Sometimes going back really is the way to move forward. Bates' alumnus Pat Cosquer is returning to Lewiston this summer as head coach of the men's and women's squash teams. Cosquer graduated from Bates in 1997, and played varsity baseball and squash all four years. Cosquer was team captain and MVP his senior year. Cosquer has been at StreetSquash in Harlem, NYC for the past four years, serving as director of squash programs. Leaving that position is bittersweet for Cosquer.

COSQUER GOES DOWNEAST

Alumnus Pat Cosquer Takes over Bates Coaching Coach while Wiesskopf move up to Assistant Coach: (photo courtesy Bates College)

"If there was something else I would want to be doing besides StreetSquash, it would be coaching at Bates," Cosquer said. "Being at StreetSquash has been a blast. I have learned a ton from George Polsky and I can't think of any other job I would rather have, besides coaching at Bates."

The head coach position at Bates was vacated by John Illig- who took the same position at Middlebury- at the beginning of the 2007-2008 season. Former assistant coach Marc Kannegieser, took the position of interim head coach last season. Cosquer considered applying for the interim position last fall, but could not justify leaving StreetSquash midyear. Cosquer hoped the coaching job would still be available later, and in February his gamble payed off as Bates issued a job posting for a permanent coach. Cosquer is in the midst of his last days at StreetSquash and will move to Maine on July 1. The move comes at an ideal time, as he is getting married this fall.

"This is such a great opportunity," he said. "We are really looking forward to living in Maine because the state offers so much that is conducive to our lifestyle."

In the years since his departure from Bates and prior to starting at StreetSquash, Cosquer coached and instructed squash throughout the Northeast, including stints in Rhode Island at the Newport Squash Club and Portsmouth Abbey School, the Chatham Club in New Jersey where he first learned the game from Geoff Mitchell in his sophomore year of high school, and various camps and clinics. All the while, Cosquer remained in close contact with the Bates squash program. He helped find recruits, rallied support from alumni, and assisted on the program training trips to Jamaica and Bardados.

Cosquer plans to use the relationships he has established in different areas over the years to help find SQUASH AND ACADEMIC talent and bring it to Bates. Following suit with the general mission of The College, Cosquer wants to bring in kids from all over to continue to build diverse, competitive rosters.

"I want international kids," he said. "I want the kids from Greenwich, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Boston and New York City, but I also want the kids from the suburbs who started playing squash as sophomores in high school."

Cosquer is committed to attracting interested student-athletes from the expanding Urban Squash programs as well. "I hope that I can (recruit kids from urban programs)," he said. "I think Bates is a perfect place to grow and develop no matter what your background and I would be remiss after being involved in Urban Squash for six years if I didn't bring more urban squashers to Bates."

Cosquer's assistant is another former Bates' player; Ricky Weisskopf. Weisskopf joins Wynn Holt as an assistant. He is A four-time All American award winner and the most celebrated squash player in the 20+ years of Bates squash. In 2008, Weisskopf won the Skillman award- an award given to the most outstanding senior who exemplifies the ideals and spirit of college squash. Ricky always hoped to coach at Bates as well, and as a January admit his freshman year. He realized that meant he would still be at Bates for a fifth squash season. When he learned Cosquer would be the head coach, he was excited and hoped he could coach with him. Cosquer loved the idea, and the two former Bates standouts are now set to lead the team to even greater heights in the future.

Cosquer and Weisskopf inherit a men's team who finished ninth and won the Kurtz Trophy last year and a women's team who ended up at No. 12, with a huge victory over Bowdoin at Nationals. With Weisskopf on the sidelines now and his co-captain last season, Sean Wilkinson, a star in his own right, done with school Cosquer says it will be a challenge to match last year's men's ranking. Three varsity women ended their squash career at Bates last season as well.

"I would love to say the men can finish ninth and win the second division again, and I believe that anything is possible" Cosquer said. "It's going to be challenging with three seniors having graduated on the women's side but I am confident that the incoming students will help the women move up the rankings this winter."

The strength of this season's team may be tough to predict, but an alumnus leading the teams will bring something special to the group.

"Having first-hand experience of what the student-athletes are going through will be an asset to everyone involved," Cosquer said. "They will learn from me and I will learn from them. I know what it takes to balance the academic rigors and athletics at Bates."

In addition to coaching the Bates team, Cosquer hopes to help give squash more of a presence in Maine. He would like to introduce the sport to kids who have never played it before, possibly even help to establish a small scale urban squash type program.

Cosquer's presence will surely be missed at StreetSquash and felt in Maine. The knowledge and experience gained during his years since leaving Bates will surely help him guide the Bobcats much like it did more than 10 years ago.

 

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