Squash, not your garden variety sport

Anyone who’s had the pleasure of visiting The Sports Pavilion in the Cassique community no doubt has taken a peek into the racquetball courts, right?

Actually, wrong. Although they do resemble racquetball courts, they are SQUASH courts.

“It’s an honest mistake,” says John Haley, Director of Architecture for Kiawah Development Partners. “The casual observer wouldn’t notice a difference.”

Players and fans of the game notice a huge difference — the least of which is the court size. At 32 feet long and 21 feet wide, a squash court is eight feet shorter and one foot wider than a racquetball court. And with its smaller, less lively ball, squash arguably requires more physical fitness, deeper concentration, and faster reaction than its cousin.

“Racquetball is an excellent feeder sport for squash,” says Richard Millman, head squash pro. “Racquetball players find squash more demanding, both physically and mentally.” Millman adds, “If racquetball is checkers, squash is chess.”

Kiawah Development Partners CEO Buddy Darby was inspired to include squash courts in The Sports Pavilion after recognizing that club members from the Northeast brought their love for the sport along with them. Darby, a 15-year player himself, was more than happy to oblige. “Squash has caught on here” he says. “It’s become immensely popular.” It’s definitely popular with Darby, who plays every day. He finds the workout especially rewarding. “After an hour of squash, I’m drained. In a good way,” he adds.

Darby and Haley also designed The Charleston Squash Club about three years ago. The club’s success is further proof that squash is indeed gaining ground in the Lowcountry. Membership at the downtown facility has doubled in that time.

Squash owes its beginnings to a punctured ball. A punctured “rackets” ball to be exact. Rackets was a game invented by prisoners in 18th-century London who modified handball, or “fives,” by using tennis rackets to speed up the action. They played against the prison wall at a corner to add a sidewall to the game.

Rackets eventually spilled outside the prison walls and was adopted by children who played the sport in alleyways or between buildings. Its popularity grew and grew until it was a staple in schoolyards all across Britain.

In the 1860s, several students at the Harrow School in Middlesex, England discovered that a punctured, near-lifeless ball “squashed” on impact with a wall. This created a greater variety of shots and required more skill from rackets players who were accustomed to waiting for the ball to bounce back to them.

The new game became popular with other students and squash was born. The ball and racquet evolved over the years as well. Squash racquets are shaped a bit like a badminton racquet with a longer grip and narrower head than a racquetball racquet. Squash balls are about one-fourth the size of a racquetball and considerably less dynamic.

Today, squash is played in more than 150 countries on 47,000 courts and by more than 15 million people – two of whom you may have seen in action. And if you haven’t, you owe yourself the pleasure.

Club General Manager Robbie Crawford and The River Course’s Head Golf Professional Steve Kelleher go at it as often as possible with much gusto. And while the linebacker-esque Crawford and his rangy partner Kelleher may not be the stereotypical-looking squash players sent down from central casting, they’re a living testament to the diverse physical types the sport attracts – and accommodates.

“Tall, short. Big, small. Patient, impulsive. Every person’s individual assets are emphasized in the box,” adds Millman. “Every style is like a fingerprint.”

Regardless of age, demeanor, or physical type, squash is easy to learn. It offers significant cardio benefits, improves eye-hand coordination, and is exhilarating to watch, especially from one of the comfy leather chairs just outside the courts.