Fram chats with Rob Ownen
Well, let’s be clear. I spoke with Rob for an hour and got a 26-page transcript. I kid you not.
I never heard someone talking that fast for that long. The only ones that come to mind, speed-wise, are Ramy and Mohamed. But never for that long… Bless him.
And here I was, preparing my pages – about 8 of them – to spread the chat over a week or two, when I unfortunately clicked on “publish” instead of “save draft”.
Meaning that all the Squashsite followers got a notice of the post.. GREAT. No photos added yet, not the first page I wanted to publish, not the text the way I wanted it… When you are blond, you are blond. So now, I have to publish what was sent, OBVIOUSLY.
A bit different order from what I intended initially… here is the first part of our “Rob Ownen, the Set Up”, or “whatever you didn’t know you DEFINITELY needed to know about the coach behind Paul Coll, Nele Gilis, Jonah Bryant, the new British Champion Simon Herbert, and so many more players/juniors that you may have heard about, or not yet…
Rob set up: ‘I only coach people I like’
“I have 12 players living and training full-time in Solihull. I’m based at West Warwickshire Sports Club, which has a lot of history. Jonah Barrington, my mentor, was there for 15 years or so.
The full-time players range from about 18 up to Paul Coll, who’s 33 now – or is he 34? I’m trying to forget how old he is…
People like Paul and Nele are coached by me full-time, although they come in for a week at a time, usually before the majors. Other players come in and out. I’ve had a lovely Japanese lad called Shun come to see me recently for example who I am very fond of.
All about the Group
But I only coach people I like, and they need to accept the way we operate – two people asked me just last week – and I turn most of them down. It isn’t that I dislike them; they just must fit the dynamic of the group.
Whenever somebody wants to join, I interview them, and I ask all my players what they think. If the group isn’t happy with the person, I don’t coach them. It isn’t just about me. The person has to fit, because you only need one bad apple to spoil the whole thing.
I’ve created a wonderful environment. That’s what coaching is about: creating an environment. Everyone has fun, they enjoy it, and they work bloody hard. I’m the conductor of the orchestra, really. I’m pulling the strings.
It seems natural for many coaches to take on anyone who asks, no matter how they behave or their character. I’ve learnt that I have to be selective, so I have said no to a lot of people.
Fram: Is that comparable to what Malcolm Willstrop built?
R.O. “I’m different from Malcolm because Malcolm never really got on court and hit a squash ball. I’m on court a lot. I’m a conductor, and I watch a lot, but I also speak to the players and work with them directly. Malcolm had far more players than I do, so his job was much more difficult.
Malcolm Willstrop? A genius!
“I was a massive fan of Malcolm. Whether he was a squash coach in the classical sense is another debate: to me, a squash coach steps on court and shows people how to hit a ball and how to move etc. Malcolm didn’t really do that, but he produced wonderful squash players.
To me, he was a genius. He was a wonderful person, with integrity and discipline. I loved his discipline and the respect his players had for him and the sport.
I’ve taken a lot from Malcolm Willstrop’s style. I haven’t copied it, but I was already a little like that myself. There is always a structure to what we do.
Coaching Juniors
I also have three juniors who are number one in the country for their age. I only coach about five juniors, and they all live close to me, which is lovely. Like Malcolm, we’ve got a conveyor belt of young players coming through locally: you see the young ones developing, and then you also work with older players.
Paul was about 27 when he first came to me. He was already number seven in the world, so that was a very different journey. He was recommended to me by somebody well known.
Fram: Rodney Martin?
R.O. “I’ve sent a lot of players to Rodney, but ironically I have not had many off him, so maybe he thinks I am hopeless !
I rate Rodney highly as a coach. I like him a lot; he has many good points, and the odd bad one like most people. We are very good friends.
Part Two: Role Models have responsibilities
