The inaugural Women and Girls Summit took place September 24 at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia, and brought together a diverse group of players, coaches, leaders and parents together from around the country. Footage of the Summit’s expert panels and seminars is now available on the US Squash Youtube Channel and below.
Women & Girls Summit Expert Panel
The Women & Girls Summit featured a panel of experts moderated by MSNBC’s Erin O’Hearn (far right), and including (l-r): author Dr. Jamie Zuckerman, US Squash’s Linda Elriani, Free People Movement’s Erin Malone, Drexel University Athletic Director Maisha Kelly, and Goldman Sachs’ Christina Minnis.
College Coaches Panel
The Women & Girls Summit featured a panel of college coaches moderated by College Squash Association League Commissioner David Poolman (far right) and including (l-r) Columbia’s Joanne Schickerling, Princeton’s Gail Ramsay, Hobart & William Smith’s Pat Cosquer and Haverford’s Niki Clement. The panel theme was “Making the most out of college squash, from choosing a college to competing on a team.”
College Players Panel
The Women & Girls Summit college players panel featured former collegiate and professional athletes speaking about their experiences, challenges they may have faced, how they were supported and how sports have impacted their lives. The panel included (l-r) Dickinson’s Abbie Wingerd and Drexel’s Eva and Ona Prokes.
Dr. Jaime Zuckerman: Addressing the Impact of Social Media on Sport Engagement and Participation
Dr. Jaime Zuckerman is a Philadelphia based licensed clinical psychologist in private practice. She specializes in the treatment of anxiety, depression, stress management, and is a nationally known expert, and relationship coach, in the area of narcissistic abuse.
Marci Sier: Using Sport to Help Teens Embrace and Learn From Mistakes
Marci comes from a high-performance background as both a player and a coach. She uses her world class doubles and singles experience to knowledgeably guide, mentor, and train individuals and teams of all ages, helping them reach their potential both as athletes and as people. Marci has been the head squash professional at The Badminton and Racquet Club in Toronto since 2008. She is also a Mental Performance Consultant who practices as a professional member of the Canadian Sport Psychology Association.
Dr. Matt Munich: The Well-Attuned Entourage: Enhancing Performance, Strengthening the Family & Forging Resilience
After a junior career playing in local and national tournaments, Matt played his college squash at Cornell, where he earned such honors as the Sportsmanship Award, Most Valuable Player, and Captaincy. After college, Matt continued playing competitive squash, where he enjoyed a lengthy career at the local, state, and national levels, with highlights including 7 Rhode Island State Championships, the 2003 5.5 US National Championship, and representing the United States in the 1997 Maccabiah Games.
In 2011, under the aegis of the Smith College School for Social Work, Matt conducted qualitative research on the experience of elite college squash players (“No Purer Joy: the Developmental, Social, and Motivational Aspects of Elite College Squash”). Combining his social work training, with its person-in-environment perspective, and his life-long interest in the psychology of sport, Matt founded Altius Performance Works to help athletes overcome hurdles to peak performance. Along the way, Matt helps the athlete’s entourage communicate better, strengthen bonds, and ensure longevity in sport by fostering a growth mindset in the athlete and the athlete’s system. His blog, “Floating & Stinging: A Sport Performance Blog” is a repository of some of the fruits of his research and tips on developing resilience on the court and off.
