To play U.S. college squash is to exist inside a bubble. For four years, the routine of training, travelling, competition and camaraderie makes for an intense and intoxicating lifestyle. And then, abruptly, it ends.
Post-graduation, real life comes at you all at once. Your peers disperse, and the tight, supportive, trusting team dynamic disappears overnight.
Some graduates go on to play professional squash, of course, but they are the exceptions. The majority head off into non-athletic careers or wherever else life may take them.
With courts, coaches and competition structure no longer on their doorstep (not to mention the expense of joining a club and having less leisure time), squash can often drop off a graduate's radar altogether once they leave campus.
Given that the American junior squash scene revolves so much around college recruitment, what's developed in the U.S. is a national pattern of vibrant squash participation in childhood and college years, which then drops off a cliff in young adulthood.
Aiming to change that are two graduates from the class of 2025 — at Tufts University in Boston and Dickinson College in Pennsylvania respectively — Nieve Monderer and Aidan Ray.
Together, they have founded Graduate League Squash (GLS), which offers a calendar of tournaments giving former College Squash Association (CSA) players a place to meet and compete across generations.
The debut GLS event took place in Boston in July, which saw 40 players (including current as well as former students) compete in individual men's and women's draws. The second event, also in Boston, in September featured a three-player team format, with players represented their former colleges - over 50 players have enrolled.
Further dates include Open Squash FiDi in New York from 9-11 October, a dual-sport padel and squash event in Philadelphia in November, and further tournaments in Baltimore, Boston, San Francisco and Washington DC.
All GLS results feed into men's and women's individual rankings and college team rankings.
GLS co-founder Ray estimates that 75% of college squash players give up the game after graduation. He says GLS is a way for players "to reap the rewards of all the hard work they put in during those four years athletically, mentally and socially, rather than just losing them from the sport."
He adds: "GLS offers high-level squash, but also gives people the opportunity to network and do the social part that everyone misses. Seeing how quickly people have been signing up, it's really interesting to see how needed this might actually be."
Both Ray and Monderer highlight America's lack of public squash clubs (Open Squash being one of few outliers) and high membership fees at private clubs as "massive barriers" to participation for graduates.
There's also a dearth of competitive squash opportunities for the age bracket between post-college and 35 — when players can join the U.S.' popular Masters squash scene.
"We're looking at connecting people in that missing decade and a half," Monderer says. "There's currently pretty much zero infrastructure for players in that 22ish to 35 bracket to play in meaningful tournaments.
"GLS can not only fill that gap, but long term it will make Masters squash more competitive and exciting, and people will know each other better when they get there."
GLS, whose hashtag is #stayinit (Instagram here), have forged partnerships with equipment provider Harrow and software partner Club Locker. They are looking for sponsors and partners to build on the momentum of their first few tournaments.
With around 200 players graduating every year, the potential for growth is huge. "It's so sad to lose so many players every year," says Ray. "If young people don't see it continuing beyond college, what's the point?
"So we're looking to grow squash through retention. We're rebranding the game as something social and fun, as well as competitive. This will keep people playing and showcase the game around the country."
The GLS founders
