Squash coach named as Unsung Hero of the Year

LOUGHBOROUGH-BASED volunteer Pauline Young has won the Unsung Hero of the Year award at the 2023 England Squash Awards.

Pauline, right, who is a level two qualified coach, was recognised for her work as a trustee and volunteer lead coach at Charnwood Squash and Racketball Club.

The club is a charitable incorporated organisation run at a local leisure centre, created by Pauline and the other trustees who had previously hosted leagues and sessions sporadically.

Pauline said: “There was no structure to what we had.

“Then a group of us, two or three years ago, felt that it would be quite useful to pull it together a little bit and so rather than just having leagues over there, and teams over there, we actually put it within the auspices of a club.”

The club has gone from strength to strength since its inception and aims to encourage enjoyment of squash while contributing to talent pathways and improvement programmes for all players, irrespective of age, social background, ethnicity, ability or gender.

Pauline hopes to get more young girls involved in the sport and with squash in an exciting period following its Olympic inclusion, she hopes the club can continue to grow.

“It’s nice to be recognised, it does take an awful lot of my time and energy, which I’m more than happy to do,” she said.

“It counterbalances some of the other things I do.

“We’ve been given a bit of a boost with squash getting into the Olympics, so anything we can do just to really try and kickstart people playing is great.”

For more about the awards, visit: https://www.englandsquash. com/awards