When I was a child I was told to always hit off my front leg. I hated doing this from the front right as I wasn't very strong or comfortable hitting off my left leg moving forwards. Eventually with enough practice I got comfortable playing off of both legs from everywhere on the court. In the middle of a match you shouldn't be focusing on which foot you're playing off of, but in a controlled practice setting you should intentionally practice hitting off of both legs from either side of the court. Obviously there are certain shots and specific areas which will require more open stance shots.
The problem most people have playing open stance is the they are unable to maintain their balance and get any power on their shot. If you are under a lot of pressure moving backwards and playing off your back leg you have to focus on opening the racquet face and lifting the ball. If you try and drive the ball when you're weight is shifted solely on your back foot you will have trouble with your accuracy. On the other hand if you are in a strong posture you should still be able to drive the ball with a decent amount of pace off of your back leg.
I've seen than video clip of Greg Gaultier ghosting to all areas of the court on 1 leg and then again with the other leg. He knows at that level he must be entirely comfortable playing off either leg from anywhere on the court. I've been guilty of using my dominant leg too much and during the course of a hard match or tournament and an entire season it begins to break down and fatigue and it can lead to issues either chronic or acute injuries in your hips, knees and back.
In a lot of my lessons I start off by warming up the pupil with intentionally having them play drives off of both legs to ensure they slowly but surely get more comfortable playing off of either leg on both sides. Here's a rally from last week where I played every shot open stance. And the next time you watch a PSA match look how often they do this. It might surprise you.
If you want to improve your court movement check out The Advanced Secrets Of Solo Hitting (and Movement). It's available for just $5 and comes with a no questions asked money back guarantee. Also try and do some solo hitting off of both legs on each side so you become more comfortable with the transfer of energy/timing of these swings. If you want to check out the instructional film you can find it here: SeriousSquashShop.com/collections/coaching-videos
Here's the trailer for the solo hitting and footwork combo Serious Squash film
All squash players and coaches know that squash burns the most calories per hour compared to any other sport. We also know that there is nothing more gruelling and also rewarding than a tough squash match. The media and squash players alike are aways trying to promote squash as the best sport because it involves strategy, is good for your health and can be played in almost any city in the world in a short window of time. Some players squeeze in a match at lunchtime and generally squash players have to be relatively fit to play points of 10+ shots and matches lasting over 30 minutes. But is it possible that too much squash can actually be bad for your health?
I'm just 36 years old, but I've had to deal with a lot of overuse injuries the past few years. I had my first knee surgery which was due to wear and tare. The surgeon also seemed assured that I'd be a repeat customer. Most of my injuries the past few years have revolved around my back and ribs. I'm not a tall person, just 5 foot 7 and maybe 150lbs and perhaps my stature and the amount of torque I put on my body has a lot to do for the decades of overuse injuries.
Squash involves a lot of sprinting, starting-stopping, twisting, lunging and on top of that rotational swings while in these difficult positions and heavily fatigued. Too much of anything is not good for the body, but how do you get really good at something without putting in a lot of practice? I played a lot from the age of 10-14 and then didn't tough a racquet for about 5 years (or I'm sure I'd be in worse shape now). I played a lot of sports when I was young, but when I was 12-14 and from 19-36 most of my active life and sport has revolved around squash. Back in university I would get knee pain jogging just a few kms, but playing squash didn't bother my body. Somehow my body had slightly adjusted to squash, but the imbalance caused by the years of repletion would not allow me to do a repetitive non-squash exercise like biking or running.
Chiropractors and physiotherapists have always noticed right away that my body is off balanced and overdeveloped on one side of my body. But even for those who don't pay sport we use one half of our body more than others. We have a dominant arm, leg and even eye, yes that's right eye. If you want to know which eye is dominant you simply place yours index fingers and thumbs together to make a diamond shape and raise it to the ceiling. Place some dot or making within this area and then close one eye at a time. The marking will only show up in this area in your dominant eye. I recall a chiropractor once using a machine he was using with Olympic athletes to help reset my eyes. I had to wear this fancy pair of glasses and some lights blinked in a specified order which would help reset your eyes so you would use both again. This is just an example of something that overtime with overuse we naturally develop. You can imagine how much more things can become imbalanced when it involves hitting a shot with our same arm and playing 80-90%+ of our shots on our dominant leg.
The past two years I've been working with a personal trainer once or twice per week and I've been doing some spin classes and doing lots of physio and massages. I'm basically trying to work on my imbalances so I can not only be healthy enough to compete again, but also so I can coach and not continue this trend of over developing one side of my body. I've done a lot of floating and recently starting doing some acupuncture plus I stretch and roll almost daily. Basically I'm at the point where if I'm not proactively working on rebalancing and strengthening my body I will get injured pretty quickly and the longer I continue trying to coach and play competitively while I'm a bit injured the more likely it is that this will become a chronic and more serious injury which again could lead to another surgery.
While I was back in Toronto for the junior nationals I was talking with an old trainer of mine form when I was a junior. After telling him some of the issues I've been having the past few years he recommended I begin taking eldoa classes. I've just started taking classes this week so time will tell how this will help my body longterm. I would try to explain what it is, but it's probably simpler if you just google it. I've heard many Olympians are starting to do it and it can be helpful for people like me who have imbalances and some spine/hip imbalances. I just got back from a physio session this morning and basically my body is still pretty twisted and this is why my back has been bugging me the past month. I started playing more the past month to prepare for nationals, but this in turn hurts my body more. So the more I play, the more I have to do off court to prevent injuries and balance my body from the strain and overuse and pounding it takes from competing. Now I know why many coaches don't compete anymore; it takes a LOT of off court maintenance and training to be able to play at all, let alone play regularly and be able to prepare properly for a tournament.
So I ask you once again? After reading all of this is squash good for me or slowly crippling me? I never wanted a desk job because I wanted to stay active and healthy, but little did I know that too much of squash can be just as bad on my body. From my experience I definitely feel like squash players, even young juniors need to do more cross training and off court maintenance. What exactly you do off court is not so simple though. Certainly some mobility work (both strength, motor control and flexibility) can really help, but you will also likely need to find some other exercises which can help you become a more well rounded better athlete. Exercises like yoga, cycling, running (unless you're already too imbalanced), rowing machines, skipping or just playing other sports can all help.
As juniors are continually trying to beat one another and are pushed to become the best they can possibly be, you have to be careful not to jeopardize someone long term health and well being just for some short term success. Practice hitting shots of both legs, stretch/roll, do strength work and play other sports. Sometimes an assessment from a good trainer or physio can help you be proactive. It's much better to plan ahead and prevent injuries from happening as opposed to waiting for problems to build up.
All this being said, I'll keep playing squash as much as my body all allow. I need to make sure I eat healthy, get a good nights sleep, rest when my body needs it and spread out my tough on court sessions. I also need to stay on top of my stretches, physio and hopefully doing eldoa regularly will improve my general mobility and back health. I also regularly use a swiss ball to sit on.
If I had to go back in time and talk to myself as a junior I would tell myself to make sure I did off court training year round and if they had physios and personal trainers back then I would have told myself to invest in them, because it's one thing to be active off court and another to do it properly and to best offset the imbalance caused by so much squash. I still haven't completely figured out the right method for me, but it's improving and I certainly believe this is information that should be made available to all keen squash players, especially the kids. I'll leave you with a quote from my club as a junior, 'get fit to play squash, don't play squash to get fit.' I finally get it! Squash is great for your healthy enough if you are healthy enough to play it, but the more you play the more prone you are to the accumulation of overuse injuries.
Check out the SeriousSquashShop.com for merch and instructional films. There's plenty of gear and 3 films available for download. Below if the trailer for the most recent video, The Advanced Secrets Of Solo Hitting (& Movement).
A few weeks ago someone was asking me who the best squash player in the world was and I replied well it's Ramy Ashour and he either wins a tournament or has to pull out injured. I also said that Ramy is potentially the best player of all time. Seeing him pull out in the recent British Open semis was really tough. He's devoted his entire life to becoming the best player in the world and I believe he still is, but his body continues to let him down. I hope he continues fighting and isn't contemplating retirement. It must be incredibly frustrating for him, but is also equally frustrating for tournament organizers and squash was worldwide.
Even while battling these injuries for a number of years he's maintained a high world ranking and managed to keep his game at an extremely high level where he can still beat anyone in the world in a 1 off. The problem is is that he's not playing 1 offs. He has to make his way through a number of tough players. There are no easy matches anymore as the level at the top continues to get deeper. The young up and coming players like Paul Coll, Mohamed Abouelghar, Fares Dessouky and Ali Farag have all stormed up the rankings while veterans Nick Matthew and Greg Gaultier are still playing at the highest level. How is Ramy supposed to keep up with the youth movement which has youth and health on their side?
Ramy is my favourite player to watch because he proves that anything can be done on a squash court if you practice it and commit to it. When I was a kid I remember a lot of coaches saying 'don't do this' or 'you shouldn't do that' and of course 'play the percentages.' All of which is great advice for the average squash player, but for someone deeply invested in becoming a top player these mediocre terms can hold back creativity and talent. I am always careful about using the words 'can't' or 'shouldn't' when I'm coaching now.
When watching Ramy play these days the announcers on Squash TV and the viewers are all hoping that he can finish the match; yes that's right, simply make it through the match. How is it possible that he can play without these thoughts and doubts creeping in too? Life can be so cruel sometimes. Here we have arguably the best squash player ever who cannot stay healthy. Ever since he completed his 1 year unbeaten streak a few years back he's struggled with his health. He's transcended the game of squash and has made everyone around him better because of it. He's basically to squash what Tiger Woods is to golf. Even though Tiger hasn't been performing well, the ratings are still way higher when he's participating. I'm sure the same is true for Ramy. The difference of course is that if Ramy has to pull out with an injury there is no match and when this happens to be a semi or a finals it is not good for the tournament organizers, sponsors or of course the other able bodied players he's beaten along the way.
I of course love watching Ramy more than any other player, but I believe the PSA will have to look at rule changes because of how often he defaults out of tournaments. I have no idea what they should do, but it's come to a point where I believe they have to do something. Ramy has no idea when his hamstring will give out and this uncertainty is quite troubling when it happens in a later round. Obviously they can't make him continue to play while he's injured, but is it possible that who he beat the previous round can take his spot? I know that sounds insane, but we want Ramy in these tournaments, but we also want to have matches take place. I don't want to see Ramy forced to not play because he has to default too much. That isn't good for the sport and we can't force someone to continue playing with an injury. I'm open to other suggestions, but I'm sure all of us would have preferred seeing Abouelghar play a full match against Gaultier than just that 1 game against Ramy. Those seats for the semis couldn't have been cheap!
What other options does the PSA have? Is there a limit to how many times someone can default out of a tournament in a season? I know they now have a physio for the players at the world series events, so that's a good start, but clearly it isn't enough. Maybe they need to spend their own resources to get Ramy the best treatment in the world because he is such a legend and crucial ambassador for our sport.
Looking at this from Ramy's perspective it must be incredibly difficult to stay positive and continuing to register for events. He probably feels he's hitting the ball well enough to win, but isn't able to push himself in practice enough to properly condition himself. He probably also needs the money because he isn't able to play that many events and after this many defaults does it not get in his head? I wonder how he can stay positive about making it through a tournament when he arrives. I'm sure this doubt is holding Ramy back from playing his best squash. One thing I did notice from the British Open was how little he was lifting the ball. Just like when he lost to Simon Rosner in Chicago, he seems like he wants to overhit his opponents and maybe now with his body he needs to change his game and change paces more. He has the skill to play anyway imaginable and I always use to say that Ramy has the best lob on tour, but I rarely saw him play it in these last 2 events.
Any other ideas on how we can change the rules to make sure there is always a match in later rounds of big events? Should the PSA invest their own funds to help Ramy get the best treatment in the world? Should they make a limit to the number of events someone can default due to injury in a year before that person is not allowed to register for anymore events that season? All I know is I want to see more of Ramy because he still has some unbelievable squash left in him if his body will let him, but I also want to see matches contested in the later rounds of major events. What lies ahead for Ramy and his future on the PSA World Tour? Let's all hope for health, many more titles and a rise back to the top of the world rankings.
Serious Squash has recently produced a 1 hour film tiled The Secrets Of Solo Hitting. This film demonstrates 30 of the best solo drills with tips on how to best perform each drill. Stream or download your copy at SeriousSquashShop.com/collections/coaching-videos While you're there check out all of the Serious Squash merch. We ship worldwide! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for the most recent posts. And on the Youtube channel cchsquashpro where you can find the following trailer for The Secrets Of Solo Hitting:
When I was a kid I vividly remember a a sign hanging up in the pro shop that read 'don't play squash to get fit, get fit to play squash.' That sign is becoming more and more prevalent as I'm getting older. I can't train the same way or the same amount or as hard. I've had to deal with more injuries. I've had a couple of MRI's over the past 2 years which resulted in my first knee surgery. I can still play at a decent level, but the amount I can play at this level is quite limited. It's not that I'm so sore that I can't play again the next day, it's becoming more about the mobility issues. I can only speak from personal experience how my mobility has challenged my competitive squash ability. I'm going to share my recent personal experiences with you today and perhaps you will learn how this can help or hinder your squash game.
As we get older, simply being able to play injury free is the top priority. We never had to worry about this as kids, yet I still never see people stretch around the squash club and even fewer warming up before they get on court. I see very few people in their 30's or older that swing properly and most never will simply because they have lost mobility in a number of joints or are injured from poor biomechanics. The first step would be introducing proper warm up exercises to improve the range of motions and also doing proper post match cool downs. Squash is a very dynamic and fast sport so I have no clue how middle aged people can go straight into a rally without any warmup and likely right out of their office chair.
Some of our limited mobility is of course genetics, but a lot of this is the lack of knowledge or will to do proper preventative care. Things slowly disintegrate and we barely notice them as they subtly get worse until eventually we just admit that we are indeed pretty old and that's the reason we swing or play the way we do; we also just think we are stuck with the hand we have and that's that, we can't make things better. It's kind of like trying to stick to some kind of diet or new years resolution you dislike so no wonder we don't see (m)any older players who have good mobility. I'm here to tell you that things can change, but you have to make time for them and realize it is essential and something you just have to suck it up and do it and add it into your daily routine.
There are a number of challenges with limited mobility, the first is that we are more prone to getting injured. When one thing is out of place or lacking the proper and necessary range of motion, it's a chain and we are more likely to get inured in other connected areas. We also will be unable to move and swing with the proper mechanics which will hold back our improvement and enjoyment of squash. I certainly haven't got everything figured out yet, but I am working on it. Not being able to move or play a sport you've played your whole life sucks. It's hard to admit you can't do some things you once were able to do quite naturally, but father time has no pity. If you are playing more than 3 times per week and have mobility or constant injury issues I recommend you cut back on your squash and do a physio and/or begin some off court training sessions.
When I was in university I never wanted to pay for physio and I had limited knowledge on what types of off court cross training I should do to stay healthy and improve mobility and strength. Since my recent knee problems I've gone to a lot of health care specialist; sport doctors, massage therapists, physiotherapists and chiropractors. Thankfully I'm on a health plan and can now afford to do some of these things more frequently. I'm at a point where if I want to continue to compete at all I have to do these things. My other option is to stop playing and lose mobility and that slope leads to more and more sedentary lifestyle
Currently I go to a personal trainer once per week (wish I could afford 2), 1 massage per month and 2 physio sessions per month. This is a start, but it's about what I do on these other days which will make the difference. I've learned more about my body and the areas I'm good at and the ones I struggle with and tend to avoid using. Squash is a very 1 sided sport so after 2+ decades of playing I've developed some imbalance and mobility problems. It's very challenging to offset the amount of torque and rotation from your swings and the amount of lunging done mostly on your dominant leg. I'm not expecting to be completely balanced and offset all of the damage done by squash, but it's improving it so the mobility and strength is good in all of my muscles and joints.
With my personal trainer we've been working mostly with kettle bells and I've noticed how effective they can be for strengthening my core and for working on 1 side of my body at a time. Recently I was doing some get ups with the kettle bell pointing up and I had a lot of trouble when I was holding the kettle bell with my left arm. The video and explanation is below if you're interested in what exactly I was doing and how to test it for yourself. My trainer filmed it in slow motion and he noticed that it was my right hip causing the problems, not my weaker left arm which I originally suspected. I had a lot of trouble with a certain hip movement and it was clear to me right away about how this is affecting my ability to lunge and get into the proper posture when I hit the ball. Because of my reduced mobility in my right hip it has lead to back pain and sometimes a sore shoulder. These symptoms come and go depending on how much I'm playing and pushing myself. I want to play more, but the more I play the more pronounced these symptoms become.
When I go in for my physio sessions he always works on my right hip and last time even my right ankle. He's trying to work backwards in the chain to find out where the problem is starting from. So your issue may not be a hip, but whatever it is it may likely be caused by poor mobility in another connected area. Instead of just dealing with it or not being able to play you should try and figure it out and work on improving your biomechanics and mobility. Maybe you need to do some yoga, maybe massage will help, a trainer or a physiotherapist. My physio recommended TRX to me and to do more core exercises. I really enjoy the kettle bell training I've been learning and I think that will help. But clearly a lot of improved mobility comes from daily stretching and rolling. Do you have a roller? A hard ball like a lacrosse ball? A theraband? Stretching doesn't quite get as deep as some of these other products can. I do believe it's possible to play better squash as you get older and not have your movement inhibited by injuries if you improve your knowledge on the topic and do the work.
Sitting all day at work or doing too much of anything will break down your body over time. Learn how to take care of your body and keep it healthy. Want to move up a division or be competitive nationally in your age group? Improving your mobility and staying healthy is a huge step towards doing that. If you can't practice you can't get better. To practice you need to be healthy and be able to move. Movement is a key to playing at a high level of squash. Mobility is the key to quality movement, reduced risk of injuries and improved biomechanics. What's scary is how many kids have incredibly poor mobility. All the cell phones, video games and sedentary lifestyles have a lot of kids unable to lunge, squat or touch their toes. It's tough as a squash coach if a teen can't do any of these things properly at their young age and it makes you worry about the future generation. If you play a lot of squash and you can't do those you're probably going to have a poor swing and/or be at an increased risk of injury. So listen to my old club sign and 'get fit to play squash, don't play squash to get fit.' It becomes more and more essential as you get better and older.
If you haven't already heard, there is a new Serious Squash full length instructional video out called The Secrets of Solo Hitting. Solo hitting was something I found really useful to break up the hard training days when I was younger so I could let my body recover while still working on my game. This video is now available at SeriousSquashShop.com/collections/coaching-videos and you can check out the trailer below. It covers 30+ of the best solo drills with plenty of tips on how to improve your solo practice. Pick up your copy today (HD stream and download available). Practice smarter, not harder.
Alright, I'm back after a busy start to the season. I know that some people play and train all season while others haven't touched a racquet in months. If you're the latter group, this post is for you. If you trained and played all summer, then you're probably already feeling fit and playing at a high standard and you can come back and read this post for after you have a long break.
Over my years of playing squash I've played year round, and I've also taken a few months off. As we get older taking time off makes it tougher to get back. When I was a kid I could miss a month and within a week be back to where I left off. Nowadays I think it's more about doubles the time I miss to get back to where I was. When I was in my early 20's and didn't play for the summer it would take me 3 or 4 months to feel like I was back playing well and fit again. This is why I learned to always keep playing over the summer, even if it's just once a week.
If you're one of those people that have take the summer off and are all ready and set to get back into full swing I have a few tips for you. (and no, that picture above is not me, lol)
1) Ease your way back into t - almost all of us will overdo it and this can lead to injuries.
2) Don't play a hard match your first time back on court.
3) When you play your first match, make the next day an easy one.
4) A cool down/stretch can save you a lot of pain the first few times back on the court.
5) Have realistic expectations. Don't expect to be right back where you were when you stopped playing. Sure, some people you were close to before may be ahead of you now. Just focus on yourself and the long term goals. Write them out and set time lines.
6) Don't play any tournaments until you've been back for at least a month or your asking for trouble. At least if you play at a high level.
7) Use your first 2 or 3 tournaments of the season as training tools. Have lower expectations and just go see where your game and fitness is, while remembering that your bigger goals are focused on more important tournaments later in the season.
8) Remember that especially in these situations, less is more!
If you follow these steps you are more likely to get back to where you left off and stay healthy. Sometimes the hardest step to take is the first one after a layoff. This is why I suggest not getting right back into matchplay.
Squash is such a tough sport if you've taken a layoff. You'll likely get squash butt and hurt in places you haven't felt in months or years! That's why it's important to ease your way back into it. Maybe you start with a solo hit, some easy drills; a few days later maybe get up to a single game at the end of your drill session. You can also do some ghosting or movement drills to get your body prepared for the squash specific movements that your body will about to endure.
Easing back into squash is extremely difficult. We want to work hard and get back to where we think we should be and often do too much too soon. Knowing when to say enough is enough for right now and I'm not quite ready for that is key. Normally we never want to admit we can't do something or that we're too exhausted, especially to do well in squash. Give yourself some slack the first month 2 back and you're body will thank you for it later in the season!
