Yuri Franca brings years of experience to his new position as men’s and women’s squash team coach.
Entering this academic year, he has plans to revitalize both teams after they didn’t have an official head coach for a year.
“Right now is the time to rebuild the culture,” Franca said.
The previous coach, Chris Fernadez, left Chatham University at the end of August 2024, right before the season began, and the teams functioned the rest of the year without a replacement. The squash teams arranged group and individual practices on their own with travel assistance by volunteer assistant coaches from other teams. The team also received support from Vice President of Athletics Leonard Trevino and Assistant Athletic Director Danielle Pais.
Franca would like both teams to focus on discipline, playing and competing hard.
Another goal Franca has is getting good recruits. He is currently working on recruiting current students, as well as external players.
Franca’s exposure to squash began in his hometown Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. At 9 years old, friends of Franca’s father were playing squash, which piqued his interest in the sport.
“I fell in love, and it’s a very easy sport to learn,” he said.
After he casually played squash for a year with friends, he began to pursue tournaments, meeting his first coach and taking lessons. Franca appreciates how squash allowed him to travel without financial concerns and meet new people.
“Squash opened that door for me,” he said. “I am very grateful for squash.”
Franca started coaching beginner and amateur squash players at age 16, leading anywhere from 18 to 30 lessons a week.
“I began teaching and making a difference in their lives,” Franca said.
At 17, Franca had a dream of coaching college squash, but financially this dream was a challenge to accomplish. He eventually connected with Coach Renato Paiva, the executive director for Access Youth Academy, a nonprofit in San Diego that provides squash and coaching assistance.
Paiva pledged to coach Franca for free as well as provide housing.
He moved to Boston at 17 and found a job working in a pizzeria. After almost a year being coached and playing tournaments, Franca ranked No. 19 in the U.S. He then went back home and completed college in Brazil, earning his bachelor’s degree in international studies, all while still coaching and playing professionally.
Before entering the Chatham community, Franca served as the assistant head coach at Amherst College in Massachusetts from 2022 to 2025. As its coach, the men’s team finished No. 17; the women’s team finished as runners-up at the Kurtz Cup and were No. 14 in the country.
He also held positions as head coach for Enjoy Squash Club in Brazil and San Diego Squash Club, as well as squash director for Access Youth Academy in San Diego.
As a coach, Franca is familiar with many squash teams and knew about Chatham’s squash team before entering his position. Franca had previously mentored Lucas Oliveira, a student who graduated from Chatham in 2025 and played on the men’s squash team, when he was 10 years old.
Clara Braga ‘27, a policy studies and international business student from Brasilia, Brazil, is a player on the women’s squash team. This is her third year playing team at Chatham. She described Franca as the glue of the team.
“It’s very nice to have a coach and someone that’s planning and organizing things,” she said. “Yuri is a great and positive coach. He holds high standards but is also positive.”
Braga hopes to assist in recruiting more players, especially for the women’s team, and win more matches this year now that they have an official coach in place.
The men’s and women’s squash teams will have their first matches of the season against the University of Virginia on Nov. 2 at Steel City Squash in Larimer.
Students interested in joining the squash team, email Coach Franca at [email protected].