This year, Boys’ Varsity Squash has enjoyed some massive wins, beating schools like Kent, Loomis, Salisbury, and Trinity-Pawling. And while some players such as Robin Armour ’18 and Dylan Muldoon ’17 have brought leadership and experience to the team from the start, Boys’ Varsity Squash boasts a unique crop of players that have managed to do what some deem impossible: rise from Thirds to Varsity in a sport over their Choate careers.
Varsity coach Mr. Will Morris commented on how the structure of Choate’s squash program allows for this atypical player experience: “We maintain a continuous ladder from Varsity to JV to Thirds, with movement between teams occurring throughout the season based on weekly challenge match results. The JV and Varsity teams also practice together in the same timeslot, and so that group of 20 or so players participate in the same practice routines, further facilitating the JV to Varsity transition.”
However, he noted that the varsity athletes who started on thirds can attribute their success to much more than the program’s nature. Coach Morris said, “It is rather uncommon in today’s athletics landscape for students to start out as raw beginners as third formers and then earn a spot on Varsity four years later. In squash this is due to a combination of factors: the players are determined to improve, the sport lends itself to rapid improvement as players improve technique and gain an understanding for tactics, and the coaches are committed to the program philosophy and work diligently to prepare students for the next level.”
In his first year at Choate, Jack O’Donnell ’17 joined Boys’ Thirds Squash. After spending his sophomore and junior seasons developing his skills on JV, O’Donnell had enough experience under his belt to successfully compete at the varsity level his senior year. He commented on the transition from thirds to varsity, “It was a rush, but the process was really fun and exciting. I also strongly believe that the great leadership from the captains helped a lot with both the team growth and my own growth as a player.” He noted that captains Will Van Allen ’16 and Dylan Muldoon ’17 were particularly influential.
Chiazam Nzeako ’17 also moved up from Thirds to Varsity, but his path to the top may have posed an especially great challenge. “Personally, it’s a pretty big achievement. Before coming to Choate, I never really played any competitive sports, definitely nothing as serious as a varsity-level sport. Going from not even making Thirds my first year to playing in Varsity’s starting seven is a massive achievement.”
Nzeako noted that it took hours and hours of work on and off the court to get himself in a position to even make the team. By attending a squash camp at Brown University during his sophomore summer, Nzeako improved his technical, on-court skills and found himself well-equipped to compete on JV after being cut from the program just the year before. His defining characteristic is work ethic, as many would have simply pursued a different sport if they were cut entirely from a program. Yet Nzeako continues to enhance his ability, even after making Varsity. “I’m going back to the basics and making sure that I’m capable of doing all the simple movements in squash, because all the best players have their mechanics down perfectly.”
Coach Morris would agree with the importance of nailing the basics. He said, “This year’s group of seniors benefitted from the squash program’s approach, where they learned the fundamentals on Thirds and JV, and refined their skills on Varsity.”
Alongside O’Donnell and Nzeako are Charles Bellemare ’17, Andrew Kim ’17, and Leander Vergara ’17, who all compete at the varsity level despite starting on Thirds. Coach Morris explained that these circumstances have never proved to be a disadvantage for the team. “We are able to field a competitive program each season, and we consistently qualify for the top tier of the New England tournament. So, while our philosophy may not lead to a championship every year, we are able to hold our own against schools that do more extensive recruiting.”
The Thirds-to-Varsity feat is relatively unheard of in any sport on campus, making the boys’ achievements outstanding in the scheme of Choate athletics.
