Urban Squash Cleveland (USC), nestled in Ohio City, is a youth development program for 4th through 12th graders that provides free tutoring, homework help, enrichment activities, support after high school, and coaching in squash, a fast-paced racquet sport. Squash is a racquet sport played in a small, four-walled court most often with two people or four in a doubles. The ball is unique in that it is rubber and does not bounce much and needs to be warmed up before play. The sport is fast moving, easy to learn, and tactical. It has been referred to as physical chess.
“I think the most important thing for people to understand is that even though squash is a bit weird, and most people are like, ‘What, the vegetable?’, it’s a really welcoming sport,” said Kai, now a senior who has been part of the program since 5th grade.
While the sport is important, the priority at USC is academics and character building. USC is part of the Squash and Education Alliance (SEA), an international network of organizations providing year-round, long-term support to young people through teaching them squash. USC board president Joe Juster said, “It’s all about giving kids an opportunity. And all of this is just in service of that. You can change one kid’s life a whole lot.” Juster is clear on his goals for USC: “I want to graduate eight kids a year, ten kids a year, and have them all be admitted to their first-choice school. That can be anything from community college to Harvard, but I want to put them on that path. I’m a firm believer in the value of a college education — all that it can mean in terms of an enriched life and a certain level of financial security.”
There are 63 team members currently . To become a team member, students must try out, make the team, make a commitment and then would receive the squash and academic programming. There are also approximately 300 kids per month who come to the facility and get on the courts either through a school program or neighborhood partnerships, according to USC.
The 40,000-square-foot building, which opened in 2018 at 4701 Lorain Ave., is a top-of-the-line facility with four squash courts, two classrooms, locker rooms, and space for the kids to relax and spend time with friends after school. All of USC’s programs, equipment, and travel for tournaments are free for the kids.
Even though Urban Squash Cleveland and Urban Community School have similar names, are part of the same physical complex, and share a parking lot, the two are not connected. Briana Diller, USC’s youth program and outreach director said, “I drove past here all the time, never knew it existed. So, when I started, I was like, ‘Hey, we have to do a better job of getting this place out there.’”
The squash and youth development program is open to anyone from any school. Up until this point “we filled most of our places with Urban Community School because we really did just focus on getting the kids over from the school,” said squash director Duncan Steele, adding that now, “We want a larger percentage of kids from other schools.” He wants to increase the program’s diversity to raise the level of his players. “I think it’s just great for kids to know people outside of their bubble,” he said.
Have you heard of squash?
To expand awareness of the program between now and the next team tryouts in September, USC is working with four nearby schools (Metro Catholic, Orchard STEM School, Near West Intergenerational School, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel) to “expose them [to the game and facility] so that they say, ‘Oh wow, squash, it’s a fun game, it’s right in my neighborhood. This is something I may want to do,’” said executive director Jean Koehler.
Gabe, an 8th grader who recently received a full scholarship to Gilmour Academy, found USC just that way. “It was in fourth grade,” he said. “They came over to my school and they walked us over here and gave us a tour of the building. And then after, I went home and I watched some videos, so I put my name on the sign-up sheet. I wanted to see what it was really about.”
On a typical day, youth team members spend one hour in the classroom and an hour on the squash courts. Diller, who runs the academic program, is well aware of the stress students feel these days. She said, “We call it the classroom, but I try really hard to make the kids not feel like it’s a second classroom from school. They have to deal with a lot of things that I know I didn’t have to deal with when I was their age. So, most importantly, I try to just make it a welcoming environment, a place that they feel safe.”
Diller does keep close track of how all the students are doing in school and provides extra help when needed. She also writes recommendation letters for scholarships and high school and college applications.
Since he joined the youth program, Gabe has excelled. By placing in the top three at SEA Nationals, Gabe now takes private lessons once a week at the Cleveland Racquet Club completely funded by SEA. For him, traveling and competing in tournaments have been really big learning moments. “When I first went to team nationals in Philadelphia last year, I got really upset when I lost a match,” he said. “If I had won, then we would have advanced to the next round. So, after that, I really put my mind on changing how I play, focusing on what I’m not good at instead of having fun with the things that I am.”
No previous squash or even sports experience is needed to join the team. “All the kids were beginners, and some have more abilities than the others and that doesn’t really make any difference to how well they do,” Steele said. “It’s how well they want to apply.” He added, “The long goal is to get you into college. The squash is just the hook, the carrot to get them in. And it’s getting the parents who buy into that. If the parents are behind the program, behind what we do, and believe in what we do, they stay in the program.”
‘Support these young people…’
There is no cost for any of the youth on the team. All equipment (goggles, racquet, court shoes, and rubber balls) are provided. Travel to tournaments is also covered, as are any field trips during the week and the summer camps. Making the game and their facility accessible is a top priority for all USC staff.
Volunteers are always needed, whether it’s on court, for special events, or in the classroom to help with homework, support exercises, or high school essays. “There are so many ways to support these young people and I can’t emphasize how much it means to [them] when volunteers come and show up from the community. It’s such an affirmation that they matter,” said Koehler.
“One of the things that I love the most about seeing our kids in the program is the confidence that they build through learning a new sport they’ve never been exposed to and is pretty easy to pick up,” said Diller. “Because of the values that we have here in the classroom, outside of the classroom, everyone’s held to a pretty high standard and they hold each other to high standards. It’s a lot of peer modeling.”
Juster stressed the value of squash and the way the youth team functions. “Squash is the game,” he said. “I mean, if you compete against somebody else, you’re completely responsible for the result, and at the same time, you’re in a community of players who are going through the exact same things. And we have very much of a team concept here, so that the kids are supporting one another. I think it’s a special game.”
Kai, who will be attending Occidental College, in Los Angeles next year, said she used to hate public speaking, but at USC, “I’ve had to also be comfortable speaking with people that I don’t know, because we meet professionals left and right all the time. And I just have to figure out how to put sentences together in my brain, even if my brain is like, ‘Run! Run in the opposite direction.’ They’re just adults who also play a sport and they’re kinda, sorta important, but they’re still people, so it’s okay, so just go over there and say hi. And I’m sure they’ll say hi back and then the conversation will start.”
Kai is also grateful for the friends he has made with players in other programs within SEA. “As I started to travel, I met so many amazing people,” he said. “They were just so kind, so creative. There was a lot of teamwork, and trust and friendships were built even though we live in different parts of the country. And I think that’s pretty amazing that despite the fact that we’re, like, miles, states across, I still text, like, ‘Hey, how are you? How are you doing, how’s life, what are you up to?’”
Squash in the Land
Clevelanders who want an opportunity to discover more about squash can attend Squash in the Land, the first-ever combined Women’s & Men’s PSA (Professional Squash Association) World Tour event. Early rounds are free to watch and will be played at three local squash clubs: Urban Squash Cleveland, Cleveland Racquet Club, and Cleveland Skating Club. The quarterfinals, semifinals and championship matches will be held on a glass court built specifically for this event and set up in the Outcalt Theatre at Playhouse Square.
On Tuesday, March 5th and March 6th from 5 to 9 p.m., four matches each night will be played at Urban Squash Cleveland, so those are terrific evenings to visit the facility and learn more about the youth programming, upcoming summer camps, and tryouts. Kai encourages people to come watch the pros. “Like the intensity, and the focus that professionals bring to the court, it’s just mesmerizing,” he said. “There’s so much dynamics and so much in such a little space, that it is hard to be bored.”
Discover the Game
For anyone, young or old, unfamiliar with the game, Steele will get you playing in no time with a lesson. He said, “I think it’s just a fun game. It’s a game that I enjoy teaching because there is such a quick learning curve. It doesn’t matter how good you are, you can go on the court, you know, within 20 minutes, 30 minutes, you can actually play a game with your friend.”
“Regardless of how well you play, you can play with anybody else,” said Steele. “Somebody who’s 21 years old and 28 years old, well, 45, 50, they play a sport differently, but there’s no real reason they can’t share the same space and share the same social space. And I think that’s what sports is about. Then people become friends and they might socialize outside of what’s being created here. They might offer each other a job. You don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Koehler added, “At the end of the day, we are a facility that promotes wellness, but really squash is about being on a court with other people, so that’s mental wellness and the socialization that we all need. Obviously, after the pandemic we know how many people suffered because they didn’t have those human connections so here, we are promoting physical wellness on the squash court and then the social wellness of being connected to other people.”
How to get involved
Urban Squash Family Open House with Near West Recreation, March 15th, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Contact Liam to find out more about volunteering on the court or in the classroom or about trying squash.
Find the full schedule for Squash in the Land HERE.
Elizabeth Emery is a member of Urban Squash Cleveland, part of the Community Squash Committee, and volunteers with the youth program on the squash courts.
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