Quinlan Jeudy’s ascent in the squash world came with many hurdles. 

 

He first discovered the game of squash as a 12-year-old in Newark in 2012. But even then, as a participant in Newark, he didn’t have access to Harlem’s world-class facility which opened in 2008. Instead he played on courts in Newark, all of which were “American” courts and not the same size as the standard international court. Quinlan would come to the StreetSquash facility on weekends though to interact with Harlem students and get experience on regulation size courts. 

 

Quinlan is now a senior at the University of Rochester where he participates on the squash team. He knew it’d be competitive, but that’s exactly what he wanted.

 

“I think a lot of people always got the wrong impression of me,” Quinlan said. “They thought I wanted to go to a school where I’m guaranteed to play. I honestly wanted to go to a school where I know that there are players that are better than me because I want to get better myself.” 

 

He says that challenge will allow him a better chance of reaching his goal to play the sport professionally. Already he’s participated in four PSA (Professional Squash Association) events.

 

Though he was part of the squash team during his freshman year at the University of Rochester, it’d be easy to miss him. 

 

Of 11 players on the team, he was number 11. Not only did that mean he wouldn’t play in matches, he was actually sidelined during practices too. 

 

“I wasn’t allowed to practice during the regular season,” Quinlan said. “There were five courts and the coach wanted pairs practice. With 11 of us, there was always going to be one court with three people. The coach didn’t want that. So he had me sit out for a majority of the season. I was very upset about it. Squash is something I’m really obsessed with and to be denied what I loved doing really infuriated me.”

 

Quinlan says he would show up to practice an hour early and hit alone while nobody was using the courts. He’d also stay after practice to continue hitting, oftentimes skipping a team dinner to do so. 

 

Things changed in 2020 once the pandemic hit. 

 

“It went from the coach never coaching me to him coaching me so much because only half the team came back for the fall semester,” Quinlan said. “He was a lot more invested in me. My progression went from plateauing to being exponential.” 

 

There was no official season in 2020 due to the pandemic but in his junior year, he was playing in the number 7 and number 9 spots. 

 

“I didn’t have the greatest season,” Quinlan said. “I was struggling a bit with competing. I think it was a lack of experience since I never played an official match since graduating high school.”

 

Quinlan believes he’s on the rise now.

 

“This year, I feel like I’m on the correct path,” Quinlan said.

 

As he heads towards graduation, Quinlan has some decisions to make. Part of him wants to be in Philadelphia where he can continue to train at the Arlen Specter U.S. Squash Center, the home of U.S. Squash. He’s had some opportunities to train there in the past. He feels being there could allow him to get his name out there and get more consistent training. 

 

However, he also has an opportunity to be an assistant coach for the squash team at the University of Rochester. He says his heart is telling him to go to Philadelphia, but he knows the coaching job would be a great opportunity too. He also says the current head coach at Rochester would support him continuing to play in various tournaments. 

 

With a full investment into squash, Quinlan says he has no idea what his life would be without StreetSquash. 

 

“It’s so hard to imagine that,” Quinlan said. “I’ve developed so many good habits from being in StreetSquash. Being committed, showing up early, trying to be more social.”

 

When he looks back on his time at StreetSquash, it’s the friendships along the way that he remembers most.

 

“There were five or six of us that stuck together as a group every time and we had each other’s backs all the time,” Quinlan said. “It was a sense of brotherhood.” 

 

Quinlan still comes back to the StreetSquash facility when he can to continue playing and training.