Six months ago, Camille Burton ’19 began playing competitive squash at her local club, Arroyo Seco Racquet Club in South Pasadena. After being inspired by her younger sister Franny’s positive experience in the sport, Burton chose to stop playing tennis and adopt squash as her main sport. Because squash evolved from tennis, similarities between the two sports abound, making Burton’s transition to the sport relatively smooth. These similarities also aided Burton in improving her skill set and knowledge regarding squash.
“I would always come out and see my sister playing squash and it looked really fun. Franny had tried playing tennis in the past and hated it, so I found it really interesting that she liked squash so much, because it’s a pretty similar racket sport. I decided that if she was having so much fun, then I would too…and luckily I was right!” Burton said.
Burton attends practice between four to five days a week. Her fast paced practices focus on conditioning, specifically cardio such as running. Burton competes in squash tournaments coordinated by the US Squash Association. These tournaments have three levels; gold, silver and bronze, and Burton has competed in three gold level tournaments so far. Even though the tournaments can be challenging, Burton focuses on gaining experience and learning so that she can improve.
“I don’t always do well, but it’s always fun to go to the tournaments because you get to meet a lot of cool people…and you get to know the people in your age division,” Burton said when describing her experience in the tournaments.
Burton went on to explain that she looks forward to continuing her involvement in squash throughout the remainder of her high school years and in college.
“I think squash will continue to be something I do for fun, especially because I know lots of colleges have squash teams,” Burton said.
While she has just begun her squash playing career, Burton enjoys the high level of competition, as well as the individuality of the sport, and is eager to see where the sport will take her.
