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June 2006:
From Halifax to Milan ... |
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Yorkshiremen have
a reputation for plain speaking, so having given up terrorising the
BSPA circuit last year to take up a coaching position in Milan, who
better than true Yorkshireman Marcus Berrett to take his life
in his hands and tell the Italians to calm down on court and sort
themselves out !
Here's Marcus's first 'end of term report' from Milan ... |
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Poli Squash
 Polisquash is the oldest squash club in Milan. It was originally set
up by Gordon Steele in May 1987 and is now run by his son, famous
Channel swimmer and ‘Godfather’ Duncan Steele.
I’ve been coming to Poli for around 10 years so I already knew a few
faces before I started work here. The members are incredibly
friendly and very keen on their squash. I do 45-50 lessons per week,
which must be booked a week in advance or there is no chance! It’s
the same with the courts, they are always fully booked!
Also there is no rushing around for a 40 minute game then back to
watch Coronation Street (probably because the TV is so bad!), people
will stay at the Club for three or four hours every evening, giving
it a ‘club night’ feel all the time. |
Work Hard – Play Hard
The Milanese have a reputation of working hard and playing hard and
we are fitting in with that - I don’t finish coaching until 9.45pm,
but in Milan that is no problem, there is still plenty of chance to
go out to a concert or for food.
Unless we have visitors from
England, we tend to go away at weekends. In the winter, we went
skiing two or three times a month from December to April either with
friends from England or meeting friends from Poli on the slopes. Now
that summer has arrived, we will be heading to the beach in our
mobile home. |
5 Nations at Poli Squash
Our 5 Nations Championship were on 27/28 May, and we built on the success
of last year. tournament report
 We had teams from
England, Scotland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and of course the
Republic of Yorkshire. Each team comprised a professional at number
1 leading to a beginner at number 8.
It’s great to see the full
spectrum of playing abilities together in one team. This year with
the Pros, we had Lee Beachill, Nick Matthew, Pete Genever and
myself, along with top Italian players Davide Bianchetti, Simone
Rocca, Andrea Capella and Andrea Torricini.
Malcolm Willstrop also came over to do a coaching exhibition
with Lee, myself and a couple of members.
On Saturday night, in conjunction with the ‘Rockstar’, we
provided music and entertainment at the Carlsberg bar, following in
the footsteps of the successful nights Malcolm has organised in
England. Lee and Andrea Torricini were on guitar, Martin ‘the
voice’ Sunderland on vocals, DJ Fez on the decks and our very own
‘Rockstar’ on everything. With 35 arriving from Queens alone (8 man
team!) it was another great weekend! |
Tournaments
Throughout the year I played four National tournaments, and managed
to win them all – I may be slowing down, but I’ve still got the lob
and drop to fall back on. Like everything in Italy, the tournaments
are incredibly social and very much revolve around food.
Each night
the whole tournament will go out together to eat. Another difference
I have noticed is the noise, the Italians are so much more animated
than the English. However, it does over step the mark quite often,
with prolonged discussions with referees, shouting and racket
throwing.
 At
my last tournament, during my speech I said (in Italian) that this
isn’t the correct way to behave on a squash court.
How much this can be changed and how much is incorporated in
the Mediterranean blood, we will see ...
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Squash in Italy
 Squash in Italy is in a bit of a mess at the moment with the
long-standing battle between the Federation and the Bianchetti run
ASSI squash circuit.
I’m still learning about the politics of the
situation, but I do know it is incredibly damaging for squash.
Davide Bianchetti is a close personal friend whom I coach, I also
work closely with the Federation, so I get to see both sides.
I hope
in the future both parties will be able to put personal differences
aside and focus on what is best for squash. |
The Future
Claire and I got the keys to our new apartment last week, so it’s
fair to say we are settled and plan to stay.
We miss our friends and
family incredibly, because we are very close, but we love the
lifestyle here and would like to make it home.
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