Every Friday morning a group of faculty plays squash in the athletic building. Their version is a game they call “Gorilla Squash.” The name describes the tendencies to hit the ball as hard as possible with little regard for traditional squash strategy. The group shares a Spotify playlist and there are hundreds of songs on there from all different types of genres and singers. The group first started barely five years back when Mr. Jesse Sataloff and Mr. Jeremy Hart wanted to learn how to play, compete a little bit, and get a good sweat in on Friday mornings at the end of a long week. They have been playing ever since and the group started to grow more this year. At the beginning of this year Mr. Sataloff retired from morning squash, and Mr. Keith Belson and Mr. Hart invited Mr. Jeremy Fus and Mr. Jonathan Bacon to join the group.
Each faculty member brings his own unique flavor to the court.
“Mr. Bacon is king of just-above-the-line shots that just die,” Mr. Hart said. “Mr. Fus is unorthodox and keeps you on your toes… much like his math class.”
When watching the group, it was clear cut that the most talented player was Mr. Andrew Poolman. He won games, sometimes playing with his opposite hand. Mr. Hart compared him to Roger Federer, noting his effortless play. Although no one has beaten Mr. Poolman; Mr. Hart came the closest, once bringing a game to 9-7.
“Honestly though, [Mr. Poolman] has helped us all get better by modeling how to play the right way and giving us little tips here and there,” Mr. Hart said. “Gorilla Squash is hard to get out of your system entirely.”
Despite the competitive nature of squash, it is a great time full of laughs and smiles.
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