Ambitions of Forster remain unsquashable!
Champ Max’s sights on scholarship after tough year
SQUASH prospect Max Forster is looking to a future Stateside after enduring a 2020 of mixed emotions, writes TONY HODGSON.
The 19-year-old from Gosforth began the year by claiming a third successive Northumberland County Closed Championship title.
The Northumbria SC starlet also reached the semi-finals of the British Junior Under-19 Open.
However, his playing and training scheude was then halted in March by the coronavirus pandemic - and Forster has not been on court competitively since.
He was also forced to delay plans to take up a four-year sports scholarship at Yale University in America, which was due to start in September.
That scholarship - mixing academic study with squash competition - will now start next autumn, giving the talented teenagerr something to focus on for 2021.
Forster said: “It was very disappointing not to go to Yale this year as I had worked hard to secure my place and was really looking forward to it.
“However, it was the right decision not to go as the Covid sitation in America is really bad and I would have been confined to the campus indefinitely.
“I was not keen to do all my studies online and there seemed no point going over there and just being confined to campus for several months.
“Yale agreed to let me defer the scholarship for a year and hopefully by then things will be a lot better. It is a great opportunity for me.”
Forster admitted being locked down by the pandemic had been incredibly frustrating after his winning start to the year.
He added: “The Northumberland title is a prestigious one so to win it three years in a row was very satisfying.
“I felt I did well at the British Open as I was studying hard for A-levels at the time and the guy who beat me just played better than me.
“Not being able to play and not train properly after that was strange.
“All I could do was go running and do a bit of circuit training at home.
“When the first lockdoown was eased I was able to do some coaching and training and I also did some painting jobs to keep myself busy.”
Forster does not expect to be back in competitive action any time soon as the pandemic continues.
He said: “I cannot see any tournaments being held soon so it just a case of keeping myself in good shape and looking forward to my scholarship.”
Securing his scholarship rounded off a memorable 18 months for Forster in which he twice represented his country.
The youngster flew the flag for England at the European Under-19 Championships in the Czech Republic and the World Junior Championships in Malaysia.
A member of the Jesmond-based Northumberland Club, Forster followed up his sixth place in Prague by reaching the third round in Kuala Lumpur.