A teacher from Curro Salt Rock in Dolphin Coast, KwaZulu-Natal is full of smiles after triumphantly representing the region at the Growthpoint Interprovincial Squash tournament held in East London between the 10 and 15 July 2022.

Twenty-two-year-old Umar Hoosen, a Grade 8 mathematics, and Grades 10 to 12 Computer Application Technology (CAT) teacher, performed incredibly well, winning three of his five games. As a result, he has now been ranked sixth in the entire Dolphin Coast.

“It has been a privilege and honour to represent my province, and this is certainly a week I will never forget. The exposure, relationships and bonds I formed have been tremendous and it has only motivated me to keep training and improving. Squash is a game of strategy – to outwit your opponent you inevitably become a problem-solver and I hope I can show my students that this strategy can be applied to overcome whatever challenges life throws at them too,” says Hoosen.

A previous cricketer and past Umhlali Country Club champion, Hoosen only started playing squash in 2019 but quickly excelled, rising to become one of the top ten players in KwaZulu-Natal’s North Coast.

“At Curro, we are accustomed to sharing the remarkable extracurricular achievements of our learners, so it is exceptionally refreshing to be able to celebrate the fantastic triumphs of our teachers too. We hope Mr. Hoosen’s successes both on the squash court and in the classroom will continue to encourage learners to work hard and remain focussed and committed,” says Bryn Thomas, Executive Head at Curro Salt Rock.

Although things might be happening faster than he expected, Hoosen is taking it all in his stride, already training hard for his next tournament, the South African Squash National Qualifiers in Durban during August and September 2022.