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Patrick Richardson

Coach/Volunteer

1956 -

The legendary basketball coach, John Wooden once said that “a good coach can change a game; a great coach can change a life”. Pat Richardson falls into the category of great coach and over his long coaching career, he changed many lives.

He began playing squash in 1969 at the Jericho Tennis Club in Vancouver. There was no squash professional at the time, so his first coach was Yusuf Khan in Seattle, a 3 hour bus ride away. Says Pat, “Yusuf, my first role model of what a coach should be, would not charge me for lessons”.

His first job, in 1978, was at the Squash Academy and then he moved to Bridlewood. He moved to the MAAA in Montreal and was there from 1979 to 1985. From Montreal, he returned to Toronto and became the squash professional at the Toronto Cricket, Skating & Curling Club. In each iteration of his coaching career, Pat created a thriving and robust junior program and from these programs, came many players who went on to distinguish themselves on the squash courts with Ontario and Canadian Championships. For Pat, it is all about growing the numbers in the Saturday program and after-school. Says Pat, “squash sells itself as long as we don’t spoil the early experiences with too much structure. It's not hard to spot the juniors that really want to be there, they are first on court and last to leave”.

In 2015, Pat began coaching at Urban Squash in Toronto and attends the squash sessions as often and he can.

According to Pat, “just as meaningful as developing national champions, junior coaching is at its best when 20 or 30 years later, players still play regularly, whether in house league or age group championships.

On the squash court, Pat amassed 6 Ontario Championships, 10 Canadian Championships, 1 US Hardball Championship, and one World title.

Pat gave as many hours as a volunteer as he did a coach. He brought his organizational skills to the tournament chair role and in that capacity, chaired, 3 Canadian Doubles Championships, draw master of 20 Canadian Championships and 4 World Doubles Championships. He chaired the Squash Canada Doubles Committee from 2012 – 2017 and served in a similar role for the Squash Ontario Doubles Committee.

He has twice been recognized with the Squash Ontario Special Achievement Award, the Mark Sachvie Coaching Achievement Award and the Province of Ontario’s Syl Apps Volunteer Achievement Award.

Over a span of 40 years, Pat Richardson has made outstanding contributions to the growth and health of the game.