Rick Penders is the new Head Squash Pro at StreetSquash. Rick grew up in Maastricht in the Netherlands. He was introduced to squash at a young age because his mother was the manager at a local squash club.

It wasn’t until he was 13 though that Rick fell in love with the game of squash. He would then go on to win various titles in multiple age groups and represented the Netherlands in World Championships at both the junior and senior levels. 

Following high school Rick considered going pro in squash but instead decided to attend college in Belgium. Though he still played squash, he wasn’t doing so competitively. That’s when he decided to transfer to Trinity College in the U.S. to get back into competitive squash. He went on to win three national titles while there.

After graduation, Rick was asked to stay at Trinity as an Assistant Coach. COVID-19 heavily impacted his time as a coach at Trinity, so he began coaching junior players at New Haven Lawn Club and volunteered at other Squash and Education Alliance Programs including Capitol Squash and Squash Haven. 

He found out about StreetSquash through his work with other SEA programs, and has known StreetSquash’s Squash Director Simba Muhwati for years. Simba also went to Trinity College.

In his free time, Rick enjoys playing a variety of racket sports. He also enjoys any competition whether it be through board games or trivia. He’s also working to master the game of chess.