CAMERON PILLEY

Swedish Round up

2010-02-10T07:29:00.003+11:00

Well the Swedish Open turned out to be a pretty successful event for me. I beat 7th seed Shorbagy in the first round 3-2 in about 70 odd minutes, which was the second 5 setter we've had in a few months. Next up was Guiltier. I beat him 3-2 in about 80 minutes. This was the first time I had taken more than 1 game off him, let alone beat him. He spanked me in the first game 11-4 but then I found my rhythm and kept him at bay for the next 2 games to go 2-1 up. He went 8-1 in the 4th before I broke a string then took 7 points on the trot. I had a match ball at 10-9 but couldn't close it out. The 5th was tight all the way. It started getting a bit scrappy and there was a heap more body contact compared to the other 4 games. At 10-9 I played a little backhand flick from the front left corner and managed to deceive him perfectly. I was over the moon about the win and it will be the start of many more to come.

The semi final against Matthew started the same way as the Guiltier match. Nick killed me 11-4. The legs felt a bit heavy but in the 2nd it was OK. I had several game balls but Nick saved all of them and closed the game out 14-12. Nick played very well to be honest and he went on to win the match 3-0, then beat Willstrop in the final.

My next event will be Malaysia in March and I am really keen to do well again. Back to basics in the training, start over again, and get stuck in!

First event of the year

2010-02-03T05:49:00.002+11:00

The Swedish Open starts on Thursday in Linkoping and from all reports it sounds like a great tournament to be involved in. I'm looking forward to see if that rings true. It is run as the same time as the Bluenose Classic over in Canada, which I played last year. The Bluenose is a great event and if any promoters wish to run a good event for players and spectators alike, then that is the event to learn from!

I play Shorbagy first round in Sweden which will be a rematch of our World Open 2nd round clash which I won in 5. Let's see if I can get off court quicker this time ;) All matches in the main draw will be broadcast live online though www.psasquashtv.com so be sure to get online and have a look. Much better quality than some previous live streaming events they've had apparently so check it out!

Trash talk and sledging!

2010-01-21T18:17:00.002+11:00

Due to a recent request I'd thought I'd write about what goes on, on-court and off-court, in terms of trash talk and sledging between the players. I hate to disappoint but there really isn't a lot of it going on. That's not to say that it doesn't happen at all though! You will always get match ups between players where there might be a bit of history or players who simply don't get on, but it's not usually anything vicious.

To be honest I don't think there's anything wrong with a bit of chit chat on court. I know Goughy was a master of it back in the day. I've seen him play matches where he literally didn't shut up the whole match! He tried to get in my ear when we played in Bermuda years ago but I managed to laugh it off and beat him in 4.

A current player who loves a bit of a sledge would be Liam Kenny. He's a funny bugger! We were playing in Halifax a couple of years ago in the first round and I got the first 2 points of the match in about 5 seconds. He served, I volley dropped. Winner. I served, he drove, I volley dropped. Winner. After the first point he's just gone, 'Bit early for that isn't it?!'. After the second he's gone, 'Yeah that's 2 cheap points. Well done'. He said both comments with a totally serious look on his face. I've just started pissing myself laughing! I couldn't stop! I've had to walk to the front wall and back to get myself together!

So although there's nothing personal going on, there's always a cheeky little comment or two being thrown around. It's all fun and games really and I see it as a part of sport. If someone can crack mentally from a comment or two then you'd take advantage of it. No?

Cam

2009 - Year of the Bagel

2009-12-22T08:40:00.003+11:00

Well that's the end of another year of squash on the PSA World Tour. Even though our season goes through to about March-ish, it's still the end of 2009, it's the festive season, and most players like to take a quick (or long) break to re-charge the batteries and get stuck into the new year.

During the year I couldn't help but notice how many bagels were being handed out. (11-0). Once a tournament had finished I would sometimes flick through the results and see what happened. Every few tournaments someone seemed to be on the end of an embarrassing 11-0!! I came close to copping one from Darwish in the Qatar Classic. He got to 10-o in about 3 minutes but I had it all under control really. At 10-0 down I broke a string during the rally, he hit the tin, then I went on a 4 point rampage! But seriously, I couldn't believe how many bagels I saw this year. I saw one result where the player who copped the bagel, then went on to win the match! What the hell's going on there??? I've handed out a few bagel's during practise over the years but I've also been on the end of one too - in a tournament - in the final. Names will not be shared...

So, although it's been a very positive year on the PSA World Tour (apart from missing out on the Olympics, which by the way, may have been different had Tiger Woods been exposed BEFORE the inclusion of golf), I still see 2009 as the 'Year of the Bagel'.

Have a good Christmas and New Year everyone.

Cheers,
Cam

Dutch Open

2009-11-30T15:55:00.002+11:00

I finished Runner Up in the Dutch Open to Daryl Selby, losing the final 3-1 in 104 minutes. It was a pretty tough final and Daryl managed to play the bigger points better on the day so all credit to him. I am pretty happy with the way I played throughout the event, just felt a little heavy come the final. It was a real shame to see LJ pull out of his semi with Daryl. He was looking extremely sharp in his first 2 matches and it promised to be a great semi. Hopefully the big guy will get it sorted in the next week and be right for India.

Nest event is the PSA Masters in India which starts the 5th. I'm playing local hero Sourav Ghosal first round which should be very tough indeed!

Latest

2009-11-24T23:13:00.003+11:00

The Qatar Classic was won by Nick Matthew in a pretty impressive display against Karim Darwish. He won 3-0 and never looked like losing. I, unfortunately went down to Darwish in the 2nd round where he turned on an impressive display against me!

My next event is the Dutch Open which starts Thursday. I've had 4 days since I arrived back from Qatar and I've use it to just get back in the grove of things. A lot of ball hitting with a practice match thrown in there too. It's a matter of keeping sharp between events both physically and mentally. It's probably easier to be sharp physically to be honest. Mentally you have to keep yourself motivated which can be hard if you're not used to playing so many events back to back.

I will post my results on twitter (campilley) and at the end of the event I will post a summary on here. Good luck to me!!

Qatar Classic and 2nd round predictions!

2009-11-20T22:47:00.006+11:00

I've started the Qatar Classic well this year with a solid 3-0 win over Chris Ryder. As expected, it's bloody hot out here but the air con brings the court back to a somewhat normal temperature. Being based in Europe a lot of the year, it's good to come to these countries sometimes to see a bit of the sun!

I played well with very few unforced errors. Next up is the No.1 seed Karim Darwish at 5pm local time. If anyone fancies watching live web streaming, go to http://www.247.tv/. There were a couple of upsets in the first round but no amazing results.

Here's mine and room mate Stewart Boswell's predictions for the 2nd round:

PILLEY BOSWELL
Pilley Pilley
Lincou Lincou
Ramy Ramy
Tarek Willstrop
Boswell Boswell
Matthew Matthew
Barker Barker
Gregory Gregory

So there you have it folks! Obviously there's no favourtism for room mates here. I've thrown in Tarek as a bit of an upset against Willstrop - big call, I know, but the little speedster is playing out of his skin lately and could move the big fella around.

World Open and current training

2009-11-09T01:10:00.003+11:00

Word Open.
Amr Shabana. 4 World Open titles to his name. I saw him play Hindi in the Quarters and he was in absolutely stunning form. I thought, he's either peaked too early or he'll go on to win the event. It was the latter and he wrote his name into the history books with a 3-0 win over compatriot Ramy Ashour in the final.

For myself, I made the last 16 in the tournament before losing out to Nick Matthew 3-0. That's the best he's played against me for a long time and he was sharp, taking the ball in short very well. I managed a 3-0 win over Joe Lee in the first round then came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Mohammed El Shorbagy in 5 games in the second round. I was really pleased with how I changed my game after the 2nd and then went on to dominate him in the last 3 games (3,4,3). The first 2 games were a bit scrappy. Both of us were taking it short and opening up the court for the other guy. Even though they were close (9,8) he won them both. I straightened up, gave him nothing to hit, and shut him down.

Training.
I have roughly 10 days to prepare for Qatar. It's a big event and I want to consolidate my new Top 16 ranking (15) by putting in a strong performance. It's good to be injury free again (touch wood) and I'll be going back to basics in my training in the next period of time. I'll be playing no more than 3 practice matches, instead training with my coach on structure in my play and trying to back up day after day from hard training.

Update

2009-10-25T08:46:00.003+11:00

It's been good to have about 2 weeks between tournaments, seeing as though the next 6 weeks is going to be ridiculous! I've been getting back to basics in training and also trying to get my hip right. It's been in pretty bad shape since half way through the World Teams so I've been attempting to get that sorted out.

It's a shame most of the major events of our season is packed into about 2 months but that's the way it is. If someone is unfortuate enough to be injured as the most important 2 months of the year is about to kick off - ala Borja Golan - it can destroy their ranking in the blink of an eye. Obviously people get injured all the time and it's just a matter of trying to recover as best they can, but it's sad that we don't have a proper season where major events are spread out over the course of the year.

The biggest, most important event of the year starts next week and all players involved will be gunning for the title of World Champion. Kuwait is the host this year and it promises to produce some entertaining matches. Hong Kong finished a week ago so everyone has at least had a few days to repair their bodies and head to Kuwait refreshed and ready to roll! Bring it.

World Team Championships

2009-10-05T22:35:00.003+11:00

Australia just finished 3rd at the World Team Champs held in Odense, Denmark last week. Seeded 4th at the start of the event, we managed to better our seeding again (2007 - seeded 4, finished 2nd) after defeating England in the 3rd/4th playoff. Egypt won the event to claim the title for the 2nd time. Their team consisted of 3 of the world's top 4 players, not a bad line up really.

Our team consisted of David Palmer (World rank 6), Stewart Boswell (16) myself (17) and Aaron Frankcomb (39). We finished 1st in our pool by defeating Wales and The Netherlands. We had a close call against the Dutch but managed to pull through. In the round of 16 we beat Ireland with relative ease then dominated Pakistan in the Quarter finals. In the semis we faced the No.1 seeds Egypt. Two years ago in the same event we caused a major upset by beating them 2-1 so we knew we were capable of another upset this time. I was up first for Australia against current World Champ Ramy Ashour. Ramy took the first after I had 2 game balls then I squared it up taking the 2nd. He killed me in the 3rd with some ridiculous squash and he got the 4th 11-9 in a tight game. Next up was Palmer against Current World No.1 Karim Darwish. It was a great game of squash which had everything. Dave is the most passionate player I have seen play for his country. Up until this event, Palmer had never lost a match in the World Team Championships. An awesome record. In a gruelling match Darwish came out on top with a tough 3-1 win.

We got back to our hotel after our semi at 12:30am with the 3/4 playoff scheduled for 10:30am. Interesting. Everyone involved with the Aussie team knows what it means to play for our country and how important every single match is. After such a dissappointment in losing to Egypt, there was no way in the world we would roll over easily for a 3rd/4th playoff - especially to England! Palmer - feeling the effects of his match about 12 hours earlier - put up a strong fight against Willstrop but went down 3-1. I managed to steady the ship with a big 5 set win against Ali Walker. We always seem to go the distance. It came down to Bozza against Pete Barker. The big Bozman came through with the goods to win it for Australia and it felt like we had just won the tournament!

All the boys were stoked and it was such a good team spirit during the whole week. Rod Eyles brought an incredible amount of experience to the table and it was great to have him involved with the team. He has been there and done it so many times before he can easily relate to how the players are feeling and what they're going through. I hope he is involved for many years to come.

Next event is the Hong Kong Open next week.

Quarter Final day

2009-09-21T21:24:00.002+10:00

Yesterday I managed to get past World No.5 Nick Matthew, 3-1, to earn a place in the Quarter Finals. The 90 minute match was kind of played in two parts. I feel I dominated the match until I was 2-0 and 10-6 match ball up. Yep, 4 match balls... Then Nick played some great squash from 10-6 down and managed to force the tie break and sneak the game. He had a 3 point lead at 7-4 up in the 4th, and at this point I just had to hang in there, make it tough, and play each rally as it came. There was no thinking about winning the match, it was literally point by point.
It's so pleasing when you can see the hard work you've done in training, pays off. As I can suffer from cramps from time to time, it was also a great feeling to feel quite strong at the end of the match.

I found it funny to read in the press that maybe the reason Nick lost was that a) he played the wild card in the first round (had no rhythm and no feel for he court); and b) he was 'still flat' from the British Open. Does that mean he was 'flat' during the British Open? I would love to see him not flat then! Correct me if I'm wrong but if you've just won the British Open, or any big tournament for that matter, you have a fair bit of momentum and confidence going into your next event. And playing the wildcard, surely that's a nice way to ease into the tournament.

I play Karim Darwish tonight in the Quarters and as the glass court is in absolute shambles, the matches will be played on the traditional glass back courts in the club. It's a massive challenge playing the World No.1 in his home country and I can't wait to test him out.

Petrosport Open - EGYPT!

2009-09-20T06:06:00.002+10:00

Well I am now in Cairo playing the Petrosport Open. It's a pretty big event with a total prize pool of $135,000 USD - significantly more than the 'prestigious' British Open last week ($75,000). The first round was played today and there was only one upset really with Reda defeating Bozza 3-1. I managed to beat Ong Beng Hee 3-1. I played quite well actually. Hitting the ball nicely and surprisingly moving very well!
I'm playing Nick Matthew tomorrow at 12pm in a re-match of the British Open. Hopefully this time my ankle will pull up ok in the morning. Last week in Manchester was pretty embarrassing and I possibly shouldn't have played with my ankle that bad. But I've never retired before or during a match so I thought, 'what the hell, give it a go..'
Looking forward to tomorrow's match for a place in the Quarter finals of a Super Series Platinum event.

British Open update 2

2009-09-12T19:58:00.002+10:00

Yesterday was Round 2 in the British Open and unfortunately I went down to Nick Matthew 3-0. The day didn't start well when I woke in the morning and realised I could barely put any weight on my right leg. I didn't twist my and or leg or anything in the 1st round, but something must have jarred during the match. The Physio managed sort my hip out in time for my 2pm match but even with my ankle heavily strapped, I couldn't really lunge on it. Pretty disappointing to be honest as I was looking forward to playing on the glass court against a 'local' boy in the British Open. Shit happens I suppose!

Selby is playing really well this tournament and I think he will push Matthew today. Azlan is also on form and if he plays anything like he did in the World Games a month ago, he will beat Willstrop.

Petrosport Open in Egypt starts next week and I fly out on Wednesday. All the top players are playing and those who make the final in the British will need to back up quite well for their 1st round next week!

British Open update

2009-09-11T07:22:00.002+10:00

The first round of the main draw got under way today in the British Open in Manchester. The top 16seeds all got through bar Amir Atlas Khan and Shorbagy. Kiwi Kashif Shuja contained Shorbagy extremely well and didn't give him much chance to hit outright winners, while Selby was 1 game up and 9-4 up before Khan decided to call it quits.

I played Farhan Meboob and managed to get a 3-0 win under my belt. He beat me a year ago in Egypt and 4 weeks ago in Malaysia - both matches going the distance - so I was really up for this one. I played most of the match down the right side wall, hammering his backhand. The tactic worked and I got an 13-11, 11-4, 11-9 win.

I play Nick Matthew tomorrow at 2pm. It will be on the glass court at the National Centre and hopefully a good crowd will turn up.

British Open and 24hrs on a bike!!

2009-08-27T02:33:00.003+10:00

With the British open getting under way on the 10th of September, my training is starting to get more specific. I'm bringing in more explosive sessions, specific movement patterns and a lot more ball hitting than over the last few weeks. I'll get more practice matches under my belt in the coming fortnight and try and get everything coming together.

Last weekend I travelled with my Bro up to Assen in North Holland for his 24hr race. I had been to one of his races before but hid bike basically fell to pieces on the track and he pulled out. This time he absolutely demolished the field and won by 8 laps of the 8km track. He covered over 400km in 24hrs. Pretty bloody crazy if you ask me. I stayed awake the whole race giving him the food and drink he needed and I thought I was tired!

Results

2009-08-06T05:52:00.002+10:00

Just a quick rundown of my results in the past month. It kicked off with the Aussie Doubles Champs....

Australian Doubles Championships - Winner Men's (with Stewart Boswell)
Australian Open - Runner Up (to Stewart Boswell!)
World Games (in Chinese-Taipei) - Quarter Final (to Azlan Iskander)
Malaysian Open - Round of 16 (Farhan Mehboob)

All in all, not too unhappy with my results. I was looking to go further in the Malaysian and I REALLY wanted that Aussie Open title. That is high on the priority list for next year.

Next event is the British Open in the second week of September so until then I'll be preparing for that.

Aussie Open Runner Up

2009-07-24T19:49:00.002+10:00

Unfortunately I couldn't get the last 2 points of the match in my Australian Open final against Stewart Boswell. The match went the distance and at 9 all in the 5th it was there for the taking. In the end, Boz played the final 2 points better and got the win. It was 98 mins of solid squash and although there weren't too many lets, there were a few stoppages due to the slippery floor. Boz took the first then we traded games for the rest of the match. It was a good clean match with only poor refereeing getting in the way sometimes. Boz now has 4 Australian Open Titles to his name which is pretty bloody good! I think he won his 1st in 2002.

I somehow copped a conduct stroke at 6-5 in the 5th for trying to get the refs to make a call. It seems like a growing habit of refs to not call a ball that is out, down or double bounce. They seem to wait and see what the players are going to do about it. Example: Boz clips the out line on a straight drive. I look out at the refs as I'm going back to play it. The refs stare back blankly. Boz hits the next one in the tin because he knows it was out. Boz gets up the ref for not calling it out, I'm frustrated too so I start getting up them once Boz is done having his say. 'Conduct Stroke Mr Pilley'. Oh ok, cheers. I'm not sure if the refs just aren't confident in their calls - which seems to be the case - or they simply don't know what going on. They've got the best seat in the house to watch the game so there shouldn't be any excuses of, 'I couldn't see it'. Anyway,that's my 2 cents worth.

I have just finished playing in the World Games here in Chinese-Taipei (formally Taiwan). After winning my first 2 rounds I went out to Azlan 3-0. The game scores weren't too bad but to be honest he was all over me. Want a re-match soon!!!

Aussie Open update...

2009-07-18T23:24:00.002+10:00

Today I won my Semi final against Beng Hee 3-2. I went on pretty focused and up for the match today. It seemed to pay off as I went out to a 2-0 lead and leading about 8-5 in the 3rd. Bengy realised that things weren't looking the best for him and totally changed his game. He started going short on almost every chance he had and was hitting some great shots. He took 6 points on the trot and won it 11-8 and followed it up in the 4th winning a comfortable 11-5.

I haven't got the bet 5th set record so I said to myself right, get a good start and hold the lead. Bengy went out to a 7-3 lead. Just what I was after. It was my turn to change tactics and I started slow balling it down the backhand wall, waiting for a loose one to take in short. Not the most fun way to play but I had to shut down the angles I was giving Bengy! In the end I got there 12-10!

Bozza won the other semi 3-1 against The Momenator. It was a pretty tough match and as Boz said afterwards, playing Tarek is like playing a different sport! The angles he hits, where he stands on court, his speed....You have to be sharp against him and Boz was! Final tomorrow is at 12:30pm.

Aussie Open update

2009-07-17T22:45:00.002+10:00

I won my Quarter final today against Aaron Frankcomb 3-0. The 2nd game was pretty tight (11-9) as I stepped of the gas abit and Frank reduced his unforced errors. The 1st and 3rd were fairly comfortable score wise, though each rally was pretty well competed. I can't say I'm too impressed with the floor on the glass court. The sweat just sits on the floorand doesn't get absorbed at all! When a player goes to kick the sweat away it just spreads it all over the place. Luckily, we have a great bloke sweeping the court who is all over it! He loves it!

Playing Bengy tomorrow who had a close one with Kiwi Martin Knight. A big 5 setter and Marty even had a few match balls in the 5th! Great effort from the choice bru kiwi. Other results went as seeded - Boz beat Campbell and Tarek beat Bruce Reid (Scott Arnold).

Australian Doubles and Singles!

2009-07-16T12:10:00.002+10:00

Well last week myself and Bozza took out the Men's Australian Doubles Title, beating the choice bro Kiwi team of Campbell and Martin 2-0. It was a pretty tough final and those 2 boys are a solid doubles pairing. They don't blast you off the court with an array of shots but they play error free squash which makes you work hard for every point. In the mixed, Amelia and I came in 6th. It was a good week in Melbourne and as well as winning a title, I didn't even get Swine Flu!

I'm now in Clare (Clare Valley - great little part of Oz for wines!) with the main draw event starting today. Matches start at a sleepy eyed 11am and run throughout the day. I've got a 2pm match against wild card Justin Beard. Top seedsfor the event are Bengy, Bozza, myself and The Momenator (Tarek Momen). It's a strong draw this year and the biggest prizemoney on offer for years although I'd love to see it get back up to Super Series level!

Australian Doubles Champs

2009-07-07T21:55:00.003+10:00

So I'm in Melbourne now at the Australian Doubles Championships. Playing in the Men's with Bozza and the Mixed with Amelia Pittock. It goes for 3 days and then next week the Australian Open starts (singles). Looking forward to that event but concentrating on the Doubles first. We've had 2 days of practice and I think my shoulder is about to fall off. Trying to hit the dot's off the ball make's your arm sore I've found out. But it should be a good week, there's a lot of team's competing and it'll be fun. I'm taking the backhand side in both events - a chage from 2 years ago when I was a forehand specialist! I'll post some results each day for all those Doubles lovers out there!

Australia

2009-06-30T14:30:00.003+10:00

Back home in Australia at the moment. Arrived in the country last Saturday and get to spend a week back home (Yamba) before heading down to Melbourne, aka Swine Flu City, for the Australian Doubles Champs. Last week I had a forced layoff for a week so been getting back into the training the last few days. Talk about rusty! Feels like I haven't played in 3 years! Had a few games today with Ryan Cuskelly, who only lives 50 mins up the road, and it was a good old hackathon.

I did a little plyometrics session yesterday and it's a joke how sore I am today! My quads are killing me. But, it's all good, need to do some hard work for another 10 days or so before the Aussie Open starts. I can't wait for that event as my old man and sister will be coming to watch the tournament too. They haven't seen me play a proper match in years so hopefully I can perform for them!

Clinic with the Dutch Transplant Squash Team

2009-06-24T04:55:00.002+10:00

Last Sunday, Piedro Schweertman, Morgan Pilley and myself were invited to do a clinic with the Dutch Transplant squash team. It was a great success with team members getting on court with each of us and playing a game or two. We enjoyed being on court with the guys and having a sweat, while I’m sure the team enjoyed being on court with us and getting run around!

To start the clinic, everyone was introduced and we had a chat about squash and the how the Team would do in Australia (the Games are held this year on the Gold Coast, Australia). Two members of the team have a really strong chance of winning Gold for the Nederland’s and we really hope they do well (though obviously I’d like to see Australia do well!).

Piedro and I then did a demonstration for the crowd, playing one game to 11. We played some serious points but also some fun rallies with trick shots and great retrieving thrown in there as well. Richard – team member - refereed the game and it was good to see he wasn’t too biased towards his fellow countryman!

Piedro, Morgan and I had a great time doing the clinic and getting on court with the team. We wish them all the best in Australia and look forward to watching their progress throughout the event.

My Racquet Bag!

2009-06-19T06:36:00.003+10:00

I thought this post I would give a sneek peek into what I carry in my racquet bag to a tournament!

* 4-6 racquets (Karakal obviously!)
* Squash shoes
* Spare string and grips
* Massage ball, tennis ball, squash balls
* Bandana's, wrist bands, head bands
* Skipping rope
* I-pod
* PSA Tour guide
* First AID kit (strapping/band aids/anti inflammatory's etc)

That's basically about it along with my playing kit and everything. Most of it will stay in my bag when I go to training each day. I'll usually have a couple of drink bottles in there too.

Cam

Current Training

2009-06-08T22:56:00.002+10:00

After doing a few weeks of longer, slower sessions like endurance runs/continuous ghosting, I'm starting to get into some more squash specific movements. Obviously the Aussie Open, World Games and Malaysian Open are all events I'd like to do well in. Being the first events of the season it would be nice to kick things off on the right foot. Another part of training I'm really focusing on his my flexibility (possibily the most unflexible player on tour!). Need to be able to touch my toes by the start of the season. Come on!

In other news, my beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs have been extremely disappointing of late. They seriously can't get their act together. On paper they are a Top 8 team but that means nothing if they can't get it together on the field and unless they sort themselves out very soon they'll be missing out on the finals this year. Wingy was one of NSW's best players last week, and they clearly brought him on too late. WTF Bellamy!? As soon as he was out on the paddock NSW looked a different team - a team that could win!

Latest News

2009-05-19T17:06:00.002+10:00

Back in the Netherlands now after some good, tough training in Spain. I'll be doing another 3 weeks of weights sessions before I start to get more specific leading up to the Aussie Open.

Testing some new KARAKAL strings at the moment and been pretty impressed by them. It's thinner string which is playing really well. The new shirts and new kit are pretty impressive too, sharp design and good colors.

Recent News

2009-05-10T18:33:00.002+10:00

Training has been going well lately with no injury concerns (touch wood) or complaints. I've been settling into a nice routine at the moment and am already looking forward to next season. Apart from the physical side of my sessions, I've been fixing a couple of things up in my swing. No major overhaul or anything like that, just a tweak here and there to help straighten some shots up.

I'm off to Spain on Monday to train for a week with Borja Golan which should be good. He's one of the fittest guys on tour so it'll be good to do some solid training with him. I'll be heading home at the end of June for an exciting Doubles Camp in Melbourne followed by the Australia Open, World Games and Malaysia. Until then I'm just going to be putting the body through a bit of pain!

OFF SEASON TRAINING

2009-04-19T23:40:00.003+10:00

My next event isn't going to be until the end of June or start of July so it's basically just training from here on in. The last few weeks I have been getting into my program and now it is pretty full on. Most days will involve 2 sessions of about 2 hours. Obviously not all on court training - it's usually 50/50 on court and off court training. I find if I do too much training on the squash court it takes it's toll on my joints and also mentally it can make me quite flat and unmotivated.

My on court training at the moment involves drills with a coach - hitting to certain areas of the court, different types of movement, and court awareness. Also just fixing up little things in my swing, whether it's with a coach or hitting by myself, you can never be content!

Off court I've been hitting the weights, trying to put on something which resembles muscle really. I've been doing upper and lower body. It's a good time of the year to get stuck into some weights because there are no tournaments, and it can slow you down a bit on court if you're not playing many matches. Also things like long runs, plyometric training, sprints, intervals... There's a lot of different training which can be done - I really like to mix things up as I find I can get bored doing the same training for weeks on end.

If you'd like to know anything else regarding my training or just squash training in general, feel free to drop me an email.

SEASON WRAP UP

2009-04-01T03:12:00.003+11:00

Going off the current PSA calendar, the Canary Wharf Classic was my last event for the season, unless of course something pops up at the last minute. Canary Wharf was won by Palmer who beat Willstrop in the final 3-1. It was a great tournament by the big fella who was in some special form all week.

2008/09 has been a fairly long season, my first event at the start of the season was the Dutch Open back in September. There was the Petrosport Open in June but it was basically in the middle of the players off season training period! From September to December it was really full-on with a lot of travelling. My best event was probably the Hong Kong Open where I made the Quarter Finals, beating El Hindi and Matthew then losing out to Willstrop. I also played well in Saudi Arabia, where I made the last 16, beating Tuominen before losing out to Guiltier 3-1.

January and February were not great in terms of results, though I thought I actually played quite well. My training in Australia over December and January was disrupted by an eye injury but I was happy with how I competed despite this.

We also saw a new World No.1 get crowned in Darwish. It ended the rein of Shabana which he held for about 33 months or so. On the women's side of the game, Nicol David is just dominating the game! Undefeated in 2008 and you could count the number of losses she's had in the last 3 years on one hand!

In my next blog I'll be having a look at what training I'll be doing during the upcoming months.

Cam

CANARY WHARF CLASSIC

2009-03-15T01:06:00.004+11:00

Now that I base myself a lot in The Netherlands, namely Den Haag, it's great to see Tommy Berden and his team secure the rights the to 2011 Men's World Open to be staged in Amsterdam! It should be an unbelievable event which will be held in conjunction with the Womens World Open. But for now my main focus is the Canary Wharf Classic starting on the 23rd. It's a pretty strong draw this year as I've got current World No.3, Frenchie, Greg Guiltier first round. He lost first round last year and I managed to make the final so we'll see if I can continue that trend this year....
With not many big events on the calendar at the moment it seems all the top guys have chosen to play this event, with 8 of the worlds Top 10 competing. It's a split first round and I'm on the 2nd day (23rd).

Virginia

2009-02-22T05:51:00.002+11:00

The next stop on tour is in Richmond, Virginia, USA! I arrived Friday night and the Main draw starts play on Monday with a split first round. This is a Super Series Silver event so we've got the Top 8 players in the world competing as well as a few Top 20 too. I'm playing a qualifier first round. This is another really well run tournament; the hotel is unbelievable and the glass court will be set up on the grounds of the University of Richmond.

There's not a lot of big events coming up on the calendar in the next few months which is a bit disappointing. We played quite a few events back to back towards the end of last year it's a shame it can't bit more evenly spread out over the season. My next event after this is the Canary Wharf Classic in London from the 23-27th March. I was seeded 7 last year and finished Runner Up to Willstrop. This year I am seeded 11 and playing No.2 seed Guiltier first round. It's probably the strongest 5 star event I've seen in a while and for those who are going to watch, it should be a real spectacle!

Game day preparation

2009-01-30T07:34:00.002+11:00

On the day of my match, I don't do a lot different to be honest. It will involve having a light hit/jog in the morning, hydrating myself, chilling out, and maybe watching some of the other matches. Obviously I don't want to be exerting a lot of energy shopping or walking around the city, that can wait for a rest day or after the tournament.

From about 3 days out from the tournament, I try to get a lot of carbs in my meals. Usually brown rice and pasta, brown bread, foods with slower releasing energy. The morning of my match I'll eat what I always eat. When I first started playing tournaments and going to these big hotels with massive buffet breakfasts, I would eat till I burst! I've learned my lesson of the years and now eat as I normaly would. Cereal, toast and juice. Pretty simple. Lunch - maybe a sandwhich or pasta or something. In between I'll snack on fruit, nuts, protein bars...

Then if all goes to plan - win the match!

2009

2009-01-05T17:45:00.002+11:00

With 2009 off and running, I'm sure a lot of people have made new year's resolutions for themselves. I can't really say I have made any, though squash wise there are a few things I'm trying to improve on. Number 1 would be to get more consistent. Although I had some nice wins in 2008, I also lost to some lower ranked players which I really shouldn't of. I'm really going to work on that this year and try and find some solid consistency.

I'm not a huge goal setter myself. Obviously I have things I want to achieve in the game but I tend to keep them to myself. I have experimented with writing them down, looking over them, and trying to reach them, but I find it didn't work for me. Everyone is different. Some athletes may find they have to write their goals and aims down, otherwise they don't push themselves to reach the top. I feel if I train properly, prepare well and focus on the task at hand, then things should fall into place. I can say that my biggest aim of 2009, is to play better than 2008!

Cam Pilley

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T10:30:00.004+11:00

Just wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! It's Boxing Day here in Oz so that means it's time for the Boxing Day Test match with the South Africans. (that's cricket for those who didn't understand the last sentence...) Should be a cracking game. The Aussies have to win this one to tie up the series 1-1 in the best of 3 Test matches.

Getting back to squash, it's been good to have a couple of days off but tomorrow I'll be back into the grind of training. I've got a few weeks till ToC in New York next month, and I'm really looking to put a good showing in there to kick the new year off on a good note.

Cam

Saudi Arabia 2

2008-12-17T07:27:00.002+11:00

I played Greg Guiltier tonight in the 2nd round of the Saudi Arabian event and unfortunately he won 3-1. I played very well in the 2nd game (the one I got) but didn't play like that enough throughout the match. There were patches where I controlled the game quite well and made him do some running but he's a quick little bugger! I'm bac in Australia for a while now before heading over to the States for the Tournament of Champions in New York. Looking forward to putting the feet up for a few days, re-charge the batteries, then getting back into it!

Saudi Arabia

2008-12-15T06:44:00.001+11:00

I'm competing in Saudi Arabi at the moment in the World's richest squash event. The setup here is pretty impressive as we're staying at the resort which the Squash Club and Glass Court are setup! I won my first round match against Olli Tuominen 3-0 today. This was a match I really wanted to win as it's the last tourny of the year plus I have never made the 2nd round here in 3 previous attempts. I didn't play amazing but I kept it pretty solid for the whole match. Olli had a decent lead in the 3rd but with a few unforced errors let me back into it. Now I play Frenchie Guiltier the No.2 seed on Tuesday - have a rest day tomorrow.

Guest Editor - L.J. Anjema

2008-12-05T01:05:00.002+11:00

Ok, so without further ado, I present my guest editor, Mr L.J. Anjema and his post.....

In my quarter-final match during the Qatar Classic about one month ago I got confronted with –apparently- a ‘new’ rule in professional squash and also with my own frustration. After an important hard fought rally which I won, I yelled to myself in encouragement: “Come on!”, and as I’m Dutch and as I was talking only to myself, my spoken language during my outburst, was Dutch.

I think every professional athlete knows that an exclamation of this sort, though it might sound aggressive, is not meant in a hostile manner or directed personally to your opponent. It is a positve reinforcement/encouragement to yourself. After all, we’re not delivering pizzas, we’re trying to perform under high pressure at world class level in sometimes brutal conditions.

After my “Kom op!” I was surprisingly asked by the referee to refrain from speaking my own language on court. I don’t get angry quickly, but this comment infuriated me! This comment pressed all the wrong buttons I had! Why should I speak another language if I talk to myself? Where did this rule suddenly come from? Do I have to first: think it, then: translate it and finally: yell it out? And all this in the heat of the moment? The fact that I can speak a few languages doesn’t mean I have to choose the language of my referees preference. What if I was from China and I could only speak Chinese, should I then not be allowed to say anything at all on court?

The referee said that he couldn’t tell whether I was swearing or not. This I could hardly understand because ‘kom op’ and ‘come on’ look and sound mysteriously similar, especially after a long rally you’ve just won. And besides that, if I WAS swearing and the referee couldn’t understand my native language, how many people in the Qatarian crowd could have? Isn’t the most important reason behind the language abusal rule that it might be offensive to the public and therefore not to be tolerated? The fact that the referee can’t understand my language: is that supposed to be MY problem? Well… that day, it was!

I don’t generally make a lot of fuss about umpires’ calls or argue much but this went too far. Of course, besides calling lets, strokes and the score, they should watch players’ behavior and make sure rackets are not flying all over the place. But referees are referees and shouldn’t take up the role of policemen.

And lastly, let’s look at behavior: I get the feeling that it is more and more expected that players should become quiet emotionless squash ball hitting robots. And this for ‘the good of the game’ and a ‘professional image’!

I couldn’t disagree more. We have a great tour with players from different countries, backgrounds, cultures and with different personalities. We should allow them to come out and show themselves without being shut up every time they open their mouths on court. It is the personalities of the players that first-time-squash-viewers are attracted to and might or might not indentify with.

Let’s not put one boring mold on the definition of ‘good behavior’. It is not only the sport itself but also the personalities that make a sport entertaining to watch. Let’s allow and bring back some emotion and some passion in this awesome sport! And yes, that is for the good of game.

L.J.

2008-11-23T15:46:00.002+11:00

Friday night I lost to Willstrop in the Quarters of HK 3-0. After playing quite well in my first 2 rounds I was a bit disappointed to lose in straight games. But to honest, James was far too good on the day. I played pretty loose and gave him way too many angles to work with and he made me pay the price. Overall I'm happy with my tournament and can't wait to get to Macau and try and do even better. It was my first quarter final appearance in a Super Series event and hopefully not the last. Definitely a learning experience I'll take on board with me.

2008-11-21T01:47:00.002+11:00

I had a good win today over Nick Matthew 3 - 0 in the 2nd round of HK. I felt pretty good on there tonight and everything I did seemed to work, which is nice to experience after some poor form recently. The first game I played quite solidly and won it ok. Then in the 2nd game after having a bit of a lead, I let it slip and he got back to 9-10. He served from the right side and I slotted a nick off the serve to go 2-0 up. In the 3rd I got off to a great start going 5-0 up. He managed to get a few points back but I pulled myself together again and some how ran away with it. I play Willstrop tomorrow night in the Quarter finals. Hopefully get some revenge from losing in the final of the Canary Wharf Classic to him back in March. He beat Beng Hee today.

2008-11-20T01:05:00.002+11:00

Today I won my first round match in the HK Open against Wael El Hindi, 3-0. I was 2-0 and 6-3 up in the 3rd when he had to retire through injury. He came on court with his wrist strapped so there was obviously something wrong, but even if you're playing someone who is not 100%, you still have to get the job done. It's sometimes tougher mentally playing a match like that! There were't too many upsets in Round 1. Borja beat LJ 3-2, Ali beat Olli 3-1 and I think that's about it. I play Nick Matthew tomorrow night in the Round of 16 and I hope I can continue hitting the ball nicely and get into a tough match!

Hong Kong

2008-11-16T14:13:00.003+11:00

The PSA Men's World Tour is now in Hong Kong and it's a nice little weather change to Europe that's for sure! After bowing out in the Quarter final's of the Santiago Open last week, I'm looking forward to getting some form back this week. We start play on Wednesday and I'm playing El Hindi from Egypt first round. The HK event has been around for years now and there's some great player's who have their name on the trophy. HK is definitely one of the favourite events for both the PSA guys and WISPA girls. People are so friendly and the food is awesome. I'm here for a week before jumping over to Macau on the ferry.

My guest editor will be posting this week from HK on an incident which he was involved in in Qatar.

Santiago De Compostela!

2008-11-07T01:24:00.005+11:00

Well after winning my first round match against Johnny Harford in the 1st round, I'm playing Columbian Miguel Rodriguez tonight in the Quarters. There was only one upset in the first round with defending champ Davide losing to Simon Rosner in a massive 5 setter. The court and setup here in Santiago is pretty impresive actually. The hotel is joined to the shopping centre where the glass court is setup so that's very convenient, and the glass court itself seems to play really well!

There's going to be a guest writer within the next week regarding an incident at the Qatar Classic so make sure you check it out...

2008-11-03T04:09:00.000+11:00

The Qatar Classic has just finished and Darwish took the title over Shabana. Unfortunately I had a disappointing loss in the first round to young Egyptian Tarek Momen. I’m in The Hague at the moment for a few days, getting ready for the 3 Star event in Santiago, Spain, which starts next Wednesday. I’m seeded 3 for the event behind LJ (Laurens Anjema) and Bozza (Stewart Boswell). The guys who played the tournament last year gave it the thumbs up and it’s being played on an all glass court in a massive shopping centre so it should have a good atmosphere. Defending champ Davide Bianchetti is playing along with a bunch of other guys ranked between 20 and 30 so it’s going to be a tough tournament. 10 days after Spain I’m off to Hong Kong and Macau for a couple of events. Hong Kong is one of my favourite events and it will be the first time I’ve been to Macau!

Busy times ahead

2008-10-22T21:52:00.002+11:00

This next period up until Christmas is a pretty busy one for the squash world. I've got 5 more events which I'm playing before I head back to Oz for the 'festive period'. I can't wait to get home and chill out for a bit really. It will have been a hectic few months by the time I get home. I think I'll be playing some golf, having a surf and relaxing...
Next up is the Qatar Classic which starts on the 27th. I've got Mr Lincou first round which will be a tough one, but I've never played him before so i'm looking forward to it.
The bulk of my training is basically done for the year as we pretty much travel from tournament to tournament from now on. If I have a week or 2 without an event then you still train but it's just to keep you sharp and on your toes. You don't want to be ruining your body right before the tournament. With 5 days before I play, preparation starts now.
Cam

World Open is on!

2008-10-11T01:14:00.002+11:00

With the World Open qualifying starting on the 11th of October, all eyes are going to be on Manchester and some of the world's best athletes. There's going to be some great matches during the week long tournament as all the players are no doubt trying to peak for the event. I'm heading there on the 12th and due to play a qualifier first round, with a possible meeting with the young fella Ramy Ashour in the 2nd round.

Shabana is the defending champ but there's so many players who can win the title. There's guys who seem to do well in every world open and there's guys who are hitting form at the right time. Should be an interesting fight for the title....