An Awesome Effort

By Brett Erasmus 

Last Saturday ten teams of fund raisers gathered in Harlem to play in the 2nd annual StreetSquash Cup (www.streetsquash.org/cup). 

Each team fielded one pro and one StreetSquasher in their line up of 6 players. The games went on for many hours with each team playing 6 ties. The Williams Alumni and the Racquet and Tennis Club finished on top. They had some good players. Afterward there was an exhibition game featuring Chris Walker. It was a lot of fun and was a great day for squash in New York.

A Cure for the Crash, Go Camping (Cos it's a Dog's Life)

By Brett Erasmus

If the 1,000 point intra day stock market crash of yesterday has got you throwing up in the toilet, do I have good news for you? Besides for the fact that it is Friday (you have less than one business day to endure), in the long run you may wish to consider less drastic measures for feeling better. Like attending a summer squash camp -- or, sending your kids to one. I have been asked many times about camps for both juniors and adults, so I did a little homework. Here is the rundown on a selection of camps to the best of my knowledge, in order of distance from New York, closest to farthest (all of the links are temporarily at the top right of this site) -

If you live here and do not wish to travel far, then check out Chris Walker's camps at the NYSC in White Plains. He has a great team of coaches who give lessons and camps for both juniors and adults. Chris is a phenomenal squash player as well as coach. On occasion in his career, Chris has beaten many of the best players the game has ever produced. He is the real deal and anyone would be privileged to get his advice and attention on the court for a few days. In fact, if your kid is left handed this would be a good option (as, so is Chris).

What Does It Take?

by Tracy Gates

There are over 4,000 members of the MSRA. And 698 played on league teams this year. But only four of them won the prestigious Lehman and Fernandez awards for most improved player. As I happen to know three of them (full disclosure: as a league captain I can nominate, but I had nothing to do with choosing the winners), I have a pretty good idea what it takes—what it should take—to get this award. So listen up. Want to be in contention next year? This is what you have to do. . . .

How the Hyder Gets Done

By Corey Modeste

I am Corey Modeste, an MSRA volunteer and one of the people involved in the planning of the MSRA’s Grand Open and Hyder Squash tournaments.  Some of you may see me onsite during the weekend, but my biggest contribution are made in the months and weeks prior to the tournaments when the key logistical elements are put in place.

 

Not that you were thinking about it (and not that I would accept right away) but if you were to bribe someone to have your matches played on your ideal schedule and against the right seeds, I’d be that person.  While I was a decent league and tournament player a few years ago, somewhere along the line, I realized that I was a really good tournament director.

Even though I know you’d rather play squash than read about how it’s planned, I enjoy planning tournaments so much that this fact didn’t stop me from taking a moment to write about what goes into an event like the Hyder or the Grand. Here is what it’s like, starting with 12 months to go.

Congratulations, resolutions, and one confession

By Tracy Gates

The end of the league season is upon us. Later this week, we will see what squashmates look like in regular clothes at the MSRA league party; we will cheer as the plaques are distributed to the division winners and finalists; and we will honor the most improved players of the season. If we don’t win anything, we will be happy that our sport comes with an occasional open bar and (mostly) such convivial comrades. Congrats to all.

Speaking of congratulations, I have a bit of a confession to make—which I don’t believe that I’ve owned up to until now.  I was awarded the most improved female player award last year. The plexiglass award is sitting on my mantle. I am very proud of it. But I should not have received it.

'Are you ready for this, champ?

photo courtesy Rob White (www.robwhitephotography.com)

By Brett Erasmus

Have you ever seen the movie Rudy? You know, the one about the Notre Dame student who lacks the talent and physical size to be a serious football player, but at the end of the last game in his final year he finally comes in - and sacks the opposing quarterback in a perfect ending. It is an inspiring story and every now and then you are lucky enough to stumble across an experience that moves you like this. This happened to me on Wednesday night...

Winning and Losing It

By Tracy Gates

During a round of drinks to celebrate our finals win against the Harvard Club, one of my teammates mused aloud that competing was perhaps too stressful to be worth doing. This was from the teammate who had played more challenge matches than anyone else AND won most of her matches during the season.  Another teammate nodded her head vigorously in agreement. What? We’d just won the finals in our division and they were already bailing on next season??

An Even Bigger Apple

By Brett Erasmus

Why is New York called the Big Apple? Opinions vary, but some think it dates back to old horse racing days. New York was the race to win, you see.

Well, this weekend the Eastern Athletic Club hosts the Big Apple Open squash tournament. This event has been on and off over the years and we are glad it has found a new home in Brooklyn. The MSRA is quietly expanding into the boroughs of New York. Not surprising given that one of the stated organizational objectives is to support squash in all 5 boroughs of NYC, as well as Westchester County, Fairfield County, and all of Long Island.

Pre-playoff update

The winter league season is coming to a close; playoffs and finals matches run through April, and the season closes with the annual League Party on April 29.

Here are some things to look out for in the upcoming playoff matches:

- Men's 3.0: Season-long rivals NYU and HRC may be heading for a finals showdown. This will be a particularly interesting match given the drama between the teams this year... and the fact that neither of these scrappy teams even has home courts.

Heart, Mind, Body and Soul?

By Brett Erasmus

On September 4 last year I wrote a note about our Summer of Fun at the SL Green StreetSquash Center. You know, the place in Harlem that Hilary Clinton opened about a year ago. A bunch of you stepped out of your comfort zone, made the trip uptown, and competed against unknown opponents under quite different conditions; i.e. younger opponents who could run forever on very hot brand new ASB squash courts. Everyone had loads of fun doing this. If you missed the opportunity to see the place (it is quite impressive) you will get more chances in the future, don’t worry.