The second edition of the US Squash Academy, a special Team USA elite performance academy, welcomes the top U.S. professional, college and junior prospects to Trinity College, July 9-21.
The Academy provides an environment for current U.S. collegiate athletes and recent graduates to train as professionals, while receiving coaching education instruction to prepare them for a potential careers in squash. Through exposure to the U.S. National Coaching staff, the athletes are more prepared should they choose to successfully pursue the Elite Athlete Program upon graduation.
The Academy also incorporates two separate one-week squads for junior Team USA players, ages Under 11, Under 13, Under 15 and Under 17. The U11 and U13 age groups will take place from July 9-14, and the U15 and U17 from July 16-21.
Academy Director Gilly Lane looks forward to building on the momentum from the inaugural Academy last year.
“The environment for U.S. squash professionals has been moving in such a positive direction in recent years thanks to US Squash’s elite development initiatives,” Lane said. “We had an amazing year last year with the kids we had and the kids that are coming in this summer really are the future of U.S. Squash. We have some of the most successful juniors and now players that are in college attending this summer with eyes on playing professionally. The continuity that the players had last summer was really something that was spectacular and I’m just really looking forward to working again with Rich Wade and Paul Assaiante, and being up at Trinity to create a positive learning environment for these players.”
While initiatives such as the Regional Squads, Regional Team Championships and Elite Athlete Program have been in place for a few years, the Academy bridged the gap between juniors, prospective EAP players and college players.
“I hope the players come together as a group they learn from each other,” Lane said. “I hope that they take away what it means to be a pro, what it feels like to train like a professional. All the players that are attending have played for the National Team so they know what it’s like to represent their country, but we are ultimately training them to be full time professionals and I hope that they learn what it takes in terms of training, the mindset, the amount of work that they need to put in. I hope they use that in a positive way and will help propel them to new heights.
Read more about the inaugural US Squash Academy here.
“The commitment that US Squash is making to their players is incredible,” Lane said. “I think we have and are reaching a great generation for US Squash, so its exciting that players are now thinking about turning professional and making that a career. I want to thank Rich Wade for all the work that he’s done to do this and the vision—his vision to create this sort of training environment and I want to thank Paul Assaiante for his leadership with the National Teams. It doesn’t happen without dedicated people like that so I’m just looking forward to being a part of a great team and looking forward to working with the best squash players in the U.S.”
Follow @TeamUSASquash and @GLSquash on Twitter for updates throughout the Academy.