“The moment that James and
Malcolm Willstrop came out of the baggage hall at Lisbon Airport was the
realisation of a dream” beamed APS (Portuguese Squash Association) President
Luis Barbosa.
In the five years since the past Federation was left with no funds, there
was only some localised activity in the country but no national body and no
co-ordination.
But six months ago Barbosa, now 40 but national champion for 10 years during
the nineties, felt that he had to make an effort to try to get things back
on track. Aided by friends he started a regional federation, initiated local
events, arranged to send a couple of aspiring youngsters to the Austrian
Junior Open and begun development of a new national federation in
conjunction with ESF & WSF so that in future Portuguese teams will be able
to compete in Europe again.
With the support of sponsors Portugal Telecom, CTT Correios, Country Club
Valtenis, Penha Longa Hotel & Golf Resort, Alfa Romeo, Gatorade, Intermarche,
and others, an invitation to Lisbon became possible for James Willstrop,
current World Junior champion and victor over Jonathan Power, John White and
David Palmer amongst others already this year. With him came top coach /
father Malcolm to provide a great blend of playing and masterclass activity.
Events kicked off at the Country Club Valtenis, at Penha Longa. On one of
the two glass backs a number of players had the opportunity to rally with
the star, hear words of wisdom from his father and all in all have a great
squash treat.
Two who really enjoyed the experience were brothers Benjamin and
Alexandre Mateus. National number one at under 15 and 19 respectively,
they couldn’t believe their luck as they went on court with James. “He was
really kind” said Benjamin, with Alexandre adding “Now I want to play like
him. James is a great example to us”. The two students from Almada will
certainly be approaching training armed with new enthusiasm, shots to try to
copy and new training ideas.
One player who had come considerably further to take part was Joao Caiano.
The national number one had driven over 300km from Porto to Lisbon with his
family. He explained that while things were going well in Porto, his only
real opposition came by playing on the Spanish circuit. “Getting on court
with him has given me a new spark” said the 32 year old bank worker after
being given a guided tour of all four corners of the court, regularly having
started in the wrong direction as the youngster led him a merry dance!
“Being able to play was great, but it is also helpful to us all to see
Malcolm’s methods too” he added.
The local media turned up, especially for the Sunday session which featured
national popstars Sergio Rosado and Monica Sofia, both keen players
coached by Barbosa. Like everybody else they were convinced that progress
for squash has been given another boost by the Willstrop weekend.
Summing up, Barbosa explained that everybody had benefited greatly, he hoped
that the Willstrops enjoyed their first visit to Lisbon and that now he and
his team would be able to go back to the sports authorities with news of
this as they move forward with the fledgling body. “Our batteries have been
really recharged” he said.
James, meanwhile, told the audience how impressed he had been with the
enthusiasm of the players. His final words were “We came here to help make
things happen for the game here, and we hope that we have left behind some
inspiration”.
The audience reaction indicated that he really had.
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Willstrops in Lisbon
Back row (L to R)
Hugo Dias, Gabriel Mateus, Sergio Rosado, Stefano Valentim, Bruno Vilao
Front Row (L to R)
Luis Barbosa, James Willstrop, Fernando Valentim
James with players at the
Country Club Valtenis |
