Cambridge, MA – MIT recently named Nadeem Mazen head squash coach. He will succeed Seth Packard, who led the Engineers to a 16-23 record over two seasons.
While this will be Mazen’s first intercollegiate coaching position, he knows the MIT squash program well. He graduated from MIT with a degree in mechanical engineering in 2006 and played four years for the Engineers. He captained the team during his junior and senior years and played as high as number 1 by his final season.
Mazen has stayed involved with squash since graduation. He has played on MIT teams in the Open 4.5 and 5.5 Boston club leagues and has provided one-on-one instruction for beginner and intermediate players in the Boston area.
Mazen also brings with him a range of experiences from outside squash. He spent two years post-graduation conducting research in biological engineering at MIT and is still doing research as part of the Media Lab’s High-Low Tech research group.
He has also been actively involved in the arts at MIT, and this summer he collaborated with Stephanie Skier to create “Waterboard: A Play About Torture,” which examines the historical and social contexts of waterboarding and the recent discussion surrounding the practice.
In 2006, he led a four-person team in the Mongol Rally, an automobile race from Europe to Mongolia. Mazen’s team raised around $6500 for charity and drove from England to western China.
With so many diverse interests, Mazen will have insight into the different demands placed on MIT student-athletes. “I am very interested in pedagogy in general,” he wrote in a recent email. “I think that nuanced approaches to teaching and practice, especially in an athletic environment, can improve the efficacy of practice time. I know the MIT guys have a lot of skill, discipline, and character and I look forward to working with the group to put these qualities to good use on the court.”
