(By Tim Dunbar)
Rod Hayes, Canterbury’s most exciting squash prospect in recent years, fulfilled the expectations of a great many local followers of the sport last weekend.
He easily beat Julian Devoy, of Rotoria, in the final of the national junior championships in Auckland, becoming the first South Islander to win the title since Trevor Colyer, then living in Timaru, in 1968. The likeable 18-year-old University of Canterbury science student reached the final by taking down the higher ranked Wellington player, Robin Espies, for the second time this year.
His win over Devoy – an old rival he beat for a place in the New Zealand junior team which has just completed a tour of the Australian states – was a particularly satisfying one as he lost to him twice last season.
It was unfortunate that the title-holder and No.1 in the New Zealand team, Brian Barnett (Tauranga), was too old for the tournament by a few days but on his recent form Hayes would have taken a lot of stopping.
He lost only one of his 13 matches during the tour and won the plate at the Australian junior championships.
The national senior title-holder and former world – ranked exponent, Trevor Johnston (Rotorua), was very impressed when the pair met in the first round of the national championships.
No South Islander has won the senior title since Don Green (Dunedin) in 1956, but such asn achievement is by no means out of the question for Hayes in the next few years.
He is following in the footsteps of several other well-known South Island players, who had a virtual monopoly of the junior title in the 1950s. Les Milne (Timaru), who is now the Canterbury selector, Peter McKenzie (Oamaru), Peter Vesty (Timaru), Geoff Davidson (Oamaru) and Graeme Bird (Timaru) all won the title and all but McKenzie went on to represent New Zealand in senior ranks. Vesty eventually won the senior title in 1954 and both Milne and Bird were runner-ups.
Hayes attributes much of his success to two coaches who helped to develop his talent, Peter Steinmetz, the Christchurch professional and Roger Monk.
“Peter started me off and was like a second father to me as he took me to various tournaments all over the country and Roger has been a great help over the last couple of years.”
Hayes started this year by running every night and intensive build-ups to major tournaments he slogged away at court running with another promising junior, Paul “Fudge” McFadzien. As tournaments approached, he spent an hour on the court from 7 a.am to 8 a.a. every morning, “just playing shots,” before going to lectures.
In previous years, Hayes feels he played a naturally attacking game but was “hitting out wildly much of the time.” This season he found the advice of the English professional, Mike Thurgur, of immeasurable benefit.
“Thanks to Mike I feel I play a more basic game now, although I still like to get stuck in and hit a few winners,” he said.
A Pakistani told Hayes in Australia that the Thurgur-type game, bases on the log, could be easily countered by a fit opponent who was prepared to attach this shot. But the well-spoken Christchurch junior four that this type of game worked very well against most of the Australian juniors. “If I concentrated on their weak point down one side I discovered they usually missed the ball after a while.”