Squash it, girl!

Just as the Americans of the world took the best games such as rugby and cricket, and turned them into unrecognizable pursuits which they, and only they, play, (American 'football' and baseball), so too they did the same thing with one of my fave games - squash.

They made it into something called racquetball. Hmmmph.

However - my daughter Dayna has now taken up squash - and as I mentioned in my blog about Kirsty Coventry a couple of days ago - she would have loved to attend the training session, except for the fact that she was playing in the provincial squash championships in Harare.

And.............she made it into the Manicaland Junior Squash Team!

I am delighted, and must admit that there was once upon a time that I seriously doubted she would ever play squash, or any land-based sport, properly.

Here she is warming up..........

And here she is giving the ball a mighty thump.......

So....................why did I once doubt that my daughter would play squash properly? Had I no faith in my own progeny?

Well, the thing is this - a few years ago, Dayna was bitten by a dog. And the hole in the calf muscle on the back of her leg went all the way down to the bone. It was a freak accident - and the dog had been only playing - but had caught her by the leg just as she dived into the pool at a local hotel. The wound was horrific, as the motion of diving, coupled with the dog's tooth (and it was a BIG dog) separated the muscle as cleanly and deeply as a hot knife into a jelly (jello for the Americans) - and I seriously wondered if she would regain full use of her leg. This pic was taken about 4 weeks after the incident - when her
stitches came out......

But now she is a provincial squash player! Amazing

In a couple of weeks' time she will go and play in the Zim Championships - where they select the kids to represent the country. If, and only if, she can find a decent back-hand by then, she has a good chance of getting into the team! Go Girl!