Squash Girls in Motion champions female coaches and volunteers

The Squash Girls in Motion festival is continuing to break down barriers to participation in squash by championing and nurturing female coaches and volunteers.

The second edition of the festival, hosted by Lancashire Junior Squash at the National Squash Centre on 3rd March, saw six female volunteer coaches from across the North West deliver on-court games and activities, using the platform to develop their coaching confidence and skills in a structured and supportive environment.

Over 50 girls aged between four and 17-years-old were in attendance, while England No.8 Millie Tomlinson also made a guest appearance.  

At present, just one in five accredited coaches in England are female.  

“We put together Girls in Motion to allow girls to enjoy the sport, make friends, and see that squash is for them, with training, competitions and a community,” explained event organiser, and Level 1 coach, Sally Archibald.  

“Coaching was such a fantastic by-product. Last year we had a number of female volunteers helping and it worked so fantastically that we invited more of them along with other coaches to come and run the event to make the girls feel that strong female leader presence. We had coaches from the ages of 16 to 60, with various different levels of experience, who all gained a lot from the experience. They could come in, work with other coaches, see how other people do it, and share ideas.  

“There’s a barrier in confidence and thinking you’re not good enough in terms of ability to coach. You see male squash players hitting it hard and think, what am I going to teach them? Also, there’s the time and commitment – it’s a lot to juggle.

“But it’s breaking down those barriers to show coaching is for everyone and that it’s not just pathway and performance coaching. There’s community coaching, helping beginners or children, even just assisting other coaches.”

On the knock-on benefit of female coaches encouraging more women to take up the sport, she added: “It’s about women seeing someone who looks like them and plays squash like them. A lot of women find it intimidating getting on court with a man and if they don’t feel confident, they’re not going to seek out coaching or grow as players. Having women to support women is important.” 

Adwiti Kasliwal, who coaches her university team alongside studying for a master’s degree, was one of the volunteers involved and now hopes to become a qualified coach.  

“Participating in Girls in Motion was a transformative experience for me,” she said.

“As a female squash player, it was deeply gratifying to inspire young girls to embrace squash.

“Interacting with [other] coaches and Mille Tomlinson during the event strengthened my confidence as a coach and engaging with girls reminded me of my own journey in squash. Being a positive role model for them was deeply rewarding.”

Level 2 coach, Lois Stahler, added: “Returning to my home club and seeing how much more confident the girls who attended are, both socially and in their squash ability, is so rewarding.”

As for why more women should become involved in coaching, Archibald said: “It’s really rewarding being part of a community and giving back to that community. Every little bit helps and even the tiniest of actions or bit of volunteering can be so rewarding.”