The Specter Center hosted the annual Level 3 Coaching Course August 22-24, welcoming 14 coaches from across the country, and one from Mexico, for a weekend full of high-level coaching. Ronny Vlassaks, Squash on Fire Head Coach and former National Junior Coach for the Netherlands and Belgium, led the course.
“When you work as a coach, it’s better to have as much information as possible because you want to serve players on different levels and be aware of the game as they play to share as much information as possible,” Vlassaks said.
The US Squash Coaching Certification Program helps teaching professionals coach more effectively across a variety of programs on and off the squash court. The Level 3 Coaching Course in particular includes a greater emphasis on National Team high-level player development through training, fault diagnosis, advanced drills, periodization and planning, nutrition and sport psychology. Local clinical and sport psychology company Greenpsych has provided the mental health coaching part of the course for the last three years.
Leonard Mohr traveled from Mexico for the Level 3 Coaching Course in hopes of improving his coaching abilities.
“I do some coaching in Mexico and I was feeling like I needed more knowledge and more practical things to do with the kids and I really wanted to up my knowledge base,” he said. “There’s been a lot of great warmups, exercises, drills and a lot of theory that I can use to plan the lessons and I’m really excited to go back and practice what I’ve been learning.”
Congratulations to the newly certified Level 3 coaches: Ben Beachill, Omar Elmeleigy, Valerii Fedoruk, Zephan Huang, Imran Khan, Leonard Mohr, Joshua Morales, Wajiullaj Nasim, Jose Rubert-Zayas, Muhammad Farhan, Muhammad Samiullah, Muhammad Tayyab Waseem Ashraf, and Specter Center pros Joe Robinson and Olivia Taylor.
“It’s a bit nerve-racking at first [to be the only woman], but remember you’re all here for the same reason. More women should get into coaching; jump in, do it, be brave and enjoy it!” said Taylor. “It’s been really beneficial meeting Damon on the strength and conditioning side, learning about nutrition, and gaining good tools to continue to improve as a coach.”
Private lessons with Specter Center pros, newly Level 3 certified, can be booked here.
The next coaching course, Level 1, will be hosted at the Specter Center January 9-11, 2026. Learn more and register here on Club Locker.
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