Condition Games With Options

I'm home for the holidays and I've been filming some practice sessions with my brother back at my old club. Follow Serious Squash on Facebook, Instagram or Youtube to check out some of these new drills and condition games. Here'a a little peak at some of the recent posts.

Covering The Boast

Spicing Up Your Rotating Drives

Straight Drive vs. Straight or Crosscourt Drive

More condition games and drills will be posted daily so follow along for some of my favourite drills. If you like these drills check out the 2 full length instructional films for sale in the SeriousSquashShop.com/collections/coaching-videos The Secrets Of Solo Hitting and Mastering Deception are both available to download and stream and they both come with a no questions asked money back guarantee. Below is a preview for the two films. All merch in the shop is also 50% off at the moment with the code 'iamserious' Happy holidays from my family to yours! 

The Importance of Solo Hitting

How did I get good at squash? If I had to credit 1 thing over my entire life it would be all of the time I've spent solo hitting. Of course there were a few coaches along the way and the support of my family which helped, but I've spent thousands upon thousands of hours on court by myself solo hitting. Why? I wanted to get better, a lot better and the more time I spent on court hitting balls the more I improved. I loved that I could practice squash whenever I wanted and I always enjoyed hitting the ball and trying to learn new shots.

As a coach I've always told my pupils that solo practice is a MUST for any player that wants to be good. You can't make someone want to solo hit or be great. This is a quality that has to come from within the player. If you coach someone with this quality coaching is simple and really enjoyable.

As I got to a men's open level I felt I couldn't play matches everyday or I would get injured so I always tried to mix in lots of solo practice within these hard training or match sessions so I could still improve without overdoing it physically. My theory was that if I could control the better I would also have to do less work in my matches. There's also no better feeling than learning a new shot and executing it in your matches.

If you want to be able to confidently play the tactically most correct shot at any time during a match you've go to practice each of the shots over and over. You need to rehearse each shot until you've gotten extremely consistent and you no longer have to think about the technique of your swing while you hit it. If you're thinking about how to swing for a certain shot during a game you're in big trouble.   So if there are certain shots you have to think of you probably just haven't rehearsed these swings enough to become automated. Even once a skill becomes automated the level of precision for each shot must improve as you move up in levels. When you start playing just getting a drive to the back or hitting a drop a foot above the tin are well executed shots and will be pretty effective. As you improve these targets become more specified and vital to your success.

Last year Eye Rackets contacted me because of all the skill challenge videos I was posting. They started in good fun and slowly but surely people in squash took notice. In October I signed a 3 year contract with Eye Rackets and they are supporting my new venture in solo drills and skill challenges. I'm always looking for new cool and difficult drills to complete and I have a few on the to film list at the moment.

A couple of months ago I thought it would be fun to make a longer video and sell it online. I knew instantly that my 1st video should be about solo hitting because that's my most knowledgeable area and I believe it's so essential to a squash players development. I didn't realize how much work it was going to be, but after a couple of months of writing, filming, editing and marketing it is finally complete and for sale in the Serious Squash Shop. So far I've sold about 55 copies to people from all over the world. It's so neat that with the internet I can reach a small number of dedicated squash enthusiasts who are as passionate about squash, improving and solo hitting as I am. Feel free to share this with info your friends, unless of course they're also your competitors ;)

I've just put together a fun little promo video. Here it is if you'd like to have a peak.

If you'd like to order a copy of the film it's available at SeriousSquashShop.com/collections/coaching-videos and for $25 you can stream it and download it for safe keeping. There is a lot of information on this film so I'm sure the keenest will refer back to it as they work on their game and improve their solo skills.

The Secrets Of Solo Hitting Trailer

The first Serious Squash video is almost complete. All of the video shooting has been completed and edited. Now it's just a matter of adding audio to the film and releasing it. Here's a short trailer which shows a few of the drills included in the film. It will be around 1 hour long and the estimated release date is set for April 1st. Play Better Squash. Here's the trailer:

Here is the intro the film:

Trapping Your Opponent At The Front of The Court

I am back! And today I'm going to talk about the importance of volleying when your opponent is in the front of the court. This is generally much more difficult than volleying when your opponent is behind you as you have less time to react. When your opponent is up at the front of the court there are a lot of factors that will determine if you will be able to volley their shot or not. First let's discuss why this is such an important strategy to employ.

As you improve in squash you get to a level where attacking shots to the front of the court are not often outright winners. Instead these attacking shots create pressure and this is where you should be looking to trap your opponent in the front of the court and follow up your attack with a volley. If you do and can hit a decent volley length you have a great shot at winning the point or at the very least keeping your opponent on the run.

Above you can see a picture of Mosaad hitting a backhand straight drive from the front. You can see Ramy hasn't left the T yet so Mosaad must have disguised his shot well. If Mosaad had not, Ramy would be right behind him hunting the volley. Ramy does have cat like reflexes so it is entirely possibly that he was still able to cut this ball off, but I would guess this is going to get by him if it was hit with enough pace.

When you're at the front of the court and your opponent is hunting to volley the ball you can feel trapped up there. Look at the picture below of Willstrop and Selby. In this situation Willstrop is under a moderate amount of pressure and I'm guessing was about to drop or lob because he has a short racquet preparation. It would be tough for Willstrop to drive the ball by Selby in this situation. The more pressure you are under the most challenging it will be to get the ball by your opponent. This is why in the above photo, Mosaad is at the front with plenty of time and not under any pressure making it difficult for Ramy to volley. If Mosaad was under more pressure he may be forced to lift the ball.t

Hopefully you can now have a better understanding as to why volleying when your opponent is in the front of the court creates so many problems. If you want to try to implement this into your game here are some things that will help you do so.

I believe there are a couple of essential things to being able to volley when your opponent is in front of you. The first is the ability to read your opponent and anticipate where they are going to hit. As someone is under more pressure they will be less likely to disguise their shot and are more vulnerable to you jumping on the volley behind them. This leads to the second essential factor, pressure. If you put your opponent under pressure as you bring them to the from you are more likely to get a weak reply and will make your volley far easier.

A third factor that will allow you to volley more around the middle is quick feet and good footwork moving laterally. This includes being able to hit open stance and having a quick racquet preparation. You also need to be able to hit a good snappy volley with a compact backswing. To hit a short snappy volley with accuracy you need to time it perfectly. This is again why putting your opponent under pressure and being able to read their postural set up is so key to early preparation. You can even adjust your T position up or sideways when the situation dictates. If you move up and take the ball even earlier you give your opponent even less time to get the next shot.

Key Note: If your opponent is under little pressure and disguises their shot or has good holds you will need to make sure your attacking shot is more accurate if you want to implement this tactic.

Here are some of my favourite drills, condition games and exercises for working on volleying the ball while your opponent is in the front of the court.

1) Boast, crosscourt length, straight drive

2) A hits straight or court length, B tries to volley drive to self and then boast, if B is unable to volley drive then they boast

3) A plays straight or crosscourt lob, if B can volley drive they switch, if B cannot volley they boasts

4) Short vs. deep and switch on a volley drive

5) Boast, straight or crosscourt drive, straight drive

6) Straight or court length, straight or crosscourt length, anything short

7) Length game with the option to boast, must hit deep off the boast

8) 3 corner court while I attempt to not let any balls being hit from the front get into the back corner.

9) Quick mid-court volleys in pairs side to side. This is a great exercise for getting on your toes, having your racquet up while learning to react quickly to the ball.

10) Work on your lateral court movement. Try 1 person posting to either side or shadow ghosting a partner to make this movement more challenging and specific. Be sure to shape up with your racquet quickly while ghosting to prepare yourself properly.

11) Learn to hit open stance volleys with some snap on them. Try doing solo mid-court volley drives on your back foot. Most people can generate adequate pace when they have time, but when you have to shorten your backswing can you still generate enough pop to execute the desired result?

Many people are aware that especially from the front of the court on their forehand side most people have a tendency to hit the ball crosscourt. If you pick up on this shot pattern try and take advantage of it and cut the ball off. This is why you see the pros play many shots down the middle and extra wide crosscourts. They've played so much squash and have to use the entire court height and width to get their opponent of the volley.

Learning to bring your opponent to the front and then follow it with a volley is what I like to call a shot combination. Try and see if you can find one that will work and if they don't adjust keep taking advantage of their predictability or lack of precision.

This post could be written entirely backwards about how to keep your opponent off the volley when you are at the front. If you practice some of the drills above you will also be learning how to do this. This is why there isn't always a set perfect width; because this depends on your and your opponents court position. But I digress. That's enough. I know it's been awhile since my last post, so I hope this was interesting and worth the wait! Remember that taking the ball early increase your area to attack and decreases the time allowed for your opponent. The less time you allow your opponent the weaker their response will be.

Three's Company: 3 Person Squash Drills

Today I'm going to talk about some 3 person drills you can do. Most of us know a lot of drills we can do with 2 people, but are unsure of what we can do with that 3rd wheel. Some of the drills are repetitive, others 1 or 2 players will have options and some will be conditions games and really make you think. I enjoy doing a combination of them. Find which ones work for you and try and implement them the next time you are training in a group of 3. What you're capable of doing will depend on your skill levels.

Three Person Drills

1. Three person boast and drive (1 in the front, 2 in the back). You can do 1 shot or 2 shots (which means 1 shot to yourself).
2. A hits straight drive, B hits volley drop, C hits straight drive, B hits straight volley drive.
3. A and B hit drives on one side of the court. They both have the option to hit a volley crosscourt drive to player C. If they hit a volley crosscourt drive, player C hits a straight drive and then the person that hit it to this side goes over and continues the rally.
1. A and B can hit straight drive or boast. If A boasts, B has to return it with a straight drive to C's side. 
2. A and B can hit straight drive or boast. If A boasts, B has to return it with a straight drive or straight drop to C's side.
3. A and B can hit straight drive or boast. If A boasts, B has to return it with a straight drive to C or can hit crosscourt back to player A (keeps them from being lazy after playing a boast)
4. A and B play a straight game on one half of the court. A and B both also have the option to boast. When one of them boasts the other has to get it and hit a straight drive or drop to C's side.
4. A drives straight, B volleys crosscourt drop/kill, C hits crosscourt, B hits volley drive, repeat
5. A hits straight drives, B hits straight drive or boast, C hits straight drive
   
   

   a. A hits straight drive, B hits straight drive or boast, C hits straight drive off drive and can hit straight drive or court lob off boast.

6. A hits short mid-court drive/feed, B drives, A hits another short mid-court drive feed, C drives
   
   

   a. A hits short drive feed, B drives and then ghosts laterally, repeat 5 times and C goes.

7. Chase the hole/rotating boast and drive. A boasts, B drives, C boasts, A drives, B boasts, C drives.
8. A drives, B drives, A boasts, B drives, C drives, B boasts, C drives, A drives, C boasts.
9. A boasts, B drops, C drops, B drives, C boasts, B drops, A drops, B drives, repeat.
10. A drops (from back of the court), B drops, C drive
    1. A drops (from back of the court), B drops, C drops, B drives
    2. A drops or boasts (from back of the court), B drops, C drives
    3. A drops or boasts (from back of the court), B drops straight or cross, C drives or crosscourts
11. A hits boast, B hits straight drive or crosscourt drive, C volleys to straight length and if cannot volley they let the ball go back to A and they drop or boast again (as demonstrated in diagrams below).
    1. If C isn't able to they have to get the ball off the back wall and drive it.

 
12. A boasts, B hits straight or crosscourt drop, C hits straight drive (as diagramed below).

13. Three person rotating drives (no volleys allowed)

           a. each player has the option to boast or drive, off the boast the next player just hit straight drive

14. A hits a straight drop, B drives, A hits a straight drive, B straight drives, A hits straight drop, C hits straight drive, A hits straight drive, C hits straight drive, repeat

            a. A can straight drop or straight drive, B hits straight drive (go until they cannot get the ball back then C's turn)

15. A boasts, B drives, A drives, B drives, A boasts, C drives, A drives, C drives

16. A boasts or hits a straight drop, B hits straight or crosscourt drive, A drives, B drives, A boasts, C hits straight or crosscourt drive, A drives, C drives, repeat

17. A drives, B drive, A boasts, B hits straight drop, C hits straight drop, B hits crosscourt (or crosscourt lob)

With 3 people I often do king of the court 2 person drills or condition games and rotate after each rally. I enjoy making these types of drills competitive. For example you could do drive, drive boast with 2 people and then then winner of the rally stays in and gets a point. You could also do the drill until someone hits a target and/or wins the point. You can do this for any drill and with the odd breather you'l find that you can work harder and that keeping score will help the intensity and focus stay high.

You can have a lot of fun and really mix things up with 3 people on the court. I've given you 17 drills, many with slight variations which will make the drill different and in many cases much more challenging. Enjoy!

Controlling The Weight Of Shot

Today I'm going to discuss the challenges of hitting accurate depth. Even after playing for most of my life it is still a challenge to hit the right weight of shot; why is that? And how can we improve our ability to control the weight of our shot. Let's get started.

There are a lot of reasons why it is so difficult to control the weight of our shot. The first is that there is inconsistency in the bounce of the ball. A new ball is bouncier, so is it when you play on a warmer day, or against someone that hits the ball really hard. A ball also slows down the more you use it and our muscles fatigue, so over the course of the match you will need to slightly adjust your targets. Also the pace and angle of your receiving shots are quite variable. This isn't like hitting a golf ball off a tee, where you know your distances with each club within a few yards. Our string tension also slightly changes as we use our racquet. If we change racquets or use our backup this again will make the spring much different.

I also notice many people hold the squash racquet directly in their palm, as opposed to more towards the bottom of their fingers. Holding your racquet right in your palm or squeezing your grip very tight won't allow you to have that soft feel that you need to control the weight of different shots. This means you are probably more of a 1 pace ball basher. If your biomechanics aren't repeatable or are inefficient then you will also have difficulty controlling the weight of shot.

Another reason we have trouble weighting our shot is that we are rarely hitting from the exact same spot with an identical posture. We are under various amounts of pressure throughout a rally. As you well know squash is a fast paced sport played in an open environment. This makes it very difficult to get the repetitions required to fine tune your weight. Another golf example is if you never practiced the same length of putt twice in a row on the practice green. Hmm, put that may be onto something. How we set up practice in squash is normally blocked/repetitive. Even hitting boast and drive or drop - drive we slightly vary where we hit from, but we also are always hitting the same shots and trying to find the same target over and over. But I'll get back to this topic shortly.

I find another big reason most people struggle with the weight of there shot is because they never paid mush attention to it as they developed as a player. We focus most of our efforts on hitting it hard and/or tight. Until you've played a lot of squash you don't realize how importance the weight of your shots are. Knowing when you want to intentionally overhit your drive and when you get an opening and know you have to get the ball to bounce twice before the back wall. These are the subtleties you learn as you progress in the sport, but I feel you can enhance your skills by concentrating on the weight of shot in drills.

If you play a tournament or a league match at another court, the bounce on the court will vary from what you are familiar with. Going from panel to plaster is always a challenge. Whenever I'm in these positions I always focus on finding my weight of drives at the beginning of the match. Whoever can adjust to the conditions quicker has the best chance of winning.

Here are a few methods for practicing where you can concentrate on the weight of your shots.

1) Hit rotating drives or a length game, if a ball lands in the service box the other person can go short.
2) Player 1 cannot let the ball hit the back wall on the bounce or they lose the rally. Player 2 can hit anything.
3) You have to hit 3 shots behind the service boxes before you can go short.
4) You have to hit every other shot over the service line.
5) Player 1 hits straight or crosscourt length from the front, player 2 hits straight drop or boast. You can also make a switch if player 2 volley drives player 1's shot.
6) Practice with different types of balls (make, colour of dot, etc)
7) Change to a new ball between games
8) Practice with your backup racquet. Does it have the same type and tension of string? How long ago was it strung? The tension loosens up as you play with it.
9) Game with targets for bonus points placed along the sidewalls.
10) Get the ball really warm (after doing some figure 8 volleys) and then play a game or do some drives.

I also like doing drills with targets. Not just are you trying to hit the ball tight, but also find the right height and pace to get the ball to land at the appropriate depth. If you can get your drop or boast to sty a little shorter it means your opponent will be under that much more pressure. You can try just setting up a single target or you can make things more challenging but executing 2 or 3 different targets. The could all even be for variations of the same shot.

For example, you could set up various targets for your drops to bounce depending on the angle, depth, pace and height you hit them from. Instead of having the same target regardless of where you are hitting from, it should vary slightly.

This may be more obvious if I talk about drives. Here's an example during drop - drive. Set up a target in the middle of the service box, at the bottom of the service box and then midway between the back of the service box and the back wall. The idea here is that you go hard and low for the first target and then slightly raise or hit harder as you aim for the 2nd and then 3rd target. You can imagine how this goes from an attacking drive to an overhit, rallying length.

You can also focus on your weight of shot when you're solo hitting. See how many shots in a row you can hit in the service box. Then aim for the back line on the service box and then aim for 1 bounce and off the back wall. I truly believe that if you focus more on your weight of your shot in practice you will improve your ability to hit those invisible targets in your games. Not only this but you will increase your understanding of the importance of the weight of shot.

As mentioned, not only do you need to think about your weight of shot, but also about when to play which weight. Aiming for a 'perfect' dying length may not be ideal when your out of position and under pressure. I also find most amateurs generally hit their drives too short, especially on the forehand. And then when players get to a high level they have a tendency to miss out on opportunities and overhit all of their drives.

Hopefully you can now appreciate the importance of weight of shot. It's something that great players make look so simple, but now you know is anything but.

Tactical Talk: Shot Combinations

Today I'm going to discuss tactics. I'm going to talk mostly about shot combinations. What is your best shot and what is your favourite shot? How do you set yourself up to get more of these opportunities in a match? This is what shot combinations are. When you play a great boast do you instinctively look to cut off the crosscourt? Experienced players know what they are trying to do in a rally. They know their strengths and weaknesses and know how to make their opponent play to their strengths.

Top players are quite advanced tactically and have a lot of lethal shot combinations. Many plan 1, 2 3 or more shots ahead and change how they compose their rallies depending on their opponent. They will pick up on cues and look to expose them later on that rally or sometime in the near future. If they notice your hanging back on the T or not covering a short ball they will make a mental note of this for next time. Most amateur players don't recognize any patterns of play. This is a major part of learning the game and an area that can help you improve instantly. Here's how.

The first thing I like to do is think about what your best shots are? How do you win most of your points? Can you set up a game plan around these shots? Just having a strategy and thinking about your game in this way will make you better. You will continue developing and refining this as your game evolves and eventually you will be one of those crafty, smart, analytical players.

The second thing I like to do is practice drills in probable game type situations. For example, you may play a length game, but you can play a volley drop if you volley a crosscourt drive. This is one way to compose a rally with length. Hit it tight and put pressure and wait to expose your opponent when they play a lose crosscourt drive. You will begin to recognize pressure and openings and will start anticipating the next move easier. This is what makes people so fast on the court.

Experienced players will know when to stick to a game plan and when to adjust it. Just because you lose a game, it doesn't mean your game plan should change. When should you stick with it and when should you alter it? Some very experienced players will have a game plan that adjusts slightly as the match progresses while others. They know their opponent will be slowing down slightly and can open up the court more. A lot of us may play like this without even realizing it. This is why attention to detail and experience are so valuable. The better technical player doesn't always win the match, especially at the amateur level.

Before getting into specific shot combinations, I want to discuss one last thing. When you play, each shot should have a purpose. Don't just hit aimlessly to a corner. You should be trying to apply pressure, relieve pressure, extend rallies to tire out your opponent or neutralize their attack; whatever the case is, each shot you hit should have a purpose.

Now let's look at some shot combinations. I'm going to talk about possible combinations after you execute a good shot and put your opponent under a bit of pressure. Of course there are shot combinations on the defensive side of things as well, but this is more on your opponents terms than yours!

Following up after a straight drive that applies pressure: this depends on the depth, pace and tightness. The more pressure the less options your opponent will have available. This is why this is such a great shot. If you hit a dying length your opponent will be limited to a boast or back wall boast. You should be able to see them shaping up for these and then you have to know what you want to do to finish them off. If they hit a weak boast do you play a quick counter drop? This depends how high their boast is and how quick you get on it. You can also get their early and delay and then send it right back to the same corner. This doesn't work often at the amateur level as many amateurs sit and wait in the back corner when they think the rally is over with. So you should practice attacking off of a boast and back wall boast so you are comfortable when these situations arise. If you're opponent is only under a moderate amount of pressure they may be limited to a straight drive or a boast. This means you can poach on the T and look to cut off the ball if the hit a drive and you can still cover the boast. If you get a loose drive do you play the volley drop, boast or a hard low crosscourt drive? Again this depends on what you are good at and how well your opponent hit their drive. Practice volleying off a straight drive when you know they can't get a crosscourt by you.
Drills to practice:
1. Rotating drives with the option to volley crosscourt drive
2. Rotating drives with the option to boast, you can hit anything off of the boat
3. Length game with the option to go short off the volley, straight or crosscourt length off the short ball
4. Straight game (short or deep)

Following up after a crosscourt drive that applies pressure: a good crosscourt drive should make your opponent unable to hit a crosscourt drive back behind you. So if you hit a good width you should again be look g to force a boast. At the worst you want to limit them to a straight drive or a boast option. If they are under pressure you can anticipate a loss drive and look to volley it. The options you'll play off their boast or loose drive are quite similar to the ones above.
Drills to practice: see above (after a straight drive that applies pressure).

Following up after a tight drop shot: if you get your drop right on the side wall they will be very limited. If they are late to your drop and it's tight they will be even more limited. Here is where you get behind your opponent, push up on the T and look for the loose drive and stroke or a weak crosscourt. Only the top players will be able to hit a decent width off a clinger. If your opponent manages to hit a counter drop or lift the ball high and tight the tables may turn or you may have to rest the point.
Drills to practice:
1. Straight drive straight drive drop
2. Straight drive straight drive, straight drop, straight drop
3. Straight or crosscourt drive, straight drive, straight drop, straight or crosscourt drive
4. Long, long, short
5. Boast, straight drop or drive, drive off the drop and boast off the drive

Following up after a working boast that applies pressure: the later the are to the ball the less options they will have. If they are late they will have a lot of difficulty trying to counter drop or hit a straight drive. If you hit a good attacking boast you should look to volley a loose crosscourt drive. If they do happen to go straight it will likely be off target and you can still cut across and look for the stroke. If your opponent happens to hit a good lob then you just reset the rally.
Drills to practice:
1. Rotating drives with the option to boast, straight or crosscourt length off the boast
2. length game with the option to boast, anything off the boast
3. Straight drive, straight drive, boast or drop
4. Boast, straight or crosscourt drive, straight drive

Following up after A lob:
Drills to practice:
1. Boast, straight or crosscourt lob, straight drive
2. Boast, straight or crosscourt lob, straight drive, if you can volley the straight drive you can drop or boast
3. Boast, crosscourt lob, straight drive, if you can volley the straight drive you can hit a straight drive of boast
4. You can only hit under the service line if you volley

You can see this is just a list of the most common shots that produce weak responses. You can also expect certain shots back because of how someone sets up for the ball and by their shot history. There are also a number of other shots that you can hit that can produce weak replies. Basically you need to know what to do in the front and middle of the court when your opponent is stuck in one of the 4 corners. It's great to set up the loose ball, but you need to know what to do with it!

After a shot from any corner if I hit a good shot that limits the opponents options at all I'm looking to poach my position on the T and cut the ball off. If I didn't hit my best shot I will have to wait more in the middle of the court until I can either anticipate what the shot will be, or if it's a top player until they actually hit the ball. Most amateurs I can read very easily, but you don't want to give time to a good player, especially at the front of the court.

After Your Best Shots - whatever your best shots are you should know which options your opponent is limited to after you hit them. This of course is assuming that you hit your target. Just as above, when you squeeze your opponent or put them under a lot of time or spacial pressure they will be limited to what you can do. How do you follow your shot up and keep the pressure on? If they hit a quality defensive shot you may have to reset the rally, but you should be expecting a loose response after you hit your best shots. If your opponent is putting you under pressure off of your best shots chances are they are reading you too easily and/or they are at a higher standard.

Basically anytime you can hit a shot that limits your opponents options you are in good shape. Don't let these situations pass you by. I've talked about many of them already.

Another way that players think ahead a number of shots is by lulling them to sleep. Some smart players will lull you into a pattern and then apparently at random will do something that completely catches you off guard. They are likely thinking about setting you up for this well before it happens. They may have it in mind that they are going to hit the first few shots deep from the front and bury you further back in the court and then play a trickle boast later in the game when they need a point. I'll go one step further and not play any 2 wall attacking boasts from the back of the court until later in the match. When the person is starting to get comfortable, hanging back slightly on the T and perhaps even moving or leaning their weight before I hit the ball I'll mix things up on them with a boast. As they have been lulled into this length from the back and are not as fast off the mark, this is normally a winning shot or at a minimal puts them under a lot of pressure. If they don't get the boast back they expect to see if again pretty soon.

Many players have a general strategy when the play. They may for example want to keep the ball to your backhand. So when the ball is over on the forehand side they don't just hit it crosscourt every time. This would be too obvious and it's difficult to do off of a tight ball. So here they may wait until they have an opening that they know they can get the crosscourt wide enough and by you. Once they have done this, depending on the quality of their crosscourt you will be limited to what you can do next. They will then likely have a combination to play afterwards. If you hit a straight drive they may be there to volley it, either a drop if it's loose or something deep if it's tighter. If they forced you to boast they will read this and try and get on it early and have many options to attack. So you can see how important experience is. A technically strong player that has no game plan and is not thinking ahead is always going to be on the receiving end of the rallies and reacting to what the smarter player does.

In the end it doesn't matter how pretty your swing looks and how hard you hit the ball if you can't think the game. Squash is a very strategic game. You should spend a lot of time not just refining your technique and shots, but learning to make decisions, play combinations of shots, while also learning to anticipate and deceive your opponents. And everyone is different, so to be best prepare you need to play a wide variety of players. This is also why I think condition games and drills with options are so important to do. We learn when to keep the pressure on, reset, how to get out of pressure and it keeps us thinking. When we do a repetitive drill our brain can be pretty inactive as we don't have many decisions to make. We may be thinking just if you can volley or not or if you need to hit the ball before or after the back wall, but if you'r not thinking about which shot is the best option. Make condition games a more integral part of your training.

There are countless ways to win a point meaning there are endless combinations. Can you find one that works well for you? Which is you best shot? It may be any chance you get to play it. What is your most effective shot combination?

Attacking From The Back Of The Court

Today I'm going to talk about attacking from the back of the court on the bounce. As a coach these shots are normally considered risky, low percentage or ill advised. But for a player with confidence and good racquet skills these shots are important and should be practiced. Most people only practice length and boasting from the back of the court. No wonder most people can't attack well from back there. Becoming effective at attacking from what is normally considered a defensive position requires a lot of precision and will mean a lot of mistakes learning how to hit these shots well. So if you want to incorporate them into your game spend extra time fine tuning these shots.

I'm going to start off with who should learn these deep attacking shots. Not everyone is suited to play attacking shots from the back. It takes a lot f control to hit close to the tin from the furthest possible location on the court. So if you're still having trouble hitting a length out of the back I wouldn't concern yourself with attacking drops, but I may introduce an attacking boast. Some people are just not very attacking players as they rely on their retrieving ability to make the rallies long and physical. Some players just don't have the control to attack from the back mostly due to faults in their mechanics.

If however you have solid mechanics, decent touch, good footwork and you want to be a complete and creative player learning attacking shots from the back is an important skill set. This is an advanced skill, but like any skill set in squash the earlier it's introduced the more natural the shots and style become. I also believe that to attack short from the back you also need to be able to cover these shots. So if you are quick, move well and fit you may be a candidate for working on these challenging shots. The attacking boast in particular is played quite regularly with a high degree of effectiveness in the junior girls and women's game at every level.

Now let's discuss why you should learn to attack from the back. The first reason that comes to mind is that it keeps your opponent honest as you have more options from this area of the court. I see many people hang well back on the T or that don't move well and if you hit a drive you are almost hitting the ball right back to your opponent. Other players don't watch very closely while on the T. If you had a good attacking short shot from the back you will not only work your opponent very hard into the front corner but you may win the point outright. It takes a lot out of the legs to move to the front under pressure and get back to the T. This in turn makes you drives more effective later on as they move up on the T.

Against top players, a loose ball can be attacked with a high degree of accuracy from anywhere in the court; this includes the back corners. Whenever I hit a ball slightly loose and under or overhit a length I feel uneasy on the T. Against a good player I know this is an opening and they have any options. To attack well from the back you need time and space. You shouldn't make it a habit of attacking short from the back off of a good length. These are shots that are also best played if used sparingly. If you always go short from behind your opponent you are asking for trouble as they will just move their T up to cover the front.

Time to learn how to attack from the back and what type of shots you can play. Here is a list of the backcourt attacking shots you can play.

Straight Drop - the main goal is to get it tight to the sidewall. If you can get it to come up short hitting just above the tin that is a bonus.

Crosscourt Drop/Flick Drop - I don't see people play this too often. When it is played you wouldn't be wise to go for the nick. You are better to aim to get it tight to the sidewall by the time your opponent would be playing the ball, so just before the second bounce. You can also flick it crosscourt which can be quite deceptive.

Straight Kill - I like this shot because the setup looks like a straight drive. You can hit it flat or with an open racquet face to take some pace off the ball. The further the ball is off of the sidewall the more severe you can hit it, meaning you can go for the nick. As the ball is tighter, you are better just trying to ht it parallel to the sidewall.

Crosscourt Kill - I see even less of these into the nick then the crosscourt drops from the back. Normally the shot that works here is bouncing twice around the short line. You hit is so low and with the right width that it catches your opponent off guard. It is normally most effective if played infrequently.

2 Wall Attacking Boast - this is another one of my favourites because again the setup looks like a straight drive. If you can delay your swing slightly you can catch your opponent flatfooted on the T. Even if your opponent gets to the ball, but is late they will be limited to what they can do and you can probably keep the pressure on them the next shot.

3 Wall Attacking Boast - this is a shot I hit when I'm feeling it. If you don't hit the nick it doesn't normally spells trouble. You need to do a lot of boast and drive to get good at this one.
Aussie Boast - this is a shot I see very sparingly, but is normally effective. It's kind of in between a straight kill and a 2 wall attacking boast. It just clips the sidewall first and the angle actually makes the shot come towards the middle of the court, but bouncing twice before the T. This shot is played rarely, but can be effective if refined and played irregularly.

Reverse Boast - this is a dangerous one that I don't recommend to amateur players. I know Shorbagy hits it once in a while, but I've never seen him peg someone with it. An amateur would. So don't do it unless you are in front of your opponent or you play hardball doubles.

The above mentioned shots can all be improved by being deceptive. If you are really talented with your racquet skill you may even be able to make a shot look like one shot and hit another. This is easier for say shaping up for a drive and hitting a boast or a 2 wall attacking boast. Can you shape up for a boast and hit a straight kill? Can you shape up for a drop and hit a straight drive? Can you shape up for a straight drive and hit a crosscourt drop. If you can execute some of these skills well you will drive your opponent nuts. It takes a lot of time on court to get good enough to play these shots in competition against talented players.

This is an area of the game that I feel most people are quite weak and for good reason. This post is more suited for elite players or young juniors with high aspirations. Think about what options you have from each spot on the court. Can you add in 1 or 2 new ones? Maybe you don't bring them out in serious competition, but in practice matches go for it. You'll need to make a few mistakes if you want to get good at them, so be prepared to stick with it regardless of what happens.

Ok, so you're psyched up to attack from the back. How do you practice this. Well for starters, solo hitting. This is what I did all the time as a kid and I got pretty good at it. Defy the odds and make turn low percentage odds into high ones for you! Here are some other drills you can do to practice your attacking shots from the back of the court.

Two Person Drills and Condition Games For Attacking From Back
1. drop drive
2. boast drive
2b. boast or drive to self and then boast, drive
3. drop or straight kill drive
4. Drive drive drop
5. Deep vs. short
6. Deep vs. short (short can be hit with pace, anything landing first bounce before the short line)
7. Long long short short
8. Rotating drives with the option to boast
9. 1 player can hit anything, the other only length
10. 1 player has to hit every shot into 1 back corner, the other can hit anything

Just like any other skill, if you want to become proficient at attacking from the back you need to spend time refining it. I suggest that you have the skill to attack well from the front and middle first before practicing too much from further away.

On the flipped of this topic, if you are getting beat on short attacking shots from the back of the court simply move your T up. If you're still getting beat move up even higher. Force your opponent to beat you with a perfectly weighted drive. And of course this also means that your length is not putting any pressure on your opponent. Sometimes you play a person who is out of shape with good hands and you know they want to go for winners every chance they get. This can be a tricky opponent because you are are relying on counter attacking and that they make mistakes. Focus on your lines and stay high on the T. If you force them to hit length you are extending the rallies and giving yourself the best chance to win.

Do you have an attacking shot on the bounce from the back that works for you? Which shot that I listed would benefit you the most if you added it to your repertoire?

Amateurs Give Crosscourts A Bad Rap

Today I'm going to discuss crosscourt drives. When I watch most amateur players I see a lot of crosscourt drives and a lot of poor ones at that. Are you hitting too many crosscourts or are you just hitting them aimlessly? A good crosscourt is a great shot at any level. While a poor crosscourt rarely works out. Although I should note that hitting the ball right down the middle is a shot that can be very effective if done sparingly. But I digress at that's not the topic of today's post.

So why do most people crosscourt so much? I believe that some of the reasons include being too close to the ball, it's easier to clear straight back to the T afterwards, their body is open to the front wall making it more difficult to hit straight, they are late to the ball (at the front anyways), they don't trust their ability to hit it straight and tight plus they want to hit it to their opponents backhand. A high level player will see these shots coming and pick them off and make you pay. Maybe at a lower level you get away with hitting everything crosscourt, but that won't cut it as you move up the club ladder.

The danger with a crosscourt is that it can open up the court for your opponent. This means if your opponent hits the ball before you get to the T they will have space to attack straight. The qualities of an effective crosscourt depends on the court position of you and your opponent. It also varies on what type of crosscourt you are trying to hit, a lob, a drive,or a hard low kill all have different targets. Let's take a look and see what your targets should be for each of these shots.

I always have people asking me what makes a crosscourt length effective. This isn't as simple as for straight drives. We all know that a straight drive that is tight, deep and hit with pace is very effective. So what about a crosscourt drive? Hopefully I can clarify the qualities of a good crosscourt drive.

To start with the main objective is to get the ball by your opponent. The angle then depends on where you receive the ball. Let's say you are in the front right corner and your opponent is in a neutral T position. If your opponent is one that looks for the volley you want to hit the side wall outside of his reach. If your opponent doesn't volley you will get away with slightly less width. The reach and anticipation of your opponent also plays a major factor here. This is why the top pros hit the ball down the middle.

Let's continue with this shot setup. You're in the front right and your opponent is on the T. How deep do you want the ball landing and how hard do you want to hit it? This depends on how balanced you are at the front. If you are late to the ball you'll want to lift it to give you time to get back to the T. If you have time and you're balanced you can be more aggressive and hit it lower and harder. Most people hit this shot landing before the short line and if you do this it better be a winner, otherwise your opponent will be hitting the ball before you have time to get back to the T. If this happens to you try and hit the ball a little higher still with pace, but getting it to bounce for the 2nd time near the back corner. This will give you a bit of extra time to get back to the T and your opponent will still be under pressure if you hit the correct width.

If you are mid-court and your opponent is stuck behind you, a good crosscourt to play would be the hard low kill. You don't need to worry about time to get back to the T because you're only a step away. For this shot you don't want to hit as wide as the side wall will slow the ball down and give your opponent more time to retrieve your shot. This is a very effective shot, the problem is that people try and hit this when they are further away from the middle of the court which exposes their positioning.

Lets talk about crosscourts from the back corners. This is where a lot of players get in trouble, not just amateurs. I have a rule for hitting a good crosscourt here, your opponent should not be able to hit a crosscourt by you off of your crosscourt. An effective crosscourt should limit your opponents options. If you hit your target they should have to boast and if you just miss your target they will be able to dig the ball out straight down the wall. So you can see how a crosscourt can be a great shot. It limits what your opponent can do and most top players look to follow up a good width with an attacking shot. It's important to remember that a good crosscourt needs to get to the back corner. The width you hit should be around the back of the service box, which is likely across from your opponent. The softer you hit it the higher up on the side wall it needs to hit to get to the back of the court. If you hit the ball too wide it comes back towards the middle of the court and is almost as poor as just hitting it right to your opponent.

When I play against most amateurs they normally get into patterns. They want to crosscourt from the forehand and play straight on the backhand. This is why it is so easy to volley against them. It is also much more difficult to hit a good width on the backhand side. And if you are unable to hit a good width from the backhand side your opponent can cheat and pick off your straight drives. So this is a very important shot to learn and it can be very effective. If the ball is too tight or it gets slightly behind you on the backhand it is extremely difficult to hit crosscourt. Don't try and force it crosscourt. Just hit it tight and a bit higher. So if your  opponent is waiting to cut it off it's a bit higher in the air and you have a fraction of a second longer to move up and get ready to retrieve if your shot isn't running parallel to the sidewall and they decide to attack.

An effective width is a subtle thing that I feel is unappreciated at a high level. As a coach we always tell people to hit it straight and I feel a lot of that is because people don't know what their target is on a crosscourt. It's also because we practice hitting straight drives more than crosscourt drives. If you're solo hitting or doing boast drive or if you're doing a lesson, you hit many more straight shots than crosscourt ones. No wonder most people don't know how to hit a good width.

2 Person Drills To Practice Your Crosscourt Drives
1. Boast, crosscourt drive
2. Boast, crosscourt drive, straight drive
3. Boast, crosscourt drive, straight drive, straight drive
4. Straight drive, straight drive, crosscourt drive
5. Straight drive, straight drive, boast or crosscourt drive
6. A boasts, B can hit straight drop or crosscourt drive, A tries and volley drives the crosscourt to switch or they can counter drop of crosscourt drive off the drop.
7. Short vs. deep
8. Short vs. deep but they switch front and back whenever the person in the back can volley drive the front players shot
9. Boast, straight or crosscourt drive, straight drive
10. Boast, straight or crosscourt drive, straight or crosscourt drive (if you can volley this shot you can drop instead of boasting)

Condition Games To Practice Your Crosscourt Drives
1. Length game
2. Rotating drives, if you hit a crosscourt drive and it gets by your opponent you win the rally, if they cut if off and are able to hit a straight volley drive they win the point
3. Length game, if you volley off the crosscourt you can do anything
4. Every shot goes crosscourt (short or deep). For different levels of players you can let them set themselves up before hitting crosscourt.
5. opposite 2 corner court (e.g., front left and back right corner)
6. 3 corner court. practice crosscourts
7. Everything has to be straight (short or deep)  + you get 1 crosscourt each per rally
8. 1 player can hit anything, the other has to hit everything to one side of the court (short or deep)

That's it for today. Remember that you need to know your target and that they change depending on the court position of you and your opponent. Are you hitting to many crosscourts or are they just not hit accurately? An effective crosscourt drive limits what your opponent can hit. For an advanced player they need to not only hit their target on their crosscourt drives, but they must disguise them to be effective, especially when their opponent is on the T.

What Is Good Length?

Today I'm going to discuss a topic that was suggested to me by a reader. I'm going to talk about what makes good length, drives, lines or rails. I think everyone know that hitting the ball tight is important, but what other qualities make up good length? Length is the base of the game and whoever hits better length will normally win the match. They normally win because they will spend more tim in front of their opponent meaning they will be able to volley more and hit more attacking shots off loose boasts or drives.

When I was a kid I didn't value length. I basically only hit length when I couldn't attack short. I didn't realize the pressure you can create with length and that it helps to set up a better opportunity to go short. So yes, I understand that length is essential to playing a high level of squash, but what exactly defines it? Good length can be hit straight or crosscourt. The qualities of a good straight drive are different than a crosscourt obviously. With either shot the main objective is to get your opponent off the T. Depending on the caliber and location of your opponent will dictate how tight your drive or wide your width has to be.

So you get your opponent off the T with your length, that's great. But when you get to an even higher level giving your opponent too much space and time even from the back is dangerous. My second objective with length is to limit the number of options my opponent can hit. If I hit a great length they should not be able to hit crosscourt and if I hit a near perfect length they may be limited to a boast. You can see how this is a huge advantage. Now I can shift my T position and cover only 1 or 2 possible shots. I would also anticipate a looser reply and look to attack and stay on the T. If you can consistently get your opponent off the T and limit their shot options you are going to do well. But that's not all that defines someone that hits good length.

We can't always hit dying length and we shouldn't always try to. When we are out of position, under pressure, or your opponent hits a tight shot we need to play more defensive and hit a rallying drive. A rallying drive is meant to come off of the back wall and gives you more time to get back to the T. If we try to hit an attacking drive when we are in a defensive position and we don't hit our target our opponent will have an opening to attack and we won't have time to get to the T. So being able to overhit your drives when under pressure is an important quality. There are many ways in which you may have to play a length under pressure. This can be off your back foot (open stance), choking up on your racquet and shortening your backswing in the back corner when you have limited space, or trying to return a shot that is running right on the side wall. Great players can consistently hit high quality shots under pressure. Having good footwork, balance and strength is important for hitting high quality length under pressure.

So we have a good idea about what makes someone good at hitting length. Knowing when you want to hit the ball low and hard, medium pace and medium height, or high and soft are al important qualities. Many people never lift the ball from the back corners, but this is a shot I really like. Shaman is one of the best at lifting the ball from the back and getting his opponent off the T. I believe this change of pace and height is an important, but not an essential quality for being great at hitting length. People that hit everything one pace are more predictable and are prone to make mistakes when they are under pressure.

Most of what I've discussed so far as only applied to straight drives. Crosscourt drives aren't that much different. The main problem with most people is that they hit crosscourt too often and not wide enough. If you hit it too wide you may ed up with a let or even getting drilled by your opponent. This is still better than hitting it too loose and they cut it off. If your opponent knows a crosscourt is coming it has to be hit so precise or it can get your in trouble. That's why I feel that disguising your crosscourt length is essential. This is another trait of someone that hits good length. Not only are they pinpoint accurate, but they also don't become too predictable and they can disguise their shot.

A good width depends on where your opponent is standing around the T and how long their reach is. You'll even see a few of the pros play crosscourt drives through the middle to keep their opponent on edge. If you hit a great width they should have to boast. They should definitely not be able to hit a good width in response to your width.

There are a few other qualities that I haven't mentioned yet. To be top notch at length you need to be able to adapt to different courts, opponents, and balls. When a court is slow or a ball is lively it dramatically changes the game. Footwork into and out of the back corners are also extremely important to hitting good length. Also I feel that the efficiency of the movement into the corners is important. Whoever can do this smoother and expend less energy will have a better chance of winning. The backhand side (for righties) is of particular importance. This is where many rallies take place and if you hit the ball tighter than your opponent here you can always play this side when you need a point. To be a high level player you should be able to keep it very tight here all day long. Personally it's about getting your racquet head squared and running parallel to the sidewall at the point of contact. I've hit so many of these drives that I can feel the slight tension in my forearm at the point of contact and it allows me to be very consistent with my timing.

The other thing I haven't mentioned yet is another advanced skill, spin. People generally hit the ball with a slightly open racquet face on the backhand side and higher on the front wall. When you have time and space I like closing the racquet face and hitting the ball flatter and with more pace. You will see some pros hit with a slight topspin or flat racquet face quite often.

The last quality of good length is something similar I talked about earlier, disguising and being less predictable. Top players can attack well from the back corners and this makes their length more effective because their opponent has to play a higher T and cover the front as well. Although this isn't hitting length, it's a subtle thing that improves the quality of their length hitting.

Knowing when to hit which type of length takes practice. So does being able to hit the ball parallel to the side wall like Shabana. Solo practice is great and so it doing rotating drives and length games. I like using targets for different types of lengths. I also recommend doing some technical testing to see just how accurate you are. Now I'll finish off with some conditions games you can practice and an overview of the most common errors on peoples length game.

Length Based Condition Games 
1) You get 1 short shot each per rally, everything else is length
2) If the ball lands short int he service box you can hit anything, otherwise you have to hit length
3) Length game, if you volley you can go short
4) Rotating drives on one side of the court (e.g., the left side). A player gets a point if they hit a crosscourt width that gets by you to the right side of the court. If you cut it off and can hit a straight drive you get a point
5) Straight game (short or deep). 5B) You can add in a crosscourt or trickle boast from the front to keep them honest
6) Straight (short or deep) vs. anything
7) Deep, deep, short 7B) deep, deep, short, shot
8) Rotating drives with option to boast for 1 player. If they get the boast back they they now have the option to boast. If they don't the other player gets the point and still has the boast
9) Everything over the service line except 1 shot per rally can be hit under
10) The player the won the last rally can only hit length, the other person can hit anything

Common Length Errors 
1) Too many crosscourts
2) Crosscourts are not wide enough
3) Length is too short (especially on the forehand side)
4) Overhitting all of their drives, which doesn't create as much pressure
5) Hang too far back on the T
6) Don't use disguise
7) Unable to shorten their backswing and dig out tough balls
8) Failure to use height and vary the pace
9) Unable to play off their back foot (open stance), especially when under pressure
10) Drives are it too late and hit into the sidewall and slow the ball down

That's it for today. I hope you enjoyed the post. Thanks again to the reader who suggested the topic! I'm always open to suggestions if you have one. I'm leaving soon for another tournament with the kids so I may not have a post for a few day. The World Championships are starting today, so I should have lots to talk about. I saw a post on Twitter about how little the players make. The winner gets a little less than $50,000. After tax, maybe that's around $40,000 to be a world champion. If you make it to the quarters and lose you get a little under $10,000. Crazy low and it shows that all professional squash players do it for the love of the game. And that they will all need a job after they finish playing professionally!

Drills To Groove Your Swing

Yesterday I talked about the importance of repetition and more specifically the importance of repetition of the proper technique. I'm going to pick up where I left off. Today I'm going to discuss some methods for grooving your swing and to improve the consistency of a variety of shots. When I say groove a swing I am talking about how consistent is that stroke shot after shot; better players have a more repeatable swing and there are a number of different important swings we need to groove to become an elite player. I will list a variety of solo practices and 2 person drills that will help you groove your swing. I should say swings plural, because having good technique and a well grooved drive swing isn't going to mean much for your drops, lobs, or any other shot really. And you need to be able to change your drive swing when you have limited space or under time pressure.

Solo Drills To Groove Your Swing
Straight drives - aim to hit the floor and back wall. I like to see how many in a row I can get within a 2 or 3 floor boards. When you get to a high level it's about how frequently you can get the ball within 1. You can also use a target for the depth. Sometimes I will use the back  line on the service box. When you do this you will have to hit the ball before the back wall. You'll notice that when you do this drill you have less time to prepare and the ball is travelling away from the front wall, rather than towards when you hit it off the back wall. Just a slight change like this can make it more challenging.

Figure 8's - this is one of the most popular as it builds up arm strength endurance. If you can't do volleys yet start on the bounce and work your way up. When you get better on the volley try and aim for the service line or under. This means you'll have to hit it with pace. It's not just about how many you can do in a row but how many you can do in a minute or 2 that is more challenging. On top of strengthening your arm this drill is also great for shortening your swing and having quick racquet preparation.

1 Corner Hard Drives - this is like doing half of a figure 8 drill but is tougher. For a right handed person you will hit hard and low forehand drives into the front right corner at an angle that makes the ball come back towards the middle of the court just in front of the T. For me I find this drill better than figure 8 volleys because where in figure 8's your follow through leads to the backswing for your next shot, this isn't the case in the drill. Here you have to hit the ball hard with a short swing and get your racquet set again quickly. This is my favourite drill for shortening and grooving my swing. It's also a very difficult one to do on the backhand side.

Short Hitting - this is similar to the 1 corner drives but you don't hit the sidewall. You stand just in front of the short line and hit the ball one the bounce back to yourself. This is basically just hitting a very short straight drive. As you get better you can hit with more pace and change which foot you hit off of. This is another good one for shortening your swing and increasing your strength.

Short Hitting Volleys - this is the same as above but you don't let the ball bounce. I've found that this drill has helped my volleys enormously. I can now volley pretty accurately even off of a tight ball. When you get good at this get it going with some good pace.

Self Feeding Drops On The Bounce - I like to do this after the ball is warm and by hitting a high 3 wall boast. I then hit a straight drop and then repeat on the other side. When the ball cools down a bit you do some short hitting or figure 8's and get it warm again. You can also do this with a blue dot or a 1 dot so the ball stays bouncy. You want to be able to play these drops when the opportunities present themselves. You can't be thinking about how to play them so you need to practice them over and over.

Self Feeding Drops On The Volley - you can do this as part of your figure 8's or as part of your short hitting volleys. I like standing around the short line and hitting 2 volley drives, then 1 volley drop and repeating over and over.

If you have trouble with some of these drills you have to ask if it's a lack of strength, poor preparation or if your technique is the issue. If the technique is the problem take a lesson. If it's a lack of strength or poor preparation keep trying and it will improve. Now lets take a look at some repetitive drills you can do with a partner to groove certain shots. Because there is only so much you can do solo hitting. Your shot is very much impacted by your opponents shot

Two Person Drills To Groove Your Swing
Drop, Drive - this is a basic one and is effective for both shots. You just need to maintain your focus. I find having targets is good for this. You can also switch say after the driver hits a target once or hits 10 drives. You can also move up on play volley drops. You can also slightly vary this drill to drive drive drop or drive drive drop drop.

Boast, Drive - this is one of my favourite and the most common warm up drills. It is very challenging to hit a tight straight drive off of a boast. Don't do it just as a warmup, have a goal and targets. See if you get hit lines like Shabana next time you do this one.

Rotating Drives - this is another very important drill. The straight drive is one of (or the most!) important shots in the game. You can spend years working on this. Focus on getting back up to the T, knowing when to overhit it and when you have a loose ball you can attack. Also important is to learn how to get back drives when you run out of real estate. Can you shorten your backswing and choke up on the racquet and get it back down the wall? Are you making good decisions about when to take it before the back wall and when to wait and hit it after.

Boast, Crosscourt Length, Straight Drive - this is a good drill to work on a number of areas. You can work on your volley off of their crosscourt length. You can also work on hitting good width or even your lobs off of the boast.

Drive, Drive, Boast - this is another favourite and a popular one. When you start volleying it can be a pretty intense and fast paced drill. You know what's coming next so your accuracy has to be high. When you get fatigued or are a little late to a boast how well does your swing hold up? Can you shorten your backswing and lift the ball and keep it right along the sidewall? Many people will try and crosscourt when this happens. You have to have great dexterity in your wrist to keep this shot running right along the sidewall.

Feeding Drops - although you can work on this while solo hitting there are certain incoming shots that are difficult to reproduce. You can do drop drive as I mentioned above or crosscourt drive, the person hits a straight volley drop and then hits a crosscourt drive back to you and you play your volley drop. You can do this on the bounce or the volley. This is a good one to break up some tougher drills.

Remember that the serve and return of serve are 2 of the most important shots. They should be hit without thinking about the technique. So be sure to incorporate these into your practices. Sometimes I will do rotating drives but start with a serve to get that extra bit of practice. Be sure to groove all of the swings of the shots you're going to use; your straight and crosscourt drives, lobs, drops, volley drops, boasts, trickle boasts, serves, return of serves, and so on. You need to be able to recall them when needed without thought.

When you get to a high standard you will focus on more advanced refinement. Shortening your swing without losing power, cutting the ball more, hitting it flatter, faster preparation, disguising your shot, deceptive shots and so on. As you get better the margin for error is also smaller. So when starting a good drive may be anywhere behind the service line on the same side of the court. Eventually it will be behind the service box and within the width of it. Then a good length will be half the service box width and then 5 or 6 floorboards. Eventually it will be only 1 or 2 floorboards off the sidewall and the depth will be just as important. This is a good way to progress and monitor your progression. Count how many you get within a specific target in a set amount of time or given number of attempts.

The danger with these repetitive drills is that you can get lazy with your feet and your focus. You can move without watching, not get to the proper spot on the T, and not having to think about which shot to play. This is why it's important to do drills with options and condition games. Hopefully you understand the importance of both types of practice. Maybe you're familiar with the terms blocked and random practice. In my masters program there was more of an emphasis on random practice but I know that blocked practice is essential for grooving a swing, learning how to play different shots, how to become more consistent with them and increasing your confidence to play them. The great thing about squash is that we can go and hit balls on our own. Golf or basketball are the other sports that come to mind in which it is easy to solo practice. But I've always enjoyed this part of squash. You want to get better, go in and spend the time hitting some balls, grooving your swing and the results will come.