Squash was in its heyday in the 1980s, but the sport dwindled in the 1990s as courts made way for real estate developments and the popularity of indoor cricket and indoor netball.

But luckily a lot of people kept their racquets as nowadays they are wiping the dust off and heading back onto the courts, alongside new players who have discovered the benefits of the game.

Kanahooka mum-of-four Belinda Lakelin is a player who has reclaimed her love of the game.

Now 33, Lakelin started playing at the age of 20 but gave it up when family and children came along.

Squash is a sport that carries through generations, and Lakelin is an example of that, having learnt the basics by going to the courts with her father as a youngster.

"I have memories of hanging around the courts as a kid," Lakelin says, smiling at her four children, aged between two and nine, and husband Tim, who have come to watch her play at Lakeside.

"The people here are lovely, it's really nice coming back."

Lakelin started in division 9 and has now progressed to division 2.

"I wanted the exercise - that's why I started back - it's great exercise," she says.

Is it hard to get back in the swing?

"In some way it's not that hard because you have the skills, but the fitness is a bit of a shock. After the first game I felt sick," she says.

"We all love it and we come down on Saturday morning and during school holidays, it's free for the kids to have a play."

Teenager Jack Baker took up squash while living in Cowra after learning from his parents.

It's the rivalry between his siblings that spurs him on.

"There's four boys, I'm the second oldest, and my two younger brothers always try to beat me," he says with a laugh.

Baker is studying exercise science at the University of Wollongong and travels to Dapto to compete in the night competition.

"It's a fun sport, that's why I enjoy it," the division 7 player says.

Lakeside Squash Club manager Ross Longbottom has been in the game for 30 years and remembers the time there were about 30 clubs and 5000 players in the Illawarra.

Night squash at Lakeside has just returned after 17 years and Longbottom says interest is rising.

Lakeside now has 100 players and Longbottom estimates about 90 per cent of families would still have their squash racquets tucked away since the 1980s.

"What people have forgotten about squash is that it's all-weather and the whole family can be involved," Longbottom says.

Now with only three courts, Lakeside was once home to eight and co-manager Helen Burke says the increased number of players highlights the need for more courts.

"It's more social these days than what it used to be," Burke says.

"A lot of other indoor sports are a lot of hit and run."

Burke and Longbottom predict squash may grow even further if selected as a sport for the 2020 Olympic Games.