Balancing act pays off

Multitasking certainly isn’t for everyone.

But for Penn’s squash programs, it’s starting to pay off.

In August, Jack Wyant took over the men’s squash team from Craig Thorpe-Clark, while continuing his role as women’s coach for a seventh season.

The men (4-4, 1-2 Ivy) have already shown improvements in Wyant’s first year at the helm, winning four of their last five matches and nearly pulling off an upset of then sixth-ranked Cornell in the season opener.

According to his players, Wyant’s dual responsibility of leading both the women and men has eliminated distraction from the head coach position, rather than adding to it.

“Craig had been successful, but he probably felt he was being spread too thin,” senior co-captain James Clark said of Thorpe-Clark, who resigned last year after 12 seasons as the men’s coach. “His wife lived in upstate New York, and he was commuting to and from Philadelphia to coach. I think to be a successful coach, you need to come to work with a lot of energy.”

Up to this point, Wyant fits that bill. “Jack brings a useful intensity, and he’s excited about the team,” Clark said.

Better still, this shot in the arm comes with a proven track record. Compiling a 63-22 overall record in his first six seasons as women’s coach, Wyant guided the Red and Blue to the 2007-08 Ivy League Championship and was named US Squash National Coach of the Year in 2009.

The women, then, are used to Wyant coaching at a very high level. So have they noticed a drop-off in Wyant’s intensity and focus on them with his attention now divided between two programs?

“During practice and match situations, there’s never been a time where I’ve been looking for Jack and wishing he was paying more attention to us,” senior captain Annie Madeira said. “He’s balanced it really well.”

Instead, people continue to pay attention to the women (5-2, 2-1), who are now ranked fifth in the nation and have already dished out four shutouts.

Wyant attributed the success of his balancing act to his first-year assistant coaches for both teams, Gilly Lane and Amy Gross.

“My days are very full,” Wyant admitted. “Not that they weren’t before, but the biggest change for me is running two practices each day instead of one.”

“Instead of doing everything myself, I have an opportunity to work with [Lane and Gross], two very talented, bright, hard-working people,” Wyant added.

As far as recruiting goes for the Quakers, the coaches have teamed up to watch more potential players than ever before.

“I know for a fact that between the three of us, we’ve been to five junior tournaments already this season, which is obviously a lot more than I could see on my own,” Wyant said.

So far, so good. Determined not to make his predecessor’s mistake of moving back and forth and trying to cover too much territory, Wyant now has both Penn squash programs simply moving forward.

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