The Brookline Squash Academy (BSA)
The Brookline Squash Academy (BSA) is an exciting new opportunity for Greater Boston Area squash players. Located in the former Boston Sports Club,15 Gorham St, Allston. BSA uses four international-style courts in the current gym, renamed the New York Sports Club (NYSC).
BSA offers court time, lessons, clinics, round-robin and league play, as well as stringing and gripping services. Members can make court reservations and schedule lessons through Club Locker, the online platform used by US Squash and most squash clubs nationwide. Available teaching pros are featured on BSA’s website. Free garage and lot parking are located directly in front of the venue. Public bus and subway transportation are two blocks away, and the courts are a five-minute drive from the Brighton exit off the Mass Pike.
Mission
BSA’s mission is simple: To offer public access to squash at an affordable price. Squash is more often a costly private club sport. It needn’t be. Currently the only public venue in the Boston area, anyone can access the courts for a fraction of the cost of joining a private club or university-affiliated community program. Public school juniors are offered special discounts ($125 per year per child) to encourage involvement for younger-aged players. Longtime players Steve Lantos and Ron Rubin created the BSA to offer affordable public squash access and preserve and maintain the courts.
History: Pre- and Post-Pandemic
Long before the BSC-Allston, the site was the famous Boston Squash Club site, which boasted ten squash courts. A large following played there in the 1980s, and classic tournaments such as the Boston Eye Opener were held there. As squash gained in popularity in the 1990s and US Squash adopted international-style courts, the venue was taken over by Town Sports International (TSI), which ran the club as Boston Sports Club – Allston. BSC Allston and the flagship BSC Waltham were the two BSC facilities in the greater Boston area to have squash courts. The pandemic and a series of poor business decisions led to the shutdown of many BSC venues, including the Waltham BSC, with its squash courts, swimming pools, basketball courts, and training facility reserved for the Boston Celtics. However, the Allston location survived with a diminished membership and a dedicated but small group of players. The courts finally reopened in Spring 2022, but with the looming threat of repurposing or replacing the courts if the previous membership base wouldn’t come back. The parent company also renamed all of its Boston area clubs NYSC, a bit confusing as the Boston Sports Club signage remains.
BSA was formed to revive the erstwhile thriving squash community and return an active presence to the courts to prevent the potential imminent closure or repurposing of the four courts. BSA is revitalizing the courts and community that existed prior to the pandemic while providing public access and a junior program at an affordable price.
To learn more about the BSA, visit www.brooklinesquashacademy.com
Steve Lantos is the Squash Team Coordinator at Brookline High School, where he has taught chemistry since 1985. Ron Rubin is currently the Brookline High School Boys Team coach. Both have played on the Allston courts since the 1990s.