Think different.
Angel Narvaez, a senior executive at Maspeth Welding, called me one late afternoon in the summer of 2020, “There are some kids here asking about ‘squash’.” I asked Angel to have them call me to arrange a time to play. The outdoor squash court in our industrial backyard had recently opened for play. Jeff Anschlowar, President of Maspeth Welding, and I were reaching out to top pros, friends, and staff to come out and ‘test drive’ the first-ever court made with steel panel walls. At the same time, some pros started to call us, and students from StreetSquash and CitySquash were contacting us directly.
In 2020, most courts and programs were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, ‘the crazy ones’ were finding us, coming out to play squash, taking off their masks, and trying outdoor squash for the first time. Emotions rocketed from squash denial to a squash Disneyworld. Naheem Allen and Matthew Aldana from StreetSquash were the first students to play, followed by Seth Canales from CitySquash.
Naheem Allen and Matthew Aldano - StreetSquash
Rock Paper Scissors - StreetSquash Alum Terrance Rose and Randee Johnson
Squash and Education (SEA) programs from around the USA were calling and inquiring about the outdoor court. In the early days, Tim Wyant, Executive Director of SEA, used the outdoor court as an office and showroom to showcase the potential for outdoor squash. SEA programs were not able to play indoor squash at their facilities for months. Executive Directors and staff were calling to see how quickly they could get a steel court delivered and at what cost. There was a burning need for outdoor squash courts. That interest has since flourished, driven by the pioneering players at SEA.
During the past five years, we’ve welcomed SEA leaders, donors, staff, students, and parents from Squash Haven, StreetSquash, CitySquash, SquashBusters Providence and Boston, RacquetUp, Access Youth Academy, SquashBond, Egoli Squash, First State Squash, and SquashDrive.
Julie Greenwood, Executive Director of Squash Haven, was the first to see the benefits of outdoor squash experiences for the students, sending a van to our World Squash Day 2021 celebrations with PSA Squash Tour stars Mohamed El Shorbagy, Saurav Ghosal, Joelle King, and Joshna Chinappa. Jack Smith, Cory Litman, Rodney Galvao, Joanne Schickerling, Simba Muhwati, Christian Quiñonez, Bryan Paterson, Will Pantle, and other SEA leaders joined us in Maspeth to share professional tournament experiences and squash getaways on the outdoor steel court, in our industrial backyard at Maspeth Welding.
Squash Haven Students, World Squash Day 2021
Rodney Galvao and SquashBusters Providence Students
Five years after the first StreetSquash students ventured from Harlem into Queens to find “the steel court,” a new outdoor steel squash court opened at SquashBridge in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on November 23, 2025.
Jeff Anschlowar and JJ Jaramillo at the SquashBridge Grand Opening - November 23, 2025
To all the outdoor squash pioneers from the Squash and Education community who’ve come out to Maspeth Squash, thank you for playing and for opening outdoor squash for others.
Aaron Gibralter, Adrian Grant, Adriana Olaya, Alina Bushma, Arnie Dratt, Ben Edmands, Bosani Xaba, Brian Mathias, Bryan Patterson, Chris Fernandez, Chris Gordon, Chris Walker, Christian Quiñonez, CitySquash, Corry Litman, Cory Collman, Cris Gomez, Daequan Leslie, Derek Aguirre, Dikana Mthombeni, Doug Poling, Duncan Steele, Edgardo Gonzalez, Felipe Pantle, Frank Mullaney, Freddy Ramirez, Georgetta Morque, Greg Scherman, Guillermo Moronta, Gyuri Buchalter, Hart Robertson, JJ Jaramillo, Jack Smith, James Green, James Zug, Janice Spector, Jeffrey Anschlowar, Jeffrey Scott, Kim Morque, Joanne Schickerling, Joelle King, Jonny Smith, Jorge Avedaño, Joshna Chinnapa, Kevin Klipstein, Lauren Patrizio, Laurence Franklin, Leo Gibralter, Liz Rose, Lynn Leong, Manek Mathur, Manny Machado, Matia Lacroix, Matias Knudson, Matthew Aldana, Mawa Ballo, Max Franklin, Maylene Diola, Michael McMurphy, Mike Pepper, Milton, Mohamed El Shorbagy, Mohamed Nabil, Naheem Allen, Natalie Gibralter, Nayelly Walker, Nick Matthew, Nicole Bunyan, Nitzan Moree, Pat Cosquer, Paulina Rojek, Quinlan Jeudy, Rachel Gibralter, Raheem Logan, Rakey Drammeh, Reyna Pacheco, Richard Chin, Rob Houtenbos, Rodney Galvao, Sahel Anwar, Sandy Schwartz, Santiago Moran, Sasha Diamond-Lenow, Satya Seshadi, Saurav Ghosal, Seth Canales, Simba Muhwati, Spencer Lovejoy, SquashBusters, Squash Drive, Squash Haven, Steve Johnston, Steven Vo, StreetSquash, Terence Li, Terrance Rose, Terry Gibralter, Tim Greer, Tim Wyant, Timmy Brownell, Tom Mandel, Tom O’Brien, Tommy Wolfe, Travis Judson, Vera Galvez, Will Carlin, Will Pantle, Xavier Harrison, Yunior Santos, and…
