From Egypt to Germany to Rye, Squash Paves the Way

– By Georgetta L. Morque –

He teaches squash at the Bronxville Field Club, training some of the top juniors in the country. She coaches squash at Hackley School. He's from Egypt and was ranked No. 1 there. She's from Germany and was one of her country's top eight players. Gamal and Katja Amir may be Rye's one and only squash couple, and together with their four children, they're surely one of the most international sports families around town.

The Amirs moved to Rye two years when Katja and the children, who resided in Germany, joined Gamal, who was living in Mt. Vernon for six years while working in Bronxville. He had gone on ahead, uncertain about relocating his entire family to the U.S. However, the move was successful and the Amirs love Rye. Karim, 14, Yassfin, 5, Mona, 12, and Shirin, 9, all attend Rye schools, which were challenging initially because English was a new language. They adjusted in a short time and are now well versed in German, English and some Arabic.

The Amirs first met when Gamal, who was ranked among the world's top 25 players, made a stop in Germany while competing on the PSA World Pro Tour. Katja was 18 at the time and competing in national tournaments. They then traveled to PSA tour stops around the world before settling in Germany and starting a family. Once Gamal's competitive career ended, he worked as a coach in Belgium and Germany for around 15 years. Katja also worked as a pro, at Greenwich Country Club after moving to Rye, but a knee injury forced her to stop.

Now the couple has formed a new company, Pyramid Squash, which organizes programs and camps for junior players. This summer, Pyramid Squash, led by Gamal, will take juniors to Germany, the Netherlands and Egypt, where they will train with top coaches and world ranked players, compete in international junior tournaments in Berlin, Cologne, Amsterdam, Cairo and tour the countries. Gamal says the international experience is great for kids who really want to improve. Katja will remain here and run a summer squash day camp at Hackley along with coaches from Egypt and Germany.

Both programs emphasize the Egyptian style of squash, which focuses on tactics and technique. “Egyptian players finish the point early whenever they have the chance,” explains Gamal, who notes that Egyptians tend to have fewer long rallies than other international competitors. This method has proven successful, since many of the top juniors in the world are from Egypt and an Egyptian player, Amr Shabana, just won the Tournament of Champions, which took place at Grand Central Station earlier this month.

Once a week Katja plays squash with her children. “A good age to start is 4 or 5 because they can learn,” says Gamal. “Then by 7 or 8 they can play.” Sports are different in the countries where the Amirs grew up. “You picked one sport and stuck with it,” said Katja, who chose squash over tennis at a local racquet club. “You didn't change sports at different seasons.” And unlike the U.S., all squash clubs in Germany are public, which makes the sport accessible to everyone.

The next step for the Amirs is to open their own squash club and they are in the process now of securing a site in Westchester. There, they hope to offer more opportunities for area residents to learn the sport they love. Squash anyone?