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Ethan Bird said he wanted to improve his national squash ranking and that is exactly what he did.
After competing in the Australian Junior Championships (AJC) at the end of last year, Ethan was determined to improved his position.
He determined that if he increased his national ranking, he would have a better chance to make it further in a squash competition.
After heading into the AJC ranking number 18, he found he had play the higher ranking player earlier in the rounds, making it harder to reach the later stages.
He set a goal of reaching the top eight by the time the event rolls this year.
The first major event for the new season was held recently in Darwin and Ethan went there with a plan to improve.
The 2017 Australian Junior Squash Open was held at the Darwin Squash Centre from January 12 to 15 and was open to both national and international players.
According to Ethan, the event organisers didn’t rank any players under ninth place for the tournament, meaning Ethan went in the event unseeded in the under 15s.
After his five matches, he ended the competition in 12 place.
“I’m happy with the increase from 18th to 12th,” Ethan smiled.
He won his first match in three, played his second against the number 5 player and lost in four, won his third in three, lost his fourth in five against the 8th place player and lost his final game in five.
His fifth match was against one of the international players, which he found to be the most interesting game because the other player spoke French.
“We signed the whole game,” he giggled.
The next challenge in Ethan’s quest to reach the top eight will be his shift in age division as he will be playing in the under 17s for the next tournament.
He has been playing in the NSW team but that will now be up in the air as he has to re-qualify in the new age group.
The team takes two players and one reserve; Ethan wants to be in the two.
“I’m a little nervous about playing in the higher age group.”
And hee knows what he’s up against.
Ethan plans to train at the Thornleigh Squash Centre in Sydney once or twice a month to help him achieve his goals.
Anne Keen
Anne has been a journalist with the ACM (Australia Community Media) since 2016. She primarily works at the Gloucester Advocate but also contributes to the Manning River Times.
Anne has been a journalist with the ACM (Australia Community Media) since 2016. She primarily works at the Gloucester Advocate but also contributes to the Manning River Times.
