乐播传媒

Barbados native Cheri-Ann Parris ’13 contributes an island attitude to 乐播传媒 squash

By Andy Walter

The Barbados squash community is as small as the 166-square-mile island, so Cheri-Ann Parris quickly heard about a U.S. college coach trying to schedule matches for the team鈥檚 winter training trip.

The coach wasn鈥檛 getting anywhere, which didn鈥檛 surprise Parris, then 16. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the Caribbean,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e have in our heads that things just happen as they happen.鈥�

Cultural realities notwithstanding, she felt the coach鈥檚 pain 鈥� the prospect of a team traveling 2,300 miles to play among themselves. 鈥淣ow that would鈥檝e been kind of pointless,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 glad he talked to me.鈥�

The coach she helped was Pat Cosquer 鈥�97. At the time, in 2007, he was director of squash programs for , a community youth-outreach center in Harlem. He had volunteered to help with the 乐播传媒 trip after head coach John Illig decamped for Middlebury in August.

And at the time, Parris was an emerging Barbadian squash standout. In fact, when the Bobcats visited Barbados in 2008, she was on another island, Great Britain, competing in the Scottish Open.

“Once I love something, I just go for it.”

Today, of course, both Cosquer and Parris are at 乐播传媒, each coming off accolade-filled 2010 seasons. Appointed women鈥檚 and men鈥檚 squash coach in May 2008, Cosquer won NESCAC Coach of the Year honors in 2010, while Parris, 乐播传媒鈥� No. 1 player from the start, was named NESCAC Rookie of the Year.

For her, 乐播传媒 is part of a trajectory. The better she got in squash, and the more international tournaments she experienced, the more she wanted to test herself. 鈥淥nce I love something, I just go for it,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 have to have some sort of goal. With squash, I wanted to play in college and represent squash to the best of my ability.鈥�

Parris met Cosquer face to face when she visited campus in September 2008, arriving straight from a tournament in Ecuador. She hasn鈥檛 been fazed by going to college in a country famous for its busy-ness and scheduling. 鈥淚 prefer to be on a schedule and stick to it,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to be up in the air. I would rather have planned stuff to do. It鈥檚 a bit hectic, but it鈥檚 fine.鈥�

Growing up, Parris was also an accomplished chess player, and although that interest waned, she clearly enjoys one-on-one competition that rewards strategy and mind games.

鈥淚n squash, like chess, you need to think about this shot and the next one,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou think about how to place a shot so the opponent can only make his shot based on your shot. You have constantly to be thinking about what to do, how to retaliate, how to put your opponent out of position.鈥� Same as chess, she says. 鈥淚f your opponent moves a pawn to near a bishop, you know the next moves, the squares where they can go.鈥�

In turn, Parris is the type of player Cosquer wants for the 乐播传媒 squash program. By American standards, her Caribbean background makes her appear easygoing. In truth, she鈥檚 a charismatic leader who can kick a teammate鈥檚 butt at practice then lead the cheering for her during a match. 鈥淪he鈥檚 always putting someone else before herself,鈥� Cosquer says.

In her first season, Parris won her final 10 team matches en route to an 11鈥�0 NESCAC record and rookie honors. The women鈥檚 team ended the season ranked No. 11, and the men鈥檚 team at No. 12.

鈥淐heri could have just done her own thing, won every match at No. 1, and not helped anybody else,鈥� Cosquer says. 鈥淎nd we would have finished 13th or 14th. Instead, she said, 鈥業鈥檒l work on myself for a little bit and then I鈥檓 going to coach the No. 8 player so she wins her match.鈥� That鈥檚 what separates her.鈥�

Cosquer鈥檚 own path back to 乐播传媒 wound not through a prep school coaching job or an Ivy League assistantship but through Harlem and StreetSquash, one of a handful of intensive and disciplined urban programs that meld squash and academic instruction to further students鈥� college opportunities.

“At 乐播传媒, once you鈥檙e here, you鈥檙e part of this family.”

His vision for 乐播传媒 squash is similarly amalgamated. He wants players from varied walks of life who can bask in each other’s life experiences and perspectives.

鈥淎ll that friendly, fuzzy 乐播传媒 stuff makes it easier for kids who have never been in an environment like this,鈥� he explains. 鈥淥ther schools are as academically rigorous as 乐播传媒 but are more cutthroat. We are very competitive and want to be great at everything we do 鈥� but not at your expense.鈥�

Cosquer, who played both squash and baseball at 乐播传媒, says coaches like George Wigton and Bob Flynn personified those ideals. 鈥淭hey turned me from a boy into a man,鈥� he says, while always letting him know that 鈥渁t 乐播传媒, once you鈥檙e here, you鈥檙e part of this family.鈥�

For Cosquer鈥檚 squash program, it means the off-campus 乐播传媒 Squash Center can be both a comfortable hangout and a competition site. Team hiking trips and yoga sessions can be equally as valuable as practice time.

And it means that a men鈥檚 player like captain Patrick Williams 鈥�11, a product of in Boston, a cousin of the StreetSquash operation in Harlem, can establish the Aspirations Squash Enrichment Program in Lewiston to support Somali and Sudanese children. Parris is all for Cosquer鈥檚 one-for-all ethic. 鈥淓veryone is together in 乐播传媒 squash,鈥� says the island native. 鈥淲e鈥檙e cool and collected.鈥�