Probably how most schools operate (note NCAA rules do generally allow camps to have limits on number in attendance, gender, age, and grade level.) Coaches can invite prospective athletes to camps as well. CSA (squash’s governing body) says this:
College squash is not an NCAA-sponsored sport, which leads to the CSA’s existence. However, all CSA member institutions are also NCAA members, so the CSA relies heavily on NCAA legislation to guide its rules compliance efforts.
N/m
sorry to hijack the thread just looking for some advice
Middle school is very early, although of course, parents like to plan and build knowledge of recruiting roadmaps.
For now, I would let your kid just be and not talk college stuff as you learn.
Your kid could burn out on squash, or find an activity that they like better than squash. That might not seem likely now, but IMO parents should be open to that and even expect that will happen and/or there will be low moments.
For HS, if you are thinking your kid will be a candidate for highly rejective schools, they should plan on taking a rigorous course load and have at least 4 years of each of the 5 core subjects (Eng, Science, SS, Math, Foreign language.) It can be difficult for some students to balance their sport with a rigorous course load, especially if they are missing days of school…and high level squash players tend to miss a lot of Fridays and sometimes Mondays because of tournament travel.
Happy to answer more questions, but maybe best to start your own thread (I got confused about who the OP was.)
To be fair to the OP (whom I assume is @squashparent), the title of the thread is Squash College Recruiting, not How to Enjoy Squash.
If the OP’s kid wants to play squash at a high level to be recruitable at a college/varsity program, middle school is probably the latest he/she should get started. There is a lot of single-mindedness, sacrifice and focus required to be recruited in college squash (not unlike any other college sport).
Given the small size of the junior squash community, I understand any reluctance the OP may have in posting any specifics of his/her situation. The OP is welcome to PM me for a more detailed conversation.
@superdomestique thank you - I will PM you directly.
@kjbest76 sorry for the snark - feel free to repost here if you want
I agree.
But of course kids change their focus all the time, or they burn out, or have injury problems. Or a kid who wasn’t so dominant in middle school squash tournaments spends a summer in England, comes home and starts beating many kids who they previously lost to, just to take a few examples I’ve seen over the last 25 years or so.
I had kids who played both squash and a team sport. The amount of time and dedication required to be a competitive squash player far outstripped the team sport, where you can be very competitive based solely on sheer athleticism.
Same here, although some team sports do have high skill positions and/or require more than just athleticism to become recruitable.
IME squash travel is as complicated and requires as many missed days of school as high level hockey or debate.
Hello - some other thoughts
The ivy league and other top college varsity coaches are looking for high impact players. I heard from a source that Harvard will not consider anyone unless they are ranked #1 or #2 in their respective country plus have won a major international tournament. Some well known NESCAC colleges with varsity teams also have very high standards such that having a USSquash ranking outside the top 10 will make things difficult. The AI makes a difference, as sometimes the coach will be willing to take a kid with high AI to offset one of the international athletes.
Getting to know the college coach is an important part of the process. The college coaches often don’t have the time to attend US Squash junior tournaments. But they will typically go to the big international ones (US Open, British Open). Also a good place to get exposure is via the summer camps. A lot of the local junior coaches in the northeast are well connected to the college coaches. They will often share names of good prospects. The coaches are under pressure to produce winning teams, and unfortunately the sad truth is that the level of squash competition is much higher in some countries outside the US (namely Egypt, Singapore, India, Pakistan, UK, Australia, etc). So thats why the college coaches seek talent from there.
College recruiting for squash is a multi-year process and really should be driven by the child. I’ve seen some highly ranked junior players whisked around in private jets and have professional Egyptian coaches on the sidelines for their matches. While these kids were great squash players – they had terrible entitled attitudes. No coach wants to deal with that for 4 years. So make sure your child is humble and likeable. That will matter a lot.
To all who have $4000.