Last weekend, CitySquash 8th grade student Caleb Boateng made history. Competing at the U.S. Middle School Team Squash Championships at Yale University, his Brunswick School team was crowned National Champions! Playing #4 on the Brunswick team, Caleb was undefeated in the tournament and became the first student from any urban squash program to be in the lineup of a U.S. National Championship-winning team.

Caleb’s achievement is the product of hard work and determination many years in the making. The son of Ghanaian immigrants, Caleb joined CitySquash in 2011 as a third grader at P.S. 205 in the Bronx, and quickly distinguished himself with his positivity, energy, incredible work ethic, and love of squash.

Now in his third year at Brunswick, Caleb is excelling in and out of the classroom, remarkable given his daily commute. He wakes up each morning at 5AM, walks to the Fordham Metro-North train station, takes the train and then bus to Brunswick’s Middle School Campus in Greenwich–a trip that takes over an hour-and-a-half each way. Despite all this, Caleb remains as engaged as ever with CitySquash, making after-school practices back in the Bronx, helping his younger teammates, and traveling to weekend tournaments.

Caleb is quick to give credit to the accomplishments of teammates who came before him: “Alumni like Katiria Sanchez, Andrew Cadienhead, and [current CitySquash Squash Director] Chris Fernandez show that CitySquash prepares you to play at the highest level,” he said. As for his future goals, Caleb hopes to play for Brunswick’s high school varsity team one day, attend Yale University, and become one of the top players in the country. “I’d also like to go into business but be able to play doubles matches at night. That would be great.”

CitySquash is thrilled to congratulate Caleb, his family, and the Brunswick team! 

Mentor Gray Huffard with Caleb on his first day at Brunswick in 2015.