Thanks, Jack

THANKS, JACK!

My memories take me back to 1989. I was over the moon when a coveted invitation was extended to me from the Harvard Club of New York to compete in the John M. “Jack” Barnaby Invitational Singles Tournament. This was when hardball was the prevailing singles game in the U.S., and I was embarking on re-establishing my name among the elite singles players at the time.  It was important to me that I do well because I had taken a hiatus from competition for a few years after I was hired as the Teaching Squash Professional at the University Club; the first ever for the Club. In addition, 1989 was the year when I re-emerged as I was eligible to play in the Veterans Division (competing against a group of select players 35+ and older) providing me with a renewed lease on my squash life.) And to top it off, the tournament was scheduled two weeks before the U.S. National Singles Championships, making it the perfect tune-up tournament.  I was reinvigorated with the added bonus of playing with players of my own age group.  I  told myself that I needed to play in the “Barnaby” to reacquaint myself with serious competition. I listened to  my inner muse, which exclaimed, "Go for it!"  It was time to resume my squash odyssey. I didn’t wish to drive only in the prescribed well-worn lane.  I would take the path hardly travelled by west coast players; “go east, young man, go east!” I began training in earnest. After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I am eternally grateful that the supportive members of the  UClub who provided me with a traveling fund to inaugurate my journey.

At the time, "The Barnaby” was the most prestigious Veteran’s hardball singles invitational tournament in the United States.  It was one of three divisions of the Harry Cowles, John Jacobs, and Jack Barnaby Invitational (venerated Harvard Squash Coaches). Only the top veteran players in the United States were invited.  Looking at the draw was like reciting the US Squash's yearbook’s list of revered champions: Anil Nayar, Jay Nelson, Tom Poor, Leonard Bernheimer, David Linden, Chris Burrows, Steve Fortunato, Gordon Anderson, Scott Ryan, and Derrick Niederman were some of the squash luminaries competing; National Champions who were also extended invitations to play in the 1989 edition of "The Barnaby”.  I qualified because in 1983 (the year when the U.S. National Singles Championships were played in San Francisco), I earned the ranking of #7 in the Open Singles division. Fellow Cal Bear, Paul Gessling was ranked #4. It was an honor and privilege competing with such an elite draw of players.

After the long flight and stepping off the plane that afternoon, I was afforded a few hours of rest before the scheduled first round matches that evening. Later that afternoon, I eagerly stepped into 35 West 44th Street entrance in mid-town Manhattan to check out the draw to see who I was slated to play later that evening.

I was aghast to discover that my first found opponent was none other than my west coast rival, Seattle's Chris Burrows - the Barnaby's defending champion, the reigning US National 35+ Champion, and #1 seed.  THAT Chris Burrows?  Really?  Two west coasters flew close to 3000 miles to play each other in the first round?  We could have stayed on the west coast, played the match, and phoned in the result. “ Boy!”, squash is played rough in Gotham City! (It should be noted that I won the match!)

Move forward to 1991.  

After three years of trying to win "The Barnaby”, I made it to the finals that year, but was soundly beaten by Michigan’s David Linden.  Looking back, it was a great showing on my part because Linden was a many-crowned (7 or 8 all in all would be my best guess) National Singles Veteran's Champion in hardball and softball singles.  In 1989, I lost in the semi’s. In 1990 I lost in the quarters.  

On the flight home, I was greatly disheartened because, try as I might, I could not breakthrough to the finals.  In 1990, I also got to my first National 35+ Finals held in Rochester, NY, but ended up losing to Yale alum and one-time Eli team captain, college All-American, and All-Ivy, Derrick Niederman in three well-fought but short workman-like games. After years of set-backs, it was not difficult to notice a trend developing.  It was discouraging to come so close to winning the big one with nothing to show for it but moral victories.  I had put up good fights, but not enough fight to win it all.  It was becoming a test of character.  Could I bounce back yet again?

Upon arriving home I wrote Jack a note thanking him for the playing invitation and hosting a wonderful tournament.

A week later, I was surprised to receive a hand-written reply from Jack himself. He wrote:

Dear John:

Thanks for your nice card.

I really think you should have won the event and I'd like to see you do it next year. Why? Because you play good squash and you are a good sport.

Your opponent beat you because, although not as good a player as you, he is a better match player. You dominated the match, being well ahead in four of the five games. But you let up every time you had a lead. I don't mean you didn't try. I mean you tried to make quick aces, to win easy, instead of continuing to grind it out in the manner that had built the lead.

The hardest thing to learn is to fight when you are ahead - to play really tough, percentage squash, taking no non-percentage risks. The last points are always the hardest: when his back is to the wall, your opponent will not take foolish risks, he will fight and play long points, he will never (or rarely) give it away. You must be ready to fight even harder and longer at the end and never flatter yourself, "Now I've got him, it is all down hill." Actually the hill is up and it gets steeper near the top.

Best wishes and good luck.

Jack Barnaby

Two weeks later,  I traveled to the courts of Yale's Payne Whitney Gym in New Haven, Conn. to compete in yet another "Nationals".  I played well enough to return to the finals, as I did the previous year in Rochester.  But this year, buoyed with the thoughts of Jack’s letter, I overcame Niederman, the defending Champion, on his home court in a rematch after falling behind 0-2, awoke to even the match at 2-2, then narrowly beating him in the fifth game by the score of 18-17. By most accounts it was the outstanding singles match of the tournament.

Lesson learned! My breakthrough!

The following year, I returned to New York to play in "The Barnaby" and this time I had the match play experience and confidence to beat the formidable Linden in the Finals (another rematch!) by the score of 3-1.

Thanks, Jack! You taught me how to be a winner. 

John

(Jack Barnaby is one of the best-known names in squash racquets. Head coach in squash at Harvard University for 28 years, he is the author of numerous pamphlets, articles, and books.  His teams have won twenty-two national and intercollegiate titles and his pupils have accumulated thirteen individual national championships and fifteen intercollegiate titles. His "batting average" in intercollegiate team competition was close to .950, and he became known as Harvard's ''winningest'' coach. Coach Barnaby was also awarded the President's Cup, the game's highest honor.)  He passed away in 2002.  For more about Jack Barnaby click here.

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