At this point, volunteering at SquashBusters Lawrence is second nature to Roger Pennington. After all, he was the first volunteer when SQB Lawrence opened back in 2012 and he has been working with the students ever since. From the inception of the Lawrence program, Roger has been present.
Roger loves squash, but he returns year after year because he appreciates being part of a program that provides so much value and opportunity to students. “The program nurtures the kids’ moral, ethical, and academic values and instills a sense of personal and civic responsibility. The best thing is that it helps them find a career path suited to their abilities and interests. I’ve had a lot of good experiences for me. I’m really pleased that SQB helps the kids develop their own professional goals.”
From the coaches and staff, he’s even improved his squash techniques to keep the students engaged and entertained. He loves helping the kids improve and describes how coaches have used volleyball nets, badminton games, and math problems to help the students become better squash players. “They have very creative ways to teach kids how to be consistent.”
While he’s coached other sports in the past, he believes SquashBusters is unlike any other program out there. “This program welcomes everyone. You don’t have to be a great squash player. It teaches kids how to thrive in their communities, encourages leadership, and engages their families.”
His journey with the program has evolved, as has SquashBusters Lawrence. He used to help recruit students and would go to the middle schools to generate interest in the game. Now, he sticks to volunteering with the kids after school and is absolutely thrilled that Lawrence is building a new facility. “It will be most impactful when the new building is up. They won’t need buses, just for tournaments. Driving will be reduced big time as most of the kids can get to the new location. We will have eight singles courts, classrooms, and locker rooms, and we will try to use every bit of time available. It will be open to the community. It should have more programming too, right now we are only using it from 3:30-7:00. I think it’s going to have a big impact on Lawrence.”
Roger enjoys reminiscing about the students and how they’ve grown and loves that the program helps them figure out a career path and future that works for them.
Roger loves giving back and recognizes all of the benefits that SquashBusters provides, but ultimately, he loves being around the students. “The program is phenomenal. I hope the kids get as much out of it as I do. And the thing that keeps me coming back is that it’s really fun to be engaged with younger people.