Coaching Staff
James Moore, Director of Squash Programs,
Head Varsity Coach
Blair Buck, Varsity and Junior Varsity Coach
Rod Gerdsen, Junior Varsity Coach
Erin O’Hara, Thirds Coach

Blair Academy Boys’ Squash
2007-08

Dear Prospective Blair Squash Players:

Well into its second decade at Blair Academy, squash continues to be a popular sport both at an interscholastic and a recreational level. Nearly 70 Blair students play organized squash each year, filling out competitive girls and boys varsity and junior varsity sides in the winter as well as heavily subscribed off-season introductory and developmental programs in the spring and fall. Recognizing that our three international courts, built just 15 years ago, did not adequately address the needs of the school, we have begun construction on four new courts. The new courts, a component of the expansion of our athletic and activity facilities, will be open for play in the fall of 2008.

Our interscholastic teams play schedules against other MAPL League and non-league teams: Hill, Lawrenceville, Delbarton, Hackley, Poly Prep and Mercersburg. Other matches include an assortment of college and university junior varsity squads, most recently those at Princeton and Cornell, and teams from New York City area urban squash programs, City Squash and StreetSquash. Graduates of the Blair squash program have played at the college level for Cornell, Bowdoin, Williams, Navy, MIT, Colby and Hobart. Briggs Johnson ’97 (Hobart ’01), a former teaching professional, is currently head coach at Milton Academy in MA.

The interscholastic squash season begins in late November and runs through February when both the New Jersey High School Individual and the MAPL team tournaments are held. Varsity and junior varsity players are encouraged to participate in squash camps and tournaments during the summer and fall prior to the season as a way to improve their skills. Typically, eight or nine players make the varsity team and nine or ten play on the JV team. The varsity schedule includes approximately 16 matches including one or two team tournaments.

This season marks my return to coaching squash at Blair Academy after a 10-year absence; currently director of major gifts in our development office, I started the squash program in 1993, when I ran Blair’s college counseling office and taught English. Before joining the Blair faculty in 1990, I played squash for Cornell, coached the Hill School teams and worked as an assistant pro at a club in McLean, VA; before returning to Blair, I served on the Junior Development Committee of US Squash, was president of the Rochester (NY) Squash Racquets Association and played for the United States in the 2000 Lapham-Grant Trophy matches against Canada. Our staff is experienced and enthusiastic: science teacher Blair Buck has been our head coach since 1997 and works with both the varsity and JV; Rod Gerdsen, another science teacher who played college squash at Colby College, has coached our teams at all levels; and math teacher Erin O’Hara, a college volleyball player, brings a seriousness of purpose to our introductory programs. We all work closely with the girls team coaches: history teacher Ashley Goodrich, who lettered in squash at Mt. Holyoke College, and English teacher Emma Hammer ’02, who captained the Blair varsity her senior year.

Blair needs both experienced and inexperienced players who love the thrill of a game that combines the intellectual challenge of chess with the exhilaration of being pushed to your physical limits. Please take time during your visit to see the courts and either call or come by and introduce yourself.

Jim Moore
Director of Squash Programs
Head Boys Varsity Coach

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