Squash player gets back in the game
Between the ages of 11 and 14, Chris Buys was one of the best squash players his age in Ontario.
And then he walked away from the sport.
Now 21, Buys played in his first local tournament in seven years and reached the A final of the sixth annual PSB Wilson Squash Classic at the Peterborough Squash Club on Saturday.
It was an intense five-match final with Pickering’s Scott Gormley that took an extra point to decide the final set. Gormley won 11-8, 4-11, 13-11, 7-11, 12-10.
“It came to be a little too much,” said Buys, explaining why he quit squash. “It was too much pressure. I wasn’t really into it anymore. It became more like a job than just having fun.”
Two-a-day practices and travelling to tournaments sucked all the joy out of the sport Buys initially started for the love of it. He put his racquet down and didn’t touch it for nearly seven years. He played AAA hockey and some high school lacrosse. He also played one year of junior C hockey with the North Kawartha Knights where he suffered a shoulder injury that forced him to miss most of the season.
He hung up his blades and went off to Fanshawe College in London where he graduated in the spring from the police foundations course.
He moved back to Peterborough in the summer and, looking for something to do to keep active, he wandered into the squash club.
“I started playing midway through the summer once a week just to get out and have some fun,” he said. “I just remember when I was a kid it was fun before it got serious. I thought back to then and thought I’d try it out. I’m playing with a couple of guys I knew from here. We’re just messing around.”
His stroke returned pretty quickly. “When I was younger I was playing every day. A lot of drills and training so it’s just muscle memory. It came back quick. I wouldn’t say I’m as good as I used to be. I’m just a little bigger,” he said.
At six-foot-one and 195 pounds, he has a much different body type than when he last played.
“My cardio is definitely not as good as it used to be and I’m lugging around a lot more weight so it’s definitely a little tougher on the knees. But, I’ve gained a lot of strength, too, so that helps. When I was skin and bones I had no strength and I couldn’t really hammer the ball. Now I can,” he said.
Initially, Buys didn’t intend to register for the tournament until he heard the A Division was short a couple of players. It was a last-minute decision. He says good luck helped him reach the final.
“A little luck of the draw. One of the top guys dropped out at the last minute. He was the No. 1 seed. it’s worked out,” he said.
The only other tournament he’s played in was in Toronto where he lost in the consolation final.
But don’t expect Buys to return to the provincial tour. “I have no ambition to go all over Ontario for tournaments,” he said. “I just like to play once a week and have fun with it.”