Page 12 - Alumni Horae: Vol. 94, No. 1 Fall 2013

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“For a young
Zimbabwean to be
able to come to the
U.S., complete his high
school at St. Paul’s,
continue his studies
at Bates College, and
now be the head coach
at Princeton is an
unbelievable story.”
“The Chapins really became a foster
family for me. They took me into their
lives completely.”
The Chapins covered Sean’s travel and
other expenses, included him on family
vacations, and accompanied him on his
college visits. “Once he met the Chapin
family,” says McNamara, “that was his
breakthrough – he now had a family here.”
David Chapin encouraged Wilkinson to
apply early to Bates College, where Sean
eventually was accepted – in part as a
squash recruit.
“It has been gratifying,” says David
Chapin, “to watch a boy from Zimbabwe
grow into such a fine young man. We are
all better for this ongoing relationship.”
Wilkinson went on to captain the Bates
men’s varsity for three seasons, filling
in as a player-coach for the men’s and
women’s teams when the Bates coach
left unexpectedly mid-season of Wilkin-
son’s senior year.
“I became a coach by chance,” he says
now, after helping the Bates men to the
Hoehn Cup at Nationals in 2008. He was
named to the NESCAC first team and
received the Bates College Sportsman-
ship Award. A summer coaching gig at
Williams College followed, and it was
there that Wilkinson met former world
No. 1 squash player Peter Nicol. The two
became friends and, a few weeks later,
Nicol called Wilkinson with an opportu-
nity – coaching squash in Milan, Italy.
“Peter played an important mentoring
role for me,” he says. “We talked often
about coaching and I decided college
squash was where I really wanted to be.”
Two years into his stay in Milan, Wilkin-
son was offered an assistantship at Brown
University under veteran coach Stuart
leGassick. In the spring of 2011, Wilkinson
received a call from yet another squash
associate – a former top-ranked player
in the world, John White. White’s offer?
Come to Drexel University and help him
start a squash program. Together, White
and Wilkinson took the fledgling men’s
and women’s programs into the nation’s
top 25 and Drexel was awarded the 2012-
13 Most Improved Team award by the
Collegiate Squash Association. But in
April, while watching Nicol play, Wilkin-
son ran into Columbia squash coach
Jacques Swanepoel, who encouraged
him to apply for a position at Princeton
left vacant by the retirement of beloved
32-year men’s coach Bob Callahan, who
was battling cancer.
“I thought it would be good interview
experience,” says Wilkinson.
Within days of his interview, Wilkinson
was offered the Princeton job.
“I still remember Sean sitting in the
office after being offered the job and
asking me what he should do,” says White.
“I told him in the nicest of ways that he
needed to leave [Drexel] as he may never
have this opportunity come along again.
Squash has played a very big role in giv-
ing Sean a great life so far and will for
many years to come. For a young Zim-
babwean to be able to come to the U.S.,
complete his high school at St. Paul’s,
(PHOTO: Princeton University) Wilkinson (l.) is the eighth head coach in Princeton men’s squash history.