Squash and Education Alliance

Congratulations to SquashBusters alumnus Patrick Williams who has been named SquashDrive's next Executive Director! This news marks an exciting milestone for the Oakland program and the SEA network, as Pat is the first SEA alumnus to lead a member program. Read the full announcement here - https://www.squashdrive.org//introducing-our-new-executive #changingthegame #squashandeducation

SEA International Affiliate Egolisquash has provided over 1,000 families with food and academic support packages through its monthly Ubuntu Drive. Read more about how the South African organizations is supporting its community below. #squashandeducation https://buff.ly/3jRpIUs

Khelshala's Virtual Friendraiser is tomorrow at 8:30pm ET! Tune in to connect with fellow friends and supporters, learn about the program, and compete in a fun trivia challenge with prizes! To RSVP or support the event, click on the link below. One of SEA's five international affiliate programs, Khelshala supports 100 students in Chandigarh and Punjab, India, building life skills through squash, academics, yoga, and more. ... https://khelshala.in/us-friendraiser-2020/

Election day is just a week away. Do you have a voting plan? Check out https://iwillvote.com/ for info about early voting, polling locations, and more. #SEAVotes

STREETSQUASH alumnus and former CitySquash staff member Raheem Logan recently published his very own children's book! Black Boy Fly is loosely based on Raheem's experiences and tells the story of a young Black boy navigating an unfamiliar space and looking to find his way through this new sport in his life, squash. I didn't do this alone, says Raheem. I had an amazing team. My illustrator Delvonte Smith helped bring this vision to life. We just wanted to remind our young o...nes that they are capable of flying into wherever their passions lie. Congratulations, Raheem! https://www.amazon.com/Black-Boy-Fly-Raheem-L//ref=sr_1_4

Check out this inspiring interview with former World No. 9 and current SEA Board Member Adrian Grant. "From humble beginnings in the game including sleeping in his dad’s car at tournaments, to becoming a Commonwealth Gold medalist and a member of England’s Golden Generation, Adrian Grant’s career journey is as inspirational as they come."

Students & Alumni - Don't forget to tune in to our Q&A with former World No. 1 James Willstrop this afternoon at 4pm ET! https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85436724623 #SEASpeakerSeries #changingthegame #squashandeducation

The SEA Speaker Series is back! Looking forward to kicking off our fall series with James Willstrop this week. Willstrop was 2008's PSA Player of the Year, was elected president of the PSA Board in 2011, and reached a ranking of World No. 1 in 2012. Since reaching that career high ranking, he published his autobiography "Shot and a Ghost: A year in the brutal world of professional squash," won gold at the Commonwealth Games, and was on the winning team at the 2019 European Te...am Championships. Tune in this Thursday, October 22 at 4pm ET for our Q&A with James! https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85436724623 Contact SEA or your local program for password access. #SEASpeakerSeries #changingthegame #squashandeducation

Happy National Coaches Day! Our work would not be possible without the amazing squash coaches and mentors in our network. Thank you coaches! #nationalcoachesday #changingthegame #squashandeducation

Shout out to the top 3 participants from last week’s Trivia Challenge and congratulations to Dania Z from Santa Barbara School of Squash for coming in first place!!! Next week's challenge is live. 1) Go to Kahoot.it... 2) Enter game PIN: 01439177 3) When you join the game, please enter your first name, first initial of your last name, and your member program. (e.g. JohnS.SteelCity) We will use this to identify the winner! 4) Test your squash knowledge! See more

We're excited to announce this year's recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award, given to a member of the alumni community who has demonstrated remarkable academic and professional success, leadership, integrity, and continued support and connection to their member program. The 2020 winner is Manuela Perez!! Manuela (CitySquash '12) is a graduate of Barnard College of Columbia University in New York City where she double majored in Economics and Africana Studies. After gradu...ating, she worked in HR and Recruitment at Morgan Stanley for 3 years. Manuela recently began working as an Assistant Director of Admissions at the Oliver Scholars Program, where she supports students interested in attending independent schools. She's maintained her connection to SEA and CitySquash as a volunteer, mentor, and junior board member. Mannie is a true leader in every realm she enters, says the CitySquash staff. Congratulations, Mannie!!!

With our program year ending this month, we’re taking a moment to look back on the past year. Through the ups and downs, we’ve been inspired by the resilience of our students, alumni, and member programs. Thank you for being a part of the SEA community. Let’s keep working together.

Congratulations to the top 3 participants from our first trivia challenge and a special shout out to Kenlly P from Squash Urbano Colombia /Cartagena for coming in first place! Great job!! Our next squash trivia challenge is now live on Kahoot! To play:... 1) Go to Kahoot.it 2) Enter game PIN: 01193047 3) When you join the game, please enter your first name, first initial of your last name, and your member program. Ex. JohnS.SteelCity. We will use this to identify the winner! 4) Test your squash knowledge! See more

We're thrilled that "A Bronx Tale" has been nominated for the Peace and Sport 2020 Documentary Prize! The film profiles NYC based program CitySquash and features interviews with longtime coach Bryan Patterson and students from the Bronx program. A big thanks to SquashSkills for creating this inspiring piece! Check it out here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSDRxBjUxT0&feature=youtu.be

During SEA's inaugural Citizenship Tour in July of 2014, our students' last meeting of the week was with Congressman John Lewis. The trip couldn’t have ended on a higher note. Rep. Lewis had no connection to squash or to our member programs, but he spent nearly two hours with our students, sharing his personal story and recalling his experiences in the civil rights movement. Our students were spellbound. SEA will forever be grateful for the gift of his time that day, and for the extraordinary example he set, over a lifetime, as a citizen, leader, and human being.

Attention Students - SEA's Squash Trivia Challenge is live! Every Tuesday we will post a challenge on Kahoot and you'll have until the following Monday at 11:59 pm to complete it. To play, go to kahoot.it and enter the PIN: 03801930. When you join the game, please enter your first name, first initial of your last name, and your program. Example: JohnS.SteelCity (we will use this to identify the winner).... Trivia winners will receive a $25 gift card!!

We're thinking back to the 2019 Citizenship Tour on this #ThrowbackThursday! This time next week our 2020 Tour participants will be gearing up for a week of virtual meetings and conversations with leaders in government, journalism, education, policy, and the nonprofit community. Students will speak with Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, The New York Times Editor Kathleen Kingsbury, Robin Hood CEO Wes Moore and more. Be sure to follow along July 20-24! #SEAcitizenshiptour #changingthegame #squashandeducation

We had a fantastic first day of the Citizenship Tour yesterday! Our students spoke with Aviva Rosman, Co-Founder and COO of BallotReady and Scott Stossel, National Editor at The Atlantic. We’ll be meeting with Senior Director at NBC News Brett Holey this morning. This afternoon, Acting Editorial Page Editor Katie Kingsbury and Editorial Writer Brent Staples of The New York Times will also speak with our group. (Photos from our 2019 visits at NBC and the NYT are below) For m...ore conversation highlights and student reflections from the Tour, visit seacitizenshiptour.org! #SEACitizenshipTour

We're so proud of our 2020 scholar athletes who earned a 90% average or better for the first semester of the school year!! Check out the full list of scholar athletes here - https://squashandeducation.org/scholarathletes/. #changingthegame #squashandeducation #scholarathletes

As we continue to work toward becoming a more inclusive organization, we want to express our support for all LGBTQIA members of the community and within the SEA network. We'd also like to highlight this The Trevor Project resource 'Supporting Black LGBTQ Youth Mental Health.' #PrideMonth

Congratulations to SQB Boston's Rashad Brown-Mitchell who was named a Ty Griffin Student of the Year for his embodiment to the over-arching values of the SEA ne...twork: sportsmanship, effort on the court and in the classroom, respect, and concern for others, integrity, character and leadership. Rashad will be attending Dartmouth College next year. And to SQB Boston's Cam Shepard who was awarded a SEA Booster Scholarship for his intellectual curiosity, leadership, and tenacity. Cam will be attending UMASS-Amherst. #changingthegame #squashandeducation #SEAClassof2020

Join us for a virtual celebration to recognize our academic contest and end of year award winners and SEA's class of 2020! This year, 142 high school seniors across the network celebrated graduations and 41 college students earned Bachelor's degrees. Tune in June 25th at 6pm ET. #changingthegame #squashandeducation #SEAClassof2020 #SEAawardsceremony

Join us tomorrow at 6pm ET here on Facebook for our End of Year Awards Ceremony & Celebration. We can't wait to recognize our award winners and celebrate the high school and college graduates from across the SEA network!! #SEAawardsceremony #changingthegame #squashandeducation #SEAClassof2020 716 Squash Access Youth Academy Beyond Walls: Urban Squash Twin Cities Capitol Squash Cincinnati Squash Academy CitySquash Kids On Point MetroSquash Mile High 360 Racquet Up Detroit Santa Barbara School of Squash Squash Haven SquashBusters SquashDrive SquashSmarts Baltimore SquashWise Steel City Squash STREETSQUASH Urban Squash Cleveland

Join us next Thursday, June 25th at 6pm ET for SEA's End of Year Awards Ceremony and Celebration on Facebook live!! During the ceremony, we'll recognize recipients of SEA's academic contests and end of year awards as well as our class of 2020 graduates. You won't want to miss it! #SEAClassof2020 #squashandeducation #changingthegame

Tomorrow at 4pm ET, World No. 1 Mohamed Elshorbagy will join us for our next SEA Speaker Series Q&A!! Born in Alexandria, Egypt, Mohamed was the second player in history to win two World Junior Titles and has gone on to win every major PSA World Series Title. Be sure to tune in and come ready with questions for Mohamed. #SEASpeakerSeries Link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/s/84379337786

We're looking forward to joining our friends in Charleston on Monday for Chucktown Talks - Where do we go from here? The first installment of this new webinar series will be led by Dr. Rénard Harris, Chief Diversity Officer at the College of Charleston.

Tomorrow at 4pm ET, SquashBusters alum Ronald German will talk with our network as part of our Alumni Speaker Series. Ronald currently manages business development activities in the Americas for the Alternatives Fund Services business at Brown Brothers Harriman. He is a graduate of Hamilton College where he was a Posse Scholar and currently works with several educational non-profits serving young people, including the The Posse Foundation. Tune in tomorrow! Link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88240392941 Please contact SEA or your member program for password access.

Mireyli, a seventh grader from CitySquash is our #SEASpeaks first place winner!! Check out her zine and head to our instagram for a clip of Mireyli talking about her submission. A big thanks to our students for sharing your experiences and creativity with us. We’re excited to see what you come up with for June’s challenge! #squashandeducation #changingthegame #SEASpeaks

Our second place winner of the #SEASpeaks May Challenge is Phoebe, a 10th grader from Hartford’s Capitol Squash !! Check out her zine here and head to our IG tv to hear Phoebe explain her submission. #changingthegame #squashandeducation #SEASpeaks

Over the past month, we’ve received some fantastic submissions for our Academic Contest, #SEASpeaks. We challenged students across the network to create a zine about life in quarantine, what has been hard, what has brought joy, what they’ve learned, and what they look forward to doing when this period ends. We’re excited to announce our winners of the challenge and share their submissions! First up is our third place winner Yolanda, a seventh grader from MetroSquash. Congra...tulations, Yolanda! Our second and first place zines will be shared later this week. Stay tuned. #SEASpeaks #changingthegame #squashandeducation

Join SquashSkills tomorrow, June 7th at 2pm ET for the premier of their new documentary, A Bronx Tale, on Facebook Live. The film features CitySquash and longtime coach Bryan Patterson. Following the premiere, SquashSkills is demonstrating a follow-along ball control session for students to participate in. For every SquashSkills membership that is purchased during June, they will donate 5 annual memberships to squash programs supporting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds around the world.

Angela Duckworth will chat with our network today at 4pm ET! Angela is the CEO and Co-Founder of Character Lab and author of the best-selling book "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance." https://angeladuckworth.com/ Link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/s/89721421121... Contact SEA or your member program for password access.

This Friday, June 5th at 4pm ET, Angela Duckworth will chat with our network as a part of the SEA Speaker Series! Angela is the CEO and Co-Founder of Character Lab, author of the best-selling book "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance." If you haven't already, check out Angela's TED Talk, which is among the most-viewed of all time. Link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/s/89721421121 (Contact SEA or your member program for password access)

World No. 6 Sarah-Jane Perry will join us for a Q&A today at 4pm ET. Sarah-Jane plays for England, is the PSA Women's President, and a 2 time British National Champion. Tune in this afternoon! #SEASpeakerSeries #squashandeducation #changingthegame https://us02web.zoom.us/s/87815713555

We are in solidarity with our students and alumni and communities of color. If you are in need of support during this time, the SEA network is here for you. #BlackLivesMatter

Next Sunday, June 7th, SquashSkills will be premiering its new documentary, A Bronx Tale. The film spotlights one of SEA's New York based member programs CitySquash, its students, and longtime coach Bryan Patterson. Check out the trailer and learn more below. For every annual SquashSkills membership purchased in June, five will be donated to students in SEA programs and similar organizations serving young people across the world. #ABronxTale #squashandeducation #changingthegame

Excited to have KIPP Schools co-founder Dave Levin as an upcoming guest in our Speakers Series! Dave will speak with the network this Thursday, 5/28 at 4pm ET. In prep for the Q&A, check out Dave's TEDx Talk "Powdered donuts, showers, and choice-filled lives" or his 2008 Colbert Report Appearance. TedX: https://buff.ly/2XyRjR0 Colbert Report: https://buff.ly/2ZFIFTl... Zoom link: https://buff.ly/2zxbqXS Reach out to SEA or your member program for password access.

In honor of #MentalHealthMonth, we'll be sharing resources to help prioritize your wellbeing and cope with stress and anxiety during this time of uncertainty. We're in this together! Check out these tips for caring for yourself while practicing physical distancing. https://buff.ly/399kSfV

Tomorrow at 4pm ET, we welcome our first SEA alumnus to the Speaker Series -- Monete Johnson! Monete is a graduate of SquashBusters Boston who currently works as the Assistant Director of College Advising for SEO Scholars in New York. She earned a B.A. from Trinity College and an M.A. in Public Policy from Rutgers University. Can’t wait to talk with Monete tomorrow. Be sure to tune in! https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88581835097 Reach out to SEA or your local member program for pa...ssword info. #squashandeducation #SEASpeakerSeries

Looking forward to our Q&A with Natalie this afternoon at 4:30pm ET! https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88473296393

This month, SEA launched a new academic challenge, #SEASpeaks. Now through May 31st, we are accepting student submissions for May's challenge to create your own zine (all students) or write a graduation speech for the Class of 2020 (HS seniors only). Shout out to MetroSquash who worked on their zines together. We are excited to see the creative submissions you come up with!!

Awesome opportunity to hear firsthand about the college experience! Today at 4pm mountain time (6pm ET), Mile High 360 will be hosting "ask a college student" with CitySquash alumna Mariela. Tune in on instagram live! #squashandeducation

It's time for another #SquashingTheCurveChallenge! This week, we have MetroSquash's Coach Tron demonstrating our plank with a toss challenge. Grab a squash ball or any object you have handy, get in a high plank position, and toss the ball back and forth. The member program with the highest number of participants will receive a prize from SEA, and the participant with the highest number of tosses will get a special shoutout on social media! Can you beat Tron's 49 tosses? Re...member to send us your video submissions in a direct message with your first name and your member program by Monday, May 25th at midnight. #squashingthecurve #changingthegame #squashandeducation

This Thursday, May 21st at 4:30pm ET, Former World # 1 Natalie Grainger will join us for another installment of the Speaker Series! Natalie played for the national teams of South Africa, England, and the U.S., served as the president of the Women’s International Squash Players Association, and is a board member of Squash Haven. We’re looking forward to talking with her! https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88473296393 #SEAGuestSpeakerSeries #changingthegame #squashandeducation

Racquet Up Detroit is hosting a 3pm ET yoga session for the SEA network today, led by Emma Head! We hope to see you there. Contact SEA or your member program for password access. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85144751119

In honor of #ThrowbackThursday, we’re thinking back to the amazing trip our High Performance Team took to California last spring. While we miss traveling and training, we are enjoying our weekly virtual fitness sessions and team meetings with the HPT. #squashandeducation #changingthegame #highperformanceteam

We are excited to congratulate the TWO winners of last week's #SquashingTheCurveChallenge! Baltimore Squashwise and SquashDrive led the charge with the most participation in the longest rally. Well done!! Check out their videos below and stay tuned for future challenges. https://www.facebook.com/486898628069710/videos/262649954878387/ https://www.facebook.com/486898628069710/videos/256291762239399/... Thanks again to SquashSmarts for the inspiration and for kicking off the longest rally challenge!

For our college seniors across the network: Check out 25 TED speakers' answers to the question "What advice do you wish you’d gotten when you graduated from college?" - https://buff.ly/3bmozji

SEA Network - We hope you've been brainstorming questions for our Q&A with Nicol David tomorrow at 4pm ET! Before retiring in 2019, Nicol held the World No. 1 ranking for 112 months and won eight World Open crowns, five British Open titles, two Commonwealth Games gold medals, five Asian gold medals, and three World Games gold medals. We can't wait to talk with her tomorrow. Nicol will also lead a brief fitness session following the Q&A. Hope to see you there! Link to join - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81320133368 Please contact SEA or your member program for password access.

We are proud to be a part of the PLAY Sports Coalition alongside 1000+ other organizations across the country advocating for youth sports in response to COVID-19. To express your support for youth sports organizations, send an e-letter to your federal House or Senate representatives. Click here to find your to representatives and show your support before Thursday 5pm ET: https://buff.ly/2L6EHKY #Unite2Play US SQUASH

Join week two of the Squashing The Curve Challenge by participating in the longest squash rally! Our friends in Philadelphia at SquashSmarts got the rally started (https://buff.ly/3b48Pl5), but we need your help to keep it going. For this challenge, the member program with the highest number of participants will receive a $50 gift card from SEA! To participate, film yourself joining the rally and send it to us in a direct message with your first name and your member program. ...Video submissions will be accepted until midnight on Sunday, May 10th. Be sure to share it with your friends in the SEA network and invite them to join too. If you don’t have a squash racquet at home, we invite you to get creative!! #SquashingTheCurveChallenge #changingthegame #squashandeducation #longestsquashrally 716 Squash Access Youth Academy Beyond Walls: Urban Squash Twin Cities Capitol Squash Cincinnati Squash Academy CitySquash Egolisquash Kids On Point MetroSquash Mile High 360 Racquet Up Detroit Santa Barbara School of Squash Squash Haven Squash Urbano Colombia /Cartagena SquashBond Israel - Sport and Beyond SquashBusters SquashDrive SquashSmarts Baltimore SquashWise Steel City Squash STREETSQUASH Urban Squash Cleveland Urban Squash Toronto

There's still time to get in on week one of the #SquashingTheCurveChallenge!! Grab your racquet and send us your videos by the end of the day today.

Looking for something to do this weekend? Spend you Sunday working out with Amanda Sobhy as a part of Illinois Squash's weekly series. Suggested donations will support SEA member program MetroSquash.

Don't forget to tune in at 4pm ET today for our Q&A with Nick Matthew and at 6pm ET tomorrow to hear from Raneem El Welily! To top it all off, next Friday we'll welcome Nicol David to the speaker series! We hope to see you there. Contact SEA or your member program for password access. Wednesday, April 29th at 4 pm ET - Q&A with Nick Matthew Link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89481882409... Thursday, April 30th at 6 pm ET - Q&A with Raneem El Welily Link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86282479490 Friday, May 8th at 4 pm ET - Q&A with Nicol David Link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81320133368 #SEAGuestSpeakerSeries #changingthegame #squashandeducation

We're grateful to have a strong network of leaders at our organizations across the network, especially during challenging times. Check out the Center for Creative Leadership's upcoming Leadership Never Stops: Virtual Event Panel Discussions.

While our member programs have begun to settle into the new world of virtual programming, there are still unanswered questions. To our staff across the country and abroad - here's a great collection of tips and ideas from Common Sense Education on supporting students during this time of school closure.

Former World #1 Nick Matthew is next up in our Guest Speaker Series, joining us this Wednesday, April 29th at 4pm ET! Nick is one of the few professional squash players to win both the British Open and the World Open, winning each three times. Since retiring from the pro tour, Nick founded the Nick Matthew Academy to deliver squash coaching for children and adults based in the US and England. We’re excited to hear from Nick on Wednesday and hope to see you there! #SEAGuestSpeakerSeries https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89481882409

So exciting to see Racquet Up Detroit reach the 10 year mark! What an amazing milestone. Congratulations!

We are excited to introduce SEA's #SquashingTheCurveChallenge!! Starting today, we will be sharing a weekly challenge on social media for folks in our network to complete. SEA's very own director of squash Edgardo is helping kick off the inaugural challenge. Check out the video and instructions below and let's squash the curve together. Challenge: Bounce the squash ball while balancing on one leg for one minute. To participate:... 1. Film yourself completing the challenge. 2. Direct message your video to us at Squash and Education Alliance along with your name, your member program, and your grade level. 3. Follow along on our instagram, twitter, and facebook pages to see submissions from your peers across the SEA network. #changingthegame #squashandeducation #squashingthecurvechallenge 716 Squash Access Youth Academy Beyond Walls: Urban Squash Twin Cities Capitol Squash Cincinnati Squash Academy CitySquash Egolisquash Kids On Point MetroSquash Mile High 360 Racquet Up Detroit Santa Barbara School of Squash Squash Haven Squash Urbano Colombia /Cartagena SquashBond Israel - Sport and Beyond SquashBusters SquashDrive SquashSmarts Baltimore SquashWise Steel City Squash STREETSQUASH Urban Squash Cleveland Urban Squash Toronto

This week, SEA's Guest Speaker Series welcomes Adrian Grant, professional squash player from England. On Friday at 4pm ET, the former World # 9 will sit down with our network for a chat on Zoom! Please reach out to SEA or your member program if you need the password. #SEAGuestSpeakerSeries #changingthegame #squashandeducation https://zoom.us/j/93281130219

As our member organizations acclimate to online programming, we're grateful for resources like this one. Great tips from Harvard Graduate School of Education on creating connection and a sense of belonging while delivering virtual instruction. https://www.gse.harvard.edu///20/04/place-remote-belonging

Looking forward to having Former World # 1 Peter Nicol join us for a Q&A and fitness session this afternoon at 4pm ET!! Contact SEA or your member program for password access. https://zoom.us/j/864918915 #SEAGuestSpeakerSeries #changingthegame #squashandeducation

Thank you Baltimore SquashWise for sharing these mask instructions. If you must go out in public, the CDC now recommends wearing face protection to help stop the spread of infection. https://buff.ly/2WWnawj

Today's the day! SEA is hosting a Q&A on zoom with current World #2 player and 2019 World Open Champion Ali Farag at 3pm ET. Students and Alumni - We hope you've been brainstorming questions! Don't forget to check in with your member program to get the password to join. zoom.us/j/98674184623 See you this afternoon! ... #SEAGuestSpeakerSeries #changingthegame #squashandeducation

No court, no problem. Steel City Squash Coach Chas has been sharing awesome at-home squash exercises for his Pittsburgh students. Love the creative use of household items. #changingthegame #squashandeducation

Big thanks to Amanda Sobhy for leading us through a killer Monday workout! #motivationmonday #changingthegame #squashandeducation

This week, SEA is hosting TWO installments of our guest speaker series with world-renowned players Ali Farag and Peter Nicol! Students and Alumni - Be sure to reach out to your program and get the password to tune in on Wednesday and Friday. Q&A with Ali Farag - Wednesday, April 15 at 3pm ET... https://zoom.us/j/98674184623 Q&A with Peter Nicol- Friday, April 17 at 4pm ET https://zoom.us/j/864918915 #SEAGuestSpeakerSeries #changingthegame #squashandeducation