After Erik Nidzyn wrote his first and probably best article of all time about my life, I received many questions; the most frequent however, was “Alex, what is Squash?”
Many wonder why the sport was given its name since the game has no correlation to the vegetable. It is named “Squash” because when you strike the ball into a flat hard surface, it squashes.
Squash was first played in 1830 at the Harrow School in northern London, and quickly spread around England. Squash is now played worldwide. Hopefully it will soon become an Olympic Sport.
A squash court has four walls, with a top line marking out of bounds on the front wall and two sidewalls. The glass back wall has no markings on it. The front wall and floor are the only surfaces that have marking lines, and they are all only used for serving purposes. The line in the middle of the front wall marks the service line, in which players must serve the ball over this line and into their opponent’s box.
There are about a dozen shots one can play in Squash, however, there are 4 main shots: straight shot, cross shot, boast shot, and drop shot. The straight shot is when a “squasher” strikes the ball straight down one side of the court, the cross shot is when the ball is played to the opposite side of the court, the boast shot is when one strikes the ball and it hits either of the two side walls and then the front wall, and the drop shot is when the player gently hits the ball in the front of the court.
A few cities in the Northeast are referred to as the “heart” cities of Squash. Philadelphia, Greenwich, and New York are all places where Squash thrives most in the United States.
Very few public Squash clubs exist on Long Island. The only Squash club out on the East End is at the SYS Recreation Center in Southampton. The club is relatively cheap compared to other clubs around the country.
In years past, SYS has had several world-renowned Squash pros but currently has no “full-time” pro. However, I am the acting Program Director of Squash and part-time pro. I am trying to build the youth program and get more memberships to the club. During the fall, winter, and spring seasons, there is a drop in memberships because the main time for people to play out in the Hamptons is when the summer-folk come out.
In the past I have brought friends to the Squash Club to give them a shot at trying the sport. Gentleman Roger Llivisaca said, “After Alex brought me to try the sport, I instantly thought it was a ton of fun.” Even well-known Harrison Aponte asked me today, “When’s the next time we are going to go play Squash?”
If anyone would like to try playing Squash, there is no cost for first-timers. If you have any questions about playing at SYS, give them a ring and try out Squash!
See more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6-d2Wv1sJg