Here’s a question rarely asked by a player but one that really should be.

Why do you play squash

It’s a very important question and one that should surely underpin everything you are doing.

Some people play for the sheer fun of it, some to stay fit, some for the social outlet. Some kids play because they are made to or because they keep winning.

Only a very small number of people are playing this so they can put food on the table though, yet everything is geared towards this professional ideal.

When you are playing, yes there a desire to play your best and perform well. But if you are playing for fun then you should also aim for that too.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a stupid, fun session with a friend. Games where you both play left handed, Games where you get quadruple points for a no-look volley nick etc.

One of the bravest things I’ve seen in a club was the strong player who openly admitted he didn’t enjoy competition so he only played for fun. He’d train with the top players as he enjoyed that but would resist the pressure to play tournaments and leagues.

It’s a tough thing to be so open about not enjoying competition, there’s always a cadre that will call you weak or soft for not testing yourself in competition.

If you’re playing to stay fit, especially as an older player, then perhaps a bouncier ball would make sense.

The most important thing is to do what suits you, just make sure you get agreement from your opponent.

I was doing drills at the weekend with a club mate and noticed my forehand drop was off. I want to go through my plan to fix it as an example that you can follow if you want.

The first step in fixing a problem is to notice it. It was painfully obvious to me as I hit too many tins but it is important to fix the right problem. A useful technique is to have someone with a notepad or smartphone taking notes outside. It’s hard to argue with the actual data.

With the data it’s time to analyse the conditions of the problem to find the root cause. For me I found that I wasn’t hitting a consistent volley drop but that the drop off the floor was fine. I was getting consistent tightness and cut on the backhand but not on the forehand. Indeed, there were far too many tins.

I also noted it was worse when I had lots of time. Now there are a few options at this point. Number one is to contact a coach and work on the shot but, since I’m far too arrogant for that, I went with solo practice.

Self feeding up a few balls I noticed I was having trouble extending the follow through properly and was closing the racket face at the point of contact.

Repeating the feed I noticed the problem was in my hips. I was too square to the front wall and was losing balance.  It was worse when i had too much time as I did not get into the correct position. Trying again I made more effort with the footwork and there was a marked improvement.

That was only the first step. I need now to get back into pairs practice and work on growing that movement back into my game.

That is how I normally correct a fault, going back to basics and simplifying the conditions as much as possible. But you do then need to bring that required change back up to game conditions. Otherwise you’ll only have that improved volley drop shot in practice and not when you really need it.

The break between games is the only place you can influence the player on court, at least for those coaches following the rules!

So seeing as it is so important, it strikes me as odd that it is so badly used! Being honest how many players/coaches have a plan for and practice the break between games?

I’ve been present for some truly awful “coaching” between games (and too from me in the early days).

I’ve seen players stressed to breaking point being wound up further. I’ve seen players in a crisis of confidence told all the things they’re doing wrong. I once even used the break between games to figure out what we’d do for dinner after the match.

There is no one size fits all solution for this part of the game. There is no perfect thing to say that will suit all players and situations, though perhaps the dinner story makes a case for there being an always wrong approach.

The main thing is to understand your players needs at the time. I once recieved some excellent coaching between games that was mostly just being told I was useless and couldn’t beat this guy, it hurt my ego and sparked up a massive fightback.

Normally though you are better off staying positive. Stay calm and talk to their strengths, maybe include spmething that isn’t working but dont focus heavily.

The other key part is to keep it simple. One or two key points, nothing about technique. Focus on strategy and decisions. For example, mentioning that their opponent is tiring so no cheap points, or that they struggle with soft high balls etc. is all very helpful information. That they are over rotating on the drive, or not getting enough cut on the drops is not.

The final part is knowing when to step back. Don’t rush in at the end of the game, give them a few seconds to catch their breath and calm down. Also leave them alone to focus when preparing to go back on and do the real work.

That’s a quick overview of the break between games. If you want to improve on this then you have to practice, just like anything else.

Squash is a tough game, but somehow the best players seem to make it look a but easier. The best drops are picked up easily and they can volley even the best hit crosscourts.

Yes some of them are phenomenal athletes but that doesn’t explain the 50 something year old coaches who are doing the same thing! They are simply reading the game and their opponents better.

Some people believe that this is something that is innate or that comes with vast experience but it is also a skill that can be acquired.

Any skill can be improved or learned though deliberate practice. In a match is a difficult place to start this process though. There are just too many things going on.

Instead try to work on this whilst watching other matches. The process is simple. Pick a player and predict the next shot. At the start you won’t find it easy or get that many right but with practice this will improve.

Some tips on this

1. Say the guess out loud to force a decision from yourself
2. You can play a game between two people each predicting a different player
3. Pick a player you struggle with and see if you can improve the reading of their game
4. Don’t try this on much better players or very unpredicable ones (Even Ali Farag struggles with reading Mazen Hesham!)

After a while you will improve but it will never be something you will be fully aware of. Reading people is not an overtly conscious process, most of it is instinctive. In fact the main people who will notice will be your opponents, who will start to complain that you are moving really well today!

I remember coaching two juniors before who were both solid state/county level players. One junior was a bit of a messer and if left on the court alone would try to play the nicks and no look head fakes. The other was diligent and would practice their drives.

Both performed well and improved consistently over the years, the diligent player putting more “effort” into training and the messer continuing to invent new shots. Indeed, once with a session with younger kids, the messer decided to see if they could play against them while only bouncing on one leg.

There were loads of comments about the potential of the messer, usually along the lines if only they took it seriously then they could be so good.

But the thing was, they were developing significant skill. As the messer got older they started winning more and more. The solid player was still getting good results but seemed to miss that threat. Players were more comfortable against him.

Ideally you would have both attributes, the control and focus of the first player mixed with the inventiveness and shotmaking of the second one.

Its something I would recommend to let juniors do from time to time. Let them play a silly game, encourage the outrageous amd let them learn the value of messing about.

So you’re working on your tight drives playing a drill that allows only length. You play a tight ball and the return shot pops out into the middle of the court. You grab the ball and get read to serve the next point. Common enough occurance, correct?

It is also a really stupid thing to do.

In a real match this is exactly the situation you want to be in, a loose ball earned by good length. So practice taking advantage of it.

Next time you are in this situation, make sure to treat it like a real rally and play the next shot. At lower levels it is probably just a quick short ball. At higher levels you should take all the different shot options, practice running it in tight or holding or even playing the nick.

Doing this will keep you focused and will practice taking advantage of strong positions, something that overly drilled players stuggle with.

One final thing to note is that in a drill like this with set shots, the temptation is to drift in to the back corner. If you try to play all the loose balls then you will quickly realise when this happens and can compensate for it.

So next training session earn those loose balls and play that last shot.

I think everyone already knows the value of structured practice sessions. Repetition of a skill is essential to its mastery. But there is a common over reliance on drills that have predefined shot patterns.

Probably the clearest demonstration of this is when a well drilled player (Player A) takes on a more experienced one (Player B).

This combination of players is a very common one. Usually player A is younger and on the rise. Player B is usually older and a lot the time a veteran player.

The knockup sees Player A look much better. A casual observer would put money on them, their warm up drives are tighter and harder and it all looks so smooth.

Then the game starts and suddenly it all shifts. Player A is looking awkward, they are a bit late to every ball and the smooth swing is malfunctioning. The ball juat isn’t going where it is supposed to.

Player B on the other hand who doesn’t have that lovely swing, is still getting the ball to the right places. Loose balls are punished and the court just seems a little smaller when they are retrieving.

So what went wrong? Usually people will talk about player A not getting going or having an off day. In reality the problem is deeper, they are not training the way the game is played.

Consider one the staple drills of all squash players, young and old, Boast and Drive. It’s also probably the worst performed drill around. Players end up only praticing hiting a ball from a known, static position. No real movement and no adjustment.

A real match will have decisions involved, you will have to predict the shot of your opponent and also choose your own one.

Going back to our example earlier, player A is only used to returning boasts in the front corner when they know it is coming. They will actually struggle to get into the right place when they are not expecting the boast. Their nice well practiced drive from the front corner is no longer a weapon they can use.

All of their movements are different to what they practiced and it leads to a feeling of being outside your comfort zone. Mistakes come more frequently and frustration builds degrading performance further.

The big question then is how do we fix this?

Lets go back to the drill. Consider the case where we add an option for both players, the front player can go straight or crosscourt and the back player has a boast and a straight drop.

Now suddenly the drill changes, you have to move in a more match like way. And also you have to at least show you have 2 options, otherwise your opponent can predict the next shot too easily.

You have to watch the ball and watch your opponent much more closely now, as you don’t know where the ball is going. Your T position has to be more neutral and the first movement becomes critical.

For only a small shift in the rules of the drill we have made it a much more fathful representation of the game of squash.

You still have the focus on the front and still have a relatively simple practice session where you are returning a significant number of boasts. Now though you also have a drill thay will improve your gameplay.

Have a try of this yourself, add decisions to your training routines. The change is minor but the results are anything but.