From the CEO

Since Kevin joined US Squash in December 2004, membership has increased 165%, and participation in the US has increased 178% to 1.6 million players according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. In addition, long term management partnerships have been established with all major squash bodies in the U.S. including the College Squash Association (CSA), the New England Interscholastic Squash Association (NEISA), and the National Urban Squash and Education Association (NUSEA), where Kevin serves as one of the original members of the Board of Directors.

Prior to US Squash, Kevin worked for Sun Microsystems in the Worldwide Marketing Operations group. Kevin also managed worldwide sponsorships, which included negotiating sales and marketing deals with MLB.com and a multi-year relationship with the National Hockey League. Prior to Sun, Kevin worked in the corporate consulting division of the sports marketing firm ProServ. Kevin graduated with a B.S. from Cornell University, where he was a four-year member of the varsity squash team. His senior year, he was a co-captain and recognized as an All-American Honorable Mention.

By Kevin Klipstein

THE GIFT OF DIVERSITY

Reflecting on my college squash days nearly thirty years later, what immediately comes to mind are the road trips. Ten passenger vans driven by the coach. If an assistant coach joined, it was four of us in the back row. Squash bags were everywhere, under seats, on laps, and...

BUILDING A BASE

US Squash is a proud member of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Born out of an act of Congress in the 1970s, the USOPC was formed to encourage, promote and support amateur athletic activity in the U.S. and be responsible for fielding U.S. teams. Investment in women’s athletics...

OPPORTUNITY IN EDUCATION

Sometimes seemingly disparate narratives coalesce to bring a broader opportunity into focus. For me this happened recently with the ascendance of Ali Farag and return to form of Amanda Sobhy, and meetings regarding community programming at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center. Reflections on each of these leads to the...

BALANCE

Easy to say, so hard to achieve. You can’t take it to the bank, however it just may save your life. Achieving balance—the transition from crawling to cruising, then taking those first steps—is an exhilarating and perilous journey for children and their parents alike. Its power is undeniable. But...

LIMITLESS POTENTIAL, LIMITED OPPORTUNITY

Squash players regularly tell me how much the sport has impacted their lives for the better. Health. Fitness. Friendship. Sportsmanship. Respect. Resilience. These are benefits, experiences and learned qualities which are so valuable and last a lifetime. Early on as a teaching professional, I was vexed to the core by...

GOALS

Muhammad Ali is known to have said, “What keeps me going is goals.” At the World Masters hosted at UVA’s McArthur Squash Center, nearly 800 competitors gathered to test their mettle against each other, and themselves. A frequent misperception of events like this is that each competitor enters the tournament...

What it Means to Turn the Page on the Season

by Kevin Klipstein My kids love the Sesame St. book called “Please Do Not Open This Book” which involves Grover and Elmo fighting over whether to turn pages to get to the end of the book. Grover warns there is a monster, at the end of the book, and does...

Transitions

“Difficulties mastered are opportunities won” - Winston Churchill In the last 25 years, squash in the US has experienced two major shifts. These shifts have resulted in a massive and difficult change physically, and perhaps more significantly, a change in the mindset of the squash community. The two interrelated shifts...

The Remarkable Spectacle of Squash

Five years ago, when US Squash started operating the Delaware Investments U.S. Open “in-house”, we did so based on the advice of marketing experts. “Make the U.S. Open HUGE” and “Get squash on TV!” were the two most common refrains from those we spoke with in the field. Each year we have added one more day of capacity...

From US Squash

By Kevin Klipstein, President & Chief Executive Officer In talking with people in the squash community, I often find it helpful to remind them where US Squash was just a decade ago. We were a much smaller organization, with one-fifth the budget, and only four very dedicated employees. The U.S....

From US Squash

By Kevin Klipstein, President & Chief Executive Officer The U.S. Junior Open is held the last weekend before the holidays each year and, therefore, offers a great opportunity for reflection. I started as CEO the week before the 2004 event, so noting differences each year is even more natural for...

From US Squash

By Kevin Klipstein, President & Chief Executive Officer The 2005 Annual Meeting of the Members took place during Nationals at Harvard—I was three months into the job, and there were five of us total (an official quorum is twenty-five). The average age of the members in attendance was approximately sixty-seven. Undeterred,...