Sports as a metaphor for life with Doug Garr

Writer, journalist, wrestler and squash player Doug Garr insists he’s not a “daredevil,” despite his reputation as a "notorious skydiver.”

[Our community conversations series is a great way to get to know your fellow Open Squash members. If you’d like to give a talk, get in touch!]

Taking the floor at our latest community conversation event in June, Doug expressed gratitude for the invitation, albeit with a touch of self-deprecation. "Thanks for inviting me," he said, "I'm kind of flattered that you — I am not a guest because of my squash prowess obviously." He candidly acknowledged his long-standing but less-than-stellar squash career, describing himself as a "perennial like 3.5- player since way, way back."

Doug then articulated his challenge: to find a theme for his talk that wasn't overly self-promotional or cliché. "You know, I was trying to come up with a theme tonight," he shared. "And I realized sports is a metaphor for your life, but without making it like some sort of self-improvement thing."

Doug mused about the connections between wrestling, squash, and skydiving, and how these activities intertwined with his career as an editor and writer.

Growing up in Westchester County, like many kids, Doug aspired to excel at a sport. He spoke of the realization that dawns in adolescence: the understanding of one’s limitations and the need to find alternative paths. "When you're 12 and you start to realize you're not gonna be a ballerina on stage, I'm not gonna be a baseball player. So you go right to plan B, and you say, what am I good at?" he said.

Doug found his answer in wrestling. Despite initially not being "that good at anything," he discovered a talent and passion for wrestling in high school. He described how a gym teacher recognized his spirited nature during a lunchtime basketball game, and suggested wrestling.

His dedication paid off. He wrote a letter to the coach in eighth grade expressing his desire to join the team and eventually became captain of a state championship team, even earning a Division I full scholarship at Syracuse University.

"I ended up being captain of a state championship team, a two-time state championship team. And I got recruited my senior year to get a Division I full scholarship at Syracuse University. And that was pretty significant," he said. However, his college experience was far from smooth. He confessed to not knowing what he wanted to be when he grew up, a stark contrast to his friends who seemed to have clear career paths.

Doug then shared a revealing "aside about, a little sermonette about corruption and sport college sports."

He described the requirement for minor sport athletes to work 10 hours per week for their scholarship. His assigned job at the library turned out to be a "no-show job," but instead, he began reading the Ph.D. theses, particularly the novels that were being written by Ph.D. candidates, finding an unexpected haven.

"Because Syracuse had a very good literature and journalism program, I started reading the Ph.D. theses, because everybody who was getting a Ph. D. was writing a novel. So you had all these novels, I read the novels. It really saved me," he said, and the experience ignited his interest in journalism.

The year 1969 proved to be a pivotal one for Doug. Despite winning first place at the Boston YMCA Open wrestling tournament, he decided to quit the team, give up his scholarship, and pursue his interest in writing. This transition coincided with his first skydive in April 1969. Describing the experience, he recalled, "I get down and I land and I was on my back and I had, I don't know if you've ever had this kind of laugh when you go into this hysterical laugh, but you're expiating all of this nervousness. So, I'm on the ground and I'm laughing, I'm laughing, like you know I just cheated death, I survived."

This first jump sparked a lifelong passion for skydiving, leading to an eventual 2,333 jumps and counting. He said, "I constantly explain this because I'm a really cautious person."

He mentioned being cautious in the traffic near the club at 39th street and 6th avenue, "that's like the most dangerous intersection. You have to really be careful," he said, adding "that scares me more than jumping out of a plane."

Doug recalled the contrast between his 850th jump and the 849th, which was 25 years prior.

Turning to squash, Doug recounted his introduction to the sport in the 1970s through a friend writing for the Village Voice. At the time, playing at a squash place on 42nd street. "I go, wow, this is so cool. It's like, you gotta know a little bit about geometry. Something about maybe chess which I was never good at and then it looks like you get a workout," he said.

Doug initially learned hardball but later transitioned to English squash after a humbling experience on the English court. "Every game was, I got blown out. I just didn't know what was going on. It was a completely different game," he remembered. Doug participated in numerous club tournaments and saw the transitions of several squash clubs around New York City, including the Park Place club, where he witnessed the addition of English courts. He also discussed his time at the Printing House Club and City View in Queens before the beginning of Open Squash.

Doug spoke of his philosophy on drilling and practice in squash. "Drilling isn't fun. It's not supposed to be fun. It's to groove muscle memory. And, you know, the person that drills the most...does the best," he emphasized. He also highlighted the importance of consistency, stating, "If you play three times a week and you miss a week you will know it." Now 76, Doug said, "we're competing within ourselves".

It isn't about winning or losing so much any more. It is about the feeling of a good workout and pushing oneself in a positive manner, Doug said.

Returning to skydiving, Doug emphasized the intricate planning and skill involved in high-level formation skydiving. "This is like really intricate stuff, and it's hard to do,” he said. He described the rigorous training and safety protocols, highlighting that safety is the priority.

Doug also discussed his writing career, mentioning his proudest achievement: an article about the nuclear waste dump in Hanford, Washington, which was nominated for a National Book Award. He said, "I really felt good because it took months of reporting. And it was like, you, you everybody has that one little moment that they go, ‘this just made it all worthwhile.’"

Thanks for talking to us about your life and stories, Doug. We appreciate you!