This is very big news indeed for squash in the U.S.. The creation of such a position will definitely help U.S. squash by adding proven leadership. Paul Assaiante is a great choice. His record with the Trinity College Bantam's is incredible. When ever you have a chance to add someone with a track record as good as Assaiante's to your team it is a definite win for your organization.
Kevin Klipstein, U.S. SQUASH CEO stated “Having improved the Association’s core members programs and operations, we are now able to expand the focus of the organization in order to effectively strive to be #1 in the world. While every other competitive squash country in the world has significant and direct government financial support for their national teams, we need to do it completely on our own and having the best people in leadership roles is critical. We still need to compete with these countries, and our goal is to win."
Assaiante commented “It is with great excitement and humility that I join forces with U.S. SQUASH to try to help create a stronger and more defined system to support the young player transition into the standard whereby they will be competing for the USA on the world stage. It is our hope that we can create a sense that it is a tremendous honor to play for the USA and provide the tools needed to help the players to bring the country to the elite level in the world.”
It would be great to see the standard of squash in the U.S. and North America in general rise to the levels of some of the more traditional squash countries. Assaiante's appointment is definitely a step in the right direction for U.S. Squash.