Growing up in Northern Ireland, Boys Squash Coach John Roberts would occasionally play squash at the local club his father played recreationally at. Appreciating the opportunity the sport had for individual improvement, Roberts fell in love with the sport. As a standout player, Roberts took a gap year to play professional squash while applying to schools in the U.S., ultimately playing at Yale University.
After four successful years, Roberts still couldn’t let squash go. He began to coach at a club in Boston while competing before coming to Andover.
“After I finished [college], I just wanted to stay involved in squash. I still loved the game. I did a little bit of coaching in college and really just enjoyed working with young kids of all ages, teaching them the intricacies of the game and the important things that come with just playing any sport, the lessons that you can learn,” said Coach Roberts.
Corey Shen ’26 described how Roberts impacted the trajectory of his own squash career. Having entered Andover as the top 60th player in the country for his age group, under Robert’s guidance, Shen is now the seventh best player in his age group.
“On a bad day, he would reassure me that everything was going to be okay and that I just needed to stick to my practice, my training, and I just gotta keep on trying; a good match will always come. Then, on the matches I won, he celebrated me and congratulated me, so I always knew I could count on [having] him in my corner. He was always cheering me on from the sidelines,” said Shen.
Aaron Bai ’27, a new Lower, shared how Roberts welcomed him to the team. Having introduced Bai to everyone previously on the team while arranging practices, Roberts finds opportunities to create a tight-knit atmosphere that is conducive to the team’s success.
“He was very welcoming. He introduced all the new people to old teammates. He also arranged practice sessions amongst the team during the fall, so we got to know each other. It was overall a good experience. We know each other very well no,w and the team is very cohesive,” said Bai.
Roberts tailors his coaching for each individual member by creating a unique training plan reflective of each player’s strengths and weaknesses; he recognizes players’ stress of balancing out academics and squash, urging them to practice self care.
“JR finds a way to optimize for different people, and he’s always a really great resource. Whether it comes to talking to college coaches or creating a specific training plan for someone, if you reach out to him, he’ll offer you so many things that I don’t think a lot of other coaches can offer or be willing to offer in the first place. A big thing for him as well is enjoying life… He really believes in taking, every now and then, to just take a deep breath, sunbathe a little bit, get some sun, and just relax,” said Shen.
Although Roberts has been the cornerstone of the team’s individual and collective success, he still attributes his players’ achievements to having cultivated a respectful atmosphere through their work ethic. Despite squash being ultimately an individual sport, Roberts emphasized the significance of staying composed to reinforce a positive team culture.
“We’re pretty lucky. A lot of our students here are very respectful, and they have a very good work ethic. Squash can be very heated, especially [considering] the nature of the sport. It’s technically an individual sport, but you’re also competing against each other while you’re also on the same team as each other. You’re doing that on a day-to-day basis. So it’s trying to find that balance between working hard and being competitive, but also being respectful to your teammate, whether it’s on or off the court, that can just be what you’re doing every day. And if they manage to do that on a day-in and day-out basis, it benefits the team as a whole,” said Roberts.
This season with a young team, Roberts hopes to build a solid foundation for the future by having the older players mentor the younger players. He also plans to enjoy the upsets that come with winning as a young team.
“This year is a little bit of a building year, just in terms of we’ve got a pretty young team. A very talented team, but very young, a group of ninth graders and a couple of tenth graders. It’s a great opportunity for them to learn from the older guys on the team. It also is a chance for us to score some upsets against stronger opponents and just have a chance to enjoy being together as a team on the road,” said Roberts.
