Williamstown junior squash star Dylan Molinaro is quickly rising through the ranks of his sport, recently finishing runner-up at the Australian Junior Championships and playing a key part in Victoria’s third placing.
Molinaro, 14, first took up the sport four years ago, following his father Frank into the game and quickly impressing with his natural abilities and fast learning.
Within a year he was playing in adult pennant competitions, and was soon playing in state tournaments as he began to rise up the junior ranks of the state.
“It all came to me pretty naturally,” Molinaro said.
“I started playing competitions when I was 12, and played in the Victorian tournaments which were good fun. I was playing against men at 11 and some were easier than others, but some were pretty hard.”
Molinaro steadily built through the ranks of the Victorian circuit, but his biggest result came at the recent Australian Junior Championships which he entered as the fifth seed in the under 15 boys category.
He cruised through the first two rounds without dropping a game, but in the quarter-finals he came up against number one seed Remi Young from Western Australia.
The match turned into a five game epic, with Molinaro coming back from 2-1 down to win the final two games and progress to the semi-finals.
“It was pretty amazing,” Molinaro said.
“It was really hard, but winning that match was pretty cool. It was probably the best game I’ve played. I took a lot of confidence out of that and I thought maybe I could win the tournament.”
Although Molinaro progressed to the final with a 3-0 win in the semi, he came up short against number two seed Wesley Dyer despite winning the first two games.
While he missed out on winning the championship, Molinaro was named the fairest and best male player at the tournament, taking home the MC Hazel Award along with a third placing overall for the Victorian team.
“That was pretty cool,” he said. “I like the whole Victorian squash community, so it was good to do so well with them.”
Molinaro’s squash received a big boost at the start of the year when he was awarded a scholarship to Kooyong Lawn Tennis and Squash Club, giving him access to some of the best courts and coaches in the state.
“It’s good to see how they play, and to get coached by the coach there, Malcolm McClarty, it’s really important with the drills and games we do, and also just talking about different aspects of the game.
“The big goal I guess would be to become a top 10 player in the world, and definitely Commonwealth Games. Hopefully if I can keep my training up I can reach both those goals.”
There is also the potential for Molinaro to head to the US to pursue squash, with Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Yale competing in the sport.
