US Schools: New Canaan boys squash earns nation’s No. 2 public school ranking
ncadvertiser.com
The New Canaan High School boys squash team capped its ninth season by finishing with the nation’s No. 2 ranking among public high schools… read more…
ncadvertiser.com
The New Canaan High School boys squash team capped its ninth season by finishing with the nation’s No. 2 ranking among public high schools… read more…
After winning the national championship last year, three New Canaan squash players and their coach, New Canaan resident Jim Stephens, returned to the 2016 U.S. High School Team Squash Championship as members of the Brunswick School Varsity A-Team.
Hosted by the Philadelphia Cricket Club from February 12-14, the tournament had 172 high school teams from 14 states with more than 1,500 players spread across seven divisions.
New Canaan residents playing for Brunswick were junior Tyler Carney in the No. 2 spot, co-captain and senior Drew Monroe at No. 3 and senior Boden Polikoff at No. 6.
Brunswick received the top seeding in Division I and faced Lawrenceville, a three-time past winner, in the first round, winning 6-1. In the next round, the Bruins played Deerfield Academy, a perennial Division I team and knocked them off with a score of 7-0. In the semifinals, Brunswick faced Avon Old Farms, which won the championship in 2014. With several matches going to the maximum five games, Brunswick ended up on top with a final score of 6-1.
The championship round pit Brunswick against the No. 2 seed, the Haverford School, which was the home-town favorite located a short distance from the venue.
Brunswick ran out to a 2-0 lead, which went to 2-2, and then to 3-2 with Monroe’s victory at No. 3. The deciding match was won 3-2 in a come-from-behind victory by a Brunswick sophomore, giving Brunswick the 4-3 win and the national championship.
Carney, playing No. 1 in the first two matches, went 2-2, Monroe, who played No. 2 in the first two matches, went 4-0, and Polikoff went 3-1 at the No. 6 spot.
For coach Stephens, who received the Coach of the Year award from the U.S Squash Association last year — the first time a high school coach has ever received the award — it was his second national championship and the second year in a row that his team has gone undefeated.
goprincetontigers.com
The youth movement for Princeton squash will continue next season, as Sean Wilkinson, the Robert W. Callahan '77 Head Coach of Men's Squash, couldn't be more excited.
The youth movement for Princeton squash will continue next season, as Sean Wilkinson, the Robert W. Callahan ‘77 Head Coach of Men’s Squash, couldn’t be more excited.
One year after bringing in a class that included four varsity starters — including a trio that held the top three spots when healthy — Wilkinson will welcome a trio into the Class of 2020 that he believes could have a similar immediate impact.
“I’m thrilled with the group coming in this fall,” Wilkinson said of Gabriel Morgan, Adhitya Raghavan and Shehab Thabet. “We are looking for student-athletes that make a difference, and these three guys are going to push us to be better. They are future leaders, tremendous students, and fabulous athletes. We can’t wait to start working with them. It’s tremendous when you look around and you see how young we are, and then add these three guys to it. There is a lot to be positive about.”
You can read more about this incoming trio. read the article…
chestnuthilllocal.com
Coach Paul Assaiante speaks to students at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. by Eric Dolente Paul Assaiante, perhaps the most renowned squash and tennis co
by Eric Dolente
Paul Assaiante, perhaps the most renowned squash and tennis coach in the collegiate sports world, visited Springside Chestnut Hill Academy on Thursday, May 5, to give a talk on success.
Although recently retired from coaching tennis, Assaiante remains the head coach of the highly successful, long-lived dynasty that is the Trinity College squash team in Hartford, Conn. That team’s 14-year, 252-game unbeaten streak remains the longest of its kind in intercollegiate sports in the United States.
Assaiante wrote and published an acclaimed book called “Run To The Roar” with James Zug in 2010, which captured more than just his experiences as a coach. The book explains not only how to face one’s fears but contains a dedicated apology to his children for not raising them as he would’ve hoped, and how the squash arena is actually “nothing more than how you treat people.”
“You can accomplish amazing things by doing so,” he said.
Upon his visit to Philadelphia, Assaiante, often referred to as “Coach,” acted as commentator for exhibition matches at the Philadelphia Squash Club with professionals Gilly Lane (Chestnut Hill Class of ’03) and Parth Sharma (Trinity Class of ’10), as well as lead a clinic for members of SCH’s middle and high school squash teams.
Assaiante spoke with a crowd of ardent players, parents, and others in SCH’s Upper School Auditorium to hear his wise words. He showed a short clip that highlighted his achievements, including setting a consecutive 252 wins and 13 NCAA national titles record and other amazing statistics of the Trinity squash program under his reign.
These achievements, however, were not the subject of his lecture.
He discussed the importance of putting your best foot forward for everything you do.
“That’s what I ask of my players every day,” he said. “How often do we go all in?”
In 2002, Assaiante suffered a stroke. He said he believed he was too hard on himself about trying to be the best coach.
“You need a balanced life,” he said, “in order to become a more productive human being.”
After Princeton had beaten Trinity and broken the long-lasting record in 2012, Assaiante admitted that it was the proudest day in his life as a coach.
“The look of tears and snot pouring down the boys’ faces showed me they had put everything in and gave it their all,” he said.
“Sports teach you how to win, lose, go on the fly, know when losing your cool isn’t just that, and life lessons through experience,” he said. “That’s why I became a coach.”
HARTFORD — Trinity women's squash coach Wendy Bartlett grew up in the pre-Title IX era but wanted to play sports desperately.
Trinity women’s squash coach Wendy Bartlett grew up in the pre-Title IX era but wanted to play sports desperately.
The only sport available to her was tennis. And that morphed into Bartlett’s wanting to coach young women and give them opportunities she had not had growing up.
Thirty-two years later, Bartlett has done that while building the Trinity program into a perennial power with three national championships (the last in 2014). This season, the Bantams are ranked fifth in the country.
But since Bartlett started recruiting internationally in 1998, she has faced different issues. Now her main focus is to get her top-notch international players to understand what it means to play for a team.
“My job as a coach has been increasingly, ‘OK, we have these super talented players, but they have to understand the whole team concept,’” Bartlett said. “Did you see their shirts? They say 'Trinity Squash.’ They have to wear their shirts. A lot of them don’t like it. They want to play in tank tops. We have three Muslims on the team and they can’t wear tank tops. So I have to make something that’s generically appealing. They have to wear it. … read the full article…