Carl Plays Squash: An Athlete Profile

By Jenn O’Neill

                  Senior Carl Stowell is usually known for his performance as first basemen for Darien High School’s Varsity baseball team, but during the winter, it is a whole other ball game. Literally. Stowell plays Varsity Squash for the Blue Wave, a unique sport that not many DHS students know about.

                  Stowell’s involvement in Squash was actually not initially his choosing. “The main reason I started playing squash was because my dad played at my age. I had never heard of the sport, but when he found out DHS had a young squash team, he basically signed me up without my consent,” Stowell said. “But I’m really glad he did. Squash is such a fun sport because there’s always room to improve. It is one of those sports that are easy to pick up but nearly impossible to master, and you can practice for hours by yourself. It’s a great workout, and something about hitting a ball against a wall as hard as you can is quite satisfying.”

                  Squash is a relatively simple sport that is played in an enclosed room surrounded by four tall walls. Players can either play singles or doubles, sort of like in tennis. The front wall includes a tin at the bottom, about a  foot high that acts like a net in tennis; any ball hits the tin is dead and the point is awarded to the other player. The front wall is also the service line, indicating the point above which the ball must hit on the serve but only for that serve. The entire back half of the floor is split into two large boxes indicating where the serve has to land. If it is served from the right it must land in the left box and vice versa. There is also a marked spot where players must stand while they serve. Finally, there are red lines that run along the top part of each wall and any ball that goes above those is considered dead and the point is awarded to the other player. Darien plays its games to 11 which mean players must win by 2 points and it is usually the best three games out of five to decide the match.

                  “For such a young program, DHS has seen great improvement and surprising success, winning the Fairwest Tournament each year and making an appearance at Nationals,” Stowell said. The program itself has grown from the 24 kids from Stowell’s freshman year to the 60 players it is now. The practices are split up by rank (A-E), but everyone plays at matches. Be sure to check out Stowell along with senior captains Jonathan Gill, Dom Hansford, and DJ Brown “squashing” it up at Chelsea Piers.  “And remember,” Stowell said, “It is more than just a vegetable.”

Photo Caption: Carl playing Squash