The Tenaciousness Of Miguel Rodriguez

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

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

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

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

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


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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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