This time last year Georgia Adderley was splitting her time between being an international footballer and a squash internationalist. The 16 year-old had a hectic schedule, switching somewhat seamlessly between the two sports, picking up football caps one weekend while becoming Scottish junior squash champion the next.
However, an injury setback caused, in part, by overuse made Adderley realise that she could not go on pursuing success in two sports simultaneously. “I knew at some stage in my sporting journey that I’d have to make a decision between football and squash at some point or another and I felt like May was the right time to do it,” she said. “My injury was, I think, a lot to do with the fact that I wasn’t giving myself enough time to recover. When I was playing both football and squash, I’d be constantly rushing about and wasn’t giving myself enough time to rest.”
Since making the decision earlier this year to focus fully on squash, Adderley has already seen improvements in her game and foes into the British Junior Squash Championships, which begin in Manchester on Thursday, in a confident mood and keen to fly the flag for Scotland. “I’d love to win it,” she said. “Last year I was third so hopefully I can do even better than that this year. It’ll be really tough, it’s a strong field but I’ve never won it so I’d really love to do it this year. It’d be great for squash in Scotland if I could do well too – I’ve had big matches against English players in the past and it always feels so good if you can come out on top so hopefully I can do that again.”
The teenager is one of the brightest prospects in Scottish squash, something she illustrated by becoming senior national champion in March despite being one of the youngest players in the draw. Adderley made the decision in the summer to leave school after fifth year in order to concentrate on squash and is now completing her studies at Edinburgh College. By shelving her football career around the same time, Adderley has freed-up some much-needed time to concentrate on some of the finer details of her game that were potentially being ignored as she dashed from one training session to the next and she is already reaping the benefits. “I’ve got much more time to really think about my training now and concentrate on each session, which is what I was missing before,” she said. “In the past, I’d not be evaluating what actually went on during my session but now, I’m spending a lot more time with my coaches and we’ll evaluate my matches and talk about what I need to work on. I’ve got a lot more court time and I’m doing more in the gym and that’s making such a difference to my game.”
Adderley may be happy with the decision she’s made but that does not mean to say that she does not miss her former life. As a player at Spartans, she was part of a sizeable club and having transferred to an individual sport, the teenager admits that she does, occasionally, have moments when she misses having her football teammates around. “I miss football a lot. I miss the community side of things and the team aspect but I’m best suited to an individual sport I think – I have to say that now, don’t I?”, she said. “In squash, my favourite events of the year are the team events and training everyday as part of a squad gives that team aspect too. There’s a great atmosphere in the squad – we all get on really well and we’re really encouraging of each other too.”
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