alain @ squash: Back to LA

dimanche 9 novembre 2008

Back to LA

Belgian Casteleyn gets prestigious LA post
Nov 6, 2008, by Kirsten Carlson for SquashTalk.com , Independent News; © 2008 SquashTalk LLC

When Bob Hanscom retired from his position as the head squash pro at the Los Angeles Athletic Club last summer, he said he hoped the position would be filled by someone who would "continue to promote the game and the facilities in greater L.A. so that it continues to grow." Stefan Casteleyn has been doing just that since moving to Southern California 10 years ago, making the former World No. 7 and 13-time Belgian National champ a natural fit.

Southwestern Fixture

Casteleyn applied for the position immediately after hearing of the vacancy.

"As long as I've lived here, it's the position I've dreamed of having," he said.

Casteleyn moved to Los Angeles after meeting the woman who would become his wife while playing in a PSA tournament at the San Francisco Bay Club in 1995. After a short stint in California, Casteleyn and his wife Margarita Franco, moved to Belgium so he could train while on the PSA tour. In 2001, a back injury forced Casteleyn to retire from the Tour and he returned to Southern California where he began giving lessons at multiple clubs. A desire to start his own junior squash program led him to move to New York in 2006 and work at Brooklyn's Heights Casino to learn what he could from one of the nation's top programs.

When Casteleyn made his way back west one year later, he joined Peter Gerra at The Sports Club LA in Irvine. His goal of starting a junior program was put on hold, as children were not a regular fixture at the club. In mid 2008, Casteleyn became the squash pro at the Renaissance ClubSport and was on the verge of launching a junior program when he was awarded the job at the LAAC.

Casteleyn on Tour

Casteleyn now heads up a very active program that boasts more than 150 players and four courts. When Hanscom took on the position in the late '80s, the club had one court and just a dozen members. Casteleyn has witnessed the growth in Southern California in the years he has been there, noting membership increases and the founding of teams at Cal, USC and Stanford.

"I think it's finally starting to sink in with people out here that squash can be a part of their lives," he said. "I believe in the last five years we have seen a lot of change."

Casteleyn is planning to launch a junior program at the LAAC, with the help of a particular group of club patrons. The USC team trains at the Club and Casteleyn runs the practices there alongside the team's coach, Charles Braff. Casteleyn said that the USC team will help coach the kids and hopes to have things going by the end of November. He explained that even the team practicing at the Club has generated interest, and thinks it may lead to some current members bringing their children in to try out the sport.

Less than two weeks into his new position and Casteleyn already seems to be doing just what his predecessor hoped for.

source : SquashTalk