Head Coach Lewin Marsden keen to raise profile of Scarborough Squash Academy

With over 40 years of professional coaching experience, Lewin Marsden arrives at Silver Royd having moved to Scarborough two years ago, and the 62-year-old is excited by the prospect of taking the Academy forward, writes Charlie Hopper.

He said: “It’s really interesting, because for two years I didn’t even know there was a squash club here.

“I was driving past the club one day and the sign caught my eye but I’d never even been to the courts until I had my Covid jab at the rugby club and I came to have a look.

“The facilities are amazing, and I introduced myself to the staff and they offered me the opportunity to come in and take over.”

The Health and Social Care field supervisor is in the process of retiring and has some exciting ideas which will help him drive the Academy in the right direction.

He added: “There’s not many places which can boast about courts like these and the whole facilities of the club are exceptional.

“This place (Squash Academy) should have ten times the membership that it does and we really need to start treating it like a proper Academy, where people learn something when they step onto the court.

“My vision is to raise the whole profile of the Academy, by visiting the local schools/colleges and getting the youngsters playing the game.

“It’s important for us to fill up from the bottom and bring in new blood to try and improve the number of people we have here.

“There’s a distinct lack of women and I’m going to try and bring in a lot of new faces to grow the club.”

The coach is also looking forward to the long-term future and is hoping to make Silver Royd the hub for Squash.

“My long-term aim is for it to become a centre of excellence and I’ve got really good contacts throughout the sport.

“I’ve travelled around the world coaching and met so many different people who will be able to help us out.

“I genuinely believe that we can turn the Academy, not only into a place for Scarborough players, but for the clubs around us and I’m sure that we’ll be able to link up with them soon.”

Squash is included in the membership at Barons, and you can book by calling the gym.