The issue of youth violence seems to be most talked about in 2018, hence could Squash provision be the sport which can bring about community cohesion amongst young people of all cultures from the inner city?
In the space of a year, the number of knife crimes amongst 16-24 year olds has reached the highest level in eight years, according to official records.
However, in the first in the last few months of 2018, there were a reported 12 in London – the saddest thing is that one of the victims was a friend of my younger brother. Sadly, one of the saddest incidents reported, was two brothers from Camden were killed within months of each other.
Benefits of Squash to tackle youth
If take the view from an outsider’s perspective, looking at these areas there is nothing in these areas in terms of provision to reduce gang violence, in terms of sports and mentoring schemes to talk to the youth. Thus, with Squash it can make a difference in areas where sports are popular but introduced as an alternative instead of picking up a knife pick up a Squash racquet.
Swap knives for a Squash Racquet
When you look at the Squash provision in some parts of London or outside London, you will notice that the provision for sport is in areas of affluent and middle-class status – thus the opportunities to engage young people to take part in the sport are limited.
For instance, in Camden, the only provision for young people to play the sport is at the Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre – a public leisure centre managed by Better, who is a subsidiary of Greenwich Leisure Ltd (aka the destroyer of Squash courts at Bath Sports & Leisure Centre).
Whether their Squash provision is open to the youth in the form of coaching sessions, nobody knows and if the schools do something – there is no evidence to support it. However, looking at other parts of London, there is not enough, Squash provision for young people.
Isn’t time for Sport England to make and improve the Squash provision in the inner suburbs of the capital?
Using Squash for good with disadvantaged youth
In the US, there is an initiative called 716 Squash – a scheme that was established by an expat, whose vision is to empower and encourage young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in Buffalo; to reach their full potential through sports. Moreover, there is a strong academic element to it as well, thus there are no worries of the students failing in education and turning to crime.
With Buffalo, it is the second largest town in New York, compared to Camden – which is one of the most vibrant areas of London, thus would not be a great idea to develop a Squash programme there to encourage young people to take up the sport.
Let’s not forget, that Squash was founded in Harrow, North West London, but it is obvious that those who live in richer parts of the district can only participate – this elitism needs to stop.
Time to use Squash as a sport for good
To sum up, there are plenty of sports initiatives to tackle youth issues, oddly enough, there is one with US rapper Snoop Dog in the form of an American Football League, – thus Squash can be the tool to tackle inner city issues, such as knife crime in London, in conjunction with schools, sport development department and community centres.
Is Camden an untapped area for Squash? Yes, as there is a venue with a court and in an area of regeneration plus from a community perspective, it would be good to see something developed.
