Acton has its own squash club on Knox Trail in South Acton: Squashwest Sports and Fitness, the area’s only facility devoted entirely to squash. Built in 1977 with four hardball courts, the courts were enlarged in the 1990s to conform to the international standard, and a fifth singles court and a doubles court were added. There are men’s and women’s locker rooms and a workout area with stationary bikes, rowing machines, treadmills, and weights.
The game of squash was developed in the 1830s at a private school in London. Two players, each with a long-handled racquet, stand in a four-sided court, 32 feet long and 21 feet wide, and attempt to hit a 1½ inch black rubber ball off the front wall without getting in each other’s way and without hitting their opponent with either their racquet or the ball. Players say it is a very fun game and a tremendous aerobic workout. Two advanced evenly matched players can burn as much as a thousand calories in a one-hour session.
John Bleuer, a Sudbury resident, had been playing squash at the club for years, and was looking for a business opportunity, having just retired from his tech sales job. As it happens the longtime owner of the club, then known as the Concord Acton Squash Club, was ready to sell. John inquired and, in November of 2021, he became the new owner. He quickly put his stamp on the club by installing new flooring coverings throughout, painting the walls and woodwork, removing several walls on the large second floor observation/lounge area, and installing beautiful new kitchen cabinets, appliances, and counters, with a center island.
John had several goals for the club: create a friendly, open atmosphere where everyone would feel comfortable, including women and children, create a vibrant youth program to encourage middle schoolers (and younger) to learn the game, and create a high school program with several of the surrounding towns to help players elevate their game while being part of a team. To help with the instructional programs, John hired a club pro.
Gary Gargan, director of squash and fitness, has been at the club for three years and came with 16 years of coaching experience. He is the head coach of the Acton-Boxborough Varsity Squash Team, and assistant coach for the women’s and men’s teams at Tufts University. Starting from scratch two years ago, there are now over seventy juniors in the program and eighty percent of these students had never played before meeting Gary.
Three co-ed club level high school teams with a total of over 40 players from Acton-Boxborough, Concord-Carlisle, and Lincoln-Sudbury compete from November to February. Students don’t have to be from the six mentioned towns as they can be assigned to a team that is geographically closest to their hometown. For some players, squash can help to gain entry to college. Others might aspire to be an Olympian, as the sport has been added to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. On the last weekend in January, Gary took eight high school players to the Arlen Specter U.S. Squash Center in Philadelphia to participate in an interscholastic tournament. The varsity placed fourth in the main draw and the junior varsity sixth in the second division.
Besides Gary, there are four other pros. The women’s program is headed by Belkys Hazzard. Paul Ansdell, longtime pro of the Concord Acton Squash Club, Matt Sidaway, and Chris Mach round out the coaching staff. There are several teaching clinics each week, private and semi-private lessons, round robins for every level of player, a monthly “box” league, which is like a ladder, and travel team leagues with destinations anywhere from Boston to Marblehead to Newton. There are several tournaments held at the club each year, including St. Paddy’s on March 15 and 16. The club hosts the state doubles final match in May.
There is also a social aspect to the club, including several parties a year and a summer team league where squash matches are followed by a potluck dinner that usually involves some cooking on the outdoor grill on the new large bluestone patio overlooking the Assabet River. Often, after a match, players will relax in the lounge area and take advantage of the club’s selection of beer and wine.
There are 250 members at the club with players from the United States, Canada, Argentina, South Africa, France, Great Britain, Ireland, China, India, Australia, Zimbabwe, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany, Pakistan, Nepal, and Egypt. Players can either pay a monthly membership fee with unlimited playing time or “pay and play,” where there is an hourly court time fee without any commitment. Courts are booked online.
Squashwest.com is located at 29 Knox Trail (off Powdermill Road, Rt 62, between Assabet skating rink and Powdermill Plaza.) Tel # 978-897-2972. John Bleuer, owner, general manager.
Jeff Brown is business beat reporter for the Acton Exchange.