Gary Naidoo
My name is Gary Naidoo, South African professional and Kwa-Zulu Natal provincial player.
I have spent a total of nine months at the Jesse Engelbrecht Squash Academy. The time spent there was extremely beneficial in the development of my game.
The environment at Beechdown Health Club is conducive to training,the members and staff are warm and welcoming to the Academy players.
At the Academy hardwork,perseverance and determination are instilled combined with meticulous attention to professionalism. All crucial in bridging the gap from a competitive squash player to a professional.
Day to day training is well varied, combining many different aspects of Squash conditioning making sure that every day presents a new challenge. Training is ever evolving to the players' needs and exposure to other players and trainers keeps things fresh and allows for new and different ideas.
Jesses' experience allows him to address the subtleties of the game and go far beyond the basics. Combined with his strong motivational skills both of which I have found essential in taking my game to the next level.
I have found the Jesse Engelbrecht Academy to be a fantastic outfit and very enjoyable.
I have made a considerable improvement during my stay at the Academy, the skills I have acquired have benefited my squash game as well as my coaching of other players back in South Africa. I would highly recommend it to any player looking to do the same.
Gary Naidoo
I have spent a total of nine months at the Jesse Engelbrecht Squash Academy. The time spent there was extremely beneficial in the development of my game.
The environment at Beechdown Health Club is conducive to training,the members and staff are warm and welcoming to the Academy players.
At the Academy hardwork,perseverance and determination are instilled combined with meticulous attention to professionalism. All crucial in bridging the gap from a competitive squash player to a professional.
Day to day training is well varied, combining many different aspects of Squash conditioning making sure that every day presents a new challenge. Training is ever evolving to the players' needs and exposure to other players and trainers keeps things fresh and allows for new and different ideas.
Jesses' experience allows him to address the subtleties of the game and go far beyond the basics. Combined with his strong motivational skills both of which I have found essential in taking my game to the next level.
I have found the Jesse Engelbrecht Academy to be a fantastic outfit and very enjoyable.
I have made a considerable improvement during my stay at the Academy, the skills I have acquired have benefited my squash game as well as my coaching of other players back in South Africa. I would highly recommend it to any player looking to do the same.
Gary Naidoo
Dean Russell
My name is Dean Russell, former professional player, full time squash coach and Squash centre manager.
I spent 6 months at the Jesse Engelbrecht Squash Academy. In that 6 months I learnt more about what squash is about then my entire career put together. I learnt to hit the ball differently, learnt to move differently, learnt to train differently and most of all learnt to become a real professional. I was taught how to handle myself better as a person and as a player. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Jesse on a personal as well as a professional level and I believe that it’s his squash brain mixed with his very own brand of “ruthless enthusiasm” that makes this academy and the club it’s based at such an exceptional place to work.
The lessons I’ve taken from the countless hitting sessions, brutal track sessions and hour and a half long treadmill sessions not only taught me what it takes to be a champion but also taught me invaluable lessons about myself. Even though the short time I spent there was limited due to external factors I’d go back to playing there in a heartbeat. I believe Jesse creates the perfect environment for training. He has the ability to provide the perfect mixture of quality hitting drills, tough match play and brutal fitness sessions. The players that are part of the groups are all great guys too most of which I still have really good relationships with. The Academy has helped me in so many ways and I’m lucky enough to be able to pass on that information and life lessons in my role now.
The Academy and Jesse’s reach is far beyond what happens on court, The Jesse Engelbrecht Squash Academy isn’t just about squash, it’s a lifestyle.
Dean Russell
I spent 6 months at the Jesse Engelbrecht Squash Academy. In that 6 months I learnt more about what squash is about then my entire career put together. I learnt to hit the ball differently, learnt to move differently, learnt to train differently and most of all learnt to become a real professional. I was taught how to handle myself better as a person and as a player. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Jesse on a personal as well as a professional level and I believe that it’s his squash brain mixed with his very own brand of “ruthless enthusiasm” that makes this academy and the club it’s based at such an exceptional place to work.
The lessons I’ve taken from the countless hitting sessions, brutal track sessions and hour and a half long treadmill sessions not only taught me what it takes to be a champion but also taught me invaluable lessons about myself. Even though the short time I spent there was limited due to external factors I’d go back to playing there in a heartbeat. I believe Jesse creates the perfect environment for training. He has the ability to provide the perfect mixture of quality hitting drills, tough match play and brutal fitness sessions. The players that are part of the groups are all great guys too most of which I still have really good relationships with. The Academy has helped me in so many ways and I’m lucky enough to be able to pass on that information and life lessons in my role now.
The Academy and Jesse’s reach is far beyond what happens on court, The Jesse Engelbrecht Squash Academy isn’t just about squash, it’s a lifestyle.
Dean Russell
Graeme Williams
My name is Graeme Williams, Head Squash Professional at Windsor Squash + Fitness Club, Ontario, Canada.
I first met Jesse when he attended a Junior Summer Camp I was working on in 1996. I remember him being incredibly enthusiastic and showed a great passion for the game. I was then fortunate enough to cross paths with him again towards the end of his playing career when I took over the running of the PSL side at the University of Guildford. He had lost none of his passion and was great to have around the team.
He has taken his love of the sport and enthusiasm into his coaching and is doing a great job with the young professionals under his watchful eye at his Academy. He has taken all the lessons he learnt during his playing days and been open to implementing some new ideas along the way to turn himself into a fantastic coach. As with any successful coach it is important to be able to communicate and inspire those who depend on you and his personality means he is able to do that in a way few can.
Graeme Williams
I first met Jesse when he attended a Junior Summer Camp I was working on in 1996. I remember him being incredibly enthusiastic and showed a great passion for the game. I was then fortunate enough to cross paths with him again towards the end of his playing career when I took over the running of the PSL side at the University of Guildford. He had lost none of his passion and was great to have around the team.
He has taken his love of the sport and enthusiasm into his coaching and is doing a great job with the young professionals under his watchful eye at his Academy. He has taken all the lessons he learnt during his playing days and been open to implementing some new ideas along the way to turn himself into a fantastic coach. As with any successful coach it is important to be able to communicate and inspire those who depend on you and his personality means he is able to do that in a way few can.
Graeme Williams
Stuart Hadden
My name is Stuart Hadden, although I'm not a proffessional player I wish I was. I currently attend University in Bristol but in my spare time I go to Jesse's Academy every day to train / kill myself.
For me the best thing about the Academy is Jesse's attitude. The guy is a lunatic. He is so keen to help you improve and is fantastic on the physical side of things - always coming up with new ideas and gadgets to help us improve... the latest being sprints with a inflated parachute for resistance training. I used to think I knew my limits of how hard I could push myself but I have since discovered during the brutal track work in the snow, the triathlons and the Lunski hill sprints that when I had previously thought it was time to quit, it is actually time to push harder. This brand of "ruthless enthusiasm" - thanks Deano, gives you a tremendous amount of self belief when you are in a big match and its 9 all in the fifth that you can physically bury yourself in order to get the result.
He's a great guy to have in your corner when things aren't going well as he's been through all of it during his career and the advice he has given me always makes a lot of sense whether it be after a bad loss in a tournament or during the depressing stages of being injured. The Academy has impacted on my mindest just as much as my game, I'm now more professional looking after the little things like warming up, stretching and eating at the right time in order to give myself the best possible chance to win or to maximise what I can gain out of training. The standard of players is always very high with a core group and then other people mixing in throughout the week which gives you a lot of exposure to different gamestyles and some good banter (Paul's always good to wind up which makes lunchtime a good laugh).
Stuart Hadden
For me the best thing about the Academy is Jesse's attitude. The guy is a lunatic. He is so keen to help you improve and is fantastic on the physical side of things - always coming up with new ideas and gadgets to help us improve... the latest being sprints with a inflated parachute for resistance training. I used to think I knew my limits of how hard I could push myself but I have since discovered during the brutal track work in the snow, the triathlons and the Lunski hill sprints that when I had previously thought it was time to quit, it is actually time to push harder. This brand of "ruthless enthusiasm" - thanks Deano, gives you a tremendous amount of self belief when you are in a big match and its 9 all in the fifth that you can physically bury yourself in order to get the result.
He's a great guy to have in your corner when things aren't going well as he's been through all of it during his career and the advice he has given me always makes a lot of sense whether it be after a bad loss in a tournament or during the depressing stages of being injured. The Academy has impacted on my mindest just as much as my game, I'm now more professional looking after the little things like warming up, stretching and eating at the right time in order to give myself the best possible chance to win or to maximise what I can gain out of training. The standard of players is always very high with a core group and then other people mixing in throughout the week which gives you a lot of exposure to different gamestyles and some good banter (Paul's always good to wind up which makes lunchtime a good laugh).
Stuart Hadden
Musaab Kassim
My name is Musaab Kassim, I am an Under 19 junior squash player from Sri Lanka.
I spent two eventful weeks at The Jesse Engelbrecht Squash Academy. I felt that by the end of the two weeks that I understood my game a lot better. Jesse was able to accurately point out the loopholes in my game and he helped me fix these shortcomings. The academy is very well organised with an agenda for everyday, this very focused approach of the Academy helped me get the most out of training in England.
Additionally, the environment to train is exceptional, this was because there were other top players from around the globe training under Jesse, as a result of this competitive environment I was able to compare myself to the other students and it helped to push myself to a higher level. The fact that the town was surrounded by the beautiful countryside also helped enhance my training experience.
Furthermore, I was taught a very technically accurate version of squash, this gave me the confidence to play against much better opponents.
The Academy also did a very thorough video analysis of my game and it was compared against videos of professionals in action, this helped give me a vivid picture of how exactly to improve my game. Another aspect of Academy that I really enjoyed was the fact that Jesse was always there, he never left me to do any drills on my own unsupervised , this ''hands on'' approach is something that I am thoroughly fond of, this resulted in constant feedback from the coach and hence I always came across new ideas of how to move to a higher level of squash.
During my stay, I was exposed to other important aspects of squash such as the psychological aspect of the game. If it was not for this Academy I would have never known how crucial this aspect of squash is. Now due to my greater understanding of this, I believe that I have better strategies and more confidence to win crucial games. Lastly, I really appreciated the work ethic that is promoted and exercised in the academy and the passion in which it is done. This helped me understand how great athletes train and I felt like I knew how to train like a professional by the end of my training. Hence I believe that attending The Jesse Engelbrecht Squash Academy is the perfect remedy for any squash player to push on to a higher level.
Musaab Kassim
I spent two eventful weeks at The Jesse Engelbrecht Squash Academy. I felt that by the end of the two weeks that I understood my game a lot better. Jesse was able to accurately point out the loopholes in my game and he helped me fix these shortcomings. The academy is very well organised with an agenda for everyday, this very focused approach of the Academy helped me get the most out of training in England.
Additionally, the environment to train is exceptional, this was because there were other top players from around the globe training under Jesse, as a result of this competitive environment I was able to compare myself to the other students and it helped to push myself to a higher level. The fact that the town was surrounded by the beautiful countryside also helped enhance my training experience.
Furthermore, I was taught a very technically accurate version of squash, this gave me the confidence to play against much better opponents.
The Academy also did a very thorough video analysis of my game and it was compared against videos of professionals in action, this helped give me a vivid picture of how exactly to improve my game. Another aspect of Academy that I really enjoyed was the fact that Jesse was always there, he never left me to do any drills on my own unsupervised , this ''hands on'' approach is something that I am thoroughly fond of, this resulted in constant feedback from the coach and hence I always came across new ideas of how to move to a higher level of squash.
During my stay, I was exposed to other important aspects of squash such as the psychological aspect of the game. If it was not for this Academy I would have never known how crucial this aspect of squash is. Now due to my greater understanding of this, I believe that I have better strategies and more confidence to win crucial games. Lastly, I really appreciated the work ethic that is promoted and exercised in the academy and the passion in which it is done. This helped me understand how great athletes train and I felt like I knew how to train like a professional by the end of my training. Hence I believe that attending The Jesse Engelbrecht Squash Academy is the perfect remedy for any squash player to push on to a higher level.
Musaab Kassim
John-Ross Malloch
coming soon...
Tristan Eysele
coming soon...
