The winter sports season is well underway and the varsity squash team has shown continued success despite heavy competition from the private schools they’ve been facing off against.

The 2022-23 winter season marks the eighth year of the high school’s squash program. The team’s matches, which are primarily against private schools in the Boston area, are managed by United States Squash (USS).

In addition to teaching chemistry, Steve Lantos has been coaching the squash team since the program’s inception. He said he wants students to know that squash is a fun and competitive sport that can be played forever.

“It’s a lifetime sport. Many of these people will go on and play in college. They will play in leagues as adults, and it’s something that you can do forever. There’s a saying that you can watch somebody play squash on the court for 15 minutes and know enough about them to have known them for a lifetime,” Lantos said. “Squash is a beautiful game.”

Senior and captain Rohan Sekhar has been playing squash since his freshman year and was named captain this past year. He said that he hopes his leadership has created a stronger sense of community on the team.

“I think my main role as a captain is to bring the team together. I think that in past years there’s been a lot of loose ends,” Sekhar said. “A lot of people just worry about themselves, and I think that we’ve established a pretty good team morale and spirit where everyone roots for each other and we’re all here to help each other improve.”

Junior Jayvyn Elmekias said that his favorite part about the squash season so far has been being able to witness vast improvement in his teammates’ abilities.

“I’ve already seen improvements from everyone. Everyone’s doing really well,” Elmekias said. “Whenever we face each other in challenging matches, it’s a chance for everyone to learn their strengths and weaknesses together.”

Lantos said that the squash team recently qualified and is set to compete in the U.S. High School Nationals, an annual tournament at the Arlen Specter Squash Center in Philadelphia.

“The tournament is held in Philadelphia from Feb. 24-26. Over 150 schools nationwide compete, the great majority of which are private schools,” Lantos said. “It’s an incredible thing to go down there and compete.”

Sekhar said that getting the chance to compete at nationals is something he looks forward to every year.

“The ultimate prize at the end of the season is going to nationals and doing well. We did pretty well last year in our division,” Sekhar said. “I think that’s a good conclusion to the season that everyone looks forward to.”

Lantos said that the most rewarding part of coaching is watching his athletes develop and find their strengths during their time at the team’s practices.

“Seeing kids progress and figure out the game, or seeing them grow and find their potential, ability and talent, I love that about coaching,” Lantos said.

Moreover, Lantos said that squash has become a popular sport in Brookline, and that this can be seen through the team’s ability to compete with highly ranked teams across the state.

“We have a squash team that is now an institution,” Lantos said. “We have our second generation of players, and we’re competitive.”