Member of the Month – Ted Barrett
The Member of the Month for February is Ted Barrett. Ted had first been a member of The Chatham Club for a short stint back in 1985 when he first began playing Squash. He then left for school and life got in the way. In August of 2023, Ted made his return to our Club and has become a solid fixture of our squash and club community. He played soccer for many years while away and as the years went on, his knees began to have some issues with the demands of the game. Wanting to stay athletically active and hoping to drop some weight, he turned back to squash and The Chatham Club. Since his return, he has been fine tuning his squash skills and has been able to lose 20 pounds in the process.
What do you like most about the Club?
Well, I knew of the Club from when I was here many years ago and when I gave up soccer, I knew I wanted to get back to playing squash. Thankfully, The Chatham Club was still here and offering Squash membership. When I rejoined, I was told about the weekend Round Robins and felt that was a great place to start. I can’t say enough about the great squash community here and how welcomed they made me feel. I came in as a man in my 60’s and behind on some of the skills the others had, and I was welcomed in with open arms. It brings me a lot of joy to show up here and play squash with all these great people. I then began taking some lessons. I began with Pancho, who was a great instructor and had lots of energy. After our schedules stopped matching up, I began doing lessons with Geoff. I was really impressed with how he showed an active interest in my specific needs for a player my age. He worked around my knee ailment and has continued to make me a better player. He spends the right amount of time talking and explaining the ins and outs of the game and how my approach and shot selection should be. It was true coaching that I really appreciated. I have to say, my squash experience here with the round robin and the coaching has been a very therapeutic journey for me. Not only has it helped me develop my mindset for squash, it also has changed my mindset for life. It has made me comfortable with who I am at this stage of my life, and I am so grateful.
What areas of the Club do you enjoy?
I do like everything about this Club. I definitely take advantage of the stretching room. Pre and post stretching has been critical to my squash game and keeping my body healthy. The whole gym is kept very clean, and the locker rooms are luxurious. Also, the people and community here are beyond compare. I’ve belonged to other gyms, but none are as nice as The Chatham Club.
What accomplishments have you seen in yourself since joining?
I’m happy to say that I’ve been able to drop 20 pounds and have begun to feel less pain in my knees. I entered a few tournaments and have been fortunate to have won a couple of my groups and improved my skill levels for the tournament seedings.
What are some of your upcoming goals?
I’m actually preparing for the Big Apple Tournament in NYC in March. I’ll be looking to bring home some hardware from that tournament! Aside from some squash tournaments, I’m looking to get and keep my knees strong and continue to drop some more weight.
We are so excited to see how Ted does in his upcoming tournaments and his continued time within our squash community. We are happy to have Ted with us and wish him good luck in all he does.
