This time last year I was finishing a book called Interviews with inspiration. It ended up as a collection of interviews I had accumulated over the years, from Jonny Wilkinson to Jess Ennis-Hill to my physio Alison Rose. It was great fun and I learned so much. Late in the process I thought about sitting down with my dad Malcolm for the book. Not just because he’s my dad, but because he’s been one of the most decorated and respected squash coaches in the world.
He introduced me to the game and undoubtedly set me on my way. His expertise and knowledge helped me at every stage. It’s very hard to not make clichéd statements but I couldn’t possibly have done what I’ve done in squash without his help. The chat I recorded for the book took on solemn emphasis when only six months later he was quite suddenly facing his last days after an invasion of cancer, and then a torrent of suffocation took hold.
The world became something slightly other, away from the trivial; a world of the NHS, hospital life, and a glimpse into the extraordinary world of healthcare – and the giving and kind people who make this selflessness a part of their daily existence – a world which most of us merely pass through.
And so the world shifts, becomes pointless and grey and it is the conversations you didn’t have, the things you didn’t ask, which you pore over and reflect upon forensically. From the other side, it’s the times the parent regaled a story or piece of advice and you only half-listened or moved on too quickly. Those lost opportunities niggle and hurt the most, because you now want to know it all.
And so it is with great fondness and sadness that I remember the day not so very long ago when we sat down and I asked him to share his thoughts about how he coaches sport. He was a monumental presence and character. His eccentricities were also documented in a beautiful Squash skills documentary called Do You Know Who I Am? – a perfect title for the opinionated, forthright and witty Malcolm.
I’m now so pleased we did the interview. Of course, sometimes you learn how important and precious these moments are when it is too late. You don’t know what you’ll want until the opportunity is gone. A cliche for the most uncliched of men.
Interviews with inspiration, by James Willstrop, is out now.
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