Squash is the only non-endurance sport at Smith College where someone can participate without actually having played before – what a great opportunity to experience an important part of college life – intercollegiate athletics (50% of congress peeps played a varsity sport at college:).
Squash Burns More Calories/hr. Than Any Fitness Activity!
- Squash 748
- Running (10 mph) 612
- Spinning 508
- Tennis 476
- Aerobics 374
- Pilates/Power Yoga 245
- Weight Training
Squash Burns More Calories/hr. Than Any Other Sport!
- Squash 1034
- Soccer 862
- Cross-Country Running 776
- Basketball 689
*Actually cross-country skiing burns more than squash – but who likes the cold?
Squash is the World’s Healthiest Sport (Forbes Magazine)!
The Smith College squash program is designed to develop smart, fit players as quickly as possible – the team does this better than any other college in the United States. Smith team members have won the Ann Wetzel Award more than any other team (two years ago Clair won the Award). The team has also been the top academic team both in the CSA and at Smith for the last several years: The average athlete GPA at Smith is higher than the GPA of non-athletes – there is something about participating in Athletics that allows students to do better academically.
What are the Steps to Come out for the Team?
Step 1: Show up and play at the Recreation Department’s Racquet Sports Night – it is held Wednesday evenings from 7-8:30 p.m. and this year is run by the squash team’s Carly Melillo. You can show up and leave at any time – you can play for 10 minutes or 2 hours. This is not a Smith Squash Team organized event – however, the facilitators are members of the team, and they can provide you with basic instruction (e.g., how to hold the racquet properly) that will allow you to progress to the point where you can tryout for the team. Your first step to learning how to play squash is to become competent at British Racketball – attempting squash before becoming good at racketball is actually detrimental to your development and will hinder your attempts to play for the team.
Step 2: After 2-3 visits to Racquet Sports Night, you may email coach Tim Bacon to express interest in coming out for the team. Tim will arrange to come down and watch you play/practice and will let you know if it will be realistic for you tryout – or whether you need more development.
Step 3: As mentioned above, squash is a very physical game and you need to be in shape. What sort of shape? The level of fitness required depends on your squash ability – the newer you are to the game, the fitter you have to be:
- be able to run for 30 min. at a minimum 10 min./mile pace – ideally, you should be able to run 3 mi./5K in about 24-25 minutes.
- be able to to do a set of 12-20 lunges per leg with perfect form – both forward lunges and lateral lunges.
- be able to hold the plank position for a minimum of 30 sec. – both front and side.
The squash team’s pre-season workouts can be found here. Ideally, if you intend to come out for the team you need to be doing this training before joining the team.
Step 4. After you been approved by Tim to tryout for the team, you will need to complete some administrative forms before you can practice with the team. You must have had a full medical physical by a doctor in the previous six months, and provide written proof (i.e., a letter from your doctor mailed or faced to the Athletic Department).
Step 5. Squash practices start the week of October 28th: Monday to Thursday 4:30 to 6:45, and Fridays 4-6. After two weeks of “trying out” the team, you will be asked if you want to “commit” to the team for the the of the season. The season runs from Oct. 28th to December 10th, and then from Jan. 6th (interterm practices twice a day) to Feb.23rd. Attendance at all practices is mandatory except if you have an academic class – in which case you will make up the time by attending Racquet Sports night. Here is the link to last year’s schedule – this year’s will be similar competition schedule for the 2012-13 season.
Questions? Contact squash coach Tim Bacon @ tbacon@smith.edu.
Happy Squashing!