By Chris McClintick
As qualifying for the 2013 Delaware Investments U.S. Open squash championships began at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia on October 9, so did Chris Hanson’s professional squash life.
The twenty-two-year-old American’s debut against world No. 66 Mohamed Abouelghar marked the beginning of a professional career stemming from years on the U.S. junior squash circuit and four years as the top player at Dartmouth College.
After missing out on the Pan American Federation Cup in September, due to a hamstring injury, the U.S. Open was Hanson’s first professional test since graduating in the summer—and a test it was as the pacey twenty-year-old Egyptian knocked Hanson out of the tournament in twenty- one minutes.
“It was certainly an eye-opener for me,” Hanson said after the match. “Mohamed’s shots were too good and his pace too high for me to handle given the current stage that my game is at. The match gave me a clear picture of what needs to be worked on before I can start contending with players like Mohamed.”
The difference in skill and demanding fitness levels that come with the transition from college to professional play is apparent to Hanson, with the Bronxville, New York, native stepping up his training regimen under the guidance of coach Rodney Martin.
“The main challenge I’ll be facing as I go from college squash to professional is obviously the level of competition, which I got a taste of at the U.S. Open” Hanson said. “At the same time, now that I’m not in school, I don’t have to worry about academics and other responsibilities. Yes, the competition will be a lot harder, but I’ll have the time to bring myself up to speed and really see how far I can go with this.”
Hanson attributes much of his success to Dartmouth head coach, and former world No. 15, Hansi Wiens, and current coach, former world No. 2 Rodney Martin.
“While I was at Dartmouth, Hansi really helped evolve my short game. Before I was at Dartmouth, I had really good length, very steady up and down the wall, but I didn’t at- tack very much. While I was there, he really worked hard with me to develop my short game to be more attacking.
“Rod is helping me prepare for the intensity of the PSA circuit. Before Hansi and I worked on technique a lot and that was great. But now Rod is more focused on integrating both technique and the physical demands of the sport, and getting me up to speed on playing better players who are going to be much stronger physically, mentally and technically than any of the college guys.”
This spring, Hanson capped his senior year at Dartmouth by collecting two top awards from the College Squash Association (CSA) and Dartmouth.
Dartmouth Athletics presented Hanson— a four-time all-Ivy honoree, three-time first-team all-American and three-time academic all-Ivy honoree—with the athletic department’s top honor, the Kenneth Archibald Prize, presented to the member of the graduating class who has been the best all-around athlete, regarded also [as exhibiting] moral worth and high standing in scholarship. Hanson was just the fourth squash player to receive the prestigious award, which has been given annually since 1910. For the third time in college squash history, the CSA awarded two players—Hanson and fellow U.S. national team member and Princeton University graduate Todd Harrity—the Skillman Award given to a senior men’s squash player who has demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship during his entire career.
In addition to sharing the 2013 Skillman Award, Hanson and Harrity—along with Olivia Blatchford, Chris Gordon and Julian Illingworth—are the first American squash players to be supported by the US SQUASH Elite Athlete Program in pursuit of a professional career.
“Todd and I both grew up in junior squash together from the U11’s. I’m pretty sure I beat him 3-0 every time until I was about thirteen years old, and then it flip-flopped completely and he’s been a force ever since. We’ve always been good friends. He went to Princeton so we haven’t seen much of each other the past four years, but reconnecting now and both having this dream of being great PSA players has brought us back together. We’re so excited to be able to train together.
“I think the Elite Athlete Program is fantastic. They’ve helped me with getting into tournaments, going about getting practice matches, coaching, and the support pack- age to help us be able to afford travel. It’s really coming along, and I think it’s a step in the right direction to help develop some great professional American players. I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”
Despite opening his professional career on a losing note, Hanson has his sights set on working his way up the American and international squash ladders.
“Short term, my goals are obviously to get my ranking up, but also I want to be a continuous member of the traveling U.S. men’s team. I love representing the U.S. And I really like working with Paul Assaiante—the head coach.
“Long-term, I’d like to be a national champion, become the U.S.’s top-ranked player and, on the PSA tour, to reach the top twenty in the world.”
Over the coming months, Hanson will be training in Greenwich, CT, and in New York City at Sports Club/LA in preparation for the 2014 tournament season.
