Gouldie earning his place among racquetball’s best

If 10-year-old Leyton Gouldie had the chance to meet his current self, it’s hard to say whether he’d be more shocked or proud of where he is today.

Gouldie, 19, has spent nearly the last decade rounding out his racquetball game to not just being in elite form but to being one of the top players in the country. He was recently named to Racquetball Canada’s National Elite Men’s Team, ranked fourth overall out of six athletes representing Canada on the world stage.

That nomination came off an unbelievable week by Gouldie at the International Racquetball Federation Pan American Championships in Guatemala City in April, as he rallied all the way to the boys’ 21U singles final before coming up just short in a tight 11-9, 11-6, 11-8 battle against Chile’s Jaime Nicolas Mansilla Cid.

“It was super cool to break into there and finally kind of be in that top group of players in Canada,” said the Brandonite on Tuesday. “It’s surreal to see all the places that it’s taken me and all the people I’ve met, and it’s just kind of neat to look back on how far I’ve come. I think about if I was like 10-years-old and I saw myself playing now, how I’d think I was a pretty cool guy.”

That young version of Gouldie discovered the sport in a way he never would have anticipated, as he had just finished up a swim session at Brandon’s Community Sportsplex and was gingerly looking around to see what the other facilities had to offer while he waited for his friend.

The racquetball court caught his eyes, as it was something he hadn’t yet seen before — and before he knew it, he was swinging the racquet around for the first time after a few strangers asked if he wanted to give it a try.

After that, Gouldie was hooked.

“I didn’t even play for long. It was probably just a couple minutes, but I just remember how much the ball bounced and how surprised I was by it,” he said. “I always had lots of energy and it seemed like a pretty high-energy sport, and I always liked to do anything, and now it feels like forever ago, but it’s hard for me to picture a time when racquetball wasn’t one of the biggest parts of my life.

Gouldie’s first year of racquetball was fairly recreational, but that didn’t last very long, as in his next year he would go on to compete at the provincials and secure his first championship at the 10U level. The fact he was able to find success so quickly may be hard to believe, but once you look at his resume with athletics, the math starts to add up.

Gouldie was involved in about every sport you could imagine, from playing tennis at two-year-old to competing in badminton provincials, junior curling provincials, and playing recreational soccer, basketball, pickleball, volleyball, and track and field. He basically checked off all the boxes he could, and it certainly helped him in his racquetball endeavours.

“I did lots of running and stuff as a kid, and I was always naturally able to do that, so the endurance aspect of that is huge, and the hand-eye coordination aspect is too,” said Gouldie. “It was nice that I didn’t really have any like muscle groups or anything that was left behind at all. I felt like my body was pretty diversified while playing, and that kind of gave me a good baseline for stuff.”

After riding the high of a provincial win, Gouldie soon learned the true competitiveness and eliteness in racquetball after getting his “butt kicked” at nationals. It was sort of a wake-up call that he took to heart.

“It was my first game of the tournament, and I think I lost like 15-0, 15-1 to a kid (Raphaël Guillemette) from Quebec. It was definitely eye-opening,” Gouldie said. “As a kid, you’re 10-years-old and won the provincials, I think it’s impossible not to have a little bit of ego thinking that you’re going to do really good at the next tournament too. Obviously that quickly changed when I got there because there’s just a level that I hadn’t seen before with kids my age.”

It was a humbling experience, but it was also necessary for Gouldie, who would spend the next year training even harder to try and match the level of his competition across the country. At the next junior nationals in Calgary, it was clear Gouldie’s game improved, as he kept up with the other top names across the board but still failed to secure a medal.

His fortunes turned around the following year after capturing a bronze medal at the 2017 junior national championships, and after that, he would continue to find a place on the podium for six more years.

“It was just a mentality of keep pushing forward, always trying to beat the next person in line, almost,” he said. “I always had two kids that I’ve kind of had in my age group all throughout that have always been really good, and like I said, at the start of my first year, they kicked my butt, but now I’ve caught up to them, and the last few times I’ve played them, I’ve beaten them. So, it’s nice to see the progression that way.”

Gouldie most recently got his revenge on Guillemette in the 18U singles category at the junior national championships in Burlington, Ont. In December, earning himself a gold medal. He said it’s one of his fondest memories he will look back on when it’s all said and done.

“To finally be in that age group with all the top players that I’ve been competing with for 10 years now and to finally beat them all and win the gold that way was super special,” said Gouldie.

He credits a significant part of his success over the past three years to Marc Plante, a mental coach who’s really helped him stay locked in during the match when pressure and nerves come into the fold while playing on a large stage. It’s a skill he needed to put to use in Guatemala City, as it was the youngster’s first time competing as a member of the senior national team — but nonetheless, he was still able to reach the final before losing to the No. 1 ranked Mansilla Cid, who’s three years older than Gouldie.

“It was such a cool experience to see the highest level of racquetball in the world being played right in front of my eyes. Just getting to see and hang out with everyone and being around the top players in the world was something I don’t think I will ever forget,” Gouldie said. “I was right in there the whole time, and to be able to compete with someone who is that much further along than me, just age-wise in development and everything like that, was super cool too.

“I’ve been working hard at it for a long time, but to say that five years ago, I would be where I am today, I would have thought that was untrue, but I’m certainly glad to have had the opportunity. I feel like I’ve been putting in the effort that is required to do that, and I don’t plan on stopping.”

What else Gouldie doesn’t plan on changing is his pre-game routine, which is a pretty simple one but he’s stuck to for around two years now. One hour before a match, he puts his headphones on and plays the same three songs back-to-back each time: X Ambassadors’ Renegades, Flo Rida’s My House and Sia’s Unstoppable. It’s hard to think he wouldn’t get tired of the same songs, but “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

“It sounds funny, but it’s focusing on focusing, which doesn’t sound like it makes any sense, but it works for me,” he said. “I’m focused on blocking out all the distractions and obviously warming up with different exercises and stretches and stuff like that.

When I’m playing, I just kind of go into a separate mode where I’m just playing racquetball and I’m not really thinking about anything else, which has helped me so much and is a part of the reason why I feel like I’ve been able to have fairly consistent success over the past couple of years.”

Gouldie will look to carry his momentum over to what will be a busy month, as he will head to a Racquetball Canada Selection Event in Brossard, Que., Nov. 21 and 22, before heading back to his hometown for the Brandon Classic tournament at the Sportsplex on the 28th, playing doubles alongside his younger brother Oren. The duo won gold together at the open doubles provincial tournament this year and will be the front runners to come out on top again in a months time.

“It’s obviously really cool to be able to play with him,” Gouldie said. “He’s not always the most receptive to me telling him stuff because I’m his brother, but we do what we can, and it’s great to even just be able to hit with him because even though he’s only like 14-years-old, he’s better than I was at that age, and I hope he sticks with it and keeps going.”

Shortly after the Brandon Classic, the brothers will both head to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from Dec. 5 to 13th to represent Canada at the World Junior Racquetball Championships.

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com