By Caroline Gentile, ’13, Contributor
Despite being played on a relatively small court, squash provides one of the most intense cardiovascular workouts of any sport. The ball used for squash is much smaller than a tennis ball, and does not bounce very high, which requires the players to move around the court swiftly, trying to score points. An avid squash player, Fletcher Pease ’10 describes it as “a physical and intellectual game that requires speed and patience, fitness and strategy, deception and sportsmanship, and it’s the most fun game I’ve ever played.”
For six years, Pease has played squash on local and national levels. “I knew I wanted to play in college even before I came to Country Day in ninth grade,” said the senior. As for college, he “wanted a suburban campus and relatively small student body.” Dartmouth College met Fletcher’s standards in both respects, and also offered the flexible quarter system (as opposed to the semester system) so that Pease could still study abroad without missing any squash. Fletcher committed to Dartmouth during his official visit in October, commenting that “the school, the people, and the team all felt like a perfect fit.” Although he is unsure of what he plans to study at Dartmouth, Pease is “looking forward to experimenting a little bit and discovering what interests [him] the most.”
Dartmouth Squash is an NCAA Division I varsity sport and is part of the Ivy League Conference. To play at such a high level of competition in any sport requires hard work and commitment, both of which Pease undoubtedly possesses. During the squash season, each week, he usually has two to three training sessions with a coach, two or three practice matches, and an occasional 30 minute solo practice. To condition, he attends weekly fitness sessions which involve many squash-specific drills. Over the summer, he attends squash camps that last about five hours of playing every day, and while he’s in town, he plays friendly matches biweekly. For most people, Pease’s regimen sounds grueling, but to him, it’s worth it. “Squash is my passion,” said Pease. “There are very few things I would rather be doing than playing a good squash match.”
Although Pease is accustomed to major time commitments, playing a varsity sport in college, especially at one as academically prestigious and rigorous as Dartmouth, is extremely demanding. However, such a strong commitment gives structure and discipline to student life in college, which can assist in developing time management skills to organize free time productively. Fletcher is confident that Dartmouth is a place where he will be able to thrive academically, improve his squash game rapidly, and have time to participate in the social scene, which is fairly dominated by Greek life.
Fletcher’s goal for competing at Dartmouth is “doing everything [he] can to have the best collegiate career possible”. After college, he hopes to continue to play squash at least once a week. Although, depending on his college career, he may consider competing in a few professional tournaments. However, he added that he would not consider playing the sport full time, but that “squash is a lifelong sport that [he] hope[s] to be playing for as long as [he] can still move and swing a racquet.”
