Curtis
My strongest point personally is that I’m super organised and efficient with my time.
I know exactly what needs to get done and how to do it in the best possible way. I also take great care of my health, both physically and mentally, so I believe that every day I set myself up for the best chance to thrive.
In terms of Squash, I believe that my greatest strength lies in my ability to always fight for each point and never give up. Even if I’m having a bad day, I’ll always try and find a way to get myself into a match.
Weakest point personally is probably keeping thoughts within my own head and not always verbalising them. It’s a work in progress.
And for squash, it is to not be so hard on myself after a bad loss, especially during bad phases within a match. It happens to everyone, and being able to bounce back quickly is something I’m working hard on.
The aspect of my game I’m working on the most at the moment is the ability to use speed to get onto the ball faster and use my attacking skills from better positions on the court. This will hopefully hurt the top players more frequently as it’ll allow my racket skills to flourish.
I’m neither an early bird nor a night owl. I’m happily somewhere in between. I don’t tend to go to sleep later than 11 pm, and I don’t usually wake up before 8 am. So definitely a mixture.
The one thing I find the hardest in training is definitely knowing when to rest! I love training and all the sessions that come with it, but sometimes I could do with knowing when enough is enough. It’s too addictive!
In competition, making sure I peak physically and mentally for the early rounds, because sometimes it can be hard to find your tournament/match rhythm straight from the get-go. So I’m still searching for that balance.
Losing Sumner has definitely been the hardest thing that has happened to me in my life. Especially seeing him go through the deterioration day to day of treatments, speech and mobility. Nothing was or will be more inspiring than the way Sumner took on each day despite the pain and suffering. He never complained and never looked for sympathy even at such a young age.
This has truly shaped how I frame my thoughts, go about my life, and pursue my career. Nothing I do in training or competition will ever compare to what he had to go through.
So I consistently remind myself of how fortunate and grateful I am to be doing what I am for a living but also to be healthy and with a family that love and support me.
Something that I absolutely hate is people not fully applying themselves in whatever it is they do. Whether that’s in sport, business or just day-to-day wellbeing. I believe as humans, we have a responsibility and privilege to get the absolute most out of ourselves in every way we can. So seeing people not grasp the opportunities given to them does make me angry. Because I know there are a lot of people in this world who would do anything to be in such a fortunate position.
On a remote island, I’d definitely be going with my family! My parents are the ones who’ve brought me up and given me the life I currently have and then my siblings are my best friends so its an easy answer.
If I had to pick one TV show, its definitely Vikings! And for music, Coldplay or Bastille. I’d be a very happy man with just these.
I have high standards for a lot of small things, I love going on holidays (especially to hot places), I’m easily pleased and have a real obsession with food. After squash and my family, food is the next biggest thing on my mind!!
And as a family, we operate as a unit, but we are very open to helping others and seeing them get the most out of themselves. We are open and do a lot of things together, making us all very close.
