For the past 11 years, men’s squash coach Craig Thorpe-Clark made the near-200-mile trek from his home in Mid-Hudson Valley, N.Y., to the University of Pennsylvania each week.
This week, he officially decided that the lengthy commute had become too much.
Thursday, Director of Athletics Steve Bilsky announced Thorpe-Clark’s resignation from the Penn squash program. For the coach — who has been involved in squash in some form for 30 years — the “time away factor” was the principle reason for his departure.
“I felt just constantly on the road one way or the other,” Thorpe-Clark said. “Recently the commute’s been getting anywhere from four to five hours each way, and that I felt was too much time — too much wasted time, really. And I felt I wasn’t doing the job justice and I wasn’t doing home justice.”
With Thorpe-Clark at the helm, the program enjoyed consistent success for over a decade. The Quakers posted ten straight College Squash Association top-10 rankings from 2001-10, including four seasons of ten or more wins, which tripled Penn’s previous total of double-digit win seasons
However, the team failed to reach ten wins in each of the past three seasons.
Junior Porter Drake, who has posted a team-best win percentage the last two years, was “shocked” when his coach informed him of his resignation.
Drake explained that Thorpe-Clark’s difficult situation was “an unspoken thing” among the players that they all understood. Still, he is feeling the loss of such an experienced coach.
“He was huge; he was always there for us, myself especially,” said Drake, who endured a staph infection, wisdom teeth surgery, a herniated disk and anaphylactic shock this past year. “He was very involved and integrated in our lives.”
Thorpe-Clark himself also reflected positively on his time at Penn.
His favorite moments, he said, were the “team moments” where he shared “the spoils of success” with his players. He also remains happy that many of his former players have continued to play squash even after their careers ended.
While the coach said he’s open to taking another job closer to home, he is “sad” to be leaving University City.
“I just loved it here,” he said.
Now, the current players are faced with the prospect of rebuilding under a new coach.
“That’s definitely tough. It wasn’t something I was anticipating,” Drake said. “But I think it’s gonna be a good fresh start for the program to have a new coach, maybe someone younger who’s a little more keen and has more energy for the program to kind of reenergize it.”
Thorpe-Clark agreed that with the search for his successor already underway according to Penn Athletics, Penn should be looking for a younger, fresh face, “perhaps someone with a lot of international experience.”
Drake noted that a new coach and a new facility or an addition to Ringe Courts, the team’s current home, could help “jump-start Penn squash.” He hopes changes are made to attract “bigger names and bigger talent” in terms of recruits, especially from outside of the United States.
The Quakers had just two international players on their roster last season, tied for fewest among Ivy League teams.
With eight or nine walk-ons and recruits coming in next year, according to Thorpe-Clark, the resigned coach believes the program is in good hands.
“The team will step up to the plate and rally behind the new coach and they’ll give 110 percent next year,” he said.
