Jonathon Power in Toronto
May 7, 2005 by Ryan Barnett, SquashTalk Independent News Service © 2005 

JONATHON POWER CONTINUES TO DAZZLE THE SQUASH WORLD
Jonathon Power's professional squash career has spanned 14yrs. During this time the game has undergone many changes. Players have come and gone. Rules have been upgraded and he himself has matured both as a squash player and as an individual. In a candid interview Power reveals his thoughts on the past, present and future.

Jonathon Power: "I still get the buzz from winning ... the feeling you get ..." photo © Fritz Borchert

Barnett: What keeps you going? Where's the hunger, the drive, motivation at these days? Any problems getting out of bed, heading to the court/office to make it happen?

JP: I think that comes and goes. Obviously there are certain times in your life when you're more interested in squash than others. These days I'm enjoying just playing. I still get the buzz from winning. Winning that one match that individual match and the feeling you get. I play for that these days. That one match at a time winning feeling.

Barnett: Let's talk about the maturation of JP as a player and as a person.

JP: As a player as you get older you can maintain the strength and all that. You've just got to work twice as hard. You don't recover as well so you have to do all of the little extras (i.e. physio after matches) When you're younger you don't have to be as well hydrated, do your stretching, do your weight training, because you respond or comeback so quickly. As you get older you've got to cross all the T's and dot all the I's. You've got to make sure you've done everything exactly right as it does make a big difference. As a person you learn along the way. Treat others with respect and if possible try not to make the same mistakes twice.

Barnett: What's the biggest difference for you in terms of the quality of player you're facing on the PSA tour now as opposed to your earlier years?

Jonathon Power: "I wanna get to #1 one more time..." photo © Fritz Borchert

JP: There's much more depth right now than there ever has been at any time during my career. There's no question about that. The game has changed. The tactics have changed. The tin has changed, the scoring has changed. Now that I think about it there's not really a whole lot that resembles the squash from the early 90's. Guys are training year round, are in better shape then when I first started. It's allot better. This has made the game more competitive. The scoring change has lumped everyone together even more. Some players don't like it but I think it's good for the spectator as it makes every match a little closer and more competitive. It's harder to separate yourself from the other guy these days.

Barnett: Future goals. What is left for you to do?

JP: I wanna get to #1 one more time. I want to do it this year by November 1st. That's the goal and after that I'm going to work on just enjoying my squash and playing when I want to. I haven't really been looking that far ahead but am looking to November when my penalty zeros come off from missing tournaments last year. When that happens I'll be able to maybe achieve the #1 ranking so that's what I'm going to go for.

Barnett: Last question. Life after squash. Perhaps start a family?

JP: It'll come one day that's for sure. Right now I continue to be busy with allot of other things but yeah one day for sure.

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