February’s Coach of the Month is the girls squash coach Cameron Biondi. He has led the girls team to a 12-3 record this year, most recently beating Greens Farms Academy 6-1.
Coach Biondi brings a similar strategy to every practice, and it shows that it’s paying off through the team’s record.
“During the middle of the season, most practices run in a similar way, with drills and more technical work for the first 30 minutes and game-like situations for the last 30 minutes,” he said. “During particularly busy weeks or after tournament weekends, we have to keep our endurance in mind, and we sometimes have more relaxed practices to recover for the next match.”
These efficient hour long practices both keep the team focused on getting better while also not retiring them which is important if they have a game or challenge match the next day.
Junior Sydney Smith praised Coach Biondi and his coaching style. “He always gives us great feedback during our matches, and he knows a tremendous amount about the game,” she said.
Coach Biondi also talked about some of the challenges he faces are. The skill level varies drastically, even on the varsity team. “Our biggest challenge is meeting with everyone at the same time, while they’re all at different skill levels,” he said.
However, he does his best to find ways around it. “One partial solution we’ve thought of is to have each player set a specific goal to work on throughout part of the season, so when I’m not in the court with them working on it, they can drive their own growth and learning during practice,” he said.
Biondi’s favorite moment this year was the teams 5-2 win over Kent. “We had some pretty spectacular 3-2 individual matches that pushed us to the win. It’s always great to see the team show their resilience against an opponent when it could go either way,” he said.
Biondi continues to coach squash for a couple of reasons. “I like seeing players, after putting a lot of work into a specific shot or movement, use that shot confidently and intentionally in a match and celebrate the result,” he said.
Junior Izzy Berkemeyer described her favorite parts about having Biondi as her coach. “He’s always super supportive and positive with us,” she said. “He’s also extremely helpful between sets when we are trying to determine how to adapt to the opponent.”
Biondi brings out the best in the girls, ensuring that they always compete at practice, in challenge matches and especially in real matches.
This is why he is this month’s Coach of the Month.
