Playing The Percentages

Today I'm going to talk about percentage squash. I don't like telling people when to hit which shots, but there are clearly times where a specific shot is a superior choice to another. Some players are more attacking or defensive in their nature; this could be due to their preference in style or their current technical skills. The challenge for the less skilled is that they are so focused on immediate results that they don't always play the most tactically sound shot. Defensive or attacking minds alike, the game has become faster and more attacking. This means there are times were the defensive players will need to learn how to take advantage of the openings they get, while the attacking players need to walk the fine line of forcing the action and being too patient waiting for the perfect opening.

I recently read an article written by my old coach from university, Jack Fairs. The article is called 'Playing The Percentages - The Corner Stone Of Effective Play' and was published on September 16, 1985. Knowing how much the game has changed over the past 30 years I though it would be interesting to see how the tactics of squash have evolved as our equipment, training methods, scoring and our knowledge of the game have advanced.

Jack's main concept in this article is that you should play percentage squash; basically hit high and deep from the back and low and attack when in front of your opponent. Jack further explains that when you receive a loose ball and you fail to attack you let your opponent off the hook and are not playing the high percentage, attacking shot. So although it may at first appear like a defensive strategy it really isn't, it's just about setting up a higher percentage attacking shot. We often see kids go for nicks when it's not really on. They may even hit 1 every so often, but playing winning squash is about setting up higher percentage openings and limiting your number of errors. Below is a decent decent model of this I found online. It's a basic stop light model about where on the court to attack or defend from.

The basic strategy of defending from the back and attacking when in front sounds simple, but I still don't see it performed on a consistent basis. If you want to get better at implementing this tactic try and play condition games were you can only go short when you're in front of your opponent, or you can even try one where you must go short when you are in front of your opponent; this will allow you to commit to your short shots. I see a lot of players that only hit length and pass up these golden opportunities that they create. You can also try using some markers to section off the court so you must hit beyond them when you are in the back corners. This will ensure you are hitting your length deep and high enough while attempting to play smart, high percentage shots.

I believe the biggest challenge is to stick to a basic strategy like this for the entirety of a match. Learning how to stick with your game plan for a prolonged period of time can be challenging physically and mentally. Sometimes we lose patience or our focus for just a second and then the next thing we know we are trying to hit a drop from a low percentage situation. We then get rattled about our foolish decision and give away another cheap point. Next thing we know our opponent has done nothing and won 2 or 3 rallies in a row. Top players very rarely have these prolonged blips in performance.

Another way to practice playing the percentages is to use a 20+ year old racquet. I feel like many people today try and do too much because of modern day equipment, but this doesn't always mean the shot they are hitting is the correct, high percentage shot. If you play with an old, heavy frame you will realize quickly that you need to become more basic and need to set up a golden opportunity if you want to attack short effectively. Pictured below is a picture of the old school, but new Harrow racquet. I have one of these and enjoy practicing with it.

So when does the above strategy not apply? When I play, I'll go short when I notice my opponent hanging back to far on the T, if they are slow to the front or are getting tired. If you are going to go short from the back, just make sure there is a reason to why you are doing it and that you are properly balanced and set when doing so. Most people just get impatient and force the ball short trying to do too much. Watch the pros and notice how rarely they will attack from the back of the court and they have the best racquet skill in the world and they also play on a lower tin. A well disguised attacking boast in the women's game can be extremely effective and is one shot I really believe is essential to playing at a high level.

If you want to attack from the back you must 1) know when the right time is and 2) know who this will work against and 3) be able to attack with a high level of skill. Another area I noticed as I developed as a squash player is that many people like to just hit length and if you do this you will make very few mistakes but you will be out there all day playing the match. So I would like to throw in a working boast at some point in the first game to find out what they do. Some players will always hit it back deep and to your backhand side so if they fall into this predictable trap I will do it over and over to shorten up the match and avoid the long, drawn out length rallies waiting patiently for an opening.

When you're nearing the end of a game or match most of us begin to think about the finish line. The person leading often begins to force the play instead of sticking with their strategy all the way through. If you're down in this situation you have to realize that the person ahead is prone to losing focus and making a few cheap mistakes and then will likely get tense about giving up a lead and missing out on the previous game balls. So when you're down in a game and the end may seem near, just play very basic squash and you may be surprised what can happen. While if you're the person leading in the game your best strategy is to keep doing what you're doing and not let any game balls go to waste.

Even though attacking only when in front is an extremely effective strategy and if you followed this you would be much tougher to beat, there are times when attacking from a lower-percentage court position can actually be a high-percentage play. It takes a lot of practice and experience to know when these situations are in a match and how to implement them. There's your strategy talk for the day. Keep it basic and simple and you'll be tougher to beat and you'll ensure that if you lose, it's your opponent beating you, not you beating yourself! For the more skilled, advanced and experienced players there is a time where being less predictable is the right play, but don't overdo and force the play or you'll be asking for trouble!

2015 Canadian Junior Nationals

Well I'm back again after a pretty long absence. But it has been a very busy time of year for me, but enough of the excuses. Let's get on to today's discussion. Today I'm going to talk about the overall style and game that I saw at the Junior Nationals last weekend in Calgary. There are some incredibly fit and athletic squash players out there. Much more athletic than I ever was.

Overall I think most of the kids handled the altitude and the bouncy ball pretty well. When I hit with some of my kids I noticed right away the need to shorten your backswing and have your racquet set early. The ball just got on you faster than it would at our home club. If a kid had good racquet prep they managed the bounce fine, but if they were late they would spray the ball out loose. I felt that the bouncier courts magnify technical or tactical deficiencies. If you had late racquet prep you really paid the price; also if you had a poor short game you had pretty much no short game on these courts. Certainly a hug advantage for technically superior kids and for those from Calgary.

With such a bouncy ball one area that could have been used better is deception. It's so easy to hold and flick the ball when it's fast. This is one area that I thought really lacked overall. This is how you make the court play bigger and tire out even a strong fit pair of legs.

Another area that I felt was absent was the finishing shots. Of course with a bouncy ball this is difficult. In general I thought most kids were scared to go for it when they had an opening. They may go short, but would give a lot of margin and used their short game as shots to move their opponent around. But of course this is what the Canadian Coaching books tell us. We don't go for winners, we hit pressuring attacking shots. If a talented player works at it they can hit outright winners when they get the openings. I know this is difficult to do with a bouncy ball if the kids aren't used t it. But all the kids are fit and fast. If you get an opening and you're an attacking player you should go for it. Too often I saw a kid just hit it to the back again. Guess this is why our kids are so fit; they can't end a rally. It made me think about what some Egyptian kids would do with similar loose balls and it was clear to know what was missing. In general our kids are technically strong and good athletes, but when you get to a certain level everyone is.

For me the problem is that we (coaches, parents and the kids) don't accept short term mistakes for long term gain. We see someone hit the tin and we shake our heads and ask them 'what were you thinking?' No wonder they end up just hitting length. A lot of time I also feel that the style of the coach is inherited by the athlete. Some of the coaches played when the game was different, mainly the scoring and equipment. I think the best coaches have to be open minded to how each kids enjoys and wants to play. Obviously we want them to be successful, but more importantly we want them to become the best they can possibly be. If you are an attacking player, practice your drops, nicks and overall attacking game. When you get a loose ball in your matches you won't hesitate to go short, you will just slot it in.

I know length if the base of the game, but there is a lot more to it. It will be interesting to see how the game evolves over the coming years and if any kids will step up and change the way junior squash is played in Canada by becoming more deceptive and attacking. You see it occasionally from the young kids, but that gets coached out of them as they make too many mistakes. How many tins do you think Ramy has hit in his life? That's why he has such an amazing shot game. Just like how Kobe has missed the most shots in the history of the NBA. But every shot he takes he fully believes is going in and he never stops shooting.

If you want to as well spend the hours and hours each week required to add this part to your game. Try practicing with a ball machine or a bouncy ball so the ball stays warm. It's much more difficult to take the ball in short when it's hot and lively. Play aggressive, play to win and hit some winners!

What did you learn from the Junior Nationals? Does the style of play and coaching fit the low goals that most players set? The club had profiles of many of the top athletes posted and many just want to make a varsity team. One coach I talked to there thought so and asked where all the kids were that wanted to become world champions. Looks like Canada is poised for a future of mediocre National Senior Teams. All it takes is a one to prove me wrong and I indeed hope someone does!

Conventional vs. Unconventional Squash

Fresh off of the World Championships I thought it would be fitting to discuss conventional vs. unconventional squash players. I have to warn you right off the bat that this is a lengthy post, maybe my longest of all time. I hope you enjoy nonetheless. I've spent a lot of time thinking about squash and have had a lot of healthy debates about the strategies and tactics for playing winning squash. I could write a bunch of posts on this single topic and I would love to hear people's opinions and talk it through with all of you, but we'll see where it goes. Since most people that have gotten instruction on how to play likely play structured and conventional squash, maybe this won't be as interesting to you as it is for me.

We've all had trouble moving up through the ladder, especially in the Men's C division in particular against a few hackers. The ones that spray the ball out, don't clear properly, are wild and hit it hard. For kids, these are the toughest opponents to beat. You feel as though you're such a better squash player, yet somehow you lose. Well this is just one example of an unorthodox or unconventional squash player. Clearly this type of opponent just lacks skill and ball control. Even thought they can be tricky to play against, today's post is not about how to beat a hacker or play like one!

As I talked about in a previous post, I used to play very attacking as a young kid and did it well. I put up a link to me playing when I was 11 and 12 at the junior nationals. Although I mentioned in that post that it would have been nice to have a bit of structure to my game and some coaching. Possibly I would have been more successful, but if I did have that extra coaching maybe I would have felt limited and wouldn't have enjoyed the game as much as I did as I was creative and would 'think outside of the box.' I always enjoyed the challenge of trying to prove people wrong, that I could attack from anywhere and still win. Can this style work at the highest level of the squash world? Let's find out.

As most of you could probably guess, Ramy is certainly an unconventional player. This just means he doesn't play like the other pros do. This is why Ramy is so fun to watch; he doesn't just hit length after length; he has a purpose behind all of his shots and is fearless going for a winner at any time. Ramy will play shots that most coaches consider low percentage to the rest of the planet, but to Ramy he has practiced these shots over and over and they have become high percentage for him. Ramy also gets away with this because he reads his opponent so well. Clearly Elshorbagy wore down during the finals as it is hard to replicate the type of movements, the twisting and turning and the stoping and starting you are forced to do when you play Ramy. I think Elshorbagy is the fittest and strongest player on the tour, but even he wore down. So clearly there is something to Ramy's unconventional brand of squash. Of course this doesn't mean this style suits everyone (or anyone?). Let's look into this in greater detail.

Conventional and unconventional can mean how someone swings, their grip, which foot they hit off or simply their shot selection. Today I'm going to talk mostly about shot selection, varying the pace, being unpredictable, using deception, anticipation and open vs. closed type of squash. Open squash to me means using angles while closed squash means trying to keep the ball straight and attacking off of your opponent's angles. Some people just play the game and don't pay much attention to it, but everyone has a style of play that they prefer. If you can dictate the style you will probably come out on top.

Let's look at Ramy, if any of the top players try and emulate Ramy's style they will inevitably lose the match..nobody can play his game better than him. The only hope of beating Ramy is to get him into more structured rallies and bore him and slowly wear him down and hope that he forces the play and makes mistakes. This happens so infrequently as he reads the court so well you would have to be pin point accurate on every shot. Although in the quarter Bojra Golan had a lot of success just counter dropping Ramy every time he went short. I didn't think Ramy was himself in those first few games though. I should also mention here that the one downside to Ramy's style is that even though the rallies are short they are hard on his body. They are using all 4 corners and he plays at a high intensity. So not only is his opponent doing a lot of tough movements and twists, but this also exposes Ramy to some of these physically punishing movements as well.

I should mention that I'm not encouraging everyone to go out and try to play like Ramy. Just that there is something to be learned from this thinking and style of squash. Playing to win instead of playing not to lose. When I'm working with kids I try and avoid using the term 'don't hit that shot.' Because I truly believe there is a time and place for every shot. If we coach by saying you should always hit shot x from position y, even if they do this well they will become predictable and are not thinking while they play.

If we look at other players like Nick Matthew or James Wilstrop, they play better when there is more rhythm to the rallies. They wait patiently for an opening or counter attack off their opponent. While Ramy can create his own angles to attack and he can also counter you dare open up the court against him. This is an example of open vs. closed squash. Some people play very well in straight games and length games and others prefer opening up the court to expose their opponents weaknesses and to apply pressure. Which type of squash do you play? Which style do you enjoy watching?

Conventional is more basic tactical decisions, not forcing anything when it's not on. When it is on they attack straight. Nothing spectacular, few unforced errors and they try and grind you down and beat you on their accuracy. Unconventional players can have all different types of styles. Basically they don't allow you to get into a rhythm, they play shots that go against the grain. For example, they may hit a lot of crosscourts, change the pace a lot, attack from the back, hold and delay their shots and so on. Some unconventional players hit the ball loose as well, some on purpose others not. This makes it uncomfortable trying to control the rallies and play volleys from areas that are normally practiced. This is what Elshorbagy did quite brilliant in the semifinal against Matthew. Matthew looked quite uncomfortable trying to control the ball and keep it tight.

I like to think of unconventional squash as creative and often unpredictable. When we watch someone win a point in an unimaginable way that we can only sit in awe because we know we would never think to play that shot yet alone execute it with such accuracy. We admire the zone they are in and the poetry in motion. Yet even the most attacking and unconventional players such as Ramy will play the smart/higher percentage tactical shots at times. Ramy has a great lob and can get out pressure like no other. If he tried to attack all of the time he wouldn't be as good. He knows when he can force it and when he needs to back off and wait for at least 1 more shot. I think Ramy exposes the lack of creativity we see at the front of the court from all of the top players.

Jonathan Power was so dangerous at the front when you gave him time. Shabana is as well, but isn't as quick to the ball these days. If Ramy doesn't hit a flat out winner, he isn't worried about leaving his opponent at the front as he constantly traps his opponent up there. You can imagine the type of pressure you must feel when you're at the front of the court with Ramy waiting to bounce right behind you reading you like a book. None of the players have enough variety and are not deceptive enough. This is why I chose to write my masters project on decision-making from the front of the court. There is a lot of room for improvement in this area of the game.

So how can you become more creative? Well I think the big thing is to play condition games and drills with options. When you practice repetitive drills over and over such as boast drive or rotating drives you may get more accurate, but there is no decision making involved. There is a place and time for these drills, but you will not become a creative, play an open style successfully if you routinely practice in this way. I like running condition games that allow people to try new shots or take away shots they regularly play. This is how people can add to their repertoire.

Conventional squash works up to the highest level and there is nothing wrong with it. It suits some people and if they tried to play attacking and open squash they would do poorly. The trait likely has a lot to do with how a player as coached, the players they watched and idolized when they were young. Even though I enjoy watching and playing open and attacking squash, I know there has to be a balance and the fundamentals come first. It doesn't matter how creative you are on the volley or at the front of the court if you're always under pressure. I also feel it's important to cater to the individual. I wouldn't try and make someone play outside of their comfort zone if they didn't enjoy it or want to.

As I wrote in a previous article about Egyptian Squash http://www.serioussquash.com/2014/09/why-egyptians-are-ruling-squash-court.html, this is why I think they dominating the squash world. This creative style of squash is an art form and encouraged in Egypt. They want to make shots that most coaches would never teach their athlete. Does that mean other nationalities can't play, coach and encourage unconventional, attacking and an open brand of squash? Of course not. It just goes against current coaching curriculum. Everyone just thinks, well Ramy is a unique one off example and exceptional. Yes this is true but that doesn't mean we shouldn't rethink our coaching strategies and the tactics we teach to our youth. Because Ramy has played so open squash he has had more opportunities to learn how to read players from the front of the court and has no fear of attacking short at any time. I don't feel that someone can completely change their style once they've become an accomplished player. If Nick tried to play like Ramy he wouldn't be successful; but really who would?

There are an unlimited number of ways to win a squash rally. If you're still unsure if you're a conventional or unconventional squash player, do you win most of yours the same way or do they vary greatly? Do you build rallies? Do you have structure? Most good players need and want this, but some that are daring to be different and not follow conventional methods have been very successful.

Ramy is an obvious selection, but there are some other Egyptians that play unconventional or at least play some unconventional shots and do it extremely we'll. To name a few: Mohamed El Shorbagy, Karim Abdel Gawad, Mohamed Abouleghar, Nour El Sherbini and Raneem El Welily. The thing is when someone like Abouleghar doesn't hit good enough length to put the top guys under pressure he cannot play his creative and free flowing squash. Players like Ramy, Raneem and Sherbini have the basics down so they create openings quite quickly and can move their opponent around the court. And who remembers Peter Marshall? Somehow with a 2-handed forehand and backhand he made it to #1 in the world! Peter is an even more extreme version of unconventional, but this is more about his technique than his shot selection. I also find it interesting that Marwin Elshorbagy plays a much more traditional style of squash than his brother. Will he get as good as his older brother? He did pretty well in juniors and he's still climbing the ranks. Time will tell. Even if does, who do you enjoy watching more? Who promotes our sport better? Who will attract new fans and hopefully help sell squash as an Olympic sport?

Last but not least..so you want to know if you can play a more attacking and an unpredictable type of squash? What do you need to be able to do? Well for starters you need to use trial and error when you play and stay positive regardless of how it goes. I actually made a chart to count how many shots I have from each position of the court under various amounts of pressure. This is easy to do. How many do you have? You may realize how you only use part of the court from certain areas. Some other keys to playing more attacking, open or unconventional is to be a good volleyer, vary your pace, have soft hands, be able to attack short and in various ways from anywhere on the court, have a quick and strong wrist, be deceptive and anticipate well.

The challenge with coaching juniors is how much time do you spend on working on the more creative types of shots and decision making versus the fundamentals? It takes a significant amount of time to become effective at either skill set. Personally, I like to work on more than just straight drives within a lesson. With kids I normally work on variations of swings, swing paths, varying the pace and height as well as spin. I think working on more variety of shots and swingpaths improves a persons touch and feel with their racquet. Of course you need to have a grooved and consistent swing for your drives. But if you focus just on your length you'll slowly improve this area of the game, but you won't be able to do much else with the ball. One day you'll probably come up against someone that exposes you're lack of attacking shots and creativity. I don't think I've ever lost to someone that I hit better length than, but I also have an effective attacking game and am dangerous on the volley and deceptive from the front of the court. If I wasn't, I probably wouldn't be able to make such a statement.

Odds are most people would benefit from a mixture of both styles. If you play pretty conventional and than just sparingly throw in a random shot you will probably catch your opponent flat footed. If you want to be the next Ramy Ashour you better solo hit every day, or even twice a day to change your racquet into a magicians wand and even more importantly you have to believe in yourself and the long term product. When I see someone try some of Ramy's shots they usually don't go over well, it has to be learned from the start and practiced over and over. We're lucky that we get to see people like Ramy play and succeed so we know that it's possible. Perhaps we can't teach someone to play like Ramy, but we can certainly encourage and foster someone that shows potential to play different or unusual brands of squash.

My last point here is that to do well at playing unconventional squash at a high level you have to make a lot of mistakes in both shot execution and decision making. Try to envision how you (or your pupil) wants to play as they develop and get older. As a coach we shouldn't tell them to play the way we want them to play. We can offer suggestions and our philosophies, but in the end it's up to them. If they want to play creatively and attacking squash don't get upset at them for forcing some shots and hitting a few unforced errors; this comes with the territory.

If you read this entire post I'm guessing you must be a hardcore squasher. Hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to share your thoughts on conventional vs. unconventional styles and just squash tactics in general.