Del Harris - Turning a New Page in Public Service

Del Harris and Jonathon Power in 1997 (photo © Stephen Line)

By the age of eighteen, Del Harris had become world Junior Squash Champion and British Open Junior Champion for the fourth time in a row and had already made significant strides up the World rankings. Many observers were already predicting an English World #1 and World Champion from this quiet, but talented performer.

Harris was not one for the limelight, but as the decade was drawing to a close, he was touted as the only contender to challenge Jansher Khan, who went on to become the greatest player of the modern era.

Along with Australian counterpart Rodney Martin, Harris played with an aggressive, attacking style which contrasted sharply with the attritional approach followed by the established pro players of the 80's.

Harris represented England over sixty times in a professional playing career spanning seventeen years. It could be said that this groundbreaking style of play helped usher in the new "PAR" scoring system and 17 inch tin. Additionally, Del Harris' meteoric rise pull up with him a new wave of English top five ranked planers such as Simon Parke, Peter Marshall and Paul Johnson.

It is perhaps fitting that there has been no official announcement Harris' retirement from the game, reflecting the very modest character he is, though his impact on the game was undeniability far greater.

Del recently agreed to talk to SquashTalk:

Del Harris in 2003 (photo © Debra Tessier )

Hicks: What are you doing now since retiring from the Professional circuit? Are you still involved with squash in any way?

DH: I am now a firefighter working for the Essex County Brigade back home in England. I am stationed at Hadleight and have been on station for six months now after doing four months at training school. I have no involvement in squash apart from playing now and again to keep fit.

Hicks: You will always be remembered as the quintissential attacking player, did you choose to play that way?

DH: I guess it was just my natural game from an early age, I always loved attacking and going for winners rather than the "up and down the wall" style of play, which I found very boring. I always tried to volley the ball and attack and play at a fast pace, which was when I played my best squash.

Hicks: The press tipped you as the rival to Jansher Khan and the first English player to break the Khan dynasty and become World #1. Describe what that was like. Did you feel under a lot of pressure?

DH: I was always quite a shy person and although the publicity was nice at first, it did put a lot of pressure on me. Not only did it put pressure upon me, I was also a little embarassed by it, especially when playing in tournaments I was expected to win. I could feel a lot of people willing me to lose, which wasn't that nice.

Hicks: Who was better, Jahangir Khan or Jansher Khan?

Del Harris and Jonathon Power in 2002 - two famous attacking players who changed the game. (photo © Debra Tessier )

DH: Very hard to say on that one ... !

I enjoyed Jahangir's style of play more and enjoyed watching him play more than Jansher. They were both very different players but I think Jansher had a more adaptable game, whereas Jahangir generally attacked and played at a very fast pace. Jansher could play and beat players with any style of play, he was very good at varying the pace of the game and changing his style.

Hicks: You enjoyed a very long and distinguished career. What were your main achievements?

DH: Other than representing Engliand on a regular basis (winning the World Team Championships twice by the way!), I didn't actually win many titles as I didn't play the smaller tournaments that a lot of the guys play nowadays.

I won the Peru Open, but my best tournament win was the Superseries Final in 1995, beating Jansher, Peter Nicol and Brett Martin. I was also runner-up in the 1995 World Open Final, losing to Jansher 3-1.

One other odd thing that I am very proud of is that as far as I know, I hold the record for the fasted recorded serve.

Hicks: What was the lowest point of your squash career?

Del Harris - now in the public service. (photo © Del Harris )

DH: I probably had a lot of low points during my career, as some of my match results could be very up and down!

I suppose it was when I was about to defend my British Nationals title which I had won the previous year at the youngest ever age of 17. I got a virus called Bells Palsy which affected the facial nerves on one side of the face. It made one side of my face virtually paralyzed for about two weeks. It was very scary and also meant that I could not defend my title. Thankfully I made a full recovery and was fortunate enough to win the title again the next year.

Hicks: Lastly, how does your role as firefighter compare to being a squash player?

DH: I'm really enjoying being a firefighter. I get up in the morning and look forward to going to work. You never know from one day to the next what you will be facing and have to deal with.

Also, one good thing about being a firefighter is that we do shift work which gives us a lot of time off to keep fit, see friends and enjoy life. My shift is 2 days of 9 hours and 2 nights of fifteen hours and then four days off before my next shift.

It's obviously verry different to playing squash full time, but the similar aspect is the hanging around with your friends and having a laugh. It happens at the fire station on a day to day basis and it happened in squash on tour and at league matches.

I wanted a different challenge and career after playing so many years of squash, so I feel very lucky to have the one job that I really wanted to do.

Playing squash gave me many great years in my life and I am sure being a firefighter will give me many good years in the future.

Hicks: Thanks Del for talking to us, and we wish you the very best of luck in your new career.

DH: Thank you Jason.

Del Harris -fighting fires. (photo © Del Harris )