A Road Not Traveled
These juniors are (not) going where any US players have gone before
By Jay D. Prince
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Lily Lorentzen; photo by Jay D. Prince at the 2004 Jr. Nationals
In the U19 divisions of the US Junior Closed, the draws typically follow seeding. Additionally, the higher seeds usually topple their opponents with lopsided scores in the final rounds. Adding to the tradition of the U19, the general post-match conversation is all about which college or university will be the next stop for the players.
This year, however, things are different. Yes, both top seeds took home winner’s hardware. For Lily Lorentzen, it was her third consecutive trip to the proverbial top step of the podium, this time with a win over Casey Riley. For Chris Gordon, this was only his second national title, and it required some resiliency as he served for the match in the third before winning 9-1 in the fifth over Gilly Lane.
But you can forget about either winner matriculating to an intercollegiate powerhouse any time soon. For Lorentzen college is on hold, and for Gordon, it’s not even in the plans. Nope, for the first time in American junior squash history, we’re looking at two players who have decided to pursue professional squash before or instead of college.
“What? You mean two American kids are following the footsteps of their international counterparts?” To put it simply, yes. The ongoing debate at the professional level has long-been “What will it take for an American to become World No. 1?” Without hesitation, and you’ve read this here before, the answer has been, “It won’t happen until someone decides to take a pass on college and goes after professional squash when they are still teenagers.”
Lorentzen, who will be wrapping up at Greenwich High School (CT) at the age of just 17, has already been accepted at Harvard but has elected to defer her admission to the fall of ‘05. Her reasons for taking this unique step are simple: “I really want to focus on just one thing and see what I can do if I put my mind to it.” Until now, Lorentzen has balanced school work and squash with soccer, sailing and lacrosse, not to mention other non-sport interests. But Lorentzen is also looking to discover what’s out there for her before diving into the academic rigors of the Ivy League. “I think if I went to college now I would be in the dark about a lot of things in the world,” says Lorentzen. “I also want to take a break from the academic treadmill [for a while]. I think I’ll be fresher, more eager and smarter in a different way when I go back to school.”
 Chris Gordon; photo by Jay D. Prince at the 2004 Jr. Nationals
In contrast to Lorentzen, the idea of going to college isn’t on Gordon’s radar screen. Home-schooled since age 10, Gordon and his parents moved to England four years ago to provide Gordon the opportunity to train with some of the world’s best. He has been and continues to be on a mission to pursue squash at the professional level. “I have no plans to go to college,” says Gordon matter of factly. “Intercollegiate squash in general holds no interest for me because the players either stop [playing] immediately after college or fizzle out shortly thereafter. I know a lot of Americans would really dislike me for that statement,” he adds, laughing. But of the hundreds of squash-playing college grads over the last 10 years (since the US adopted the softball), only a handful have taken a legitimate shot at the professional game. The results, aside from Marty Clark’s world top-60 ranking (while in medical school), have been less than stellar. Gordon’s determination to become the best squash player he can be is grounded in the belief that to achieve the top, you have to play the best. And he would rather pursue the pinnacle of the sport. “One of the reasons [intercollegiate squash] doesn’t excite me all that much is because it’s in a pretty self-contained environment,” continues Gordon. “By winning the intercollegiates you’re only the best player in a very small elite ‘club.’ On the world tour, the hope is that you can say you are the best player in the world.”
Despite their seemingly different approaches to their squash, Lorentzen and Gordon both have their sites set squarely on the next Junior World Championships. Lorentzen got her first taste of the elite juniors during the Worlds last summer in Egypt. Though the team finished a respectable eighth, Lorentzen and each of her teammates felt ill-prepared in terms of the intensity their opponents brought to the court. “I want to get as good as I can be and as prepared as possible for the [Junior] Worlds in 2005,” says Lorentzen. “I want to put the US on the map in international squash. While other juniors all around the world are playing full time, the US has never had anyone do this. Despite this, we have managed to compete with them. Imagine what could happen if we were giving the same time to squash.”
Gordon also points to the next Junior Men’s Worlds as a short-range goal. As a member of the 2002 team in India, Gordon suffered a minor ankle sprain in the second round of the individual championship but bounced back in time for critical performances in the team event. In the team’s final match, battling Canada for the seventh-place spot, Gordon secured the victory and pulled the team to its best finish ever. Looking ahead, Gordon hopes to take the next step and be competitive with the best. “My main aim at the minute is to put myself in a position where I have a good chance to become world junior champion,” Gordon states simply. “[Beyond that], I’d like to move my PSA ranking above 150 by January. The ultimate aim is to become the best player in the world. Everything I do is based around achieving that goal.” It’s that “tunnel vision” that sets Gordon apart from US juniors who have preceded him. When pressed about the how he hopes to reach those goals, Gordon’s maturity speaks volumes about who he is: “I’m not really following a set schedule as to where I’m going. Schedules completely depend on how quickly you achieve your short term goals so they are constantly changing.”
The roads ahead for Lorentzen and Gordon are similar in that they are dedicated to squash. Yet they differ because Gordon has rooted himself in England and looks to internationally renowned coach David Pearson to show him the way. When in the States for tournaments, Gordon quickly rejoins his former full-time coach, Richard Chin, at the Harvard Club whenever possible. “Richard Chin has had a huge influence on my career,” says Gordon. “He was my first real coach, is my closest friend, and is always waiting and watching in the wings if I ever need anything. But David is the main man behind everything right now.”
Lorentzen, following a different fork in the road, will be stepping out from longtime coach Peter Briggs to spend some time at the Australian Institute of Sport where Rodney Martin will put her through her paces. Martin will also be based in the Greenwich area from August through March, making it easy for Lorentzen to continue working with him. US Junior Team coaches Mark Allen and Natalie Grainger also figure to play a role in Lorentzen’s year of single-minded dedication to the sport.
While nobody can predict the end result for either Lorentzen or Gordon, the next year could prove to be a cornerstone of things to come in US squash. In every sport, there is always a first time when somebody tries something different. The two No. 1 players from the US will log hundreds of hours running, sprinting, weight lifting, ghosting, drilling, and playing matches all in an effort to maximize their potential as squash players. If nothing else, both will be able to look back and say, “I gave it everything I had.” And maybe, just maybe, they will be holding the trophy of World Champion when they do.
(More on the 2004 Junior Nationals, including results, can be found in the May 2004 edition of Squash Magazine.)
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