Kamali Williamson was 12 years old when she learned about StreetSquash at a summer orientation while at Thurgood Marshall Academy. When she heard StreetSquash dealt with playing sports, going on trips, and getting help with homework, she immediately jumped at the chance to give StreetSquash a try.
Her first time walking through the front doors was an eye-opening experience.
“I was surprised,” Kamali said. “I was like, this is a big building. What’s with all these courts? And then I saw the stairs and was like, wow, there’s classrooms and more stuff upstairs?”
She looks back fondly on the first tournament she attended at Williams College in Massachusetts. She wanted to win so badly but was hard on herself when she was booted to the consolation rounds.
“I learned whether you win or lose, to just have fun and just remain teachable,” Kamali said.
Then there was the ski trip, also in Massachusetts.
“It was a great bonding time,” Kamali said. “We had no internet. We had to come together and make our own fun. And then when we went to a mountain to ski, I just remember everyone struggling down the mountain.”
StreetSquash also gave Kamali her first opportunity to travel outside the U.S. when she went on a service trip to Guatemala.
“It was a different experience because the area where we stayed was poor,” Kamali said. “It was an eye opener just to experience another way of living and get away from what we’re used to.”
Following her time at StreetSquash (she graduated in 2015), Kamali went on to SUNY Purchase, where she majored in sociology with a minor in psychology. Following graduation, she worked with New York’s Administration for Children’s Services doing home visits and trying to prevent kids from entering the foster care system. Currently, she works with the Fostering College Success Initiative, working with 18 to 25-year-olds who are in college, but also in foster care. She helps them with academic plans, and career goals, and serves as a quasi-life coach for around 60 students.
Kamali says that StreetSquash taught her many lessons that she still carries with her to this day.
“Number one is patience,” Kamali said. “I’m still working on that but squash has definitely helped me to just be patient with myself. I’m not going to always be able to get everything right then and there. It takes time, it takes effort, and it takes practice.”
She says her time at StreetSquash also taught her to be disciplined, to accept feedback, and to get out of her comfort zone.
For students considering joining StreetSquash now, she says young individuals should be open-minded.
“Squash is similar to a lot of sports like football and basketball in that it teaches you the same lessons,” Kamali said. “You learn the importance of discipline, sportsmanship, practice, and invest your time into areas of improvement.”
But she added that there’s much more to StreetSquash than the lessons learned through the sport.
“It really helps with developing skills that will help you in the long run,” Kamali said. “There’s a lot of opportunities for students beyond Harlem, and it motivates you to do more with your life.”
