Junior men head off to Ecuador
26-Jul-2010 - Squash Australia
The team of Jacob Alexander, Sam Fife, Walter Koteka, Jack Molloy and Jake Davidson were presented with their playing shirts by Dale Robbins, who was a member of the first ever Australian Junior Men’s team in 1980.
That team of Robbins, Peter Nance, Chris Dittmar and Chris Carter won gold when they upset Pakistan in the final.
Robbins gave a superb speech, during which he told the boys that they should look at their selection as the first step on a journey, rather than as the final destination.
The audience, which included parents, friends, coaches, Brisbane court owners, Col Clapper from the Oceania Squash Federation and Squash Australia staff, also heard from Squash Australia CEO Gary O’Donnell and team manager Rod Eyles.
Eyles pointed out the rich heritage of Australian squash, noting that in the room he, Robbins, Byron Davis and Zac Alexander had all played on Australian junior men’s teams since 1980.
Team number one Jacob Alexander spoke on behalf of the team.
The tournament begins on Wednesday with the individual championships.
Alexander has a bye in the first round, Koteka plays Welshman Sam Huxtable, Fife is up against Korean Go Young Jo, Davidson takes on India’s Abhishek Pradhan and Molloy faces local Alejandro Castro.