By Kevin Klipstein
It’s amazing to think that only 15 years ago, with the conversion to softball, the squash community in the US was in the midst of a deeply divisive battle over the future of the sport. Now what I hear from most is they feel things are going fairly well for the sport. Regardless, I am always impressed with how much people think about the sport and how passionate they are about its well-being.
There is more to do, and our collective aspirations for the sport are much higher than where we are now, but it appears that most people have a sense of perspective on the game. I also hear things said about squash in the US that aren’t necessarily true, but are topics that warrant some broader investigation and discussion, including:
- College players don’t play after they graduate
- Adults leave the game as they get older because it’s too hard on the body
- Adults don’t care about the rankings
The data on college players’ post-graduation habits and on adults “leaving the game” is mixed and, in some cases, not complete. The Association has not always had access to the kind of data that we do now as a result of technology introduced over the last several years. We do know that there is a dip in participation in sanctioned play among 20-something players from what we would expect based on the number of players in college. So the assertion that many players stop playing after college is probably true, and we are focusing some of our programs on ways to encourage players to continue on with the game right out of school. That said, we should be measuring ourselves against how many college athletes in sports such as swimming, hockey, basketball, lacrosse, tennis, and golf continue with their sport compared to squash. My sense is that we already do quite well versus these sports.
That is also not the full story. What we have found is that after the dip in participation by players in their 20’s, there is a significant increase in players in their 30’s, some of whom are likely former college players who have settled into their lives a little more, joined a club, and reconnected with old friends. New players are also coming to the sport more than ever before through programs like the ones run at Life Time Fitness clubs across the country. Further, the number continues to increase for players in their 40’s. These increases are most likely due to the strong District-run leagues in many of the major squash cities such as Boston, New York and Philadelphia, the first two fielding adult leagues with nearly 80 teams each.
The number of players then does begin to drop off for those in their 50’s, which to those who have access to a hardball doubles court, is no surprise. Hardball doubles has a great social component and requires less running and fitness. Playing softball singles and hardball doubles, however, is not mutually exclusive, and many play both. We are also starting to consider ways to keep players in the game longer, including using Dunlop balls already on the market that have more bounce, and are suited to players less-able to cover the drops that experience allows them to play. The Hardball Singles Committee has also embraced testing the use of the hardball on the wide court—taking the past divisions in the community and uniting behind the common goal of increasing play.
Most squash players are competitive, and rankings are a part of the experience that people enjoy. Just ask any of the thousands of adult league players—they care about where their team is ranked. What frustrates people is when they invest time and effort in their game, and the ranking system doesn’t appear to fairly or accurately reflect the playing results. We recently announced that we are re-thinking how the rankings are done. While we feel the current system is actually very good, we also know it has limitations. We also expect to market the availability of the rankings at the club, district, regional and national level more effectively to adults.
As we look deeper into these questions and issues, some are less real than we imagined, while others are easily solved for by delivering programs relevant to enhancing the experience of squash players and communicating their benefits clearly to the community.
