In the squash team’s first season, they struggled to schedule games as the only public school. Now, in their eleventh season, private schools initiate contact with them.
Brookline was the only public high school to offer squash as a sport in 2015, its inaugural season. Since then, 10 other schools have joined. Chemistry teacher and coach Steve Lantos started the team when his nationally-ranked son was a freshman at the high school. The team uses the courts at Winsor school and has established itself as a competitive opponent, despite many athletes only being introduced to the sport in high school.
Lantos has also served as the commissioner for public high school squash in Massachusetts for the last three years. He said he’s motivated to increase interest in the sport, and his dream is for the high school to be connected with junior programs starting as early as second grade.
“By the time they get to the high school, they’re experienced, they’ve been playing junior tournament squash, and that’ll be better for the team,” Lantos said.
Senior and captain Eva Forman first tried squash in seventh grade, but began playing seriously in her freshman year. She said she didn’t know much about it at first, and that she encourages students to participate.
“It’s going to be really cool for people to try it out, and I wish it was a little more popular,” Forman said.
Lantos said that two years ago, a parent emailed him asking about the squash program as she was relocating her son from Canada to the Boston area and wanted to find a school with a good team. Sophomore Aaron Xu is now the third ranked player on varsity.
Xu said the team provided a welcoming environment, which eased his transition into school.
“The squash team gave me a starting amount of people that I knew that I could be friends with,” Xu said. “I didn’t have to start from zero, so that’s a really good thing.”
Forman said squash is different from other sports in that varsity and junior varsity are fluid, so the players can take on challenge matches to move up the ranks.
“I think that’s a really unique environment because you don’t feel like you’re ever set in stone,” Forman said. “So it always creates a very friendly and competitive, fun atmosphere.”
When asked about what legacy he wants his coaching to leave, Lantos walked over to the wall next to the door of his classroom, which is full of photos. He pointed out past and current players, talking of their trips to nationals and the players who continued their squash careers in college.
Xu said that through squash he has learned a lot about how to deal with losses and bounce back.
“It’s taught me there’s going to be ups and downs, and then sometimes the downs are going to feel really, really, really devastating,” Xu said. “And if you come off a really bad loss or you have a long losing streak, the only way from being down is going up.”
