PART ONE:
ROB OWEN, THE SET UP

Part 2:
Behaviour, Discipline & Responsibility

R.O. “I’m very honest with my players. If one of them behaves poorly, I tell them, as behaviour is part of coaching.

I’m tough. If one of my players behaves badly, I’m happy to say so. I recently banned one of my players for a month. People asked me why, and I said: ‘Because the person’s behaviour was unacceptable.’ That sends a message to them and everyone else I coach. I’m not going to protect someone who behaves badly. Why should I? They don’t deserve protection until they start behaving better.

I’ve had arguments about the behaviour of certain players.

I’ve always taught my players to be fair: call their double bounces, respect the opponent and respect the referee. Jonah Bryant is a very fair player. Sam Osborne-Wylde lost 3-2 to Mohamed Abouelghar at the Worlds after being 2-0 up, and he played the match fairly. You didn’t see him whinge or question the referee.

You’ll see the same from nearly all my players, including the young ones coming through: respect for the game, the sport, the referee and the opponent. Of course there may be the odd moment, but if they don’t follow those standards, I’m on them like a tonne of bricks.

Takes one to recognise one?

My own behaviour wasn’t always the best, and I hold my hands up. But I was angry at myself. I wasn’t cheating. I would call my own double bounces and balls that were out. I wasn’t trying to block. I became frustrated with myself, and sometimes with referees after a bad decision, and that wasn’t good enough. Perhaps because of the way I was, I’ve made sure my players aren’t like that. I would always hold my hands up and apologise; some players now seem to believe they’ve done nothing wrong.

THE NEW BRITISH CHAMPION EXPLAINS ROB’S COACHING SPECIFICITY

The coach can make a huge difference to behaviour

Certain players have asked me to coach them, and I’ve said no because I don’t like how they behave. Most coaches aren’t in a financial position to turn down players like that, but I can, and I am lucky in that regard.

I’ve also declined players because their game wasn’t right for the group, or because they would have been direct rivals to players I already coach. It’s very difficult to coach world number four and world number six together. With younger players who have come through the ranks, it’s different; Jonah Bryant and Paul, for example, are fine.

Responsibility, Legacy and the Bigger Picture

The coach has to take responsibility. My players don’t literally wear my name on their sleeve – I usually put a charity there – but metaphorically they do. People know I coach them, so their behaviour reflects on me.

Malcolm Willstrop was brilliant at instilling that philosophy. I cannot remember a Pontefract player behaving badly.

We remember the high-profile players, such as Lee Beachill and James Willstrop, but it applied to the children coming through as well. The same is true of our young players.

Role Models have responsibilities.

Fram: Any players you particularly like or dislike?

R.O. “Ali Farag. We’ve had a rivalry but also enormous mutual respect. We’ve exchanged many private messages. Sitting down and speaking to him personally for two hours will be fascinating. He’s a lovely man, a very special person.

He is the ultimate role model for a squash player and for any sportsman or woman who wants to play sport in the right way.

Nick Matthew. I like Nick a lot. I have a lot of admiration for him.

People are a bit harsh about Nick when they say he wasn’t good as a junior. He won the British Junior Open. Trust me, you cannot win that event without being a very, very good player.
He may not have been the most naturally talented player I ever saw, but he was one of the greats. His squash was better than people realise. He was a fantastic player: mentally and physically tough, difficult to beat, and very good strategically.

One of the things that made Nick a great player was his stubbornness. He believed in himself. I suspect stubbornness, however, is a big disadvantage as a coach. You need to embrace different ideas if what you are doing clearly isn’t working. His coaching career isn’t yet close to the heights he achieved as a player, but I hope things improve for him and he becomes a great coach.

Zakaria: He stayed with me for two weeks a while back and asked me to coach him. I’ve never met a more confident boy in my life.

He’s an interesting character: very bright and very clever. He can be very charming when he wants to be, and he has tremendous charisma. He could be wonderful for the game. I like him.

I said to him: ‘How do you want to be remembered, Zak? You’re probably going to become world number one whichever way you choose. There are two paths you can go down. Choose the right one but try hard to be remembered in the right way – like Shabana or Ali.

Mostafa Asal

His behaviour was terrible when he first arrived on the scene. I would have banned him from the game years ago. I’ve said that publicly before. Tennis wouldn’t stand for it. If someone behaves like that, ban them. Players behaving badly can be very damaging for the sport.

In my view, Mostafa still has some issues, although things have definitely got better. I do think he has improved, whether because of his coach, the media pressure, or whatever.

He’s another player with fantastic talent. I don’t know Mostafa personally, so I can only judge what I see on a squash court, and what I see is, at times, bad for the sport. Somewhere, young children will be watching and copying him because he’s a star and currently the best player in the world.

I think we should give James a lot of credit for trying to change the behaviour of the player he coaches. Imagine how much worse it might be if James wasn’t there. James is a good man, and I have a lot of faith that behind the scenes he is doing and saying the right things.

One thing I really do not like is players giving up in matches and conceding the match when things aren’t going well for whatever reason. Of course, if they are injured and can’t continue that is something that cannot be helped, but unfortunately this has happened too many times in Mostafa’s career. It shows a complete lack of respect for his opponent, for the sport, and for sponsors and paying spectators.

‘I believe people can change’

My point is that people can change. Other Egyptian players have changed their behaviour over time. Karim Abdel Gawad was very difficult to referee when he first arrived – I remember a match with a crazy amount of lets against Borja early in his career, but he changed dramatically and became an absolute joy to watch.

Intelligence, maturity and the right mentor can make a huge difference.

James is very softly spoken and is sometimes perceived as too nice, but I know there is a steely determination and a strong desire to implement change in Mostafa.

If I was talking to Mostafa, I would be having some very, very tough conversations, and I would have walked away if things weren’t changing or I felt he wasn’t listening. You have to be proud of the players you coach. You need to be tough but honest and fair, and, of course, sometimes players need an arm around them, too.

Whenever I’ve met Mostafa, he has seemed lovely. That’s the sad thing. Off court, he has seemed a really nice guy, bubbly, friendly, almost like a little kid, with great charisma. That suggests there is something good in there. He could be amazing for the sport, and people would love him.

I have a fundamental belief in human nature. With the right person and the right support, people can change.