Your Squash Center Needs You!
The Manhattan Community Squash Center – like many others – has been hit hard by the pandemic. We are doing all we can to operate profitably with our reduced hours and reduced offerings (no group lessons for example). One of our new initiatives is asking volunteers to staff the front desk. It’s a tougher job than you’d think – there’s a ton to do behind that desk beyond welcoming members – but you’d be helping your friendly neighborhood squash center thrive so it’s totally worth it. If you’re interested and you think you can volunteer eight or more hours reliably every week please reach out to Cleve@TheSquashCenter. org. The big incentive is we’ll barter your time for free access to our courts. So if you have a little extra time on your hands this gig is totally for you.
Match Play is Back
We are super excited to announce that match play is back at Manhattan Squash. As of this week you can now play with one person you are not quarantined with. (You can continue to play with your quarantine partner as well.) We call your exclusive squash buddy your “Bubble Partner”. We’re going to require you all to wear iMasks or face masks when you play and we recommend wearing both. As you pick your bubble partner, here are some things you should take into consideration:
– Someone who is about the same level as you
– Someone who wants to play the same number of times per week and at the same times as you
– Someone who has the same approach to quarantine as you – same risk profile.
We’re a community
And now a short break from my usual light-hearted banter: There are a range of people with many different attitudes about what is safe and what is not. But when you visit The Manhattan Community Squash Center please take the most conservative approach and follow our rules. It’s been said that the measure of a civilization is how it treats its weakest members. Please think of this when you visit. You may be less worried than others about this pandemic, but we are a community and we care about the community as a whole. This isn’t about you, it’s about making every person feel (and be) safe at our center. So while you may think it’s OK to walk around not wearing a mask you may be scaring the living daylights out of someone else. When you are not on court you *must* wear a face mask. And when you are playing you *must* wear an iMask or a face mask. If you want us to remain open you must follow these procedures. EOM.
Horror Movies
Our newest feature is horror movies on demand. Some of you may have noticed that you got an email when you played on court 4 and sporadically on other courts in the center. The email includes a link to a YouTube video of your time on court. We are in the midst of rolling out a video recording system that records you every time you get on court. In the end this system will roll out on every court. Don’t worry – only you will have access to this video. To give you an idea of what it looks like I’ve taken a snippet from my time on court. If you think horror movies are scary, then you should see your self playing squash on video. However, I have been told that seeing yourself play squash is the #1 thing you can do on your road to improvement. And certainly you will immediately start to notice all the things you are doing wrong. Here’s me doing my favorite solo drill: please hold your comments. I’ve taken out the audio and kept it super short.
Special Deals
And in the spirit of saving the best for last please tell your friends about our summer special: $249 for all the squash you can eat before Labor Day. And $500 for 5 lessons with John Musto which is the best deal you’ll find on squash lessons in our solar system.
Thanks as always for your support. And thanks even more for getting to the bottom of this blog post! Remember: try not to boast, it’s always better to keep it deep,
James.