Eleven years on a professional tour, six consecutive years ranked in the world’s top-10 squash players and a place in the encyclopedia files of Wikipedia render UR squash head coach Martin Heath a little bit different from the rest of UR’s athletic faculty.
Before coming to UR in 2005, Heath obtained a substantial amount of success as a professional squash player. He rose as high as No. 4 in the world rankings and won the Scottish national squash title six times. During his career, Squashtalk.com wrote about the young star, “Heath clearly has the self confidence, brash energy and ability to make it to No. 1.”
But the resume does not stop there. After retiring as a professional player at the age of 32, Heath worked as a squash commentator for ESPN and currently serves as a monthly contributor for Squash Magazine. When I got a chance to talk to the young squash coach about his dreams of being the best and of his success as both a player and, more recently, a coach, it was hard not to be in awe of Heath’s achievements.
Growing up in Scotland, Heath talked about the influence his father had on him with respect to sports.
“My dad was our sports guy,” Heath said. “He was just good at everything. He introduced us to a lot of different sports. I mean, we [my brother and I] were playing golf when we were four.”
Naturally, when Heath’s community built squash courts, the family gave it a try. Heath credits his brother with getting him started in the sport.
“My brother became very good at it and became a squash champion before I had even started, and then I got jealous,” he said.
Apparently, a little jealousy, teamed with a desire to be the best, was the perfect combination in jump-starting Heath’s squash career. After he finished school in 1993, he joined the professional tour and got the opportunity to travel, playing in squash arenas around the globe.
“I kind of did what you guys do. I did school in Scotland, and then I just didn’t want to work. That was pretty much it. I just wanted to travel and squash was pretty much my route to doing that.”
And it was interesting to see the effect that traveling around the world has had on the coach.
“I found myself becoming very ‘apolitical.’ Most people become political because they think, ‘oh that’s terrible. This and that should happen. This would be easy if it weren’t for that,'” Heath said. “The way I saw it, I was getting paid all around the world, everywhere operates differently and everybody kind of thinks they’re right. So I just kind of became a little island while I was traveling.
“And, because of that, I just became nonjudgmental about the places I was going, as well. [While I was traveling] I had access to a lot of different people, and I didn’t really treat any of them differently,” he added.
Toward the end of his professional squash career, Heath moved to Toronto, where he had a network of friends and contacts and where he later met his future wife.
When the head coaching position opened up at UR, Heath jumped on the opportunity.
“As far as squash was concerned, it was more sensible for me to be in the States than in Canada. There are just more possibilities here,” he said.
Heath’s decision to take the UR coaching job also signified a transition for him into a world of more responsibility, which has apparently worked out pretty well for him. In his three years as the head coach for the ‘Jackets, the team has gone from an unknown to a competitor on the national squash scene. Heath was quick to credit the success as an indication of the caliber of his players.
“I don’t think that the University understands how good these guys are,” Heath said. “The fact of the matter is that these guys are not Division III athletes – they’re not even Division I athletes. These are some of the best players in the world for their age.”
And, while one reason squash has been overshadowed by sports such as basketball and football in the U.S. is because of its relative youth in American sports culture, Heath explained that the UR fans should not necessarily be so biased.
“If I see anything done to excellence – it doesn’t matter what it is – I’m interested,” Heath said. “And there are a few of these guys who are really fantastic at what they do, and so it should be interesting for anyone to see.”
As a coach, Heath utilizes his experience to guide his players, condensing down what he had learned while playing so as to provide the best possible instruction. This past year, UR finished the season ranked 10th nationally – the highest finish in school history. The ‘Jackets had an overall record of 15-3 and won the Barnaby Cup for the second year running. It seems safe to say that Heath’s experience is paying off.
Hilfinger is a member of the class of 2010.
