It’s the first time a Cumbrian boy has walked away with a national singles title and caps off a stellar month for the 12-year-old after he represented his country for the first time in the Five Nations, helping England to victory.
Goad, who plays out of Carlisle Squash Club under the tutelage of county coach Paul Bell, pipped his long-time rival, the world number three Sam Todd from Yorkshire in a pulsating final 3-2. The result meant that Goad went one better than he did in the British Championships in November.
In his semi-final at Edgbaston Priory Club he beat Worcester’s Sam Osborne-Wylde in an epic 84-minute battle to win his place in the final.
Goad wasn’t the only player from Carlisle Squash Club competing for honours in the tournament, which pits the top 32 players in the country against one another.
Another four players – Joseph Broadley, in the under 13 boys, James Wilkinson, who also represents Wigton, and Keane Appleton in the under 15 boys and Eve Driver in the under 17 girls – also qualified for the event.
Unseeded Wilkinson and Broadley received tough first round draws and lost their opening matches to compete in the plate. Appleton managed to reach the quarter finals and finished fifth in the standings.
Driver, who has just moved up into the under 17 girls category after reaching number five in England in the under 15s, provided the competition with its first shock by beating the England number eight in the first round. She backed that up with a 3/2 victory in the last 16 to book her a place in the quarter finals where her competition ended.
Their coach Paul Bell said Goad’s title was the “cherry on top of a fantastic season for the juniors at Carlisle Squash Club”.
He added: “There were three players all in the top eight in the country and plenty more just behind. It is the reward for all the hard work the juniors put in week in week out. We are punching well above our weight on the national scene and that shows no sign in changing anytime soon.”