History was made in Lawrence last week as a grand opening celebration capped a week of firsts at the New Balance Foundation SquashBusters Center.

The opening of the Center marks a watershed moment for SquashBusters, becoming the first facility wholly owned and operated by SQB in its 28-year history.

The excitement began with the awarding of our long-awaited Certificate of Occupancy on Thursday, December 4th. Our youngest SquashBusters were treated to the first look, first opening circle, and first game in their new home later that day, and our high school students had the same opportunity the following day.

On Saturday, December 7^th the building was humming as more than more than 40 amateur and professionals squash players, countless students, families, and supporters filled the facility when the 12th annual MashUp finally took place on home turf.

A huge thank you to our sponsors, The New Balance Foundation, Mighty Squirrel, Acadian Software, Winstanley Enterprises, Brown Brothers Harriman, Berkshire Bank, Bank of New England, and Fraser Project Management, for making the day possible. Our team captains – Jon Karlen and Jake Garmey once again leading the Andover Academics,  Phil Field in charge of the Essex County Nicks, Bill Monaghan for the Lawrence Legion, and Bill Paine, Bruce Landay, and Steve Hauck driving the Volley –  filled the roster with hungry competitors. After an exciting paddle competition at The Country Club on November 17, the Lawrence Legion came into the squash competition in the lead with 24 points and a six-point lead over the Andover Academics and the Essex County Nicks, who stood at 18. The Merrimack Volley trailed with 12 points.

Fierce competition on the new courts ensued with the outcome once again resting on the shoulders of our professional players.  Special thanks to our pro contingent who served up some excellent squash throughout the day. Todd Harrity, in his first year off the PSA World Tour, took top honors with a thrilling win over surprise finalist Ali El Touky, a native Cairene just two years out from a standout college career at Trinity. El Touky has incredible racquet skills and seemed to hit every ball with the intent for it to be a winner, but Harrity showed the result of 11 years battling the best in the world –  patience, tenacity, and precise length. Top college squash was again represented by our semifinalists, as Princeton standout and current Harvard Business School graduate student Adhitya Raghavan outlasted Harvard Associate Coach Hameed Ahmed for third place. Harrity’s victory over El Touky sealed the win and earned the coveted Krapels Cup for the Legion. The Academics continued their reign as the top fundraising team, bringing in over $85,000 and once again earning the Golden Mill trophy.  Despite an incredible effort by all involved, we are still short or $425,000 goal. If you would like to contribute to a player or to the event itself, you can continue to do so here:  https://give.squashbusters.org/event/2024-squashbusters-mashup/e620870.

And there was still more to come!

We capped off the week with a massive celebration and ribbon cutting for the Center, alongside our project partners Lawrence Community Works and the New Balance Foundation.

More than 150 people had the opportunity to tour our new space, hear from founder and major driver behind the project Greg Zaff, LCW Executive Director Jess Andors, Megan Bloch and Molly Santry of the new Balance Foundation, and local dignitaries like Lawrence Mayor Brian DePena, State Senator Pavel Payano, And Secretary of Housing, Ed Augustus.

The real star of the show was the building itself and possibilities it has inspired. Plans are already underway to collaborate with a number of community groups, introduce residents of the attached housing development to the sport of squash, and open a community squash program to grow interest in and visibility of the sport “up north”.

Links to Photos of the Week

• MashUp Paddle
• High School Ribbon Cutting
• MashUp Squash
• Grand Opening Celebration

Password is srwf67

New Balance Foundation SquashBusters Center

With Some Soggy Paddle Play, Thrilling Squash Competition, and Good Fun

The 2023 MashUp once again brought paddle and squash pros, amateurs, students, and fans together for some exciting competition for a good cause. In its 11th year supporting SquashBusters Lawrence, the MashUp presented by the New Balance Foundation spread over two weekends in December to great success. Despite Mother Nature’s downpours, our intrepid paddle teams did their best to eke out some competition at the Dedham County and Polo Club and The Country Club in Brookline on December 3rd, while squash returned to Brooks School in North Andover, likely for the last time; next year we hope to host in our own center! More than 150 players, guests, sponsors and friends contributed to a remarkable fundraising total of over $415,000.

Our paddle teams did their best to kick-off the race for the 2023 Krapels Cup, battling near constant downpours all morning. Despite only one round of competition, all our teams enjoyed a warm welcome and meaningful reflections on the value of SquashBusters from our students Jomar Garcia and Brenda Hernandez.  Former-CEO Greg Zaff made an appearance sharing with the group, “I would not want to be anywhere else.  Seriously, this means everything to me and I am so glad to share the morning and the mission with all of you, while turning it over to Rosemary, Rodney, Becca and Alé, as it’s now their mission.” Special thanks to our paddle pro veterans and newbies – Scott Staniar, Pat McNally, Bill Power, Leo Power, Thomas Nolan, Mike Miller, Stefan Koruga, and Milo Johnson – who took time out of their schedules to support our cause once more.

The squash competition started bright and early the following Sunday with Lawrence Program Director, Vicky Flamenco, welcoming the teams, captains and pros. Rodney Galvao, Senior Development Officer and John Nimick, Tournament Emcee Extraordinaire, joined our students for some spirited circle-ups and qilos, and the competition was underway. When the last ball rolled into the nick, it was the Merrimack Volley, captained by Bruce Landay and Bill Paine, who emerged on top, a total reversal from their fourth place finish last year.

As the pros hit the the courts,  former World Champion Thierry Lincou, representing the Andover Academics, took on the Essex County Nicks’ Hameed Ahmed, while crowd favorite Arthur Gaskin of the Merrimack Volley battled Lawrence Legion’s Kush Kumar, who is fast becoming an SQB regular. Lincou and Kumar emerged victorious, setting up a rematch from the semi-final round last year. Lincou would not be denied this time around, and beat Kumar, sealing the fate for the Legion who might have tied the Volley with a win. Ultimately, Kumar’s loss did not affect the outcome, as Gaskin beat Ahmed sealing Merrimack’s victory. Gaskin also completed a grand slam, serving as the pro on the winning team in all three SQB events in 2023 – the Rumble, the Derby, and the MashUp. Debate of his GOAT status will surely ensue as, like Serena, not all his wins came in the same competition year.

While the paddle and squash matches were spirited and fun, the real heart and soul of the MashUp is the chance for players, pros, and supporters to get know our incredible students. This year, that opportunity included a moving speech from Brenda Hernandez about how SQB supported her through some difficult times growing up – even when she was “a lot”. Hearing her words, we were all reminded of the power of SquashBusters to be a force for good in our students’ lives and for change in the world. Supporters also had the chance to go toe to toe on court with some former students, as six program alums participated in the tournament. Sarah Emerson concluded the day with stories and a tribute to her husband Ed Krapels, who worked alongside Greg Zaff, Tom Hodgson and others to bring SQB to Lawrence. “He loved SquashBusters, its mission, its students”, she told the crowd, as she presented the cup named in his honor to the new champions, the Merrimack Volley.

The MashUp would not be possible without the support of our incredible community and especially our sponsors: Acadian Software, Brown Brothers Harriman, Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation,  Mighty Squirrel Brewing Co., Westfield Capital Management, Winstanley Enterprises, Floyd Advisory, Moore Concrete Cutting, and Bank of New England.

We have more wonderful picture of the day which you can see at the links below.

Paddle – PW: srwf67

Squash – PW: srwf67

The Build Is On!

Construction Update, November 2023

Construction began in the winter of 2022 and the core and shell are complete. The building should be completed and ready for occupancy by fall 2024. The SquashBusters Center will serve as a world class home for the SquashBusters Lawrence program and includes offices and meeting spaces for staff, three classrooms, eight squash courts, two locker rooms, a gym space, and a number of informal meeting areas. Owning and operating this space, in the city where SQB students live, will be transformational for the program

SQB’s planning for programmatic growth are well underway and include increased enrollment, increased dosage, additional school partners, additional summer programming and more and deeper community partnerships. The facility brings SQB much closer to a variety of existing and potential new partners in Lawrence and will increase opportunities for collaboration with these groups, especially those located on nearby Island Street and Everett Mills.

Andrés Burbank-Crump, the Head of Innovation and Partnerships, has been reaching out to mission-aligned organizations to ensure that when the building is not being used by SquashBusters, it can be employed to the benefit of the residents of Lawrence, both through programs run by SquashBusters and in partnership with organizations serving the community. As we consider different ways to utilize the Center, we are mindful of the most pressing needs in Lawrence, as expressed by residents of the city and compiled community needs assessments. Top among these are adult education, immigration services and job opportunities. We are eager to to help meet these needs and more and we anticipate having a positive impact on the community.

The Vision

After more than 8 years of searching for a permanent home in Lawrence, in 2020 SquashBusters reached an agreement with Lawrence Community Works (LCW) to build our own squash and education center. The New Balance Foundation SquashBusters Center is part of the LCW’s Island Parkside mixed-use community project, home to 80 units of low-income housing targeting families, a number of community and green spaces such as a revitalization of Ferrous Park, and a half-mile walking trail along the Merrimack River. 

Programmatic Impact 

SquashBusters came to Lawrence in 2012 and has been operating on borrowed and rented spaces throughout the Merrimack Valley ever since. The SquashBusters Center will serve as a world class home for the SquashBusters Lawrence program. The building will include offices and meeting spaces for staff, three classrooms, eight squash courts, two locker rooms, a gym space, and a number of informal meeting areas. Owning and operating this space, in the city where SQB students live, will be transformational for the program, which has been historically limited by the logistical and transportation and the uncertainty of running the our programs on borrowed spaces outside the city of Lawrence. Key programmatic improvements include: 

• Enrollment: SQB will have the capacity to increase enrollment of middle and high school students from 80 to 120, and post-secondary students from 46 to 75. 
• Dosage: Current limited access to courts and fitness space means students typically practice twice a week, with each practice lasting between 2-2.5 hours. With the opening of the SquashBusters Center, students will have programming at least 3 times per week and have the opportunity to drop in practically as often as they want, 5-6 days every week. The Center will be open to students for a minimum of 4 hours each day. 
• School Partners: SQB’s location in the city brings the program significantly closer to additional schools and in many cases relieves SQB of the need to drive students to programming every day. We anticipate the number of primary partner schools available to work with will increase from 5 to 10, allowing SQB to serve a wider scope of young people in the city. 
• Community Partnerships: The facility brings SQB much closer to a variety of existing and potential new partners in Lawrence and will increase opportunities for collaboration with these groups, especially those located on nearby Island Street and Everett Mills.
• Summer Programming: Consistent access to courts and classrooms will allow SquashBusters to offer more robust summer programming. The new Center will allow SQB to offer four weeks of summer programming, twice as much as is currently offered. In addition, we will be able to partner with world class squash programs and other organizations in the city to bring resources into our facility and enrich the experience of the students. 

The SquashBusters Center will be transformational for the Lawrence program. It will allow SQB to offer higher quality programming to more students than have ever been served before. In addition to the elevated quality and quantity of squash opportunities, academic enrichment, and post-secondary support, SQB will partner more meaningfully with other organizations in the city to ensure our students are exposed to the widest variety of experiences possible during their time in the program. 

Community Impact 

The SquashBusters Center will also allow SQB to engage with the local community in new and innovative ways. There will be significant windows of time when the building is not used by the SquashBusters program and can be employed to the benefit of the residents of Lawrence, both through programs run by SquashBusters and in partnership with organizations serving the community. We are eager to maximize the utilization of the SquashBusters Center when it is not being used for our youth development programs to help meet these needs and we anticipate having a positive impact on the community through: 

• Adult Education: Many adult education classes occur in spaces identical to those in our new facility and are scheduled primarily during the hours when our space will available. Classes offered by these organizations include English Language Learning, Citizenship Exam Preparation and more. 

• Job Training: Similarly, a number of organizations offer job training to give residents of Lawrence the resources and experience needed to find gainful employment. Such training will also occur in our classrooms outside of SQB programming, and include Nursing Assistant, Early Childhood Care, and Paraprofessional Training. 
• Community Workspace: During the pandemic we saw how difficult it was for our students and families to find quiet spaces with strong internet access to work or attend school remotely. We anticipate offering one classroom in the new facility to be utilized as a co-working space for our alumni, families and tenants of Island Parkside. There is also the potential for partnership with alternative education programs to provide quiet, functional study spaces for remote students. 
• Community Squash: SquashBusters plans to leverage our squash courts, gym space, and locker rooms to launch a community squash program. Intended to serve squash players in the Merrimack Valley, we will create a multicultural and multigenerational community in our facility, with a particular focus on familiarizing Lawrence residents with the sport and facilitating access to membership regardless of socioeconomic standing. We will also create space for regular open houses where we invite different groups from throughout the city into our facility to try the sport and learn more about the Center. 
• School Enrichment: The Center can also be used for school-day enrichment or gym classes for public schools which do not have access to their own recreational spaces, thereby increasing the number of young people benefitting from our facility and accessing meaningful health and wellness programming. 
• Community Events: The facility has the potential to be a great venue for events for SquashBusters and other organizations from throughout Lawrence. Our own special events will be drastically more accessible to the community and in some cases, as with our annual MashUp, expose folks to world class squash. We will also be able to regularly host our own potlucks, family dinners, and other celebrations. Our hope is that the building will also serve as a site for partner organizations to host their own celebrations and events. 

• Tenant Access: It is our intent that SquashBusters is a protagonist within the Island Parkside community, proactively ensuring that residents of the affordable housing on the site are utilizing the resources available in the building. These include access to the gym, community squash memberships, usage of potential co-working space, and access to SquashBusters programming for middle and high school aged students. 
• Employment: SquashBusters will employ members of the Lawrence community in the SquashBusters Center. We will utilize our network within the city to ensure we are providing gainful employment to residents of the city at a living wage and that the folks working at the Center are dedicated to the community we are serving. 

Taken together, all these initiatives will allow SquashBusters to dramatically increase the depth and breadth of our impact in the city of Lawrence, well beyond youth development. Through strategic partnerships and usage of the spaces in the facility, residents of the city will have the ability to be part of a meaningful community and access valuable resources on mornings, nights, and weekends at the New Balance Foundation SquashBusters Center. We believe the SquashBusters Center will be a game-changer for the city of Lawrence, providing programming and opportunities to support citizens at every stage of life.