When you think of successful sports at LFA, you tend to think of hockey and soccer but a sport that is often overlooked at LFA is squash. Last year the squash team held a 15-0 record in regular season play, won the conference title, and was given the opportunity to appear in the U.S. High School National Championship in Philadelphia. They finished fourth at Nationals and set their sights on the next season. As the team was an inherent underdog, it was a shock to many to see how well this team finished the 2022 season. Although most of the team consisted of seniors, players and coaches are eager to keep the success that was achieved from last season. 

As the winter season approached, many new underclassmen began to tryout for the team. A team that had 14 members last season grew to around 20, completing a full varsity and JV team for this season. Captain of the team and former MVP Justinian Alexos commented on how the success of last year will translate, saying, “I think we will carry the momentum from last year into this year in terms of our work ethic. I think our success shows that, even though it’s not the most popular sport, we still work very hard and anyone who wants to join now understands that it is a full time commitment.” The team takes pride in last season’s success and will continue to work hard to outwork the achievements of last year. 

In addition, the Athletic Department made the decision for a coaching change this offseason, with efforts to build the team and help it rise in popularity. Filipp Velgach, a history and social science teacher, was chosen to be the head coach for this well renowned team. Velgach said, “ I was asked to step in after the previous coach departed. It is a lively team that desperately wanted a coach. I started playing racquetball and squash in graduate school and fell in love.” Velgach is eager to bring what he knows about coaching football to the squash court. He implements weekly agility practices in order to stay fit and agile in a sport that is very exhausting and tedious. Velgach is eager to implement whatever he can when it comes to coaching and is excited to help this team do the best they can. 

The LFA squash team is anxious to succeed, and who knows, maybe this time a national title will be added to this team’s impressive resúme.  Only time will tell.