Passion in four walls

Debrin Foxcroft | 5th December 2009

After being here for only three years, a North Shore man has become New Zealand's squash coach of the year. Debrin Foxcroft finds out more.

Asking Manu Yam what makes him squash coach of the year and he says with a grin:

"I don't know. They say I have passion. I don't know what this word means, but it's what people say I have.''

Whatever it is, it works. Mr Yam was voted Auckland's top coach last year and now he's New Zealand's coach of the year. Not bad for the champion from the Philippines who has been in New Zealand for only three years.

"I was surprised when they told me I won,'' he says. "I was sitting in a squash club watching my son play when I found out.''

Squash is in the family blood. Mr Yam has played since he was a young man and was national champion for 10 years in the Philippines.

His son, Rafa, is now the under-11 champion in Auckland ranks second in New Zealand, and Rafa's elder brother, Miguel, also plays competitively.

Mr Yam, though, has stepped back from the court. In 2006, he took a part-time role as sports coordinator at Belmont Park Racquet Club in Bayswater. Within six months he was asked to coach classes and his role grew from there.

Squash is a sport with wide appeal, says Mr Yam. "My youngest pupil is 5 and the oldest is over 60.''

He is excited about the growth of the sport in New Zealand and says: "Squash is an all-year-round sport. Rain or shine you can play and it's relatively cheap.

"You don't need a training partner and you don't need to play for hours to have a good workout. Thirty minutes and you will be sweating.

"It's also relatively accessible in New Zealand.'' Mr Yam says squash is getting more popular in  schools, finding a niche among the bigger, more popular sports.

"Squash is growing in New Zealand across all levels,'' he says.

"We failed in our bid for the Olympics in 2016 but we are trying for 2020,'' Mr Yam says.

Squash New Zealand Coaching director Dave Clarke says: "Historically, coach of the year has been awarded for a couple of results,'' says Mr Clarke. "But we looked at what Manu had achieved over the year.

"He's engaged in great projects, in school development and women in squash programmes.

"He has contributed a huge amount of time and effort to the game. He really is a standout.''