Determined Georgia Adderley is a woman with two missions at once. Not content with aiming to be world No.1 in her sport of squash, she’s also intent on growing the game and encouraging more kids to get involved.
The 18-year-old, currently ranked World No.108, is working tirelessly to realise her goals with the support of Scottish Squash and the sportscotland institute of sport.
Georgia said: “I want to be World No.1 – that’s my aim. I want to be a professional squash player, and I know if I keep working hard I have the abilities to be a top professional.
“There are long-term goals and short-term goals, and having more than one means that if you’re having a bad day on court you know that every session you’re doing is helping you work towards your goals. I find goal-setting really helpful; it gives me extra motivation to train that little bit harder and push that little bit further.”
Encouraging others
Her focus isn’t just on her own success. Georgia, who played football at youth representative level was heavily involved in setting up Girls Do Squash to encourage youngsters into the sport. HIIT Squash is one programme that has derived from Girls Do Squash, which benefited from a grant from the Women & Girls Fund, made available by Scottish Government and sportscotland in early 2019.
Georgia said: “It’s so, so important and something that I really enjoy doing. I love sharing what sport has done in my life, and the way it’s positively affected me in so many different ways.
“I just want people to play sport, and if that happens to be squash then absolutely brilliant.
“For girls especially, they just need to get out and do some exercise and I think squash is a great way to do that. Football and athletics are great, too – just doing any sport is important.”
In October 2018 Georgia became British junior champion for the second time in consecutive years. She is based at Heriot-Watt University, where she receives performance support from the Scottish Squash Academy and the nearby sportscotland institute of sport, which now has a regional base on campus at Oriam, Scotland’s Sports Performance Centre.
Support team
Georgia, from Edinburgh, said: “I talk to my coach every day while I’m away, basically just discussing what I’m doing and what I’m focusing on, to ensure I’m best prepared.
“I’m also doing the same with my strength coach to ensure I’m doing all the right things to make sure my body is in the best possible physical condition. We also have access to physios if we need them, but I’ve been lucky and not really needed them.
“We have the psychology support and performance lifestyle support if we need it.
“It’s great to have that support team. Having more people who can have a say on things and help you improve and reach your goals is massively important.”
Georgia is also supported by Scottish Squash sponsor Springfield Properties, and she feels as though she has a team behind her when she steps on to the court. She added: “You know you’ve got people backing you. When you’re away, it’s really easy to feel like you’re out there by yourself, but everyone is just a message or call away.”
Georgia is very keen to continue in the sport when she puts down her competitive racquet and would like to coach. She said: “Absolutely. It’s a big passion of mine to get more people involved, especially young people, girls and boys.”
Find out more
- For more information on Girls Do Squash and Scottish Squash, visit their website
- Learn about sportscotland institute of sport
