My first experience of NY squash was
the finals of the Boodles Gin Open – Sharif Khan vs. Mike Desaulniers
at the Uptown Racquet Club exhibition court in November of 1980 for my
12th birthday. I started playing tournaments in NY a month later. I
lost to George Polsky at the Harvard Club in the 12-and-unders at the
Ivy Club Classic. I loved NY squash. I played all the tournaments,
followed all the pro players, and read the yearbook cover to cover,
over and over.
My dream starting at age 12 was to be
a pro squash player on the hardball tour. I didn’t know that softball
even existed except as a different sport in a far away land. But
when I graduated college, there was no more hardball tour. It had
basically disintegrated during my senior year.
I therefore set out to play on the
pro “softball” tour, and tried to learn how to play this game while
traveling and playing the best players in the world. I actually made it
through the qualifiers in my second tournament in LA, but got trashed
in the 1st round by the World #13.
I stationed myself in NY during this
time – I trained, played practice matches, and played the local
tournaments. But NY squash had changed dramatically. Everything had
gone softball. Most of the hardball guys (those who couldn’t play good
softball, couldn’t stay in good enough shape, or just didn’t like
softball) retreated from the scene and started playing just hardball
doubles or stopped playing altogether. A rift developed between the
people who ran NY Squash and the private clubs and there was clear
animosity. The league that was once vibrant, fell way off. A fraction
of the previous tournament players entered tournaments. Long standing
tournaments stopped being held. People stopped coming to watch
tournaments because the softball game just wasn’t as exciting.
It was, looking back, a very
depressing time for squash in NYC. There was a small group of us that
were very serious about our squash and we really just kept on going
despite what was happening to the NY squash scene. But it was hard not
to notice that the number of excellent players entering NY squash
tournaments was very small. It wasn’t hard to get to the finals. It
wasn’t that way before.
I have thought a lot about how squash
in NY declined, and how, in my mind, it has been making a slow but
steady comeback over the last 10 or so years, and I have a couple of
thoughts about the current state of squash in NY:
1. NY Squash is currently
in the best shape it has been in since the “rupture” in terms of
tournament and league participation and attendance at NY Squash social
events. Every year it seems to get a little bit better.
2. The league has rebounded
significantly and now has over 800 players. In the top division the
level of play is very high and good players can count on getting a good
match each week.
3 Junior and High School squash is
bigger than it ever has been.
4. Doubles has caught on and new
players have joined the old, and both are playing tournaments and are
playing in the relatively new but thriving doubles league. The
Century Doubles has become a major tournament on the NY calendar.
5. StreetSquash and CitySquash are
very much a part of NY Squash. Many players give their time and
money, and the two organizations are generous in allowing NY squash to
have events at their facilities. The CitySquash Bash and the
StreetSquash Cup are two of the greatest events on the NY calendar.
6. The Tournament of Champions week
is the highlight of the year and very much is the anchor to the NY
squash calendar.
7. The wall between the Private Clubs
and NY Squash is slowly coming down. While few private club players
play in NY squash tournaments and several of the private clubs do not
participate in the singles leagues, the doubles leagues have been an
excellent bridge to getting them more involved.
My biggest concern is the dwindling
number of commercial courts, and my hope is that the NY Squash
organization will focus a large amount of their efforts on “selling”
squash to existing and new sports clubs in the City. The economics of
commercial club squash are very challenging in Manhattan. Real
estate prices have gone through the roof in the last 20-30 years and
sports clubs have a harder and harder time justifying keeping
squash. While private Clubs and some schools have steadily added
courts over the past 15 years, the City desperately needs more
commercial club squash courts if we are to continue to grow. If this
isn’t figured out, the potential of NY Squash will be severely limited. Squash in New York is nowhere near
where it was in the roaring 80’s, but it has developed a solid
foundation and is long past the life support years of the 90’s. Many,
many New Yorkers are devoted to the game and are determined to keep it
growing. We have the players and we have the passion. We just need the
courts.
John Musto
is a level 2 US Certified Coach, the Head Pro at the Princeton Club of
NY, and was the 2012 6.0 National Champion. John competed for the US
National team and was a 4-time All-American and #1 player for the
2-time National Champion Yale team. You can follow John at johnmustosquash.com.
What's
On My Mind is a column by
rotating writers. Contact DailySquashReport@gmail.com
