London Squash Reopening and Solo Hitting Drills

If you're following Serious Squash on social media you'll already be aware that the club I work at has opened back up today! It was a lot of work to get the club to a point where we are. I was on a 4 person Covid board to ensure we are following all of the government safety protocols. There's been a lot of changes, but we are finally open, even if it is just for solo hitting at the moment. If you're interested in what changes have been put in place I made a short video which highlighted many of the safety protocols.

London Squash Club Reopening Video 

On top of what I mention in the video there are a few other policies in place. We originally had a finger print scanner at the front door and 24 hour access, but obviously having people place their finger on the same scanner is a way the virus could spread so we have just switched to a key fob system. We also must have a staff member when members are in the club now, so we have temporarily switched our hours to 8am-8pm.

The Club's On Court Rules

Court times have been staggered and are only 30 minutes in length. You must also book a court prior to coming to the club. There's 15 minutes after each court booking to allow for a thorough cleaning of the court, bin and chair. When your'e on court you are expected not to touch the walls with your hands (even though the club staff will clean them afterwards). Demon racquets are not permitted and members are allowed to grab their equipment from their locker, but they will not be able to use their locker going forward. The saunas, showers, bar and gym are also not open yet. This will all happen in future phases. 

Because the club, like a few others in Ontario are only open for solo hitting at the moment I've been posting some old Serious Squash solo drills. I will be filming some new drills this week which I will be posting over the next week. If you haven't already seen what I've posted so far I will post the videos again below. Most of these drills are for intermediate to advanced levels, but I will be filming some beginner drills shortly. 

The Secrets Of Solo Hitting

Court Sprint + Straight Drive Drill

Squash Shots Episode 43: Advanced Back Corner Solo Drills part 1

Squash Shots Episode 44: Advanced Back Corner Solo Drills part 2

Hopefully your club is opening soon too, if it hasn't already. I know I'm really excited to hit a few balls later today. It's been about 3 months for me now, which is the longest I've gone without hitting a ball in many years. 

If you want to do some squash training at home with me follow London Squash (@LondonSquash) on Instagram. I've been doing weekly training videos on their account. Normally it's around noon or 1pm on Friday's, but it's also weather dependant as I do these outside. 

You may have noticed that I removed the instructional films in the Serious Squash Shop. The platform I used to allow people to download the films was pretty pricey and when clubs were closed people weren't purchasing copies. In fact my online store is up for it's annual renewal June 15th and I'm debating pausing it for awhile until squash gets up and going again. So if you do want to purchase a shirt, racquet or a video analysis I suggest doing so in the next 2 weeks. 

That's it for this week. Stay tuned for new solo drills and if you have any questions about the opening of our club let me know. Happy Squashing!

Squash Shots

SeriousSquashShop.com

The Next Chapter: Back To London

It's funny how life works. Eleven years ago I couldn't wait to graduate university and get on with my coaching career. I had a 4 fun years at Western University where I played on the squash team and completed a degree in kinesiology ('09). Most of my best friends from my school days were on the squash team and we did everything together. Still, after 4 years of not making any money and training and studying year round I was eager to move on to the next chapter.

Now eleven years later I'm back in London hired by the club I was a member of back in my Western days, The London Squash and Fitness Club. The club is vastly improved from when I was a member. They've had a major club renovation since that time and it looks amazing. They still have many of the same members so I already know a lot of the people at the club. I've probably already received over 50 messages and emails from the members congratulating and welcoming me into the club. My brother also plays here so that's a bonus. It will be nice to have someone to film some episodes of Squash Shots with and to have my doubles partner close-by. 

It wasn't an easy decision to leave Turks and Caicos. The weather and the beaches were terrific, but in the end it was not possible to make a living there as a squash coach. I did get the junior program up to over 20 kids, but without a base salary life just wasn't affordable. I was running an Airbnb for awhile, but Coronavirus foiled those plans. 

(The front view of the London Squash and Fitness Club)

So here I am back in London, in the snowy winter belt of Southwestern Ontario. The club is closed for now, so I'm still waiting for this pandemic to dissipate before I can get to work. I have started working on some ideas for the programming for next season. I'm hoping to make a big splash with the junior program. I'm also intending to run some group classes, which I don't think they've had many of in recent years.

London Squash is also home to the Nash Cup which I even played in back in my Western days! It was my only PSA I ever played and I made out of qualification to lose to the second seed in a relatively competitive match. The Nash Cup has had many top players and has both a men's and women's event. They always have a top Western player in the draw along with many of the top Canadian PSA players. They have live scoring and streaming. Here's the website so you can bookmark it for future reference: https://www.nashcup.com

What am I working on at the moment? My days have basically revolved around workouts, filming episodes for Squash Shots, writing blog posts and now brainstorming for programming once the club opens back up. Yesterday I recorded a welcome video for the club which included 6 basic home exercises that the members that require no equipment. Here's the video if you're interested and yes, there were some flurries during production!! 

Until Covid-19 disappears life will be pretty relaxed, but once things ramp up I'm going to get quite busy. Right now I can't help but wonder how squash will change next season. Will I be able to run tournaments? If I do will people participate in them like they did before? What about leagues and so on? How will clubs transition back to being open again? Only time will tell, but I do think it's going to take quite awhile for things to get back to how they were before.

If you want to know more about my new club you can do so here: www.lsrc.ca They have 4 singles courts, a hardball doubles court, a sauna in both change rooms, a pro shop and a bar/lounge. It's really a beautiful spot.  

On a different topic, I've been recording a lot of workout posts for Squash Shots. Recently I've posted kettlebell workouts and some core exercises. You don't need any equipment to get in a good workout from home. I not only demonstrate how to do the specific exercises, but I also explain how to design a home workout. You can find out more by checking out Serious Squash on Instagram @SeriousSquash and @SeriousSquashShots or at Facebook.com/SeriousSquash or Youtube.com/SeriousSquash or by subscribing to Squash Shots at Patreon.com/SeriousSquash

There's also an online shop if you want to purchase an instructional film, a video analysis or a signature Serious Squash Harrow racquet: SeriousSquashShop.com

Until next week stay safe, stay healthy and stay (or get) fit!