Ravi Seth is doing his part to carry on the strong family name in racquet sports, winning the Ontario Junior Closed Championship in the Boy's Under 11 division.
Seth defeated Justin Ghaeli for the championship, beating him twice in their last three meetings since October.
Having picked up a squash racquet when he was just five, Seth was all smiles when recalling how much fun he had at the provincials.
"I really like the running and hitting you have to do in squash," he said. "I haven't always been good, and I've had a lot of lessons at the club in Elora."
Proud father Shaman Seth said Ravi followed his older siblings into the sport during one of their many trips to Elora Racquets, and the rest has pretty much taken care of itself.
"We like that it's a family-oriented club, so when we brought him along with us he just got out on the court and started hitting a ball around," he said. "He goes in about 10 tournaments a year now, and he just loves playing."
Ravi said that being the best player in his age group in Ontario feels pretty cool, even if he felt a little pressure during the tournament. After talking with his parents, he took their advice to have fun - the results followed.
"I felt like I was supposed to win, and I didn't play well sometimes," he said. "I talked with my parents and they told me to just go out there and have fun. When I did that, I started to play better."
Jake Doering has seen Ravi's development over the years, first in giving general lessons to kids at the club before spending more time with him in a coaching capacity last year. He attributes his progression to the values learned from his parents and siblings, saying as good as they are on the court they show that same level of sportsmanship off it.
"All of the Seth kids are very humble, and you'll never heard them bragging about anything - it's a real joy for me to have them as part of our club," he said. "Kids here will look at what Ravi has done, and when they watch him playing they know he's number one. It gives them something to strive for."
Doering pointed out that Seth's success is part of a larger sacrifice made by club members, as the junior program at Racquets is the envy of others in the province.
"People here know they are giving up a little now for the future of the game in our junior program players," he said. "The really remarkable thing is you look at Ravi and the kids he's playing against, and when you break it all down I think he's as good as he is because he really loves the game. He'll tag along with his parents when they come here, and on almost every snow day he'll be here playing. I think that says a lot about his love for the sport."