What Exactly Defines A Good Length?

I've asked a lot of people the simple question of 'what is the purpose of hitting length?' I've heard all sorts of responses to this seemingly simple and obvious question. We all know that length is important and there are many important things that good length does. When you begin playing squash just hitting the ball to the back is almost a guaranteed point. As you improve you begin to return those deep balls with more deep balls. I find most people are so focused on hitting it tight and hard that they don't actually know what the main goal of a length is.

Paul Coll has time and space to take an unimpeded swing so although he is behind his opponent he is actually in a strong position within the rally

Yes the most important past of a length is to regain T position; you get your opponent behind you and you get behind them. It's quite difficult to apply pressure and attack from the back of the court, but this is changing and players at elite levels can pretty consistently apply pressure from any part of the court if they have 2 essential qualities, space and time.

A shortened swing played off the back leg forced by a good length by Joe Lee

So although it may sound simple and true that getting your opponent behind you is the main goal of length, but what exactly does a great length entail? Many people here say 2nd bounce in the back corner. This is generally true, but without any pace the ball could easily be taken before the ball gets to the back corner. So does this do enough to define what good length is? And furthermore is this a type of length you should be aiming for on every length you hit? Many will say yes, but I disagree.

Let's first get at how I define good length. A good length is a short hit to the back corners which simply makes your opponent adapt their normal swing. The more you can make them adapt their swing the better for you. Of course a major bonus is time pressure. If you hit your length with pace and you force your opponent to get to the back faster and try and play the ball off their back foot they will not be as accurate and will be forced to lift the ball, playing defensively.

So which is a more important quality of good length? Time pressure or the lack of space? You can certainly make excellent claims for either one. But we all know the player that hits really hard without any accuracy, so I don't time pressure is possible without some form of accuracy. This is why I like to tell the kids I work with that the goal of their length is to limit their opponents space in the back corners. The less space the player has to work with the more defensive they will be. Of course at a really elite level players can return a ball deep off of almost any length, but they are less likely to be able to reapply pressure when they have a very short swing, are choking up on their racquet and are getting super low to get under the ball. When I see my opponent doing any or all of these things I begin to move my T position not only over, but also forwards an extra foot or so and expect a loose ball to volley.

Coll in trouble due to lack of time and space!

When you begin playing you are unable to adapt your swing at all and hit a decent shot. This is why we see people resort to back wall boasts and the 2 handed shovel when they get stuck in the back. They are out of space and have no other options. As these players improve they will learn how to make the above noted changes to their swings to lift and get the ball back deep, but even for top players they won't be accurate or be able to hit with as much pace and they definitely won't be able to disguise their shot when they have this little of space to deal with. So if you want to improve your length and volley more think about trying to make your opponent shorten their swing and lift the ball from the back corners. Even if they have time it doesn't mean they will hit a good shot. If you play someone fast or has good hands this should also be your goal.

So although yes you need to get the ball by your opponent to get the ball to the corner, that in itself is not a sufficient definition for a good length in my books. Learning how to get the ball to die in the back corners is the tough part. As the ball gets bouncier this is even more challenging. If the ball is really warm you actually will want to take some pace off the ball, perhaps using a shorter punch type swing and/or aim to hit the sidewall with your length in the back part of the court so it takes additional pace off your shot. If your shot hits front wall, sidewall, floor and then back wall there won't be much energy left on the ball unless you've greatly overhit it. Learning to use some slice can also help take pace off the ball, but this can also make the ball pop out off the sidewall (on some courts more than others). Using slice and the sidewall to get your length to die in the back are tricks the old boys used a few decades ago when the game was much more attritional and it was difficult to shorten your swing and flick a length out of the back.

If you really want to help someone visualize their goal of a good straight length simply tape out a target for the second bounce on the sidewall, floor and back glass. Can you picture how this would make 3 sides of a cube and an excellent target for a good length? This also means that it is really important to learn how to dig ball out of the back and adapt your swing to get out of pressure. But it's tough to win by only absorbing pressure, you also need to be able to apply it.

I have to mention 1 last thing about good length. When I'm teaching someone the basis of the swing this is why it's important to learn how to have a compact swing and to swing forwards (and not backwards first) so you can get more balls out of the back corners with your regular swing without hitting the back glass. So the bigger your opponents swing is the easier it will be to pin them in the back corners.

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The Pressure Of Expectations And Outcome Goals

Being a Blue Jays fan and watching them fall apart here the last month of the season makes me think about how the focus on the outcome of sport can cause us to perform poorly. I think back over the years of competing and whenever you're the #1 seed there is some form of pressure. I don't know why we focus so much on winning when that is what causes us to feel pressure and is not what we should be focusing on when we are performing.

For anyone who has not been watching the Jays collapse it is quite apparent. They are playing against teams that have nothing to lose, are loose and having fun and they are beating up on the supposedly superior Blue Jays team. The Jays know the importance of each game and when you've played over 100 baseball games where the outcome of each game is not nearly as critical, it's no wonder they begin to fall apart when they actually NEED to perform at their best. It's such a strange sport because of this. You obviously want to win every game, throw a strike every pitch and get a hit every at bat, but that just doesn't happen. You win some and hopefully you lose less. But when the standings are really tight and the ending of the season is in sight and playoffs are on the line it's interesting how the pressure to perform has gotten the better of a collective group of elite athletes. It must be super difficult to HAVE to win now when the games matter more and perhaps trying harder is the exact opposite of what they need to do.

Let's get back to squash. We've all experienced this before; you are winning and nearing the end of the game or match and all of the sudden your thoughts to drift to the imminent victory and your opponent begins to not try so hard. It's no wonder in this previous example that the player who feels they are going to lose starts to go for more shots and feel more relaxed. Meanwhile the person who was in control most of the match begins to think about the outcome and has lost focused. After the person that was winning loses a few points in a row they begin to feel some anxiety about what is happening. Sound familiar? So how did we all end up focusing so much on the outcome when that is exactly what destroys us? How do we learn to shift our focus onto more positive and controllable actions? 

I think a big problem starts when we grow up watching pro sports. We hear praise for our local teams when they succeed and curse them for underperforming. We have parades when our home team wins a championship. What kind of child doesn't grow up thinking they have those same standards when they compete? We all want a parade! We want to be better than other people and we can measure this in sports from the scoreboard. This is setting kids up for disaster because everyone is going to lose and we shouldn't feel bad and like we let someone down when we do. This is just the society we were brought up in. Somehow we are more proud of our kids if they win. That's a lot of pressure to feel when you step out on the squash court. Think about how tough this is over the course of an entire year. We aren't always going to be in tip top match form so how can we expect to win against people we believe we SHOULD beat regardless of the day? And when a child loses a tight match they end up in tears, yet the winner is all smiles and proud of their accomplishment.

First off an athlete needs to understand that there are various cycles throughout the year when you are working on different areas of your game or fitness and the outcome of a match during these heavy training or non-competitive times simply do not matter. Even during the competitive season I feel we would all benefit greatly by focusing on the process of our performances versus our results. I remember often going into a practice match with an idea to implement some new tactic to practice it, but when it wasn't working and I began losing I would quickly abandon the concept and just do whatever it took to win. This is something most of us deal with. We can only think about what we want now instead of what is best for us down the road. We have pride in our ability and an ego to feed.

Have you ever avoided hitting the right shot because we are afraid what happens if we miss it? I assume this anxiousness is because your thoughts are completely about the outcome. If we miss an opening we could lose! This is how I eventually started turning things around. I began focusing on playing the right shot and not worrying about the execution whatsoever. If you do this the shots will get better with practice and you'll be more committed to the shots you go for. In squash you have to play some shots with higher degrees of risk. You'll also focus more on what you should hit and on the tactics in general. If we can stay relaxed and enjoy our squash we will also hit better shots with less tension in our arm with added confidence in our shot selection. This is an important step for becoming the best player you can be, at least it was for me.

You may be thinking that this sounds a little soft and not competitive. I enjoy competition and hate losing as much as anyone, but I have only learned later in my career how much this narrow mindset held me back and put more pressure on my results. Winning is not completely in your control and it isn't fair to say you didn't perform well just because of a scoreboard. You could very well of played up to your standard and just didn't have the result you had hoped for. Losing is actually a great learning tool. Without a doubt I have learned the most from my losses. I didn't like those lessons, but they were very important. If you avoid competing against players you think you should beat you are probably doing this because of the pressure you feel to win and that there is nothing to gain from the match. This is a silly and a damaging mindset. You should not be avoiding competition for this reason because this is an outcome based approach and unless you are 1 of the best in the world you are still a developing player and in the learning stage of squash. Stay humble. If we focus on the process and what we're trying to do and improve upon on court there is always a reason to tie up your shoes and compete. Just be sure you go into these matches with more than simply an outcome goal. 

As a more experienced coach I don't worry about if one of my kids are winning or losing. I try and focus on what they're doing and how they can do it better. It's all about learning and becoming the best they can be. So although squash is played against an opponent there you should focus on what you can do on court. There is a lot each opponent can teach you if you're willing to pay attention. If you don't do well against someone it simply means they have exposed some areas you need to improve, which is not a bad thing! If you love squash and are dedicated to becoming the best you can be you should thank them, go and work on these areas diligently over and over again until it gets to the level you are satisfied with. You go back out and retest what you've worked on and you get a new assessment of your skill and this repeats over and over again. And if you're like me you'll just work on these areas your squash career because you'll always know that it can be better and more consistent with just a little more deliberate practice. 

I feel like the best squash the world has to see will come from a completely process oriented approach by a player. They type of player will always be looking to improve and will never be satisfied with any result because they are basically a perfectionist for a sport that can never be perfected.  If you don't focus on winning you won't feel the pressure over the course of the season or your career and you will experiment more. To become the best we could possibly ever be that means we must be willing to make a lot of mistakes, experiment and learn from them. If we avoid trying things because we may make mistakes and lose in the short term we are only hurting ourselves and lowering our ceiling of potential. I hope this makes sense to you. It seems very clear to me and I wish I hadn't won as much as a kid. Maybe I never would have quit squash and maybe I would have learned to enjoy playing more and also focus on improving my game and not focusing on the other kids and being better than them.

It's only natural to feed our egos and want to be better than other people. In squash a good player can build up quite an ego. If you really want to be the best I suggest a process based approach and a deep love for squash. Stay humble and work on becoming the best you can be. I feel like many parents and coaches are so caught up trying to make their kid better than some other kids. When really it should all be focused around fun and how to help each of those kids become the best that they can be (which is not measured simply by their result of playing one another!). If you measure this just on their performance against one another, how do you think the loser of the match it going to feel? Does that mean all that work they put in was for nothing? Why can't they both feel like winners because of how amazingly talented they are? There is a delicate balance that I feel it is being crossed by a lot of parents and coaches around the world as they push their kids to pursue their own personal agendas (not their kids goals). If this happens there is even more pressure that these kids are going to feel every time they step out on court. 

All this being said I still have no problem with a kid trying to become a national or world champion. I just believe they need to learn to focus on HOW they become the best that they can be, not just on being the best compared to other people. If you truly pursue being the best you can be you'll give yourself a great shot and you'll be able to play with less pressure and focus on the outcome. This is why I think process goals are so critical. You ask kids to set goals and 95% of the time they are only process oriented goals. How you achieve these outcome goals is what you should focus on all of the time. 

All of the above is why I am also against prioritizing tournaments for juniors. Yes some events are bigger and the competition is more fierce, but we put pressure on them if we write on their annual training plan that this is their most important even of the season of their career. We are spending lots of money to take our kid to another country so we want more value for this investment. This is junior squash and an amateur event. Of course we don't want them going to a an event unprepared and without confidence, but the stage shouldn't be too big for them either. It's just about doing what they do back home and learning from playing new players what they are doing well and what areas need to improve. It's also about learning to prepare the best you possibly can and if you do this there is now way you can ever leave a tournament as a failure regardless of the results.

Every time a kid plays a tournament they want to do well and every match matters equally; same for most adults. But really they are just measuring tools to see how we're doing and they will let us know if we need to refine our training. I think that if kids can have fun when they play at tournaments regardless of the 'specified level of importance' we give it they will generally perform better and take away a more positive experience. But I do see how this could change because we are all built differently and we all handle competition differently. Some have lots of anxiety and get really nervous while others adrenalin. Others hate competition altogether because they feel pressure to perform and don't like doing something they can't control the result of. This is because we were all brought up in a society that's praised winning and shamed losing, both in business and in professional sports.

That's enough for today. I feel like there is way more pressure on kids to achieve certain standards now compared to when I was young. Is your goal as a parent or a coach to get your kid into a top American school or to become a professional player or to love the game and play for their entire life? Do you know what the goals of your child are? Maybe that's a good place to start with because they are likely quite different and they may surprise you. They are also probably all process oriented and you may be happy hearing that they want to be a national or world champion, but the key is in the HOW not the WHAT.

I hope you guys enjoyed my banter today. If you haven't already done so please check out the new Serious Squash Store at SeriousSquashShop.com Use the code 'SSROCKS' to receive 15% off your order! I've got lots of t-shirts, tank tops, bandanas, hats and wristbands. Serious Squash is also now a clothing sponsor which I know is a bit ironic after todays topic because the standards are based on your national ranking. But I do offer lowered tier sponsorships for kids with exceptional work ethics, are well behaved and excellent role models. I am not against competing or rankings. I just like them to reflect your process oriented goals and hard work. 

2016 Hong Kong Open: Pilley vs ElShorbagy

Just a few thoughts on the Hong Kong Open and in particular the Cameron Pilley victory over Mohamed ElShorbagy. I feel like there have been so many upsets and close calls of top seeds falling for a number of reasons. The glass court they are using is not forgiving if you are even just slightly off your mark. I've seen more simple unforced errors from top players including whiffed return of serves, a lot more crosscourts than normal and some really loose drives and so on. It was surprising how consistently players are crosscourting on a backhand return of serve; they must have some trouble with the left wall on the glass court. Of course it's the first event back so some of the players are probably a bit rusty and haven't had a competitive match in some time. I also think the players must struggle a bit on this court.

Another reason I think there have been some upsets and really close calls is because a lot of players have been focusing on their fitness training during their time away from matchplay. Of course this also will have included a break and some time away from the game. It's a very short off season for the top players and for them to have 2-3 weeks off and then put in some off season base training they simply haven't had time to get back into tip top match play form.

I feel this is really what happened with ElShorbagy. Pilley was able to handle the pace of play and ElShorbagy was quite heavy on his attacking shots. He put a number of boasts into the tin and left his drops way too high while Pilley was much more exact with his short game. Still the match was anyones game. There were a number of poor decisions by the refs and an incorrect call giving Pilley one of the games. I was worried near the end of the match that a simple let could be a no let or stroke. I'm sure the players had a few sighs of relief on some of the calls.

I'm guessing by watching the match last night that ElShorbagy did not spend his off season polishing his short game and nor should he. But the fact the Pilley beat him last time they played and ElShorbagy was #1 and this was a tough 2nd round match for him I could see how this put extra pressure on the world #1 and wouldn't help his short game. If you leave a drop or boast a few inches too high you'll get killed at this level and that's what happened. Pilley had a pile of winners on both drops off the bounce and the volley. I feel it really shows how difficult it is to fire on all cylinders all year round. And to top it off the court is one of a kind and difficult to play your best on. It certainly makes for some interesting matches though.

Besides the superior attacking play there were a number of other things that really stood out to me about Pilley's tactical play. I noticed how straight he played from the front left. He never crosscourted unless he really had too because he know ElShorbagy was waiting to pounce on it. There are certain times he was under quite a bit of pressure and was able to hit a great straight drive and reset the rally or even reapply the pressure. The other thing I noticed is how good he was at hitting crosscourts from the back of the court when the ball gets slightly behind him. There were lots of instances where I thought the ball was too far behind him and he would be forced to play a straight drive and ElShorbagy would be waiting to pounce on it, but he was able to flick it (even on the backhand) and get sufficient pace and width on it. I found this a pretty amazing skill. I know I sure can't do that!

Last thing about this battle which I have already hinted at is the pressure of the outcome. Pilley had no pressure and was able to play more freely while ElShorbagy carried all the pressure and was playing to win. The only time Pilley looked tight to me was near the end of a couple of the games where he started thinking about the finish line. You could tell he was being much more cautious and was lucky that ElShorbagy was playing pretty cautious the entire match. You don't get away with playing cautiously at this level. It really was a great demonstration on how pressure or the lack of can influence how you play. If we focus simply on the result and maintaining our record or seeding we normally won't be at our best. Although anyone that saw Raneem El Weleily must also see that this can go the other way too! She's too talented to be out in the 2nd round, but she just looks like she is out there playing just for fun and lacks the intensity and consistency. Either way I would never bet for or against her!

A whole post about the HK Open and I haven't even talked about Ramy once yet! I haven't seen his 2nd round match yet, so maybe I'll have another post to write about this event soon. Stay tuned and please check out the Serious Squash online shop at SeriousSquashShop.com

The Theory Behind Sport Psychology Wristbands

I filmed a short video blog on the theory behind the sport psychology wristbands I've designed. I take a look at each design and describe how they can enable you to get more out of your training and perform better in competition. Here's the video: 

Let me know what you think and of course check out SeriousSquashShop.com to order a wristband or 2!

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?