Squash Magazine: It's Wendy, Darling!

It's Wendy, Darling! Meet Coach Bartlett, Leader of the Newly Crowned Intercollegiate Champions By Valerie Cruice

Back in December, Wendy Bartlett strode into the Jadwin squash courts where the Princeton Junior Olympics were in full swing, and turned heads. She had two black eyes and a fractured nose. So what. The Women's Squash and Tennis Coach at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, Bartlett practices what she preaches. And that includes being on the squash court every day for a knock-down, drag-out match with one of her numerous buddies—usually male. A few days earlier, she took a follow-through straight across the bridge of her nose, and credits her protective eyewear with having prevented a completely broken nose and perhaps injury to her eyes. That night she was headed to a business dinner with her husband. This year, for the first time in women's squash history, a non-Ivy League team—Trinity—took home the prestigious Howe Cup on February 17 at Yale's Brady Squash Center. They took it away from Harvard. “It was absolutely incredible, the most exciting Howe Cup final I've ever seen. And to beat Harvard twice in the same season with the same score, 5-4,” Bartlett says several days later, still clearly exhilarated. For the past two seasons, Bartlett's women were ranked number one going into the Howe Cup, the women's intercollegiate squash team championship, but last year it went home with Harvard. In 18 years coaching women's squash at Trinity, racking up a 162-56 record, Bartlett says, “The only thing we'd never done is win a national championship—not in the history of Trinity [women's] Squash.” What made the difference this year? To begin with, it was in her gut. “I felt very positive the day of the finals,” she says. There was, however, one enormous strategic difference going into the finals this year: “We focused ourselves as a team. Our goal was to win a national championship and not get distracted with the parents, the crowds; just play good, hard squash until the match was over. Last year we got distracted by a lot of superficial things. Last year we lost our focus, we got there too early,” she explains. When the team arrived at the Payne Whitney athletic complex at Yale, Bartlett, with her 11-year-old daughter in tow, scouted around for a team hideaway. She found a sunny room with gym mats all over the floor and a door that shut tightly. “That's why I had them off in a separate room. We were going to stay in that room until the introductions. We had Our Spot, with the boom-box, pre-match food,” she says. When it was final match time, the team focus continued: “We marched down there in single file, no talking, don't look at anybody. We have a job to do.” It came down to the match between the No. 1s. “When Amina Helal won that last point, the place went crazy. We had a lot of people pulling for Trinity,” says the coach. Among the many phone calls she received, were congratulations from the acting president, the former president and the newly named president of the college. Bartlett grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she was a junior tennis phenom, competing in the United States Tennis Association Middle States tour. She continued to play competitive tennis at Rollins College, returned to Pittsburgh, met her husband playing squash and, she says, life just hasn't been the same. The couple came to New England in 1983. Bartlett earned her master's degree in physical education from Central Connecticut State University. Along the way Bartlett befriended Becky Chase, who had been tennis coach at Trinity then landed the job at Yale. Bartlett had been a tennis pro at various clubs, and at the age of 27, Chase plugged her into the coaching job at Trinity, where it wasn't just tennis and squash. “I inherited a tradition of good racquet sports, one of the top teams in the East,” she says. At the time, it was hardball play, but the game was changing over to the softball. The coach became the student. “I plunged myself into learning the international game. Fortunately in Hartford, we had a number of international pros. Tell me, show me, beat me into the ground! I worked with them continuously. I really got the feel for the game. My philosophy as a coach is the better player I am, the better coach I am,” Bartlett explains. In those early days at Trinity, Bartlett says it was a tricky transition playing softball on narrow hardball courts. But not for long. “Trinity was one of the first colleges to build international courts. It was an awkward phase, playing on both,” she says. The renovation was complete in 2001, and now the school boasts 10 state of the art international courts, including the only two in the world to feature four permanent dark-glass walls. Over the years Bartlett has observed a more sophisticated level of coaching as Americans are becoming experienced with the international game. “This generation has never seen a hard ball,” she says. Fitness plays a larger role than ever. “As the player gets better, fitness plays more of a role. You have to be stronger, faster out there. It's a tough game. It's mental and physical. We have a grueling training schedule. I won't tolerate a drop-off, whether it's number one or number 16, we all have the same attitudes, commitment and work ethic,” she says. Bartlett was at the Princeton Junior Olympics in December doing what a number of collegiate squash coaches were doing: scouting. “I'm looking for somebody that's really passionate about the game, a year-round player who has competed a lot. I'm looking for someone who's eager, willing to grow and become a better player,” says the coach. Bartlett insists on the team aspect. “There's no 'I' on this team. But I'm also very aware of everybody's individual needs. I work within their needs, whether it's time off, or doing just fitness training,” she says. “It's really very exciting to see women's squash growing at such a phenomenal rate. It's great to see American junior players that are picking up the game,” she says. “The international game has opened up the world for the kids: it's been a nice melting pot, bringing diversity.”

It's Wendy, Darling!

Meet Coach Bartlett, Leader of the Newly Crowned Intercollegiate Champions