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SquashBusters is a fun and intensive after-school program which immerses 6th-12th grade urban students from Boston in a regimen of squash instruction, academic tutoring, community service, and mentoring. Our mission is to challenge and nurture urban youth to recognize and fulfill their potential by insisting upon best effort, respect, and integrity on the squash court, in the classroom, and throughout the community.

Description:
SquashBusters currently serves more than 90 Boston Public School students on three teams--two middle school teams and a high school team. Students attend squash and academic practices three days each week where they hone their squash games and work on their math and English skills. The three hour practices are comprised of two hours of academic help and one hour of squash/fitness. Academic sessions include homework help and skill building for the MCAS, SAT, or college application process. Their squash skills are tested during weekend squash tournaments throughout New England, and team matches against local private schools. In addition, students venture outside of the classroom and squash court once each month for community service projects. Past partnerships have included the Greater Boston Food Bank, Community Servings, Charles River Association for Retarded Citizens, Mount Pleasant Home, and The Food Project. All court time, squash instruction, academic tutors, athletic equipment, transportation, and field trips are provided to SquashBusters students free of charge. In return, the program requires regular attendance at practice and a commitment from the kids to try hard at all times, to respect their fellow team members, and to take their school work as seriously as their sports. Importantly, SquashBusters isn't about creating the best athletes or finding the smartest students. It's about helping young people develop confidence, motivation, and a positive self-identity.

History:
SquashBusters was first conceived in March 1995 at a lunch between Molly Downer, then president of the Massachusetts Squash Racquets Association, and Greg Zaff, former top-ranked squash professional from Boston, who wanted to see the sport grow and contribute more to the lives of less-advantaged kids. The challenge of translating the concept for SquashBusters into an actual program took place over the next 18-month period. From its inception, the primary goal of SquashBusters was to use squash as the means for enriching the kids' lives. Zaff felt strongly that SquashBusters needed to be demanding and intensive in order for the experience to truly impact the participants. SquashBusters was, therefore, set up as a 20-week-per-year, three-year program with additional educational, squash-playing and social-learning opportunities available for the kids who wanted even more. Such an arrangement translated into nearly 200 athletic, academic, and social learning experiences for each of the team members. Since March of 1995, SquashBusters has grown to reach over 90 kids each school year and now resides in a state-of-the-art squash and academic facility on the campus of Northeastern University.

Contact person: C.J. Crowder, Director Of Middle School Programs, (phone), (email)
Office fax number: (617) 373-7370

Address:

795 Columbus Avenue Roxbury Crossing, MA 02120 (See a map)

Directions:

From the north (via Route I-93 or Route 1) Take the Storrow Drive exit, and proceed to the Fenway exit. Follow signs for Boylston Street inbound, and bear right onto Westland Avenue. Turn right onto Massachusetts Avenue, proceed to the third traffic light, and turn right onto Columbus Avenue. SquashBusters is located on your right at 795 Columbus Ave. From the west (via Route 90, Massachusetts Turnpike) Take Exit 22 (Copley Square), and when the exit splits, head towards PRUDENTIAL CTR...Merge onto AVENUE OF THE ARTS and continue straight in the right lane until you get to Mass Ave. Turn left at the lights onto Mass Ave and get in the right lane. Take the right onto Columbus Avenue. SquashBusters is located on your right at 795 Columbus Ave. From the west (via Route 9) Proceed east on Route 9; it will become Huntington Avenue. Turn right onto Ruggles Street. At the fourth traffic light, turn left onto Tremont Street. At the second set of lights, turn left onto Melnea Cass Boulevard, and then turn right onto Columbus Avenue. SquashBusters is located on your left at 795 Columbus Ave. From the south (via Route 3, 93, Southeast Expressway) Take Exit 18 (Massachusetts Avenue), and proceed straight across Mass Ave onto Melnea Cass Boulevard. Continue for approximately two miles, and turn Right onto Columbus Avenue. SquashBusters is located on your left at 795 Columbus Ave. Via public transportation Take the Orange Line to Ruggles Station. Walk out the station towards the Columbus Avenue exit. Take a left out of the station and walk down Columbus Avenue. You will walk past a parking garage (on left), an outdoor parking lot (on left), and then another parking garage (on left). SquashBusters is located on your left, just past the second parking garage and before the baseball fields. IMPORTANT We DON'T have parking available for volunteers or guests. Cars parked illegally in the Northeastern Parking lots can be TICKETED or towed. Please try and find on-street parking or use the Renaissance Parking Garage (#62 on the Map Below)   Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: Ruggles,   Walk distance (in minutes): 5   Nearest Bus Stop: Massachusetts Avenue, 5 minute walk For maps or information, please see http://www.mbta.com