
head pro, I was still coaching, I was also playing a lot of tournaments.
That's when I took the decision to quit coaching and start make a living
through the tournaments. But I became injured quite quickly, I tore a
ligament on the bone in my groin, and in 1984, I went to Spain for 18
months. I started to coach the Spanish Team. I really loved doing what I was
doing. I didn't think I would every play again, so my mind shifted and went
that way.
So, was that the end of your pro years?
To my surprise, after a year of living in Spain, my injury did start to
heal, so I started to fly back and play the league once a week. Because of
Madrid's altitude and warm conditions, my racket work had really improved
dramatically. I was starting to get some wins against quite good players,
just on a once a week basis. And I would come back to Spain, and start
coaching again. Then my boss at Cannon's, Gary Oliver, offered to sponsor me
if I was helping him in his new Telecourt business (a glass squash court).
What was your best ranking?
On the circuit, I went to, I think, 12 in the world, I beat all the other
players at some point or another, up to number one (I never beat either Jahangir or Jansher). My main problem was, with my injury, I could never
train for long enough to stay fit for a whole tournament. On a one off, I
was still pretty good.
So, when do you decide to become a full time coach?
After the Telecourt business, I carried on at Cannon's sports clubs, playing
as the head pro until 1990, when I actually stopped playing professionally
and decided then I wanted to coach full time for a living. Then in 1992, I
ran a project called "the World Corporate Games", at the South Bank Centre.
We did a pretty good job, we had about 600 participants, and it all went
perfectly well. One of the referees was based at this club here, in
Chingford, and asked me if I would run the programme for them. And it was
that year in April that David Pearson sent Peter Nicol to me to have a look
at.
How did your meeting with Peter go?
Peter and I hit it off straight away. We started to talk about what I
thought would make a top player in the world and we agreed on the kind of
player Peter wanted to become, and we went from there. As I got older, we
were on court 5 or 6 hours a day, that was too much for me. So, as years
went on, we had different players that based themselves with us, to train
with Peter.
Do you think Peter would have got the same results, with or without you, but
that he got there quicker because you were with him?
Yes, I'm pretty sure he would have found a way to get there. But I probably
saved him a lot of time. I recon it probably would take someone maybe 8 to
10 years to get to number one (look at David Palmer or John White, for
example). I'm hoping that, with the methods I use, we can do it in 5 or 6
years.
You are now a very well established coach.
Today, what is your ambition?
It's a very interesting question. I was thinking about it about 18 months
ago. Peter has probably got another 2 or 3 years at the top, and he may
retire right at the very top, I don't think he will hang around too long.
And I thought, what I am going to do now? And then, I watched Beng Hee, who
was with me for 6 years, and I thought, this boy is getting there,
and it's like a sort of overlap. Beng Hee is coming up, he has been up to 7
in
the world ranking and is now about 14. I don't think he is quite there yet, but he is getting
there.
When do you think Beng Hee will be ready?
You know, it's not something you can rush. Yes, you can say that Jansher was
world number one at 17, but Jansher was a complete phenomenon. There is no
easy way, it has to be a daily process, some people like to call it a daily
grind, but it's not a grind, it's actually really about understanding what
makes you go. So I kind of got excited again, and I thought, can I do it
again? Was I lucky that I had a one-off player with whom I worked from start
to finish?
I had Beng Hee pretty much from the start, he is really
developing. I sent him to David Pearson to see if he can help him with
his forehand swing, because we have been doing it for a long time, and I
think he is a bit robotic. So he is gone up there, and he is enjoying the
sessions, and the job is to make him a number one player in the world. And
then I see Azlan and Laurens, they are in the 40's and 50's, they are
improving very quickly as well.
So, you are not retiring then?
I'm in it! It's forever evolving. And I'm also starting a new project with
my friend Gary Oliver, who now lives in Warsaw. He just asked me to do a
Children's foundation here for terminally ill Polish children. I have always
done a lot of charity work, and this project really appeals to me. So, you
see, it's funny how things seems to arrive on your doorstep. Just when I
think there is nothing there for me, something happens.
Did you have a role model?
In my playing days, Jonah Barrington had a very important influence on me,
as a motivational type of person. He wasn't particularly taught technically
but he was tactically so astute and you could get a lot of information just
by watching him.
Is it true that you refused to be the National Coach?
Yes, but I would have been quite happy to be a regional centre, so in the
North of England, the players knew there was David Pearson who was the
national coach, maybe in Yorkshire, there was David Campion, where I was,
there's a group going on. So if players want to go up and down the country,
they could come in and out. Unfortunately, for all sorts of different
reasons, this has not ended up happening. Which I think is a real
shame, because it's a system that worked before, and it's also a way to
identify talent.
As a coach, what are your best achievements,
your best moments?
Quite a few, at different levels.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Peter. The wonderful moment winning the British
Open in '98. Also, after the disappointment of 2 World Opens, his victory
against Barada to win his first World Open in '99. But I think my best memory
is probably Peter's first victory against Jansher in the final of of Al
Ahram in June '97. There is a lead up to that. In April '97, Peter and Jansher
played the longest final in history of the British Open, 2 hours and twelve
minutes. Peter lost 15/10 in the fifth. But I knew the moment had come, and
that Peter would never lose again against Jansher.
Then I arranged a match
between them here, in Chingford, between the 2 tournaments. Peter beat Jansher 3/1, 17/16 in the 4th. I knew he was going to play him again in
Al Ahram if he could get past Barada. It was maybe the most intimidating
situation I've ever seen. Barada had beaten Rodney Eyles the day before in a
filthy match and was playing really, really well against
Peter. Peter was handling him very well, and then Barada kicked Peter from
behind (it's actually in the opening credit of the PSA Super Series), and
Peter found himself flat on his back. But Peter handled him so well, and
then he beat Jansher the next day in front of the Pyramids. It was
incredible.
At another level, there is a man called Peter Gunter, who used to play
leagues for about 10 years. He got a decent pay off from work, and decided
that he would like to turn pro at squash. He was nowhere near the top 30 in
England at the time. Do you remember what I said about the qualities you
must have? Well, he didn't have fast hands, he had asthma, he was not a fast volleyer at all, and he moved like…. a snail! But as I got to know him, I
realised that that man was so well organised, so well planned, so well
disciplined, he was incredibly honest with himself, he knew his strengths
and weaknesses, it meant you could work with him, in a really pure way. He
got better, and better, and he ended up getting ranked about 42 in the
world, which was phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal.
I would also mention Tim Garner. Tim always lacked self confidence through
various reasons, and he did a very good job with me, he is a very hard
working athlete. Once in particular, in Egypt, in the second round, Tim was
playing Alex Gough. We planned the match, and it actually went perfectly
according to plan, literally to every shot (see side panel). And as a coach, if you set a
game plan, and your player actually follows it, and it works, it's a
wonderful feeling.
Are you aware that you can be quite dismissive towards people sometimes,
making them believe
that you are a bit arrogant?
The people who are close to me, they know who I am, I am very tough, but I
am very fair. I honestly don't think I'm arrogant. It is true I don't have
much time to waste with certain people I don't have any affinity with. If
you're one of my players, then you get everything from me, even sometimes to
the detriment of my personal life.
I am 100% loyal, and I expect the same
loyalty from my players, we have a very strong bond. It's like a marriage,
if you like, we have ups and downs, but at the end of the day, I wouldn't be
doing my job properly if I was compromising and all the players who have
worked closely with me, at what ever level they are, have achieved their
potential, and when the time comes to walk away from the game, they can walk
away from it, from me, and me from them knowing that we have done our best,
and it's a nice feeling to have.
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Tim remembers that match very well…
"The match Neil is talking about was the
September 1998 Al Ahram
International.
I had qualified by beating two Egyptians and played Alex
Gough, who at the time was no.5 in the World. I played near perfect squash
as per Neil's instructions and won 3-0.
"It was a fabulous win for me (and
Neil) and meant that I got to play on the glass court by the Pyramids, so
was very exciting.
"Incidentally, I also bet my close friend Julian Wellings that if I made it to the Pyramid stage I would bleach my hair
blonde!! Which I did, surprising many people as that is not my perceived
character!" |
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VERSION
FRANÇAISE