Class of 2016, M.S. 45 
One of the first sleep away trips that I went on with CitySquash was to stay at Sleepy Hollow. We went there to play squash with some kids from that club. All ages of CitySquashers went on the trip, from high schoolers to middle schoolers to elementary schoolers like me. On the day of the match, I was a little nervous. As I watched the kid I was going to play against warm up, I was worried that he was a much better player than I was. I felt like I wouldn't have a chance. I didn't want to be embarrassed in front of everyone, especially the older CitySquash kids on my team. I guess other people noticed that I was nervous. That's probably why Anneudy, one of my high school teammates, talked to me after my first game. He pulled me to the side and told me that I should relax and not be so nervous. He said that all I needed to do was to try my best. After talking to him, I suddenly wasn't so scared anymore. I still lost the match, but it was good to know that even the bigger kids on the team were there to support me.

Class of 2010, Bronx Center for Science and Mathetmatics
Having been a CitySquasher for five years now there have been so many moments that mean so much to me. One experience which stands out from all the rest is playing at the Urban Individual Nationals Tournament last year. The atmosphere of the tournament was competitive. From the top seeded player to the lowest seeded player everyone had their eye on the prize. I was lucky to have so many CitySquash team members there to support me. As the tournament went on, it became clear that the four strongest players in the U15 division were all from CitySquash. I made it to the quarter-finals along Seetreeon, Alija and Chris. I had to play Seetreeon in one of the semi-final matches. Now for those of you who know Seetreeon, you know that he is definitely not a quitter. He keeps going and going and going like the energizer bunny. This made for a great match. It took a lot of willpower to come back from two games to one down to take the match. The final match was another test of my determination. Before I knew it, I was down 2-0 against Chris Fernandez. I knew at that moment that I had to refuse to give up. I fought my way back in what became a grueling match. In the end, I barely won, 3-2. I will never forget this tournament. I learned to never give up, but I also had some great matches with team members that I respect as competitors, but more importantly, as people. Winning doesn't hurt either.  

Class of 2014, M.S. 45
One of my favorite moments in CitySquash was going to Lucia's apartment in Manhattan a few months ago with Melissa and Andreina to make cookies. Melissa and Andreina are two of my teammates. Lucia has been our assistant squash coach for the past two years, and she is going back to cooking school in the fall. So, Lucia and I made the cookies, and while we were preparing the dough, we were joking around a lot. Instead of feeling like a coach, she felt like a friend. When we put the cookies in the oven, Lucia and I went to check on Melissa and Andreina. When the cookies were done, we all ate the yummy treats and had a great time talking and laughing. We were the first CitySquashers to be in Lucia's house, and it was nice to spend time with her outside of the squash courts. It was also nice because we got a break from CitySquash's strict nutrition policy. This experience reminded me that CitySquash is very much my family and I am so grateful for that.

Class of 2013, Canterbury School
One of the most memorable moments from my three years in CitySquash occurred at the Back to School BBQ at the Frantz's house two Septembers ago. I was playing baseball with my peers. I was at bat. The pitch came right to me and I didn't swing. I turned around to see where the ball was only to be greeted by a baseball in my teeth. My teeth started to bleed. I ran to my mom to tell her what happened. She brought me to Tim, our executive director, and Mrs. Galluccio, a CitySquash board member. Mrs. Galluccio said she would take me to the Emergency Room. I was sad to leave the BBQ. But as we were heading out to the Emergency Room, Sophie, our academic director, decided that she wanted to come with me too. Seeing this, and seeing how many people were concerned about me, made me feel a lot better. I will never forget the kindness that Ms.Galluccio, Sophie and everyone showed that day. I am glad to be in a program that cares so much about its students. 

Class of 2016, M.S. 45
One of my most memorable moments with CitySquash was the Back to School Barbeque in Connecticut last September. My mom, sister, brother, and I went together. When we arrived, I felt a little bit scared. This was my first big event with CitySquash, and I was nervous to meet all the other team members and staff. But as soon as I saw the pool, I forgot all about being nervous, and I rushed to get my bathing suit and change. After swimming in the pool, I went for a walk with Amirah, one of my friends in CitySquash, and Coco Siebert, one of the wonderful CitySquash volunteers I met that summer - she is the coolest person in the universe! We walked over to the beach - I couldn't believe there was a beach right next to the house - and we started collecting sea shells. While I was looking for sea shells, I started to stare at the beach. The waves looked so beautiful, gentle, and relaxing. I felt so lucky that I made the CitySquash team!

Class of 2013, M.S. 45
My most enjoyable experience with CitySquash happened on a beautiful lawn at Fordham University last April.  CitySquash organized an event called CitySquash Reads! that was a celebration of Paul Fleischman's Seedfolks.  Mentors, parents, siblings, and team members had all read the book and we got together on a Saturday to discuss it in groups.  The most special part of it all was that my mom came with me that day.  Because she only speaks Spanish, she doesn't get to read and talk about books with me.  But the CitySquash staff had given her and the other Spanish speaking parents a Spanish translation of the book.  For the first time since I was a little kid, we got to read a book together and share all of our favorite parts with each other.

Class of 2015, M.S. 45
In April, I traveled to Boston for the Urban Team Nationals. I was excited to see a new city and play in my first really big tournament. My team was in the Under 13 division and we made it to the finals of the consolation. After all of my teammates had won their matches, it was my turn to play. The kid I was playing was a little taller than me—I am 10 and I think he was 12. During the match, I could hear Tim and all of my teammates cheering me on.  After the first game, Tim asked me how I was feeling, and I said, “I'm feeling pumped.” But my opponent was very good and I ended up losing in five games.  It was heartbreaking.  Even though I lost though, I was happy to be a part of a team that supports me no matter what.  I'll never forget the feeling of having everyone cheer for me.

Class of 2010, Humanities Preparatory Academy
When I looked at the letter that had congratulations written across the front, my first reaction was to think that it was some sort of junk mail.  But my mom stopped me, “You can't just throw it out without looking at it,” she said. “Maybe it's related to CitySquash.”  She was right.  It turned out that CitySquash had nominated me for an award and I was invited by a foundation called the Catalog for Giving to give a speech in front of 500 people at Chelsea Piers.  I had never given a speech before, and I was really nervous.  But I worked with Kathy at CitySquash on the speech, and I practiced a lot.  On the day of the dinner, I was so nervous that my legs were shaking.  As I walked to the podium, the audience quieted down.  Slowly at first, I talked about my mother's fight with cancer and the struggles my family had gone through.  I talked about winning a scholarship to a Catholic school and how I was now a B+ student.  When I was done, everyone applauded and it was the most amazing feeling.

Class of 2015, M.S. 45

One of my most memorable moments with CitySquash was when we went to Lake Placid last summer. Everybody piled into four huge vans and it took us five hours to get to the campsite. For the next four days we hiked a mountain, swam, played games, and did lots of fun things. It felt like we were there for two weeks. On the last night, we had a camp fire. The whole group sat together around the fire and made smores and told stories. On our way back to the cabins, Helen, LM, Seetreeon and I sat down outside and look at the stars together. It was so nice to be able to see the beautiful sky and enjoy nature with my new friends. We talked about how much we were going to miss all the people like Seetreeon who were going away to boarding school. It was a big deal for me because I had just started with CitySquash that summer. I was so happy that everyone in CitySquash accepted me for who I am and made me feel a part of the team. 

Class of 2009, Canterbury School
My most memorable CitySquash moment was when I was accepted to the Canterbury School.  I was in my eighth grade English class at M.S. 45 and Louisa Hall came in to find me.  She took me out into the hallway and asked me, “How badly do you want to go to Canterbury?”  I told her I'd give anything to go.  I really, really wanted it.  She smiled and said, “Well, congratulations, Jose! You got in!”  She gave me a big hug and when I went back into my class the teacher and all my classmates clapped for me.