Rowan keen to mix with the seniors next season
Bridge of Allan Sports Club squash starlet Rowan Niven has admitted that her enforced absence from the squash court has only served to make her more determined to carry her junior success on into the senior game when the coronavirus lockdown is lifted.
Rowan claimed two international titles last term when she won both the Danish and Irish Open under-15 girls titles and earned a place in the European top-10 rankings.
She also played a key part in helping the Bridge of Allan ladies team win their first ever East of Scotland Division One title and all of that success has left her desperate to make a sudden impact on the senior game when squash finally bounces back.
She said: “It was such a sudden end to the season that it all felt a bit unreal. I was working really hard to try and get selected for the girls’ under-17 team at the European Team Championships and then that was taken away because of the lockdown.
“I was also really disappointed that I wasn’t able to play in the final match for the Bridge of Allan ladies’ team. I loved playing as part of that team this year and although we’ve now been awarded the title after a really strong season, it would have been amazing to actually secure the title on court.
“Now that I’ve moved up an age group after having my 15th birthday last month, I’m excited to be able to look forward to testing myself against some of the older junior players and hopefully putting myself into contention for the Scottish Gold events and the Scottish Junior Nationals at the end of the year.
“I also really enjoyed playing in the Scottish Senior Nationals just before everything shut down in March, so I’m definitely going to try and play in more senior tournaments as well next season. But more than anything though I’m looking forward to catching up with all of my friends again on court.”
Reflecting on her two European titles, Rowan admitted the prematurely ended 2019/20 season had not all been a total tale of triumph.
“This year I was really happy to make a bit of a breakthrough in the European tournaments, getting into the European top-10 in the girls under15s rankings and picking up the Irish and Danish Opens. The Danish in particular is probably one of my favourite tournaments and I really hope I get a chance to go back again later this year,” said the 15 year-old.
She went on: “I had a really bad start to the season and it took me a couple of months to get up to speed, which was disappointing as there are a couple of really good Scottish Gold events quite early in the season and I really didn’t play well in either of them which dented my confidence a bit. But I am pleased that I recovered from that and came back strongly. Maybe it was the kick up the bum I needed!
“Last season was also my first playing in club team matches and I was really chuffed to get the opportunity to play No.1 and No. 2 in a few matches against some really tough opponents. For that I need to say a huge thank you to Sabine Mackenzie and Stewart Penman for the opportunities they gave me this year in the ladies and the Crieff and District teams at BofA.”
Rowan admits that getting used to a new norm during shutdown has been a challenging experience.
“It’s really strange having so much spare time, and for the first couple of weeks after the squash courts were closed I found it quite difficult to get into any sort of routine,” she said.
“But I think in some ways this break might actually be a good thing though as it’s giving me a chance to work on something different. I do a lot of strength and fitness work normally, so it’s been nice to take some time to work on new stuff like yoga to try and improve my agility and flexibility, and I’ve also been trying to do some speedwork as well as looking at the mental side of my game.
“I’m trying to see this as an opportunity to work on things that I maybe don’t pay as much attention to during the season and my coach Jane Martin has been brilliant and helped me to work out a plan and a routine which makes it easier.
“But having such a big break from squash has made me realise how much I love playing it and hate running and I think that’s a huge positive.”