Squash is more than just a seasonal gourd. The racquet-and-ball sport played in a four-walled court has grown leaps and bounds in the Baltimore area the last decade.
A major force behind the growth of the sport has been Nancy Cushman and the Meadow Mill Athletic Club. Cushman learned squash growing up in Harford County and has competed across the U.S. in singles and doubles competition since 1975. Meadow Mill Athletic Club opened in 1992, and at 40,000 square feet, is the largest commercial squash facility in the country.
Cushman is quick to point out the main benefit of playing squash, which is similar to racquetball (played in an enclosed court) but offers different court lines and dimensions and a ball with a solid core.
“It is great exercise and fun exercise,” said Cushman, who also noted the club is trying to introduce the sport to high school and middle school students.
Cushman said the emphasis for the club has been to introduce new players, young and old, to squash.
“We start with mini-squash [4 and up],” she said. “The younger they start, the more developed they become. We are absolutely making an impact. The more people playing the game, the better.”
Merritt Athletic Club is also taking steps to promote squash in Baltimore, most recently with the hire of international competitor Lefika Ragontse. The native of Botswana recently left the Baltimore Country Club to coach at Merritt?s Bare Hills location.
Ragontse played squash for Trinity College, in Connecticut, and has competed internationally for much of his life. He was undefeated as a junior and has won NCAA national championships, an under-25 U.S. championship and was a Botswanan national champion for eight years.
“This is giving me an opportunity to run my own program and develop squash and junior squash in Baltimore,” he said. “The sport is growing very rapidly and as the kids get involved, hopefully we can get their parents involved.
“I have been playing a little bit and competing, but right now my passion is coaching, and just trying to grow the game and introduce it to people.”
Lynnie Mintkowski also played college squash at Trinity and, for the past two years, has coached the sport at Roland Park Country School. When she began playing, there were few youth players in the area.
“We were at Meadow Mill when we first got off the ground,” she said. “It was basically me, my sister and my two brothers, and we used to get made fun of. But now there are kids who are 8 to 9 playing on the national circuit.”
Squashing Charm City
» Groups from Boys Latin School, Bryn Mawr, Friends, Gilman, St. Paul?s, St. Timothy?s and the Calvert School have trained and played at Meadow Mill.
» Lefika Ragontse said that his private squash lessons have been so popular that he is booked from September through April.
» Roland Park Country School?s squash team plays and practices in the Roland Park Racquet Club, which the school now owns.
