WESA Goes to Cali Part II

The day we thought would never come, came! WESA finally had an opportunity to travel again for a tournament! After 18 months of learning to live with a pandemic and normalizing uncertainty, the squash world finally opened its arms once again to tournament play. 

In the last 5 months WESA introduced their new squash coach and program coordinator to the team. Eager to start working on the squash portion of the program, Tiffany brought a palpable energy to the court and the students also became very driven to improve their squash moves after months of stagnant activity. The return to tournament play seemed to stay far in the horizon, but the landscape soon changed when the LA Squash Academy introduced its Bronze Winter Junior Tournament.

Three students were chosen from the top age group to represent the program in the California tournament. These students exemplified commitment, tenacity, and growth in the classroom and on the squash court. 

Going into the tournament the three students who were chosen to attend, Alexander De La Rosa Sanchez, Elliot Burwell, and Bryan Reyes Melgarejo understood that their opponents would give them a competitive match. However, these boys were not complacent with just knowing that fact. Leading up to the matches, Alex, Bryan and Elliot worked on their physical fitness and squash game and were introduced to a new mental approach. The night before the tournament, the boys wrote in their squash journals reflecting on the mental and psychological side to the game of squash. 

Alexander faced four tough round robin matches against players ranked in the top 5 in Junior Silvers. In his last match of the day, Alexander played the individual who would ultimately take home gold for BU19 and managed to get more points off of him than anyone else had that day. Alexander finished last in his division but nonetheless a warrior. 

Elliot and Bryan won their first matches in the main draw. Unfortunately, both players were defeated in their second matches and thus were set to face off against each other in the playoffs. Elliot clutched the big win in the end, winning third place in the U15 division. 

Before our flight back toSeaTac airport, Sunday morning was well spent taking in some sight-seeing. Our first stop was a hike to Griffith Park in search of the views and the Hollywood Sign. Before we even began the hike up, four coyotes greeted us at the parking lot. Unfortunately, the coyotes were the only iconic Calfornian thing we were able to see that day because the dense fog did not allow for much visibility of anything at the top. Afterall, it is about the journey not the destination that matters, right? That was fantastic. After the fog cleared up a bit, our second sight-seeing spot of the day was the Santa Monica Pier. We were able to take in some of California’s chaotic energy with its sunny views of the Pacific waves.

Can you spot the well camouflaged coyote?

Overall this tournament was one to remember. Not only did our students bring home WESA’s first official tournament medal but they also brought with them a contagious enthusiasm to the rest of the team. WESA students now look forward to showcasing their grit and growth in future tournaments around the nation.