Hi, Asking for a family friend’s soon to be high schooler: if the boy likes both tennis and squash, competent at similar levels in both but now wants to pursue only one sport seriously, what would you experienced folks suggest-tennis or squash?
If not good enough to be recruited, does it matter? He can play tennis as part of a school sport but squash has to be done personally out of school (though he will be exempt from sports at school). He wants to play at least one sport for physical fitness and also hopes it to be a strong extracurricular to show his time management skills (he is a pretty good student).
I know squash was being talked about as a standout sport a few years ago but not sure if it is anymore?
Squash, tennis requires a lot more commitment to excel. Tennis has less programs and too many players wanting to play. Consider the fact that there are roughly 2000 experienced tennis players trying to get into college tennis, plus internationals.
I played 12 years competitively and barely got d1 offers. Most d3 schools were options, but only outside the top 3 or 4(amherst recruits top 50 in the nation).
Squash has less competition with many tennis players starting squash to fill spots in college.
Let them play tennis as a fun sport though, it definitely is a sport for life.
^^ Squash is problematic as a sport-for-life. Outside the northeast, it’s not that well known, there aren’t many good courts out there, and most of them are in pricey country-club-type clubs.
OTOH, unless you live in a place like Florida or California, it’s a lot easier to play squash year-round than tennis.
In order to be recruitable do you really need to play 6 hours a day in tennis or squash? That’s dedication and @SeniorStruggling, I am sure it will pay forward at some point in your life! I think he really wants it as a strong extracurricular—say he can compete into the varsity school team, does it then matter if tennis or squash? He mentioned that seniors in his school have mentioned don’t bother mentioning a sport if you are atleast not on the varsity team?
@infomom909 Tennis. It has payed off as I have made lots of friends, but its just not the same as if I started baseball at the same age and with the same amount of commitment.
I was in a top highschool team and first team all district as a freshman, played nationals and such. Tennis is especially hard to be recruited in.
Squash is more unknown and does not have the same following. As well as much cheaper to compete in.
Edit, I would choose squash for high school if I liked both equally.
IMO, if he’s not going to be of recruiting level (and honestly most recruiting prospects in either tennis or squash are competing seriously before high school) it doesn’t matter. He should do whichever he enjoys more and thinks he’d rather play long-term.
Is he at a school where after-school sports are required? If so, he might prefer playing tennis with his friends. If his school’s team isn’t top-notch he may also have a chance to be a captain. On the other hand, if he prefers more mixed-aged groups and mentoring squash might be a good sport for him, as most clubs have seasoned adult players willing to take a kid under their wing and play on the weekends and it’s usually pretty easy to get attention from the club pro(s).
@Sue22 i say this simply because as a tennis player I was also recruited to play squash at a few schools. Apparently it doesn’t take much to make a good tennis player a squash player, same can’t be said vice versa.
I was recruited at hobart as a double recruit haha. The best squash player at hobart for a while was also the best tennis player.
@SeniorStruggling, I know you’re a strong tennis player, but I would be surprised if squash would have come through for you at Hobart. Every player on the Hobart team either played squash on a high school varsity squad for a full four years and/or with a highly competitive club, and some have serious squash pedigrees, such as Josh Oakley, whose mother was the world’s #1 women’s squash player for 11 years, or Ilyas Khan, whose HWS profile mentions tennis, but not that he comes from squash royalty. His grandfather and great uncle were the world’s #1 players at different times and Ilyas’s father is the squash coach at Colby and a 4-year All-American.
“Squash is where I get all my fundamentals for tennis,” Khan, who remembers picking up a squash racket at age 3, said. “I play as often as I can. Since sixth grade, I’ve played every day.”
The bottom line for me is, as others have said, this kid should play whichever he enjoys more. They’re both great sports and he can get a good workout with either.
@Sue22 I don’t know, i just know the wrist and racket control is there. Like I said, both coaches wanted me, though i have better finesse and touch so maybe that trait was important. Regradless, squash isn’t my passion and hobart wasn’t for me.
Gael Monfils is a world renowned tennis player, he is able to compete highly in most racket sports he picks up. I think it has to do with tennis requiring hitting targets and using bigger and heavier rackets under similar intensity.
If trying to get recruited for varsity college athletics is a relevant consideration, there are a lot more spots in tennis. Squash is a varsity sport at around 35 colleges, and tennis is a varsity sport at well over 1,000 colleges.
My husband was the number 1 man on a top Div 1 tennis team. In grad school he switched to squash. He never looked back, and now groans with distaste at the idea of playing tennis. ("All that wind, and sun, gaad!) For him, it was tennis in high school/undergrad, squash for life. HIs kids followed him, in their own way: son plays tennis, daughter played college squash.
Thanks for all the responses! It looks like in order to be recruited you must really devote a LOT of time to the sport is it not? I think his main strength is academics and he might not be ready to give up too much time to sports…so he wants to do one and do decently in it. SO basically the message I am getting is as a EC, either is fine…if you wanted to be recruited, squash ‘might’ be the easier one!
I would play the sport that is most convenient and that he likes better which means he is more likely to participate. Tennis has my vote because he could possibly participate at school as you mentioned, and it is always good to do things at school if you can. But if he is secretly trying to do this for recruiting in college and he is just starting to play tennis, that ship has sailed.
As an adult there are many opportunities to play tennis at clubs with your significant other (doubles) and it is a nice networking sport. Tennis for life…
He has been playing for some time but I think he is not looking to be recruited. So curious–what age do kids who go onto be recruited start playing competitively? 10 years? I have younger kids and so many people say—oh don’t stress, high school is way away but it seems like so many decisions/starts need to take much earlier!
It looks like in order to be recruited you must really devote a LOT of time to the sport is it not? I think his main strength is academics and he might not be ready to give up too much time to sports…so he wants to do one and do decently in it. SO basically the message I am getting is as a EC, either is fine…if you wanted to be recruited, squash ‘might’ be the easier one!