Report From The 2016 Canadian Junior Nationals

I know it's been awhile since my last post, but I've been busy working with the kids leading up to Junior Nationals and doing some skill challenges. You can find them on my Youtube channel at cchsquashpro or on Instagram at serioussquash. Okay, so today I'm going to discuss the level of play I saw at the Canadian Junior Nationals this year. I did a recap last year you can find here: http://www.serioussquash.com/2015/04/2015-canadian-junior-nationals.html

The challenge with the Junior Nationals this year is the venue. The NSA in Toronto was scheduled to host the event, but has since closed their doors. So the Mayfair Parkway stepped up and did a good job with little time to prepare. Since the last time I was at the Parkway they have take down 2 or 3 courts and put in a mini basketball gym. So unfortunately this meant that this event now needed a 2nd facility which was closely at the Mayfair East club. The challenge with the East club was that there was often nobody at that club to organize anything and the courts were much different. At the East club the courts were panel and quite warm and bound. The kids had to adapt their tactics, be patient and fit if they were going to do well on these courts.

Back to the host club, the Parkway. For anyone that has been there knows the challenge of trying to coach on any court besides the 2 show courts. I brought 9 kids to nationals but only had 2 of the kids ever play on the show courts, so I watched a lot of the matches through a tiny 1 foot window at the backdoor of the courts. Less than ideal for watching, but the only other option was to go upstairs and then come down between games (which wasn't very close). So this was a challenge for us as coaches. Another problem with the viewing is that this means I didn't get to watch much of the other matches. But today I'm going to write about the bit that I did see.

 I watched many of the finals on Sunday. There was some contrast of styles between attacking players and retrievers. I felt that the caliber and depth was reasonably high for the boys and in the lower divisions for the girls. Watching the boys play it always amazes me how they can cover the court and hit with such a consistent high pace. There are some good athletes on the boys side. It's funny how players develop as either retrievers if they're fast or attacking players if they don't move quite as well; it's quite rare to be highly skilled in both areas. What I didn't see from most of these top boys was changing the pace and angles of their length. They all liked to hit the ball so low and hard and it just wasn't putting pressure because it wasn't tight or deep enough. A few of the boys had good shots and were very attacking, while some of the other ones showed an amazing amount of patience and just kept the ball in play trying to extend points and wait for mistakes.

There are definitely some kids that have loads of potential here in Canada, but are still quite unpolished when it comes to tactics, attacking and their mental game. There was still too many discussions between the refs for my liking. I just felt like the top boys in some of the top squash countries around the world would be more polished, more clinical with their attacking shots, more focused mentally and would be better able to adjust their tactics within a match. I feel like most of the top boys have the ability and desire, have good swings, are physically fit and hit with good pace, but there is a lot more to squash than this. I really believe that the mental game and advanced tactics are crucial for continuing to improve your game. We have some great coaches in Canada, but maybe it's the lack of competition the top boys are getting. It will be interesting to see how they do when they go to the worlds this summer. They will probably be underrated, but I do feel they have good potential yet still a long ways to go!

One bright spot for me was seeing how many great young 10 and 11 year old boys were playing. I still don't get why Squash Canada doesn't have an under 11 division. I bet some of the 11 and 12 year olds wish the younger kids had their own age group. The depth of talent at this age is way stronger than when I was that age, but it's the next few years that will shape their squash careers. Are they dreaming of becoming world champions or will those dreams be pushed aside by those closest to them and will they settle for making a strong varsity squash team? I think these young kids need to get some exposure internationally. When I was in Penang last year the size of the under 11 draws were huge and their skills were generally amazing for their size and experience. I feel like the Long Term Athlete Development program may work for keeping more kids in the game, but not for producing professional word class level players. I wonder if Canada will ever see another Jonathon Power?

On the girls side I was again quite impressed with most divisions. I feel like there was less depth in the under 19 than in previous years, but that is likely because some girls are away at university at 18 and can't make it back to compete. One of the girls from the school I coach at came 2nd (pictured above) and is probably mentally the toughest most focused junior player I've ever seen. She had been sick and not able to prepare properly, but still made the finals and for awhile I thought was going to win it!

The younger age groups showed great promise and the best depth I've ever seen for the girls game. Even some of the under 13 girls could really crack the ball, made good decisions and were quite accurate. Each age group up the girls began hitting the ball with more pace and they all seemed quite strong mentally. I felt like they handled adversity well and stayed pretty positive even when the pressure was on. There were many extremely tight semis and finals on the girls side. I just wish there was a step for them after juniors. That's really the biggest challenge. College squash works for some, but I don't see many of them going through that and then trying to compete professional. Maybe many of them are only focused on making it to a good college program.

I'm sure like there are some Canadian kids dreaming of pro squash, but much less than other countries. I imagine thousands of kids in Egypt wanting to grow up and be the next Ramy Ashour or Nour Elsherbini. I know Nicol David has had a huge impact on the growth of the game in Malaysia. So who do we look up to? It's still JP, but now the young kids don't know who he was and have never seen him play. We need a role model to help motivate our youth and give them hope that they too can achieve their dream if they work hard enough.

The challenge here is that I don't think it's possible for a top world player to make it in Canada. They won't get the competition or the funding. Canada isn't cheap and flights are expensive. How can they afford proper coaching? How can our top players get access to important resources like sport psychologists, personal trainers, physiotherapists, massage therapists, nutritionists and so on? If I was going to try and do it I would go to Europe and play in some of the pro leagues to get the matches and make a bit of money and get better competition. I also know a lot of people have been travelling down to Florida to work with David Palmer. Hopefully one day we can have something set up in Canada that will allow top world class players to be based here. That's what the NSA was supposed to be, but that didn't work. Until we make some changes and improve our high performance pathway I'm afraid that we will continue to perform at a mediocre level internationally.

The Egyptian Aura

Everyone knows there is something special and different about top Egyptian squash players. What exactly is it? Most are very attacking and appear extremely confident in their ability. It can certainly be intimidating, especially if you are a young junior. When I was in Malaysia recently for the Penang Junior Open there were a number of talented Egyptian players there and I made a few notes about their style of play and the reasons for its effectiveness.

What Egyptians Do

- they are confident and often win without doing anything because they intimidate their opponents. this begins in the knock up

- they hit it hard. this is part of what intimates their opponents

- they play to win and play aggressively. they have a plan and are ready to go from the first point

- they are passionate and fiery when they play and can be extremely verbal and fist pump after winning every point. they are very emotional and show it while they are playing

- retrieve well and are willing to dive. they give it everything to win each point and each match

What We Can Learn From Egyptians

- confidence and body language matters

- be ready to go for the 1st point

- go in believing you can win and fight for every point, right out of the gates. never give up on a ball or a point

- pace doesn't mean someone can beat you, but it is a weapon. work on hitting it harder

- have a plan, play to win

- showing emotion and expressing yourself can be a positive thing, but can also be draining over the long run

- the knock up matters. focus on yourself and not on how good your opponent looks!

How To Play Against An Egyptian

- for me the main thing is to expect some or all of the things above to happen

- play your game and control your emotions (unless you are also an emotional player then it's ok to express yourself in a positive manner)

- focus on your game, not on theirs

- they may appear confident, but that doesn't mean they don't have the same doubts we all do. they just hide it better then most of us do

- never expect a game is over. you have to win every point and expect them to fight for every rally

- have a game plan. what is your strength? can you execute it? can you contain the Egyptians attacking game and pace? Can you attack them before they attack you? Or can you force them into long rallies and making mistakes as they lose their patience? 

- don't give them too much respect. there seems to be an aura around playing Egyptian player. although they have many amazing players, so do other countries. if you're going to win you need to believe in yourself and that you can and will win. 

- don't get involved with the ref if they stall, block, ask for cheap lets or begin talking with their coach between rallies. At least I wouldn't. I feel this distracts your attention and once it gets under your skin it's very hard to let go of it. 

As I just mentioned you also have to prepare for things such as in this example here https://twitter.com/ChrisHanebury/status/606454996129869824

This just doesn't happen in Canada. There are some benefits for the Egyptian girl in this situation. It's like the coach telling her what to do during the match when things get tough and emotional. Her coach can calm her down and is playing a major role in the match. If you played someone like this what would you do? Do you say something to the ref or just accept that this could happen and let it go? It's hard to say which is the right answer. The ref in this situation wasn't getting involved with this and let this go. It was pretty shocking. It was evident that there is some bad blood between the Egyptians and Malaysians. This may have increased because of the incident at match ball in final of the girls under 15 British Open last year. The Egyptian coach was very outwardly expressive and passionate. We see coaches like this in American sports like football or hockey, but we aren't accustomed to this in squash. 

I should also mention that I saw one Egyptian boy in Penang in the under 15 who looked very calm and relaxed (his score card below). Maybe it's because I didn't see him in any tough matches, but he was smiling and really appeared to be enjoying his squash. I don't know if this can be taught. It must be difficult as an opponent to play someone like this. You can tell they are just so relaxed and confident. I don't think this is something you can fake either. At the end of the day, squash is a game and it was refreshing to see someone at that level so relaxed and happy.

Here's a game I filmed of the girls under 13 semifinals. It's a very high caliber for 12 year old girls. The Egyptian actually lost this one in straight games. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suDYdJ0FU6c

The Egyptians are doing a lot right. Are they taking advantage of the rules or are the rest of us just not passionate and expressive enough about squash and winning? There's an argument for both sides and the ideal solution is probably somewhere in between the two. It's definitely more entertaining watching a talented Egyptian play. 

Hopefully the next time you play an Egyptian you don't give them too much respect and let them win. If their going to win, make them beat you; make them play their best squash and use as many fist pumps and stalling tactics as possible. Believe in yourself and you have a chance; believe in your opponent and you don't.

If I Coached Nicol David

Today I am going to discuss what I would work on if I coached Nicol David. It seems like a fitting topic since I'm heading to Malaysia soon. Obviously she is doing almost everything at the absolute highest quality, but even for one of the greatest players there are things that can be improved. I'm sure this is what keeps her motivated year after year. Many people want to find out just how good they can be? Not very many of us actually achieve our true potential. It takes not just many years of hard work, but a dedication to your craft for a major potion of your life.

I could go on and on about what Nicol David does so well. Her consistency, focus, mental toughness, work ethic, determination, her length and fitness are the major qualities that I really admire. Not to mention that she is a brilliant role model not just for young girls, but any squash player. She also appears to be extremely humble and has a great smile :-) It makes you wonder where her will and determination come from. David is proof that you can be small and succeed in squash. But this post is heading in a different direction. It's time to talk about how David can become an even better squash player.

David has been on the tour for a long time and is getting near the twilight of her career, but has yet to shows signs of slowing down. I believe that David can continue improving her game for years to come. When you get to an elite level as David has, what she can improve is much less obvious than any amateur, but after watching most of her matches at the recent British Open you could see some of her opponents were able to really work her around the court. I don't remember her opponents looking so comfortable against her a few years ago. I guess this is naturally what happens when you're on the top. Everyone has a team strategizing on how to take you down.

Although David is extremely fit and fast, she is still relatively small in stature. So when someone holds the ball or attacks well with a boast she has trouble covering. I thought Laura Massaro had a lot of success with her forehand attacking boast on David. I think David is well aware of this fact and is why she really concentrates on keeping her opponent behind her until she has a golden opening. If her opponents are stuck in the back they won't be hitting many winners from there. David has such great length on the glass court that this almost always works, but if her opponents equal her great length she's normally in trouble (yes, as we all are!). I think that David will never be easy to beat because she has such a solid base to her game. She makes very few mistakes and hits good width and length. But I do feel that she could be more aggressive and clinical on her volleys.

During the British Open I thought David let her opponents off the hook numerous occasions on the volley. There were plenty of times where her opponent was stuck behind her and she just hit it deep again. David appeared to be set up and in position to bring the ball in short. Of course if she goes short and the shot isn't high quality she puts herself in trouble as she again is not that big and many of the top women are deceptive when given time from the front. Obviously this isn't her style, but I'd like to see her play more aggressive on the volley. Not be afraid of making a couple of errors. This brings me to my next point.

Watching David play I feel that her opponents can read her very well. It's just a matter of wether David's shot execution is precise enough or not. If your opponent always knows where the ball is going you're looking at very long rallies. She does have a deceptive backhand trickle boast and I would like to see her work on one on the forehand side. I'd also like to see her try some more drives down the middle of the court. She hits such immaculate length that this is definitely something that would make her even tougher to play.

I think David could also improve her attacking boast. Some of the top women shape up and look like they are going to drive and then play a 2-wall boast. Some of these women have excellent delay on their swings. Since David has such great length and hits deep almost every time she's in the back if this shot was at all deceptive she would set herself up for a lot of easy points. But of course this leaves her exposed at the front and is a bit more risky than the style she normally plays.

The last area I think Nicol David could improve is her serve from the right service box. She does get the ball nice and high with her lob serve, but rarely hits the sidewall. If she hit the sidewall consistently on the 4-wall glad court this would set her up for a lot more quick points. Again, this may appear like a minor-adjustment, but I do think it would make a pretty significant impact to her game.

Nicole David is one of the greatest of all time. I almost feel unworthy to write an article about how she could improve. But I thought it would be a fascinating topic. I know one could ask, 'why fix what isn't broke?' And yes I get it and agree. But I believe this is how the greatest athletes think. Elite athletes are never satisfied with where they are and are constantly looking for ways to improve and add new dimensions to their craft. Nicol David isn't going to transform her game into an Egyptian stye. But if we look at Nick Matthew the past few years he has become much more attacking and clinical with his short game. As the competition get stronger I think you need to get them off court sooner so you can be fresher for the later rounds.

It would be interesting to know exactly what Nicol David thought of her own game at the moment and what she is currently working on. If she keeps on doing the same thing she should continue to do it slightly better and better. There is no doubt about her work ethic. But with everyone nipping at her heels I'm sure she is thinking of subtle adjustments she needs to continue to make so she can continue to stay at the top. As we saw at the British Open there are a number of women that are capable of beating Nicol on any given day. If feels like the tides are slowing changing. How much longer will David be able to be world #1? I think the one thing she has going for her is that there isn't another dominant person on tour. I think there are a few that are very strong, but the don't get the consistent results that David does. Until one of them do David should be safe at the top of the heap.

If I was coaching Nicol David it's safe to say that I would learn a lot more from her than she would from me.

Who's The Best Squash Player Of All Time?

Today I'm going to talk about a hypothetical situations. After watching the British Open and seeing Jahangir Khan in attendance it gets me thinking. Every sport tries to compare their current stars with previous legends of the game. Tiger Woods has always been compared to Jack Nicklaus and is chasing his total majors and now that same spotlight is shining on Rory Mcilroy. While people in baseball are often compared to the likes Ted Williams or Babe Ruth. In hockey many compare Bobby Orr or Wayne Gretzky to current top stars. How would these record holds stack up against the current crop of stars? Certainly to be mentioned and compared to one of the all time greats in your sport you are doing something right.

Today I want to talk about two of the best when I was young; well Jahangir (pictured below) was at the end of his career when I was beginning to play and Jansher was just beginning to dominate. Both Khans were very steady and made very few unforced errors. They were extremely fit and I've heard that Jahangir just walloped the ball. Clearly the equipment advances and the glass courts with the lowered tins have changed the style of play that is successful at the highest level. But even now we see top players that are very traditional and conservative while others are much more attacking and aggressive. How would the Khan's have played in the modern game against the current crop of stars?

Who wouldn't like to see a healthy Ramy against either one of them?

It's hard to guess how the Khan's would develop as squash stars in today's game, but the one thing that wouldn't change is that thy would be two of the fittest and mentally toughest of any era. I'm sure they would still have immaculate length, but would they be more attacking? Would the Khan's have been able to dominate in today's game as they did back in the day? I can't think of any reason to think why they wouldn't.

Jansher Khan

I'm more curious as to how the Khan's would play. I assume the success of these players had a big part in how future generations of people were taught and played. We learn by watching the top players and see what makes them successful. But as equipment changed allowing the players to be ore deceptive, have a shorter swing and hit the ball harder it's interesting to think how these legends would play with them.

I do have a couple of old school small frame squash racquets that I use once in a while. What I notice when I use these racquets is that they provide excellent training tools for your swing. You need to have your racquet prepared early to hit it to the back, while the racquets nowadays you can flick your wrist and hit it down the wall if the ball is warm. Another thing I notice right away is that you cannot be as attacking. With the older racquets you learn when a shot is really on and when you may get away with forcing it a bit with modern equipment. I feel that most top players think they can attack almost anything from anywhere which of course may be true, but there are still better times and situations to attack short. I think it is more clear cut with the older frames. If you try and force it when it's not on with a heavy, small head frame you are going to make an error or pop it out loose more times than not.

From everything I heard it was the Khan's discipline and work ethic which enabled them to be so successful. I have no doubt that they would adapt and still be the best in today's game. Ramy in recent years went an entire year without losing a match, but that doesn't come close to the 5+ years that Jahanagir did the same. You could always argue that the depth of the competition is stiffer now, but I think that would only have made them even stronger.

So I haven't really answered my proposed question yet. I don't really know, but I'll take a few guess. I think the Khan's would play very attritional as well. Jansher was so efficient with his movement that he could play long matches without slowing down unlike any of his competitors. I don't think this would change. I think Jansher would still have extremely long rallies and wouldn't shoot from behind his opponent, or if he did it would be so random that it would almost always work. It's been awhile since I've seen Jansher play, but I also remember how well he volleyed and counter attacked. I think this style would still win today. So I guess I don't think either of them would play like the top attacking Egyptian players.

I could also speculate about how Ramy would have matched up 20 or 30 years ago with the old equipment on the standard court with the standard height tin? Maybe the game wouldn't have caught the interest of a young Ramy if he grew up with a small wooden racquet. I don't know. All we can do is speculate. But one thing I know for sure, is that I at least find it way more enjoyable to watch attacking and open squash. So although this sorts some players game more than others, you can attacking or neutralizing if your length, fitness and mental toughness is top quality.

I should also note here how much the change in the scoring has changed how the game is played. Up until about 9 or 10 years ago we used hand in, hand out scoring to 9. This means you had to be serving to be able to get a point. It made matches much longer and physical which likely played into the strengths of both Khans.

What matchup would you have liked to seen? Maybe Goeff Hunt, the late Hashim Khan, Jonah Barrington or Chris Dittmar versus Gaultier, Elshorbagy or Matthew? Or more recently Peter Nicol or Jonathan Power? Who would be the best of all of them at their peak? Does your winner change depending on the scoring, court or equipment they used? Who's the best of all time?

For those that haven't seen either Khan play here's a link of them playing one another https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtzhAcmgVvY, but this is near the end of Jahangir's career. You can see that here the scoring was actually point a rally to 15 and the 2 are actually playing on a glass court. When looking back on footage of them the first thing you notice is the extremely poor quality of the video. It's hard to follow the ball. I remember back in the early 90's having to wait months after a tournament to finish to get a copy of the finals and it would be on VHS and the quality extremely low.

This also gets me thinking what squash will look like in 20 or 30 years time. Will it continue evolving as quickly as it has? What style will the top players play? What will the equipment be like? Will the racquets become heavier again or even lighter? I feel that string and grip shape may change the most. Will the scoring method change again? Will the tin be lowered even further? Is there a kid out there now who will transcend our sport? Will it be a version of one of the Khan's? Or more like Power? Ramy? Or perhaps a mix or something completely altogether?

Extreme Squash Parenting

Today I'm going to talk about the ethical issues with a kid training to play at an elite level. At the Canadian Junior Open there was a young girl that was very good, but was pushed extremely hard by her father. I had many parents and kids talk about this and say how bad they felt for this girl. I can only imagine how many more of these cases there are in more lucrative sports. Anyways it got me thinking; what is the line? How much is too much? There is a reason they created the LTAD, but anyone that has been a top professional squash player training hard from a young age and normally began winning at a very young age.

As for this individual case, it's not up to anyone else to tell this person how to be a parent. I'm sure he's heard some remarks before. He's an intense person and eventually his daughter will grow up and either be equally as driven to succeed or driven away from her father and squash. He was right in her face, strict and to the point with his coaching. We all criticize his aggressive coaching techniques and parenting skills at this moment, but if she goes on to become a world champion he will only hear praises for his dedication and work ethic. Clearly I could never coach kids this way. It isn't my personality and I think kids would quit the sport. Yes, you may have some impressive results, but for those few that stick through it, how many would really love squash and training?

When one parent complained to me about this father's behaviour I felt impartial. Yes, I disagreed with his coaching method. But for other sports like gymnastics, kids are being coaching and trained like this because it's an early peak sport. The best gymnasts in the world are mid-teenagers. Clearly they didn't get to this standard by following the LTAD. They didn't get eased into rigorous training over a number of years. But when it comes to squash this feel different. I think some parents feel it isn't fair because their daughter wasn't nearly as strong of a player and may never be. So what can you do?

I'm sure if you went to Egypt you would see many kids playing at an incredible standard at a very young age. For me the difference here is where the motivation is coming from. Is it the young kid or the parent or coach? If a young child is intrinsically driven to play more and train hard that it great. If the parent is dictating all of this and the child is just following instructions there is an issue.

Everyone wants to believe that their child is the best and can be the best. But there are lots of kids that play squash and not everyone can become a world champion. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't allow them to follow their dreams of becoming an elite squash player. It's a parents job to aid this process. Looking back at my junior squash career. I wanted to be the best in the world. Even though I never player professionally I know that I was able to become the best in Canada just from working hard and being dedicated. It taught me I could do whatever I wanted if I put my mind to it. That hard work really does pay off and if you believe in yourself you can do anything you want. And when I was a young kid my motivation to pay and train and be the best was all internally motivated.

I haven't come to any grand conclusions about this topic. I found it quite fascinating. I'm sure as a parent you feel you know what's best for your kid. At what point is the line crossed and are you over the top and doing more damage than good? I don't know if this girl has another coach back home, or if it's just her dad that coaches her. There's always going to be a coach that enjoy working with a top athlete that will overlook the dominating father to work with the girl. Only time will tell how this will play out. I know some people hope this girl will not become a squash star because they don't approve of the method. Others feel bad for this girl as her entire life is squash. There is more to life than squash...hmm or is there??

Have you ever read Andre Agassi's biography? His dad was super strict and made him hit endless tennis balls that were fed by a homemade ball machine. Even though Agassi became the best player in the world he hated tennis and says he won't let his kids play tennis or any other individual sport. Even though he's married to Steffi Graf and their kids would likely be pretty athletic he said it's such a long and lonesome journey becoming a professional in an individual sport. As coaches how do we ensure that our athletes keep balance in their life? If we want to produce the top athletes they need to make a major dedication to their sport, which means they may lack some balance. It's an interesting debate.

Are you a squash parent? What's your take on this situation? Do you play the role of parent and coach? Or do you leave the coaching to the coach? Are your kids chasing your dreams or theirs?