Today I received an email from a father asking for advice for his son who is a strong player, but a perfectionist. His boy is having trouble handling making mistakes and appears like he is close to quitting the game because of the amount of pressure he's putting on himself to play perfect squash. As I started writing my response I realized that what I was writing about was probably quite a popular issue that good squash players face. This is a psychological issue and something that can be improved. I've included below the email I responded with.
Thanks for the email. Being a perfectionist is kind of how most squash players get to a really high level. We aren’t happy with poorly executing shots in a match and practice them over and over to do better. I remember as a kid always wanting to play a perfect game and playing all shots exactly as I wanted. As a kid I didn’t realize how absurd this goal was. As I got older I learned to focus more on the shot selections. As a kid we often make mistakes playing a poor choice, but as you get more experienced and learn to focus on shot selection you make less mistakes and hit higher quality shots. Shot accuracy can always improve, but when you’re playing the wrong shot it doesn’t really matter how the execution was.
An exercise I’d recommend is having your son chart a professional match and make a note of how frequently even the best players in the world don’t hit the ball exactly where they want it. Perhaps their boast chips the 2nd side wall or they don’t hit their crosscourt wide enough. Even the best players miss their targets at least a few times each rally, but usually get away with it if it’s close enough and they are fast enough to recover. It’s impossible to play a fast paced open skill sport like squash perfectly, but the aim should be more on good decision making and consistency to targets will improve as the practices accumulate.
That’s about all I can offer. Hope it’s helpful. And in final, a break is not always a bad occurrence. Kids have to go through things on their own sometimes so don’t put added pressure on him with your expectations for him. He’s not you and what you would do in his position is very different and should not be compared. Best of luck.
Do you have any other tips that could help someone in this situation? Have you had to learn how to deal with this? Obviously the pressure of competition and playing against another good player will force you into making mistakes. As you improve your ability to reset after points, learn to get out of trouble after hitting a weak shot will all make you better at staying in points you may have previously lost as you were too down after missing your targets on a couple of shots.
When I play my best squash I'm able to not let mistakes bother me at all and focus only on shot selection. If my shot selection is good I can live with the outcome. Some shots are just difficult and given that same situation and shot 100 times maybe I would make it more times than not, but a strong player can play higher percentage shots where they have very imitated risk and because of this can execute the shot with more confidence.
Being able to commit to the shot you hit is a sign of confidence and something you you are going to have trouble doing if you are playing a low percentage shot or tired, or even physically and mentally fatigued. So technique and accuracy in solo hitting is great, but it certainly isn't the most important trait of a top squash player. If you've read the recent article about Dessouky after his loss to Rodriguez you'll know what I mean. Fares is the most technically and physically gifted squash player on the planet (possibly 2nd is Ramy is healthy), but still he lost to a basic, super fit and mentally strong squash player, Miguel. Rodriguez was prepared to go further for the win and this made the difference. It really demonstrates how critical the mental game is from being a perfectionist to being able to bring your best squash on each and every day at the highest level in the game. Enjoy and embrace the challenges and lessons that this sport teaches us. Anyone can become mental giant with practice and discipline, just like acquiring any other skill. Miguel demonstrated that pure tenacity and determination can be victorious even against the very best in the world!
A couple of years ago I wrote a post about what I would do if I could go back and coach myself now knowing all that I know. I mentioned a number of things, but there is something I would add to that list. One are I would definitely like to go back and do is work with a personal trainer and even take some group fitness classes. When I was young I had a treadmill, stationary bike and a weight machine in my basement. Even though it was great to be able to do some cross training and certainly something is better than nothing, I really I had no idea what I was doing or how much to do of everything.
Even as I got to university I generally ran our team practices along with the off court training. I would often take the team to run hills and do wind sprints by the squash club. On court we would do random drills and often finish with some court sprints. When I was a kid I just don't think any junior worked with personal trainers. Parents already invest enough money into lessons, camps and tournaments so what's the point of a personal trainer, especially on a weekly basis? At the university level we all knew the importance of off court training, but again we weren't specialist so we just did what we thought we should do. The idea of working with a personal trainer never even crossed my mind. At university I was on a very tight budget on I couldn't afford such luxuries. I always worked hard, but to get the most out of it that effort needs to be guided into the right direction.
Now that I'm 35 and have had 1 knee surgery and many years of coaching under my belt, I've finally come to a realization that I have to regularly work with a trainer, see a physiotherapist and get a massage. It helps now that I can write off a portion of these expenses through my work medical coverage, but still it is a difficult concept spending a few hundred dollars per month of these luxuries. The difference now is that they are all essential, especially trying to deal with the decades of playing and coaching.
If I could go back to a child and coach myself I would very much like to work with a personal trainer and have someone help set up a training program for me. As a squash player you're never quite sure how much of what to do and parents are always cautious about their kids lifting weights. Squash is such a 1 sided sport so it's an essential part of self care and not only will it help your squash game it also will help you avoid long term overuse injuries which I have been dealing with the past few years.
I know from taking the level 3 coaching courses in Canada that squash coaches are expected to be able to plan out an athletes physical training. To me this is absolutely ridiculous because this is not our area of expertise. I never had an annual training plan when I played and I've worked with some pros that don't use one. I think they can help some people, but are not necessary. And what good is an annual training plan if we don't know when to mark up which type of training? I mean sure I know we need lots of cardio and agility and I can help improve your court movement. I know strength training is important, but not too frequently during the season. But how am I supposed to tell a pupil how often to do which exercises and which types of training are best at certain times of the year? They have people who are specifically trained to do this so why in the world would someone expect me to know how to do this as well as a trained expert on the subject? Surely I should I only be expected to know how to coach?
Most squash coaches can get you fitter. We can run you through some ghosting an court sprints and circuits. But knowing the specifics of the technique for each movement, duration, intensity and frequency is something personal trainers should handle. Learning how to lunge and squat properly is critical in training and for squash training. I don't know any professional sport in the world where the coach runs the conditioning part of an athletes training. I heard awhile back that the fitness and conditioning coaches in football are the most important parts of the coaching staff.
I believe that our kids would be better off with a personal trainer working on this part of their game and the coaches focusing on the squash side of it. This is the beginning of building a team around an athlete. Being a well rounded athlete is essential to playing at a high level of squash and avoiding injury. The only way we will optimize the hours we spend off court training is learning how to do it properly, so I am all for personal trainers/strength and conditioning coaches.
How young should kids begin working with a trainer? My trainer says around grade 8-9 is when a kid is most trainable and is a great age to start working with a trainer. Kids bodies adapt so quickly if they are working on the right areas with proper technique. I wish I had this opportunity when I was a kid, because I had the shots and racquet skill, but was quite small compared to the other kids so would get overpowered. I also dealt with some knee problems on and off. These are things no squash coach I had could have fixed. These are areas I believe that a quality personal trainer could have helped me with though.
It's so hard maintaining a high level of every type of fitness trait throughout an entire season. We shouldn't worry about slightly lapses in 1 area if we are concentrating on another area. I know I often stopped strength training during the season because I was on court so much, but this is another area i wish I had stuck with even just to maintain my strength and off season training gains. Being young and not having the money to fund proper training was a real issue for me. So how could I have changed this? I could have tried to get a group of 3 or 4 of my peers together and work in a group setting with a trainer. I could have also signed up for some group classes like a spin class or yoga. Sometimes in squash we think we can do it all by ourselves because it's an individual sport, but the sooner you realize you can't and shouldn't the better off you'll be.
If you fortunate enough to have a great trainer in your corner you'll know how much they're helping you for your game. Even now when I play a strong player, I normally have the shots to contend with someone, but it's the physicality of the squash at this level which I have trouble with. I know it's not genetics, it's simply a matter of proper training. Look no further than Paul Coll or Fares Dessouky to see how important off court training is. The way they can move on court and for how long is because of the off court training. As you get better in squash you should be spending more and more of your time training off court. Not only are you trying to get fitter, stronger and faster, but also avoid injuries. You've got to be healthy to compete and handle the physical demands to play at the highest level.
Looking back at the old sign posted up in my squash club as a child, 'Get Fit To Play Squash, Don't Play Squash To Get Fit' holds more and more truth to me now. Back when I was a kid it was more about the endurance, Jonah Barrington insane level of endurance. I don't know how many of the top players lose these days because of aerobic endurance, it's more the intensity and pressure of the rallies, or even injuries. In hindsight it's easy now to say that Ramy is probably dealing with his injuries from major overuse, which is also a necessity to becoming a top squash player. How would things have been different for him if he had a top personal trainer working with him as a child? We rarely do proper training to prevent injuries until they begin to occur, but that doesn't have to be the case with squash.
How much of what you need to do off court to train for your level of squash depends a lot on your body type, genetics, your style of squash and your training history. I feel it takes an extremely experienced personal trainer to know exactly what is best for each person. There's simply too many individual differences one must take into account that it's unrealistic to expect a squash coach to have this wealth of knowledge. Training people in large groups as a squash coach can offer some overall strength or fitness benefits, but if you have lofty goals for playing at the highest levels you must seek beyond your coach for the strength and conditioning compartment. It takes a team of special individuals to allow 1 person to succeed. They likely charge as much or more than you squash coach will and unless you understand just how important they can be to your success I doubt you will invest in one. Hopefully I've given you a few reasons to reconsider this.
Let the coaches coach and the trainers train. Coaches should be able to help you with your technical, tactical, mental and squash specific movement patterns, but the off court training does not fall under our realm of expertise. Squash Canada, like most other countries should change their coaching curriculum accordingly. I believe they should include more mental skills training and discuss about how to build a team and program to allow kids to succeed from the grassroots to pro level. I think they should also want coaches about doing too much physical training with their athletes when they are unqualified and their students could get injured. The challenge here is that if many of our athletes aren't already doing some fitness training outside of squash we feel we must include some in our practices. It's simple to include fitness training into a group session, but if it is exercises are done without the knowledge or ability to correct form there is not much good coming from these sessions.
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Just recently I ran a camp for some of the top kids in the province and we discussed routines and the importance of them in squash. I tried to emphasize the importance of prematch, post match and between rally routines. Similar to explaining the importance of warming up or stretching after a match, it's difficult to get across the value of such activities until they're required. When kids are starting out playing squash they simply play and a routine isn't really all that relevant. For those of us that have played a lot of squash we know how vital our routines are to our success.
Today we're going to take a look at why routines are important in different areas of your game and how you can use them to play more consistent squash and get the most out of each session. I believe that the mental game is the most important trait in becoming the best you can be. The moment you become satisfied with your level is when you become complacent. Using habits in a variety of ways is how the best athletes stay on track and perform at their best each and every day. Let's go through some of the ways that positive habits can help take your game to new heights.
Building Mental Muscle
Building winning habits is both about about how you prepare for practice along with how you practice. When it's time to put in the maximum physical effort you do while equally crucial is your focus and attention to detail. I always think about the famous quote about how 'training starts when you want to stop.' This is how some people are better at pushing themselves further and closer to their actual physical threshold. I also like to use an analogy I read in a boo about walking on hot coals to explain this concept. At the beginning we jump off quickly because it's hot and painful, but with practice you're able to push further and further along the hot goals and withstand more pain. We not only need to be able to push ourselves along those hot coals further and further, but we also need to build a habit to do this. If we only push ourselves when we're having a good day and feeling up to it we will never build a true champion habit. I always look at how people do when things are going well. When you're tired, a bit sore or not playing your best do you still manage to give absolutely everything you have on the day? Very few of us actually are able to do this so if you want to start building a winning habit this is an excellent place to start and a great platform to build off of. You don't need talent to give your best effort every single time you practice or play.
Having a weekly or monthly plan is another method for building a winning habit. As humans we tend to gravitate towards routines and we adapt to them quickly. Although I'm not a big fan of a full year training plan (especially for kids) I believe that having that weekly routine is another critical way to steadily improve. If we just wait to see what the day brings or how we feel we will likely have days where we are less motivated to go out and train. I think a week or monthly routine keeps you in check, accountable and gives your body time to adapt to whatever it is you're doing. I suggest slightly altering the routine week after week and consider it a working/live document. This is a tough balance to have with the above paragraph where we want to have a hardhat and be mentally tough and alway give it our best. But when we're overtraining or a bit injured or stressed we need to listen to our bodies and know when to ease up a bit. This is something your coach or trainer can assist you with, but is really something you have the best perspective of. As a coach many of us would aide on the side of caution because of liability and worrying about the safety of our athletes so you can see if we are too soft here we will never toughen up and we'll always be looking to cut corners.
Prematch Routines
Do you have a prematch routine? Many people simply show up and get their shoes on and step on court and begin hitting the ball. Clearly if we want to play well from the start of our match this isn't a very successful method. If you ever get a chance to watch a professional athlete prepare for a training session or competition you will see that most have a very specific structure that they follow. This is something they have developed over a number of years and is what they have found works best to allow them to prepare for what is to follow both physically and mentally. To be a high level consistent performer the prematch routine is essential. We all feel different on a day to day basis and it's by going through our prematch or pre-training routines that help us get to a more similar starting point. Any athlete knows that being in the zone is the key to optimal performance and getting into this zone is completely psychological. Although any level of athlete can experience the zone, the consistency of getting into this is what top athletes have learned how to do repeatedly. Being able to play in the zone requires that our self talk is positive and simple. Negative self talk and over analysis are definitely 2 effective methods for playing poor squash.
Most people tend to think of a prematch routine simply to warm up the body and avoid injuries, which is indeed part of it, but it is also much much more. As already discussed the variations in performance from 1 day to the next is much more mental than any sudden drop in technical skill. If we're missing shots we normally make it's more than likely the mental side as to why we are making these mistakes and we either stop going for these shots or get tentative with them (which again are both mental issues). Meanwhile someone in the zone still makes mistakes they simply don't let these mistakes register and interfere with the flow of their game and thought process.
Between Rally Routines
What about routines during a match? Routines between rallies are also equally important to staying or getting into the zone. We are constantly analyzing our performance and there are swings in momentum for and against us we have to deal with. When things are going well we don't need to think much so we tend to have a shorter routine here. If things are going well we are generally trying to just keep doing what we're doing and avoid thinking too much and judging what we are doing. This is the whole self 1 and self 2 thing discussed in classic book, The Inner Game Of Tennis. If we lose our focus because either we have won a number of points too easily or we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel we learn how to catch these lapses before they cause any real danger. This is all done with between rally routines which allow us to focus on right now (versus the past or future).
If things aren't going well in your match the between rally refocusing routine can help you get back on track. You can use this to slow down the onslaught and break up the momentum. Again because momentum is so psychological what we do and what we think during these between rally routines is so vital to their effectiveness. Sometimes it's about getting back to our game plan or letting mistakes go before playing the next point. What I like to do between rallies is use a cue (wiping my hand on the sidewall). Prior to this cue I allow myself to digest the previous rally and think about what I've learned from it. Once I've wiped my hand on the sidewall I've moved my focus back to the now and whatever happened from the previous rally is now out of my mind, digested and my focus is shifted back into this moment. After all, all we can control is what we are doing right now so don't over analyze what's happened up until now. If you find your focus is on the past or future try using a focused breath to recenter yourself. I always see pitchers doing this in their pre-pitch routines. Not only does a focused breath bring our attention into this moment, but the oxygen is also our fuel and this helps release some tension we may be holding onto. If you have read any sport psychology books you'll know that they all discuss the importance of conscious breathing.
Post Match Routines
Let's discuss post-match routines. If we lose maybe people like to dismiss any routine because they are too upset and don't care. We know that we can recover faster and improve our flexibility if we stretch after our matches, yet still some don't. I believe it's even more vital to stick to your post match routine after a loss so you have time to reflect and again don't carry that loss personally into the rest of your life. You may feel depressed after a tough loss and be upset, which is quite normal. I believe an effective post match routine gives you that time (say 30 minutes) to reflect on what you learned from the experience. After your routine is complete you have to let it all go.
Every single squash player ever has lost and will lose or else they aren't actually competing. This is why we love squash. We want to challenge ourselves and become the best we can be and this requires playing people that will be able to beat us. Losing to any caliber of player is simply a time to learn from it and make changes in your own game. Just don't take this loss to hard or personally. If you can let go of your ego and the fear of failure you'll have your best chance of playing to your potential. This is where I feel Fares Dessouky is struggling. He's no doubt the most technically and physically skilled player on the tour, but mentally is quite fragile. This is a shame because you want to root for him because he is so amazing with what he can do on court you just wish he would let his playing do the speaking for him. If he doesn't learn how to use his mind as an asset he will never reach his true potential which would be a real shame for all of us including Dessouky. Perhaps he is just preparing to be the villain and has something to prove to all of us. I'm guessing he grew up in an environment which fostered this trait, but this is also something that has to come from him and nobody else. This is the result oriented world we live in, but he has yet to figure out that playing his best squash is only possible when he stops trying to control the outcome and just focuses on the process of playing his best possible squash each and every rally. I really can't stand all of the discussions, blocking and reactions to the decisions.
Sport psychology is such an interesting topic to me and although all the top athletes in the world can vouch for the importance of their mental skills it's still an area under appreciated and under coached. It's tough to understand that you'll win more by not focusing on winning, but the process. You'll play better squash and enjoy it more if you can find your zone and play up to your potential. Take a serious look at your game and see how it measures up to what you would like it to be. It takes time to get to where you will want and need it to be so don't be too hard on yourself if you're not perfect. Try and use routines to improve how you self-regulate and respond to different situations. Also try setting up a weekly or monthly training routine and give your absolute best during each part of each session. I believe the championship attitude and behaviour has to come prior to becoming a champion. Focus on the process, on staying focused, on refocusing when you lose your way and you'll get into the zone more frequently and become more consistent with you performance. Don't wait to become a champion before you act like one. We may not know if the chicken came before the egg, but it's pretty clear that the winning habits must be in place before you can become a champion on the court.
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