00:00Trinidad and Tobago's local squash players are aiming to reach a new level.
00:04Hence, there's a drive to push upcoming athletes in the sport.
00:07The local squash association has brought in an expert to lay the foundation for top future performances.
00:13Coach David Scott believes it's necessary to build on talent.
00:17We have some brilliant young juniors and this goodly gentleman here, Mr. Dr. Michael Kahn,
00:23who is absolutely brilliant with technique and all spheres of squash,
00:29has brought in very simple techniques that you forget doing it so long.
00:33So it's now making us coaches remember and we're going to go back when we have opportunities
00:37to work with the kids on one-on-one to strengthen their weaknesses
00:40so they'll get better for junior Caribbean championships coming up in June.
00:45They brought in Dr. Michael Kahn.
00:47He served as a dean of human kinetics at the University of Windsor.
00:51In addition, he has competed in several senior championships globally.
00:56He has also played in TNT.
00:57The coaches here have done a tremendous job.
00:59And my job is to try to get the talented athletes that we have here to the next level.
01:04So first of all, what I've been looking at is to make sure they have the skill set that they need.
01:08It used to be that, as you know, when we grew up playing sport in Trinidad,
01:12well, at least when I was young, we made sure we really grounded in proper technique.
01:18And that's still very important.
01:19But what we are doing now with kids is actually developing a range of skills.
01:24So by the time kids are about 14, 15 years old,
01:27they have a variety of skills that they can then take with them as they continue to develop.
01:33He has specific targets to meet, but he knows that there will be challenges ahead.
01:37The older ones, obviously, the technical aspects are not going to be as high a priority as the younger ones.
01:43But I will be making sure they do still have a wide variety of a skill set.
01:47But I'm going to be working them pretty hard in the next couple of hours here tonight.
01:51Long-term objective?
01:53Long-term objective here is to see Trinidad become a major player in World Squash.
01:57So I think there's a talent here.
02:00What's absolutely critical, and this is a big challenge that Trinidad has, is perhaps the lack of facilities.
02:05So as I said, I was lucky enough to go up with a squash right across the street from me.
02:09These kids have to get on court at least six times a week for two to three hours a day.
02:14Otherwise, there's no chance.
02:16Khan is expected to return in November to add to his work and to follow up on the progress made by the athletes.
02:22Sergei Adolfo, TVSexport.
Comments