Improvisation

I watched almost every match on Squash TV at the recently completed Tournament of Champions. There were some amazing matches and as a player and coach I'm constantly analyzing and marvelling over the ability of the top players. The level of the game has never been higher and each year the bar raises. I thought Momen was going to take the event, but he had a few mental spats against Marwan Elshorbagy, Ali Farag and in the finals against Mohamed Elshorbagy.

What I watched at the TOC inspired this week's episode of Squash Shots and also today's blog post. Episode 36, titled 'Improvisation,' can be watched on the Serious Squash Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/tv/B7i7o-TpTe8/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

I was impressed with how fit and strong both Paul Coll and Joel Makin were. They hit so few unforced errors and with how well they move and for how fit they are, they must be a nightmare for almost everyone on tour. There's very few players in the world that can hang in there physically and mentally with those guys. Even still Makin and Coll haven't won a major title. Will they be able to with the style that they play or will they have to adapt their game? Can they adapt their game at this stage of their careers? Surely they can't get that much fitter, stronger and faster, can they?

In my opinion there are a number of players who possess the ability to hit anywhere at anytime. Players like Farag, Momen and Gawad are so smooth and are nearly unreadable. Diego Elias is also a guy who you could put into this category. Elias was the better player, but eventually succumbed to the physicality of Makin. So clearly being silky smooth and having world class ball control is not enough without an incredibly high level of fitness.

Gawad, Momen and Farag, just like the great Ramy Ashour not only have an immaculate short game, but they can also adapt their racquet preparation under pressure meaning they're nearly impossible to read. They play with very little tension in their arm which allows them to generate a lot of whipping action in their wrist so they can flick the ball to any part of the court. Coll and Makin on the other hand have a couple of very set, rigid preparations and they are more easily read by the top players in the world. It's this contrast of styles which is so enjoyable to watch, but I certainly prefer watching and cheering for the smooth moving and hitting Egyptian players.

Mohamed Elshorbagy's game is transitioning from a hard hat, Nick Matthew style of play. For years he basically played at a pace the rest of the field couldn't handle. Now there are a few that can and with the aging of Elshorbagy he has no choice, but to begin to refine his game. This is what Nick Matthew did as he aged. Matthew was able to find a few areas to be more deceptive with his shots. He couldn't continue to dominate with simply being super fit, disciplined, mentally tough and accurate. Would Matthew in his prime be able to be world #1 with today's pool of players? He'd be one of the top competitors, but I don't think he would win more than 1 or 2 titles per year as the depth of talent is simply too deep and talented now.

Nowadays there are a loads of players who are hunting the volleys, playing a high T position and are super fit. Back when Matthew was playing there were very few players who had this effortless style of play and the racquet skill that the top few do now. The ones that come to mind are of course the GOAT, Ramy and the maestro, Amr Shabana. When either of those legends were fit enough to hang in with Nick or Greg Gaultier they would have the edge. But when they're not 100% fit, healthy or strong they would have trouble hanging in there.

How do these top Egyptian players develop the uncanny ability to have such a relaxed, accurate and unreadable swing? A lot of it has to do with their decision making. They understand what their opponent is reading and they know how to create space on the court by having countless options from a variety of set positions.

Many other players prepare the same way every time they move to a specific part of the court and have maybe 2 or 3 options, but they can be fairly easily read compared to the players who have adaptability in their swing. The ability some of these squash magicians have to accelerate and decelerate their swing at the last second to change the speed and angle of their shot is what makes them so great to watch. Doing this means their opponent has to wait longer on the T and expend more energy to move off the T, which also dictates that they will be at the ball a little later and generally keeps their opponent off the volley. Squash is a sport where fractions of a second make all the difference and dictates if a player has to defend or attack and how hard they have to work. Even the top movers and fittest players in the world can only take so much.

A good example of being unreadable and smooth was first two games of Farag and Coll. Farag was reading Coll like a book and was on the ball so early. Coll on the other hand was under a lot of pressure trying to just get the ball back and hang in the rallies. Coll's tenacity and fitness was almost enough to be able to come back and win the match, but ultimately Farag had just enough in the tank.

If Gawad was fitter would be have beat Elshorbagy? What if Momen got better calls or was mentally a bit stronger and handled those decisions better? I would say they are technically the two best players in the world and when Momen is in the right mindset and Gawad is fit they are almost untouchable. The reason why? In my opinion it's their ability to use all 4 corners with tremendous accuracy and their ability to adapt their swing to hit into the open space. Have they practiced more than the other top pros or have they just practiced differently and if so what exactly was it that let them develop their world class racquet skills?

Back when I was doing my masters I did my final project on decision making at the front of the court for professional squash players. So this is a topic that has always interested me. Can you teach a player to make better decisions and be tougher to read at the front of the court? Definitely yes, but I've never seen a top player successfully change their style from a grinder to a smooth attacking player. Some ideas I would try is relaxing the arm, varying the timing of hitting the ball, having 4 or 5 different set racquet preparations and doing a lot of shot option drills and conditions games. Part of it will also come from video analysis of watching their matches and seeing where they are being read and where a new shot or two could be helpful.

Is the future of the top of the PSA be based on speed, strength and fitness? Or will players with superb racquet skill dominate? Or will a mixture of the 2 be what is necessary to win major titles? If a player is at the highest end of racquet skills can they ever be as fit and fast and strong as Coll and Makin? And can players like Makin and Coll ever develop magical racquet skills? I don't have all of the answers, but it is sure a lot of fun to watch.

 With so many amazingly talented players right now, there is 1 thing I do know for sure. TO be world # 1 for any length of time is going to take the consistency of results that will only come to those that are fit enough to back up big matches and mentally strong enough to pull out close matches. In these situations do you back the super fit or the more relaxed and technically gifted? Beating 3 or 4 of the worlds best in consecutive days it's not going to be easy to win any big trophy and that's what is going to make in 2020 so much fun to watch.

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Lofty Childhood Dream Goals

It's that time of year where people are using the start of a new year to set goals in an attempt to change a behaviour pattern. Making short or long term behavioural changes to improve our quality of life is terrific, but how often are do they last? Today I am going to be discussing the peak of of goal setting pyramids, dream goals. Dream goals do in fact have something in common with New Years resolutions and that is that most are doomed to fail. Does this mean we should not bother setting or pursuing either type of goal? Let's find out.

Through emails and Serious Squash social media platforms I get a lot of messages from players all around the world. I recently had a 12 year old boy message me and tell me how his goal was to become world champion. It made me think about what it was like when I was that age. Twenty-six years ago I was wearing similar shoes as I was extremely driven to become the best in the world (I'm the little guy in the photo below).

When I was young I kept a journal where I logged my daily training sessions and I wrote out analysis from my matches. Some weeks I was on court more than 20 hours and solo hitting for 2-4 hours at a time. Nobody told me I should do this, I just instinctively knew that I had to do more than the competition to get the results and life that I dreamed of.

It's normal for young kids to have ambitions and dreams. A lot of kids dream about being the next Lebron James or in squash, Ramy Ashour. If we look at squash for an example there are very few world #1 ranked players in the history of our sport. Let's say there's been around 40 total (just a guess). Out of 40 total world #1's ever what are the odds of any child making this select group? If I was a mathematician I imagine it would be close, but not quite impossible. Yes just like the infamous scene from Dumb and Dumber, 'so you're saying there's a chance?'

I'm guessing many of the world top athletes all had these big dreams at one point or another, but 99.99+% of us never reach our dream goal of becoming the best in the world. And for the selection few who do reach their dream goal after a decade plus of dedication what is left to drive them forwards afterwards?

This is one of the most difficult things about squash. When you're an adult playing on the PSA tour there are no weight, age or height divisions. There is always a winner or loser so we can generally definitive say who is better than who. For something like music this is far different. Who is the best musician in thew world? I would argue it's not whoever sells the most albums and it would depend on personal preference. But for sports there's less of an argument, you either are or are not world #1. Which means at the time of writing this article only Ali Farag and Raneem El Wilily can say they are living their dream childhood goals while the rest of the pack are giving everything the have to experience that glory. Although it's an amazing feat I can't imagine many kids grow up dreaming of being world #2.

So if you are a parent or coach should you support your child's overly ambitious dreams of becoming the next Ramy (pictured above)? Or should we ensure that they have something to fall back on for they inevitably fail? I recall my parents saying 'what if you get hurt?' That's what parents are supposed to do; they're supposed to worry about your future and they tend to have a lot more common sense. When you're a kid (at least for me) I didn't care what anyone else said I could or couldn't do, I was going to be the best in the world; even though as you can tell from the photo above I was one of the smallest kids in my grade. I believe I was 12 in that photo and that was take n after beating my good friend and childhood rival in the final of the U13 U.S. Open.

Breaking news, I did not become world #1. I know it's sad, my dreams which I war absolutely convinced would happen didn't. But I did get to a pretty high level because of my dedication, work ethic and passion for the game. And it's because of what I was able to accomplish I learned that if I want to do something in life I can do it if I really put my mind to it.

As I get older it's not so simple resurrecting that same type of passion and dedication for a new goal that takes over your every thought and motivates each of the daily decisions you make. This is probably why I was a pretty serious coach for the first few years. How could anyone not put their everything into trying to become the best they can? It took probably close to 8-10 years of coaching to learn how to allow kids to be kids and have fun and to understand and most importably accept that they are not all (in fact very few are) the crazy self driven kid that I once was.

As a coach I think that trying to become the best I can be is something that motivates me most similar to that young version of me who lived for squash. And I've learnt that being the best coach does not mean just knowing the techniques, tactics, etc. Being a great coach is much more about dealing with different types of people, handling challenges, planning a variety of fun engaging practices which will also enable skill development.

Let's discuss outcome squash goals for the moment. Over the past decade I knew I wasn't going to play on the PSA tour, but I still trained a lot and tried to improve my game? There is this innate curiosity about still trying to improve oneself and as you improve various parts of your game you can't help but feel like your best game of squash is still ahead of you. I have also learned how to actually enjoy pushing myself hard in training and in matches. When I was a kid that is something I was not great at.

As I got older I also have learned to accept losing better, although I'm still not too good at it. When I was young I focused so much on winning that it put a lot of pressure on me and I focused on the wrong things (the outcome vs. the process). There are a lot of factors that are outside of your control when you play squash. Plus if you want to become the best you can possibly be you have to get spanked by better players along the way. How many matches do you think Ramy Ashour lost in his entire life? And how many tins do you think he hit in his career? A LOT!!!

I know this post is a little all over the place, but I really want to focus on motivation, perseverance and dream goals. It's not always easy finding things in life that are enjoyable when you lose something that you are so passionate about or when your goals change. When I was chasing world #1 I had a purpose each day. That purpose is so motivating and inspirational and it forces you to make a lot of sacrifices. That's why I love hearing someone else tell me that they have the same dream I once had. When kids set their goals too modestly they will not dig deep and grind it out and miraculously become a great champion some day.

A number of years ago I ran a camp with many of the top juniors in western Canada. Only 1 out of these top juniors said they had a dream goal of playing on the PSA tour. Some of their dream goals were things they could already achieve and had little meaning. I was so perplexed and upset as a coach. I wasn't sure if they didn't really want to put in the work needed to get to the top level or if they only wanted to set goals they knew that they could easily achieve? A little better than mediocracy is what I believe most kids, at least in Canada are striving for these days. We aren't brought up wanting or needing to work extra hard for something and getting uncomfortable enjoying that process of the daily grind. This is why it was quite refreshing when this recent junior shared his goal.

For a few years as a child I lived with purpose where my lofty dreams fuelled me. At school or lying in bed all I thought about was squash. Why does this happen to some kids and not others? Does it have something to do with the environment or genetics? Likely it's a mixture, but as a coach there is nothing better than working with someone so motivated and driven. It's easy to spot this type of dedication and dreams in athletes. There are many parents who are more motivated for their children's squash potential than their kids themselves; this rarely ever works out and the kids eventually will lose their motivation to play squash. Intrinsic motivation, persistence and a dare to dream is what it takes and those are things that someone else cannot wish upon you.

Do you think it's healthy to have dream goals even if they more than likely won't come true? Someone has to be the next Nicol David (pictured above), why not you?

What do you do when you finally have to give up on your dream goal? That I don't have all of the answers for, but I know I didn't feel as alive and as driven to do other things with the same focus and passion. Finding new goals or passions are certainly important. Wether it's training, improving a variety of skills on or off court, taking up a new hobby or what I thoroughly enjoy it helping someone else achieve something special.

Squash was what I've been most passionate about so that's why it's hard to envision doing anything besides coaching. Squash is what made me and it's how I feel I can pay it back to other people, especially the young motivated dreamers. I can't imagine being happy doing a random job that didn't interest me and I wasn't passionate about. I know that's what most people do, but I don't know how they do it. I would never go the extra mile (or for that matter do the bare minimum) for something that doesn't interest me. If I was doing something to make a living that didn't engage me I will admit I would not hire me.

Have you ever or do you currently have a dream goal? Even if other people think they are unrealistic, what keeps you working towards your dream? Do you have someone you aspire to be like? Role models who you can relate to can be extremely motivating and this can prove that what you want to do or where you want to go too is indeed possible. And here's my take on the popular quote, you may shoot for the stars and end up on the moon. But if you only aim for the moon you may not get far off the ground. Do you use the naysayers to motivate you to prove them wrong? Do you have a team that is supporting you with your dream goal? Because if there is 1 thing I do know for sure, it's that you can achieve much more with support than you can on your own.

I wish there was a way to see what past squash champions are all up to nowadays. How many are still involved in squash? How many are helping the up and coming future squash stars (like Jonathon Power and Diego Elias or Thierry Lincou and Amanda Sobhy)? Same goes for world champions in other sports. What do these former champions do to find meaning now that their time has come and gone? I'm sure family has a big impact on this and can help put things in perspective. Even still there's a reason Tiger Woods is still out there competing and training even though he's had countless surgeries and his back is a mess. Tiger sure doesn't need the money, but something keeps him teeing it up. I bet it's still his childhood dream of being world #1 and winning majors and these goals still have a stranglehold in his life.

I suppose this is we are so transfixed by athletes who do defy the odds and end up achieving their childhood dreams. There's a long list of books which attempt to get to the bottom of how and why elite performers achieved the results they did. All top athletes begin their sporting journey with a dream and there is nothing quite as intrinsically motivating as that dream. And for a few select hard working athletes dreams do once in awhile become a reality. Someone has to be world #1 so why not you?

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The Tenaciousness Of Miguel Rodriguez

At the Canadian Junior Nationals recently I was talking with another about the future of Canadian squash. He said he wanted the Canadian flag to represent a specific trait at international competitions just like Egypt, England and France does. Canada is such a large, spread out country and quite diverse in ethnicity and the style of squash we play and our taught. My comment was that we had to be know for giving it absolutely everything we have. Not all of our national team members are going to have the shots and fluidity of the Egyptians or move as powerful as the French do, but we can always, and I believe must be willing to outwork our opponent.

See effort and sheer tenaciousness is something that I believe Canadians would stand behind and something that is needed to be successful at the highest level in squash. This is the exact trait I would say that Rodrigues displays each and every time he steps on court. Rodriguez also hails from a country which lacks depth of professional squash players, yet he has managed to find his way right to the very top of the heap and it was his passion and effort that brought him to where he is this day and allowed him to capture his first British Open championship.

When I watched the final of the men's British Open this past weekend I couldn't help but admire Rodriguez's tenaciousness. He dived at least 9 or 10 times and not once in the entire match did he ever give up on a ball, or appear down on himself. This is why he's always a crowd favourite and so fun to watch. You think all pro squash players would have these attributes, but it's not true. When many players get way down in a game or a match, the often believe that they are too far out of position or behind on the scoreboard. When this happens they will go down without too much of a fight because they either have lost hope or are being sensible and saving energy and focus for later in the match (or if the match is almost they may have given up belief that they could come back so why continue to give it all). I don't believe you can turn on and off your ability to be tenacious when it's most critical and when you have the highest odds of winning a point or match.

Rodriguez, as per usual didn't give an inch the entire final and that might have been the difference when they got to the end of the 5th game. When a game or match is only decided by a point or two and your opponent is being worn down, that extra effort you made to stay in a rally might just be what makes the difference and when it happens on the grandest of stages it shows us all just how important this vital quality is to winning squash at the highest level.

Sure Rodriguez has excellent ball control and has become smarter with his shot selection over the years and these traits no doubt helped him win this prestigious title, but I felt it was deserved because he absolutely never gives up, ever, ever, ever! That doesn't mean he's the best player, or doesn't lose, but it does always make him a pest and an extremely tough defeat. As a coach this is what we always look for most and admire in our students. There are many highly technically skilled players who have never had such great success as Rodriguez and I think that's why we all were cheering for him to pull it off on Sunday.


Also being one of the smaller guys on tour it's motivating for all the kids (and adults too!) out there who are shorter than their peers. It shows that heart really can be more of a weapon than skill, genes or any other trait which we don't always have control over. ElShorbagy gave a tremendous effort too and appeared to be running on fumes for half of the match so I feel like it's appropriate to commend him on his effort. But he's #1 in the world and has won so many titles and he's also a big strong guy, so I was very happy to see the underdog, Rodriguez capture his first World Series Title and such a historic one at that.


Over the past few years we've had very few shocking champions in the mens' game besides when Ashour disappears with injuries and comes back months later to win a title. But we know that the major events are mostly contested and won by the guys at the top of the ranks. When Rosner won the Tournament of Champions we were all shocked, but he is still a top ranked guy and has pushed and defeated most of the top guys at some point in time. Rodriguez was unseeded and although he was ranked as high as #4 a couple of years ago, he had a super tough draw including Ashour in the first round and Farag in the quarters. I don't know what his career records were against those two, but I imagine they were not too good. So it was really great to see him and Kandra both have phenomenal and unexpected results. I love watching the best players play, but I also don't want the head to head results to always be the same.

This is why they play the game; because anything can happen if you give it a shot, give it your all and have faith in your ability. It doesn't mean you are going to win every time you step out on court, but you will give yourself your best shot, regardless of where you're from, your stature, your draw and your previous results against certain players. If there's one thing I'd like to point out to the kids I work with from Rodriguez it's definitely the tenaciousness and passion he has for the game. Goliath doesn't always win, even when he's won countless times before so step into the ring swinging and play to win. And finally, remember that being fancies is a trait that we can all possess, it's a mindset and something that you have to look at yourself hard in the mirror and ask yourself the hard questions. If you don't know if you posses it just ask some of your opponents, they most definitely will know.

Oh Ramy

A few weeks ago someone was asking me who the best squash player in the world was and I replied well it's Ramy Ashour and he either wins a tournament or has to pull out injured. I also said that Ramy is potentially the best player of all time. Seeing him pull out in the recent British Open semis was really tough. He's devoted his entire life to becoming the best player in the world and I believe he still is, but his body continues to let him down. I hope he continues fighting and isn't contemplating retirement. It must be incredibly frustrating for him, but is also equally frustrating for tournament organizers and squash was worldwide.

Even while battling these injuries for a number of years he's maintained a high world ranking and managed to keep his game at an extremely high level where he can still beat anyone in the world in a 1 off. The problem is is that he's not playing 1 offs. He has to make his way through a number of tough players. There are no easy matches anymore as the level at the top continues to get deeper. The young up and coming players like Paul Coll, Mohamed Abouelghar, Fares Dessouky and Ali Farag have all stormed up the rankings while veterans Nick Matthew and Greg Gaultier are still playing at the highest level. How is Ramy supposed to keep up with the youth movement which has youth and health on their side?

Ramy is my favourite player to watch because he proves that anything can be done on a squash court if you practice it and commit to it. When I was a kid I remember a lot of coaches saying 'don't do this' or 'you shouldn't do that' and of course 'play the percentages.' All of which is great advice for the average squash player, but for someone deeply invested in becoming a top player these mediocre terms can hold back creativity and talent. I am always careful about using the words 'can't' or 'shouldn't' when I'm coaching now.

When watching Ramy play these days the announcers on Squash TV and the viewers are all hoping that he can finish the match; yes that's right, simply make it through the match. How is it possible that he can play without these thoughts and doubts creeping in too? Life can be so cruel sometimes. Here we have arguably the best squash player ever who cannot stay healthy. Ever since he completed his 1 year unbeaten streak a few years back he's struggled with his health. He's transcended the game of squash and has made everyone around him better because of it. He's basically to squash what Tiger Woods is to golf. Even though Tiger hasn't been performing well, the ratings are still way higher when he's participating. I'm sure the same is true for Ramy. The difference of course is that if Ramy has to pull out with an injury there is no match and when this happens to be a semi or a finals it is not good for the tournament organizers, sponsors or of course the other able bodied players he's beaten along the way.

I of course love watching Ramy more than any other player, but I believe the PSA will have to look at rule changes because of how often he defaults out of tournaments. I have no idea what they should do, but it's come to a point where I believe they have to do something. Ramy has no idea when his hamstring will give out and this uncertainty is quite troubling when it happens in a later round. Obviously they can't make him continue to play while he's injured, but is it possible that who he beat the previous round can take his spot? I know that sounds insane, but we want Ramy in these tournaments, but we also want to have matches take place. I don't want to see Ramy forced to not play because he has to default too much. That isn't good for the sport and we can't force someone to continue playing with an injury. I'm open to other suggestions, but I'm sure all of us would have preferred seeing Abouelghar play a full match against Gaultier than just that 1 game against Ramy. Those seats for the semis couldn't have been cheap!

What other options does the PSA have? Is there a limit to how many times someone can default out of a tournament in a season? I know they now have a physio for the players at the world series events, so that's a good start, but clearly it isn't enough. Maybe they need to spend their own resources to get Ramy the best treatment in the world because he is such a legend and crucial ambassador for our sport.

Looking at this from Ramy's perspective it must be incredibly difficult to stay positive and continuing to register for events. He probably feels he's hitting the ball well enough to win, but isn't able to push himself in practice enough to properly condition himself. He probably also needs the money because he isn't able to play that many events and after this many defaults does it not get in his head? I wonder how he can stay positive about making it through a tournament when he arrives. I'm sure this doubt is holding Ramy back from playing his best squash. One thing I did notice from the British Open was how little he was lifting the ball. Just like when he lost to Simon Rosner in Chicago, he seems like he wants to overhit his opponents and maybe now with his body he needs to change his game and change paces more. He has the skill to play anyway imaginable and I always use to say that Ramy has the best lob on tour, but I rarely saw him play it in these last 2 events.

Any other ideas on how we can change the rules to make sure there is always a match in later rounds of big events? Should the PSA invest their own funds to help Ramy get the best treatment in the world? Should they make a limit to the number of events someone can default due to injury in a year before that person is not allowed to register for anymore events that season? All I know is I want to see more of Ramy because he still has some unbelievable squash left in him if his body will let him, but I also want to see matches contested in the later rounds of major events. What lies ahead for Ramy and his future on the PSA World Tour? Let's all hope for health, many more titles and a rise back to the top of the world rankings.

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Cocking Or Relaxing The Wrist?

When I was a kid pretty much every single good player cocked their wrist. Cocking your wrist allowed for improved consistency and power. The open racquet face at contact helps keep the ball above the tin and allows you to hit with an open racquet face and slice the ball. Your racquet face would always be presented properly to the ball allowing for a more consistent strike of the ball, unlike those that break their wrist. The increased power is from the last split second wrist movement. To explain this try and take a swing keeping your wrist cocked the entire time. Without that wrist moving you are not going to be able to transfer weight though the kinetic link properly. My point being is that there were lots of important reasons for learning to cock your wrist and I remember it being a difficult concept to grasp.

Gawad with a short backswing, but a cocked wrist gives him lots of options from this setup

Nowadays you still see the top players cocking their wrist, but you also see some (like Ramy) play with a relaxed and uncocked wrist. The style and equipment has changed which has allowed for more variation in technique and how the game is played. I thought it would for an interesting post to discuss the pros and cons of cocking your wrist versus having a relaxed one. Clearly a top player with enough repetition can make either work, but even for a top pro there are pros and cons to having a more relaxed wrist vs a cocked one.

Ashour with almost no backswing whatsoever and a relaxed wrist

I should begin by saying that players who have this relaxed wrist don't actually break their wrist. By breaking their wrist I mean the back of their hand and arm making an angle larger than 180 degrees. Someone like Ramy has such a short swing from the mid and front court that he is incredibly deceptive and quick from the start of his 'down'swing to contact. If you watch this short video I filmed on backhand drops you will also see how this relaxed wrist position allows for less tension in the hand and forearm which allows a player like Ramy to fire the ball in short with superb precision. This changes the angle of the swing, contact point on the ball and therefore the amount of spin you can generate. For example, on the backhand Ramy just swings his arm and side of his palm directly to where he is aiming at meaning he hits the bottom part of the ball (an example pictured below). While dropping with a cocked wrist anabas you to hit more the back corner/side of the bal. In theory I can see how a relaxed wrist can allow Ramy to be more consistent because there is a shorter backswing and less tension in his arm because he doesn't need to hold the racquet head upwards. From a shorter backswing one can also begin their swing later so their opponent has less time to read what shot is coming next; that is assuming they are strong enough to still hit it deep from this position.

When a player cocks their wrist (as I do in the video above) you'll see my racquet head is above the ball and I can hit down more severely onto the ball. I always tried to think of the tin as a form of net and the higher above the tin the ball is when I strike it the better angle I have to spike the ball downwards, which means more pressure I can put on my opponent. I also like the feel of the ball on the strings when I cock my wrist for my drop shots. I feel like I can get more action on the ball when I have my wrist cocked. I haven't taken enough swings like Ramy does to feel the same control or touch that he does with his flatter swing with his relaxed wrist, so I will probably never be able to switch. If I was going to try and drop with a relaxed wrist the difficult part would be that I'd be 100% committing to the drop. With such a short backswing and a relaxed wrist there would be almost no power behind my setup meaning my opponent knows what's coming. Ramy is so strong on his forearm that he can still snap the ball with some pace with just about zero tension in his arm or backswing. This is something that was simply impossible 20+ years ago when the racquets were 200 grams. Now with the lighter frames and improved strings there are a lot more possibilities.

Ashour on the backhand side with again zero backswing. The racquet starts at his leading leg and he can still hit the ball to any part of the court

So now I've got you thinking. Should I try and cock or keep a relaxed wrist? That is something that a good coach will need to help you with. I think only a really top player could make the relaxed wrist position really effective. I still coach players to cock their wrist, but if I came across a very skilled player that already had this style I would not try and change it. I can see the benefit from this relaxed wrist if you also have the snap to go deep from that position too. If you don't have the snap your opponent will be running up to get your shot every time they see that relaxed wrist and short backswing. So unless you spend multiple hours each week working on your short game, that probably isn't going to work at a high level.

What I've discussed so far is the benefits of cocking or not cocking your wrist on drops, from attacking positions from the mid or front of the court. From the front under pressure when counter dropping you will have to break your wrist to one up your racquet face to the target and to play the ball in front of you. This is the only time I break my wrist when I play and it's really difficult for me. I found a picture of Alison Waters doing this on the backhand side.

Waters adapts her wrist position under pressure to line her racquet face up to the target

From the back of the court I do feel cocking your wrist is a big advantage because it's the best way to get the ball back deep and above the tin. If you don't have a lot of time to prepare at least when you cock your wrist your racquet will be aiming up and you will have a better chance of getting the ball back deep. Also, when digging the ball out of the back corners when you're space is limited it's also important to cock your wrist to use height on the shortened swing.

But when you have time (as Ramy does below) and you're prepared early and you're not trying to play defensive you can play with a cocked or relaxed wrist. You can imagine that from the set up below most people could not get enough of a whip from this setup to get power into their shot or it would take too long that they couldn't get away with it. Ramy has hit so many balls I believe everything is about feel and he doesn't focus on his technique at all. He knows by the feel of each swing if it was hit perfectly or not so for him he knows that he is set up exactly how he wants to be. This is the one thing I think is a huge benefit from the relaxed arm; you have less tension in your arm and you can feel the ball better against your strings.

One area from the back which I should mention is if you're trying to hit a hard and low attacking drive. This can be played a few different ways. Some people (mostly the Egyptians) still hit this shot with a very open racquet face and simply have a flatter or more sever swing path to hit the ball low.

Nouran Gohar has a lot of shoulder rotation in this shot, but still has a slightly cocked wrist and open racquet face

I like actually closing my racquet face or even using some top spin. When I close my racquet face or hit with a bit of top spin my wrist is still cocked, it's just about how I rotate my arm over. So if you can picture this it may help. On the backhand side if I want to hit with a closed racquet face I simply have a forehand open wrist and arm position. Can you imagine this? I found a pic of Karim Abdel Gawad doing this. See how if he kept everything the same and just brought his racquet to his forehand side it would be a nice open racquet face. His wrist is still cocked, but is just facing down.

Gawad keeping his wrist cocked even when he closes his racquet face

Hopefully I've expanded your knowledge on this subject. To me it's a really fascinating topic. It was such a keep fundamental and then to have the best player of our generation not always do it was pretty mind blowing. It definitely shows that technique is not universal and if you can make it work consistently even under pressure maybe it doesn't need to be changed. Maybe coaches and players focus too much on technique and less about feel and shot selection? Basically these types of things make me think more open minded about squash and the technique in general. Peter Marshall should have taught us all that, but we haven't see that style at that level again since. So just because Ramy can do what he does, it doesn't mean you should try and copy it. It works for him, but it probably won't work for you unless you have fantastic hand-eye and spend about a quarter of your life on a squash court! If you're tinkering with this I still recommend not going past the 180 degree point at any part of your swing (besides the counter drop under pressure at the front) from the back of your hand to your forearm. Remember the title is called cocking or relaxing the wrist, not breaking it! Hope this topic was as interesting to you as it was to me. 

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2016 Hong Kong Open: Pilley vs ElShorbagy

Just a few thoughts on the Hong Kong Open and in particular the Cameron Pilley victory over Mohamed ElShorbagy. I feel like there have been so many upsets and close calls of top seeds falling for a number of reasons. The glass court they are using is not forgiving if you are even just slightly off your mark. I've seen more simple unforced errors from top players including whiffed return of serves, a lot more crosscourts than normal and some really loose drives and so on. It was surprising how consistently players are crosscourting on a backhand return of serve; they must have some trouble with the left wall on the glass court. Of course it's the first event back so some of the players are probably a bit rusty and haven't had a competitive match in some time. I also think the players must struggle a bit on this court.

Another reason I think there have been some upsets and really close calls is because a lot of players have been focusing on their fitness training during their time away from matchplay. Of course this also will have included a break and some time away from the game. It's a very short off season for the top players and for them to have 2-3 weeks off and then put in some off season base training they simply haven't had time to get back into tip top match play form.

I feel this is really what happened with ElShorbagy. Pilley was able to handle the pace of play and ElShorbagy was quite heavy on his attacking shots. He put a number of boasts into the tin and left his drops way too high while Pilley was much more exact with his short game. Still the match was anyones game. There were a number of poor decisions by the refs and an incorrect call giving Pilley one of the games. I was worried near the end of the match that a simple let could be a no let or stroke. I'm sure the players had a few sighs of relief on some of the calls.

I'm guessing by watching the match last night that ElShorbagy did not spend his off season polishing his short game and nor should he. But the fact the Pilley beat him last time they played and ElShorbagy was #1 and this was a tough 2nd round match for him I could see how this put extra pressure on the world #1 and wouldn't help his short game. If you leave a drop or boast a few inches too high you'll get killed at this level and that's what happened. Pilley had a pile of winners on both drops off the bounce and the volley. I feel it really shows how difficult it is to fire on all cylinders all year round. And to top it off the court is one of a kind and difficult to play your best on. It certainly makes for some interesting matches though.

Besides the superior attacking play there were a number of other things that really stood out to me about Pilley's tactical play. I noticed how straight he played from the front left. He never crosscourted unless he really had too because he know ElShorbagy was waiting to pounce on it. There are certain times he was under quite a bit of pressure and was able to hit a great straight drive and reset the rally or even reapply the pressure. The other thing I noticed is how good he was at hitting crosscourts from the back of the court when the ball gets slightly behind him. There were lots of instances where I thought the ball was too far behind him and he would be forced to play a straight drive and ElShorbagy would be waiting to pounce on it, but he was able to flick it (even on the backhand) and get sufficient pace and width on it. I found this a pretty amazing skill. I know I sure can't do that!

Last thing about this battle which I have already hinted at is the pressure of the outcome. Pilley had no pressure and was able to play more freely while ElShorbagy carried all the pressure and was playing to win. The only time Pilley looked tight to me was near the end of a couple of the games where he started thinking about the finish line. You could tell he was being much more cautious and was lucky that ElShorbagy was playing pretty cautious the entire match. You don't get away with playing cautiously at this level. It really was a great demonstration on how pressure or the lack of can influence how you play. If we focus simply on the result and maintaining our record or seeding we normally won't be at our best. Although anyone that saw Raneem El Weleily must also see that this can go the other way too! She's too talented to be out in the 2nd round, but she just looks like she is out there playing just for fun and lacks the intensity and consistency. Either way I would never bet for or against her!

A whole post about the HK Open and I haven't even talked about Ramy once yet! I haven't seen his 2nd round match yet, so maybe I'll have another post to write about this event soon. Stay tuned and please check out the Serious Squash online shop at SeriousSquashShop.com

Traditional Squash vs. Creating Chaos

Today I'm going to talk about tactics. I grew up playing an extremely attacking brand of squash, but this mellowed as I got older. If you're curious to see how I played as a young junior you can check it out here (fyi I'm the little guy!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_e8DUBYrHI

As I've gotten older and played against stronger players I feel my game has become more traditional. Is this just me doing what I keep suggesting that my athletes do? Or does it have something to do with playing higher percentage points and patterns of play? Does the new scoring to 11 (well it's not so new anymore) greatly impact the importance of each point and make it less likely to play a few risky shots? Or perhaps it's that I don't train as much these days and I can't cover the court as well? It could also be that now my length is better so I feel that I can win points playing basic squash too. Anyways, for a variety of reasons things have changed, but I still have a passion for creative and chaotic squash.

I'm always careful telling someone how to play. I do believe there are fundamental tactics that can be extremely effective. If I play basic squash better than some other player who plays the same way I am going to win that match pretty consistently unless they are way fitter than me; it's all playing the percentages and being a little more consistent will pay off over the course of a number of rallies.

I've noticed that strong experienced players greatly prefer a rhythm to their rallies. Even when doing a basic drill like rotating drives or a length game if I play intentionally wild shots they are almost always more effective against a strong player than a well struck tight drive. Many top players only practice against other smiler skilled players who have the same process goal, hit it tighter on a more consistent basis. As soon as the angles and weight of shot are changed by a substantial margin they really struggle to adapt. Their movement, reaction and accuracy on the next shot will almost always be inaccurate. This is why we see the intentional shots down the middle from the front and occasionally from the back of the court these days. We also see some slightly heavier drops at the front of the court too as this is an area most top pros don't practice hitting from and moving into. Also, when you play a slightly heavier drop if your opponent counters straight they will not be in your path to the ball. These were just a couple of example of how pros use different types of shots which put their opponents in unfamiliar situations.

At the top level all the players have tremendous basics as they've worked on that their entire squash career. But the ones that are the most exciting (Ramy Ashour!) to watch are the ones that also do things differently, dictate play and aren't afraid to mix things up and play riskier shots; they have a different vision on court than most os us do. Ramy has impeccable length, but is using it to set something up quickly while other players like Nick Matthew is more patient and using his attrition to wear down his opponents. I tell my students that there is always a best option of shot to play. This is important when learning to play squash as most amateurs will rarely select the best option (and often pick the absolute worst one!) which gets them in loads of trouble. We as coaches try and eliminate these shots from their game and for good reason, correct?

Making good decisions is critical to becoming a consistent high level squash player. When you start playing against people that have played squash for decades they get used to playing certain patterns of play and there aren't too many surprises left in store for them. This is when each player settles in to see who has the best fundamentals or who can keep up the intensity of the rallies longest and over the course of 30-60 minutes we usually find out. These opponents will normally hit their best and 2nd best option throughout the entire match and it's easy to fall into patterns because of this level of predictability. Hit it deep from the back and front and look to attack on loose mid-court balls. There is little creativity and thinking going on when you play this kind of squash because it's ingrained and they are on autopilot; every decision and shot execution is done without really thinking because it's been rehearsed over and over and over. Don't get me wrong it can be done extremely effective if you want to spend a couple of hours every day for your entire career working on the same things over and over again and hoping to do them better than the next guy. I should also mention here that if you're a creative and attacking player, you still need to work on these basics day in, day out as well, but there is a lot more to squash if you want there to be.

There is another alternative here and that is what I used in the title called 'chaos.' The degree of chaos you play will depend on your ability, open mindedness, opportunities and level of opponent. If I play people well below my level I can play zero traditional shots and they really struggle. This can be as simple as hitting non-traditional serves. Of course this level of opponent will struggle adapting to things they've never practiced against or seen before. The tricky part is when you play someone who is around the same level as you. If I attempt to play strange angles or my 2nd or 3rd or even 4th best option it could very well catch my opponent off guard, but it is also generally a riskier shot and lower percentage. This means if I play riskier shots I will make more mistakes and potentially set my opponent up for some quality openings. There is also more potential for a quick reward/opening, but there is also the threat that a high quality opponent won't let me get away with forcing the action and giving them an angle. So it can be easy to fall back into the traditional style of squash against evenly matched opponents. Sometimes you need to play more basic in these situations and the longer you do the more your opponent is vulnerable to the quick attack or unusual angle. I like to think it's all about finding how much of what you can throw at someone and still be effective.

I think there is a lot more room for chaos than we believe in our rallies. Chaos could be hitting shots right down the middle or at your opponent, varying speeds, angles and depths of shots, the spin, or using disguise and deception. You can hits shots that are unpredictable or even just change the timing of when you hit the ball. It's basically about not letting your opponent settle into that rhythm that they enjoy, practice and are searching for. Learning how and when to open up the court or hit an intentionally wild shot is what you need to learn and you can only really figure this out from experimenting in condition games and match play. I also have to mention that playing a chaos brand of squash can still be as methodical and well thought out as traditional squash. Just because you're not playing in a set rhythm doesn't mean there is a method to the madness; you simply see different types of openings than most basic squash players notice.

If you play with chaos you are also looking to disrupt your opponents movement patterns and split step. It's a rather simple for a skilled player tome into and out of any of the corners and keep a ball straight that is already close to the sidewall. This becomes much tougher when the ball is jamming them and angled away from the sidewall. When the ball is moving at an angle towards or away from your opponent it will be very difficult for them to get the spacing and timing just right to hit their target and that's exactly what you're trying to do here. If they slightly miss your target you get that opening that your opponent is trying to set up with their basic length game.

I believe it comes down to what style suits your game and what style you want to play. If you want to play traditional squash it is easier to teach and you can play it all the way to the highest level. If you are a creative person and that's what you enjoy I would encourage you to focus on this style of play. If I withheld someone from trying intentionally wild and creative shots until they were already a polished player I think it would be too late to change and they would have missed out of a lot of learning over the years.

If you want to add some chaos to your game you need to always test out shots and be able to accept some mistakes in the short term. It will be tough to play full on chaos unless you have absolutely ridiculous shots and speed to cover your shots or your opponent is quite a bit weaker than you. Your court coverage and anticipation skills play a big part in your ability to play this style of play. Some people that don't move well are forced to try and end rallies quickly and will often go for outright winners from low percentage situations. This isn't really about playing chaos as it is being desperate and forcing the play. The heavily fatigued, skilled player will generally have the chaos to traditional squash balance way off which can get them into a lot of trouble, but occasionally can also cause great difficulty for some people because there is no traditional pattern of play.

Personally, when I feel like playing creative and super attacking squash it's all about trying to push the envelope as far as I can and then going a little further. If I go a little over the line I'll get punished against a quality player and I know I am just a fraction over where I can be effective. The stronger my forearm and the quicker I get to the ball the more options I have. This is just how I liked to play, but I never fully committed to playing this style because I always wanted to win each and every match I played and often this means grinding it out and not making unforced errors. It's even tougher to stick to this chaos tactic when you're representing a team and your result effects the team as a whole.

A good example of playing not the best option is deciding when to play an attacking two-wall boast from the back of the court. Unless your opponent is hanging way back or not watching you this will always be a riskier play than a straight drive, yet we see this shot played all of the time with a high degree of success at the pro level. Deciding when and how frequently to play this boast is the key. If your setup looks like a drive you will more likely have success with the shot. But if you play a boast every rally your opponent will expect it and will begin to pick them up even if they're well executed. So learning how many drives you need to play before using that boast is a key component to its success. You can begin to overthink this too, like your opponent will never expect a 2nd boast right after you just played one. This is where you are playing the least likely shot, but potentially the riskiest. I think to do this well is a gift and is something that is learned implicitly from your experience of years and years of chaotic squash.

So which style do you play? How has it evolved over the years? How do you think the game will evolve over the decades to come? I believe it will become faster, more attacking and creative. The tin was lowered some years ago and the scoring has changed a couple of times already. The ball has also become slower because we hit the ball harder. When I was a kid we used the Merco single yellow dot and eventually this transitioned to the Dunlop single yellow. So if you're a junior and you have your sights on playing professionally one day this is something you should consider when you're training and developing your tactics and game plan.

As a coach I feel I have an obligation to focus on helping kids learn the fundamentals, but I also want to be certain I allow for creativity and mistakes. It's difficult to find the right balance when kids are just getting started. How you teach them and the drills you run at practices will have a big impact on the type of player your athletes become. If you want to be a more traditional player you'll likely do lots of blocked repetitive drills such as rotating drives and boast drive whereas the open, creative chaotic players will do more conditions games and drills with options. And remember that even if you want to be a chaotic player you still need to do the basics well so make sure you can hit your targets on all the different shots or you'll never get the time and space you need to use your creative shot making ability.

There's nothing quite like winning a point on a sneaky or risky shot. For some reason it just feels better, like it should be worth more than 1 point when we execute something ridiculously difficult or extremely intelligent and against the grain of common sense. What usually happens next for most people is they go right back to the well and either make a mistake or get burned. Finding the balance of chaos that works for your game and pushing the envelope is what you should be thinking about. I know a lot coaches will say there is only 1 way to play squash, but I completely disagree. I'm not suggesting that you completely change your style of play, but I bet there are some areas where you could play some sneaky unexpected high percentage shots and wins some easy points. If you really want to play with angles and be completely unpredictable the sky is the limit, but this again is a tricky thing to teach and learn. You'll need to be confident, commit to your shots, understand the swing/anticipation/deception, fearless, have unbelievable racquet skills and of course extremely creative.

Some people don't like risk-taking and uncertainty and prefer doing things by the book. If you're a very traditional player that plays high percentage and smart squash I guess you will struggle against chaos because this will be much different than how you practice. Remember chaos works because people aren't used to the patterns of play and the angles they constantly have to deal with. There's more than 1 way to play all the different shots and the goal is to make your opponent miss their targets and become unsettled.

That's it for today, thanks for reading! Please check out my new online squash gear store at SeriousSquashShop.com I've designed performance enhancing squash gear including shirts that say 'If You Can Read This I'm Winning' on the back of them which should help you volley more and focus on dominating the T. Plus a variety of sport psychology wristbands that have essential positive statements on them which will allow you to train harder, refocus and play smarter in competition.

Is Your Self-Perceived Weakness The Source Of Your Greatest Strength?

We've all heard the tale of David and Goliath. I even wrote a post awhile back about  common misperceptions we have about strengths and weaknesses. I'm going to pick up on these prior discusses about how your weakness could actually be your greatest asset. 

I'm only 5 7" and I was always one of the shortest kids in school. I've had many thoughts about how much better I would be if I was a few inches taller; I'd be able to cover more court and volley more shots. What I experienced sounds like a fair assessment. But we are unable to change our physical traits and genetic makeup. 

Many of us have asked the questions if its environment or genetics that allow the greatest to be successful. If only I was 6 foot maybe I too could have played professional squash. I know I've got you wondering now how can my height be an advantage? Let me explain. 

Squash is a sport that anyone can play. There are all different sized players on the tour. Rodriquez, Gaultier and Au all demonstrate that a shorter man can be a great squash pro. Nicol David has done the same on the women's side. But how exactly does my size give me an advantage on the squash court? Let's find out. 

First of all I have to be faster, quicker to react and more efficient with my movement. If I was a few inches taller perhaps I would reach for balls more and not be as fast off the mark. So yes I may have to work harder to get more balls back, but this makes me faster and fitter. Rodriguez must be one of if not the fastest and he's one of the shortest. He is almost too fast for his own good though and often hits shots that must make David Palmer cringe. 

Being shorter in stature means that my shot selection is even more critical. I can't get away with floating shots to the front of the court. I have to send my opponent up there under pressure or I'm in trouble. A lot of taller juniors I see get away with lots of terrible shot because they can dig a lot back. If they played against more polished opponents they would also learn quickly that you can't just float a ball with no purpose to the front of the court. I still want to play an attacking style of squash so I just know I need to set up better openings and be more exact with my attack. Can you see where I'm going with this? Because I don't have a go-go gadget reach I am forced to make better shot selections and execute more precisely. I know this so I've spent hours and hours working on my short game. Annie Au must be the best example of this on tour. She is not very quick, but because of this she has worked on other areas which become much stronger. I doubt Au's style of played would have been as it is if not for her size and speed. 

There are also a number of things that are advantageous to shorter people in squash. Because of my size it is harder for me to get jammed by a shot. If a ball is hit right at me I have less area to get my feet out of the way to get set. I am also lower and have to lunge less deep compared to taller players. When I play a tall person I always hit shots low and right at them. 

Also, because of my height I have a more compact swing than taller players. I can get my swing set quicker and when I contact the ball at proper spacing I am slightly closer to the ball which means means more control and balance. I have more control just like when you move your hand up higher on your grip. As you do this you are closer to your projectile (the ball) and you will generally be slightly more accurate. My balance is better than a taller person because my centre of gravity is lower and the radius of my swing is slightly smaller. 

There really are lots of advantages to being short in squash and it's helped me become the player I am. I can say honesty now that my height is not the reason I didn't become a top psa player. It has a lot more to do with quitting squash at the age of 14 for 5 years. 

A couple of months ago I had knee surgery. I also believe that this will make me a better player when I come back. I will enjoy being on court more and will try and think less about the outcomes. It also gives my mind and body a bit of a break, which is probably long overdo. On top of this having this injury has made me more aware of taking proper care of my body and I plan on doing more preventative training to stay stronger and healthier. The same could very well happen to Ramy. I believe that there is a positive side to these injuries if we stay open minded and driven to succeed. But just like our self-perceived weakness, if we only look at it as an awful thing with no positive side to it we are missing out on a lot of opportunities to learn and grow from our experience. Nobody ever wants to think that an injury can be a positive experience, but I believe they can have lots of positive consequences and when we come back from them we will have learned a lot that we just never would have if we never went through it. Guess this is where the saying, 'what doesn't kills us makes us stronger' comes from. 

Another example of the more we're challenged the more we gain is in sport psychology. The bigger the challenge you face the more you have to gain and improve from. This is the approach you must have when things seem to be going against you. Imagine if everything was easy in your matches, the ref made all the calls in your favour and you never got down in any of the games. This is a level of comfort we would all enjoy, but this situation does not present us with the best chances to improve our mental game. 

I hope I've given you lots of reasons to rethink how you perceive your so-called weaknesses. The only detrimental part of a perceived weakness is the lack of confidence you have because of your destructive interpretation of it. Perhaps looking at your perceived weakness in a new shade of light will let you see that it actually helps to make you stronger and develops other strengths you would not have otherwise. If we don't get pushed and have things too easy we won't become tougher and will never reach our potential. 

I'm a big Toronto Blue Jays and Marcus Stroman fan. Stroman's famous line is 'HDMH' which stands for 'height doesn't measure heart.' He's only 5 8" and asked the Jays to lower his height listed on their program to his proper height. He embraced his perceived weakness because he realizes that it's his greatest asset and is what gives him an advantage over his competitors. He uses his stature as motivation to work harder and has become such a positive individual and more mentally tough because of it. Surely this wouldn't have happened if he was an average height for a major league pitcher. He wants to prove all of his naysayers wrong and is one of the most motivated athletes in all of baseball. 

There's nothing quite like demolishing stereotypes and proving not only to yourself, but to others just like yourself how often we misjudge people. If you need some help believing that your perceived weakness is an asset use vicarious learning by looking at someone who has a similar perceived weakness and is successful. And if someone hasn't done it yet, remember that doesn't mean it can't be done. If you're confident and keep working at it you can do more than you ever thought was possible. Be the next David, Rodriguez or Stroman or better yet be the first of you and become someone else's example and motivation! 

The sooner you change your attitude towards your perceived weakness the more you will benefit from it. Not being good at something or being titled 'genetically inferior' for your sport means you will make up for it in another way and will be stronger because of it. This is the reason anybody can play the most physically gruelling sport in the world at the highest level.

Lastly, be sure to check out my new online squash store at SeriousSquashShop.com I have men's and women's shirts, tank tops, sport psych wristbands, hats and bandanas! Enter the code 'SERIOUSSQUASHROCKS' to receive 15% off your order! Thanks for reading and supporting Serious Squash! 

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.