Dear Parents,

The Uk trip concluded almost a week ago and I'm sure all the kids have had ample time to recover from our adventure.  I know it took me a while.  With the conclusion of the UK trip the first summer of Squash and Beyond World has also concluded.  I was lucky enough to be able to be a leader on both trips and can tell you that each one had an extremely different flavor and faced different kinds of challenges.  The UK trip faced four main challenges, other than squash, that really comprised the backbone of the trip. 

First, there is no question that the 9 to 1 boy to girl ratio created an interesting dynamic.  However, this was handled skillfully and adeptly by Danielle, who learned a lot more about life with boys than I think she had originally anticipated.  However it was not only a lesson for her, but for the boys and the coaches.  At times we felt like the three of us were on her side and being taken over by 9 young rambunctious teenage boys.  The food and the smells and the sounds and the size of them was all overwhelming.  But to her credit, and to their credit and I think to ours as well, we all managed to get through the trip and build strong friendships, not despite the situation, but maybe because of it in many ways.  

Secondly there was a vast age difference ranging from 13 to 18.  In all areas of a trip like this, age can pose a problem, in the rooming situation, in the squash court, in the car, during the meals.  However to our surprise this was hardly an issue (except for some memorable outbursts).  The younger kids ate and talked with the older kids.  The older ones were accepting and acted as big brothers.  The younger ones were brave and not afraid to dive right in and join the fun.  When I was 13 or 14 I would have been scared out of my mind to have dinner with an 18 year old, or to share a room together. But they all handled it like pros including Lucas and Mark, who were really brave to go on the trip to begin with. I think that on the other end Will Campo definitely showed a lot of maturity when it came to socializing with the younger guys.

Thirdly, the UK itself was in a bad mood when we were there.  There was not one day where it didn't rain.  Seriously.  And in the end I think it took its toll on all of us all though we didn't realize it.  The constant drizzle and the darkness and the wet clothes were exhausting and sometimes took a lot of energy to get through.  But don't worry, they complained about this, a lot.  However there was one shining moment where I think they really understood what it meant to be traveling.  We had taken a 2.5 hour tour of Edinburgh and all of us were soaked to the bone.  However, when the tour guide was summarizing I looked at all the kids faces and realized they had actually enjoyed it!  This is when we defeated the rain.  Then we took a boat ride in the lake district and we were beaten back again as a few of us, but mostly Ted, and including myself had the most miserable hour on a lake possible, as we were drenched over and over again by the freezing waves and the wind that chilled us even more.  Some of the guys really proved what they have inside of them on the squash court, Danielle did on the social aspect, and Ted, well Ted really proved himself on the boat that day.  

The last big challenge of the trip was the distance that we covered.  From JFK to Manchester (Christian flew from Vancouver first), Manchester to Edinburgh, then down to the Carlisle and then to the lake district and then an 8 hour journey to Cardiff.  From there we stopped in Bath and then saw Stonehenge and then finally made it to London where we still had to do a ton of traveling.  This is exhausting and can bring out the worst in people.  Especially the car rides.  However some of them bonded the most in the car rides.  Nick couldn't get enough of them, as his stories will be echoing in my ears for years to come.  Willy had a few stories too, but I was mostly surprised with his ability to get shotgun almost every single time.  Towards the end that same determination definitely appeared on the squash courts as well.

There were also some guys that simply added to the trip in the best way possible.  Jay, Theo and Christian were good solid kids who brought a lot of laughter, passion for squash and travel to the trip. They really brought a lot to the table in all aspects but especially with their hard work on court.  All in all it was successful and without those four main challenges it would have been a vacation rather than an adventure.  So although I still wish it had not rained every single day, I think we can look at those challenges as positives because they definitely made them uncomfortable at times and there's really no better way to grow and learn than to attack an uncomfortable situation and get through it.

Nick and Ethan, the coaches, did an amazing job the whole time.  You couldn't ask for two better people to travel with than them.  Full of energy, talented, passionate and straight up funny. They really helped bring everyone together on and off the court and the kids are lucky to have traveled with both of them.  

Thanks for letting us travel with your kids and I hope to see them all again either on the UK trip or another one of Squash and Beyond Worlds' adventures.  

Thanks,
Ben