John IS and has been a very influential person in my life. I am proud to call him my dear friend.
If you were in San Francisco and was at all interested in the game of Squash, you were bound to come in contact with John. The good fortune of meeting John in due time reveals itself to many as it pertained to squash, but in other instances as well.
Many, many years ago, I believed, as a young squash player at the University Club, that I was the greatest player the game had ever seen!
In my mind, I would be able to easily handle all of the Club's players -usually players twice my age, with relative case. John saw my over-inflated head almost every day. and he decided that I needed a little lesson in humility.
His method was unique - at least to me.
One day he came to me and asked if I would be available to help train another player who was bound for Seattle that year, to compete in the Nationals. I envisioned a young Cal player who needed help in understanding the game more fully and that I was exactly the person to provide that assistance. I said "Sure!" He said "Great! Be here tomorrow at noon and I will inform "Walter" that you will be happy to help him train and get ready for his tournament".
The next day, I eagerly arrived at 11:30 am to stretch and warm up a bit just on the outside chance that this "kid" had game. I was on court one when, at 11:55am, the door opened and what I saw was the LAST thing I cxpected to see. The gentleman who stood in the doorway was very distinguished and easily 70 years old.
He looked at me and asked “are you John Stewart?" "Yes Sir", I replied. "Hi John", he said. "I'm Walter Pettit. Thanks so much for meeting with me and helping me with my game."
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Now, I can tell you that my first thoughts were, "How could my Pro set me up with this old guy? Who does John think I am? Is this some kind of joke?" I was appalled to think that I was being tasked in playing with a septuagenarian." Doesn't John know who I think I am?"
Now, I can tell you that my first thoughts were, "How could my Pro set me up with this old guy? Who does John think I am? Is this some kind of joke?" I was appalled to think that I was being tasked in playing with a septuagenarian." Doesn't John know who I think I am?"
Well, Walter went to the locker room and changed clothes for our match. Walter got on the court with me. I'm still fuming a bit, and we warmed up.
Incidentally, this was a long time ago and we were playing on the old style hardball singles court and we were playing with the hard "red white dot" ball. The time came where he was ready to play and he asked me to serve it up......
I DIDN'T WIN A SINGLE POINT until the middle of the second game and to this day it was one of the most humbling experiences of my life.
It wasn't until later that I found out that Walter was ranked #2 in the U.S. while he attended Princeton sometime in the '20's. The #1 player at that time was his contemporary back then, Jack Barnaby, from Harvard (with whom John arranged a lesson for me when Jack visited the UClub once...yet another grateful benefit of knowing the great John Lau).
It didn't take me long to recover from the initial shock.
For the next month, Walter and I met every day at Noon on Court 1 and during that time we became close friends and he was someone who would become very important to me later on. Together, we sparred and we worked on honing his game and improving mine in that month until he felt confident when it became time to play in the National Championships.
The preparation allowed Walter to win his division handily. He was awarded the Champion's trophy. To acknowledge my sparring with him, he had a smaller trophy made that was a replica of the one he had won. Once back in SF, he presented it to me. I still have the cherished trophy to this day.
The gesture alone was yet another lesson I would learn in grace and humility that John knew I would receive from this whole experience. John had a plan for me way back then and the way he executed that plan was for me to experience it for myself and thereby locking it in. Mission accomplished! I shall never forget this, as many of you know, as I have told this story many times over the years. It's impact on me was obviously profound and lasting.
This is just one story of the immeasurable influence of one man, hidden in a relatively unknown game we all love. Again, for those of us who have discovered our game, the name, John Lau, is known very well. And, it's known not only across the country but around the world.
I have played in many places with many international players who, when hearing I'm from San Francisco, without fail ask, “So you know John Lau!?"
And it is with immense pride that I am able to reply........ "Yes I do!"
John Stewart
John - I saw an opportunity to create a match made in squash heaven and I seized upon it. From one Jester to another - John
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The Squash facility was also hitting it's stride as a venue for ALL members: squash members and non-squash players alike.
Beyond the summit
Billy D. Marchese (2000)
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BAPTISM
I was both delighted and mystified by my first game of doubles squash 25 years ago.
I think I met John Lau during my very first visit to the University Club. After joining, and being a good singles player, it took me awhile to integrate the complexity of having four people on the court.
The first time I ever played with John, I was also amazed that at age 50, John was still the best player in the club. And I don't know if there were any players in their 20's who were faster. I experienced John as supernatural.
I received friendly encouragement from John the first few times I played with him. Then the ferocious coach emerged! Many of us at the University Club have had the profound honor of hearing the John Lau roar: “MOVE UP!”
It does not come naturally for a new player to set up six feet towards the front wall from the red line. Feels much safer back by the glass!
But I had the experience of so many more before me, that my play and my game and my enjoyment of doubles squash were greatly enhanced by playing further up.
John also instructed me on a great many other doubles squash subjects: “exploring the height”, the straight drop, the reverse, the Philadelphia, and various ways to get the ball to die in any corner of the court, from any other corner of the court - which John himself could do so effortlessly.
I got better in doubles, and I played a number of memorable games with John that I recall as peak experiences.
One year John and I were together at the cross country tournament at the Racquet and Tennis Club in New York City - a great squash temple!
I was not scheduled to play in a doubles match with John, but by some accident, a player could not make it, and I found myself as John's partner, playing against two young players from another city.
I was maybe a year or two into my double squash career at that time. I basically gave John and I no chance against the youngsters recently out of college programs!
At the outset of the match, John gestured and drew a circle using his racquet on the side wall high above and behind the red line, and said. “You hit every ball here or on the same place on the other side.”
“Every ball?”, I asked. John was definitive, “Yes - every ball!”
I followed his instruction. As the match wore on, I got better and better at putting my high floaty lobs in exactly the spot that caused the most difficulty for our opponents. This seemed like a very small contribution to our team. It was not like any of these shots dropped for a winner.
But as the match wore on, I began to understand. I did not have to hit any winners.
John was playing a conservative deep game himself, keeping our opponents behind us throughout the match - and very frustrated.
My recollection was that the match went the full five games.
Virtually every point decided in our favor seemed to come about from John manipulating our opponents out of position, and hitting a shot that landed at exactly the right depth, or short, in the one spot that our opponents could not recover to.
I was still somewhat a beginner in doubles squash, and John was about as seasoned and wily a veteran as there was in the entire country. The fifth game was actually not that close. Our opponents were so frustrated, and John was so impeccable with his placements, it felt that they kind of gave up.
At a certain point in the 5th game, John's demeanor changed. It was as if he knew the match was over and we were going to win. He kept playing better and better. His shots became even more precise, his anticipation and mobility were so good he appeared to be at a brisk walk to cover every ball. I marveled!
And I just kept lobbing the ball up to the full moon circle above and behind the red line.
On the last point John hit a reverse boast that would be unreturnable at any level.
And I knew I had just been fully baptized into our beloved game!
Peter Lynch
March 6, 2023
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