Hitting Straighter On A More Consistent Basis

One area that almost all squash players have in common is that we are always trying to hit the ball closer to the sidewall on a more consistent basis. Most people when they start playing just get the ball back ands a lot of their shots tend to end up in the middle of the court. With a lot of practice and patience we eventually start to get shots within the width of the service boxes and after a few more year ideally right along the sidewall.

There tighter we hit a shot the less likely it is that your opponent will be able to attack. The closer the ball is to the sidewall the further your opponent has to to go from the T to play their shot and it will also limit their ball control. When the ball is right on the sidewall only the top inch or two of the racquet will be making contact with the ball and this makes it quite challenging to get back let alone control. Even at the pro level there are countless points won every match because a ball was glued to the sidewall.

Even with this early understanding and relentless pursuit of hitting the ball tight, it's still something we can all improve upon. As we are under pressure the way we have to adapt our body and swing to play a shot makes it even less likely that our accuracy will hold up and we often pop out shots towards that dangerous middle area. This is where many swing break down because people don't have the correct swing mechanics or the they lack strength and mobility to get their body into the ideal hitting posture at top speed.

In the most recent episode of Squash Shots (episode 37) I demonstrate 3 solo drills which are geared towards intermediate players which focus on hitting the ball straighter and tighter. Below is the video of the episode and then I will follow it up with a brief description of each exercise.

In drill #1 I am trying to hit the ball into the service box without letting the ball hit the sidewall. For many years of playing squash I didn't pay attention to where my length was hitting the sidewall. Even at a pretty high level I was using the sidewall to help straighten my shots up, but as I now know this slows the ball down and it often won't get to the back wall against a top level player. You'll easily notice this if you play on a court with sticky sidewalls where the ball doesn't tend to slide down the wall like it does on some courts. A glass court is a good example of this where the ball just pops out towards the middle of the court.

In drill #2 I have a target (cone) around the short line. By doing this I don't have to worry about the back corner (which many people struggle with up to a certain point). So this is a drill that allows you to really concentrate on the direction you are hitting the ball and also focusing on the weight of shot. If your short drive clips the sidewall it will likely pop out and not hit the target so this simple drill can be very effective for keeping your swing going straight through during the contact part of the swing. When I do this drill with very new players I have them start up by the front wall and every time they hit a target I get them to move back their target by 1 racquet length.

In the third drill I am doing sidewall drives, but aiming to hit the short line with each of my drives. This another good way to work on technique and the angle of your shots without worrying about the back corners. This can be modified to hit into the widths of the services boxes too. It also doesn't allow the use of the sidewalls to subtlety straighten up your drives.

At the end of the video I demonstrate a couple of ways to practice hitting the ball to focus on your posture. Our alignment as we hit the shot will play a large factor in the accuracy of our shot. If we line up parallel to the sidewall as we hit and can maintain this posture throughout our swing we have the beast chance of hitting the ball straight. Many players crowd the ball and open their hips and shoulders when they swing, like a baseball player who pulls the ball when they want to hit for power. When you do this you tend to pull the ball out towards the middle of the court and this is a big reason many amateurs play more crosscourt shots than straight ones. If you practice hitting a shot balancing on 1 leg or on your knees you won't be able to spin with your swing making them ideal teaching tools for understanding and improving ones hitting posture.

There are a pile of drills and condition games which can also allow you to learn how to play straighter, and even begin to win by playing straight shots. The most common drills would have to be boast, drive or rotating drives. A lot of players do these drills regularly which bring the focus to hitting the ball tight on a more consistent basis. As for condition games I'd have to say the my favourite 2 are: alley games, where every shot of each rally has to be played on the same half of the court for both players. When I was in university I had a lot of difficulty playing straight and deep on the forehand side and this exercise really helped me. The second condition game is where 1 player has to hit only straight and the other player can hit anything. Sometimes when I do this in training the player who has to only hit straight can only hit to length and they 2 players don't switch until the player with the condition has won a rally. If you do this against a strong opponent this can take upwards of 1-2 minutes so it's also an excellent way to improve your physical conditioning.

Often times at the beginning of my matches I start off just playing straight drives knowing that if I can get a lead and create pressure with just this 1 shot everything else is going to fall into place once I decide to open up the court. It's also something I resort back to when I'm in a tough patch in the match and I need to get back on track. Even though I am an attacking style player, I still play best when I am hitting the ball tight and applying a lot of pressure with my straight drives, drops and kill shots.

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Serious Squash Workbook: A Guide To Winning Squash

Since my competitive days playing varsity squash I've always written squash tables, charts and documents. I've posted hundreds of my opinions, thoughts and facts about squash and coaching on this blog over the past few years. Recently I was going through my computer and I discovered piles of documents I designed over the years. Many were for coaching purposes or simply out of interest. 

I completed my bachelors in kinesiology and my masters in coaching studies. Even though I wasn't too fond of school in high school, I always loved learning more about squash, training and sport at the post secondary level. Learning about things that are interesting and that can actually help you become better at squash are great. The more I knew, the better the squash player I could become and when I started coaching, the more I information I could pass on to my students. 

As I got into coaching I started constantly designing various excepts which you will find in this manual which I've titled 'A Guide To Winning Squash.' They are meant to be thought provoking and lead an athlete through the process of designing an individual tool and skill set they can use for a specific part of their game.  

Here is a glimpse of the 'Routines' chapter. I discuss the importance of prematch and between rally routines and guide you through he processionals of building your own

Some of you have already purchased my masters final project which was extremely comprehensive. I've recently posted it in the Serious Squash Shop as a digital download. That document took a LONG time to write, edit and get to a point where it was approved by my academic supervisor. 

Now I haver finally finished compiling my squash tables, charts and articles in a 17 chapter and 70 page working document. It's a bit of a scrapbook for athletes or coaches to use. Some sections go into great detail, while others are brief and just touch on what I feel is interesting or valid. 

Here is a small sample from the 'Technical Testing' chapter. In it I show how to design a chart to track various areas of yours (or if your a coach your athletes shot ability and consistency)

If this is the type of thing that interest you, you can download a digital copy in word and pdf format for $9.99CDN now in the store at SeriousSquashShop.com/collections/squash-documents It comes with a no questions asked money back guarantee. 

Here are a few more clips from the document. 

Here's a look at the 'Strategy and Tactics' chapter. Understanding how you want to play and learning from your matches are extremely important parts of improving your squash game

The chapters in the workbook are as follows:
Chapter 1: Developing a Coaching Philosophy
Chapter 2: The Process of Performance
Chapter 3: Goal Setting
Chapter 4: Imagery
Chapter 5: Focus
Chapter 6: Motivation
Chapter 7: Key Performance Indicators
Chapter 8: Match Situations
Chapter 9: Technical Testing
Chapter 10: Off Court Aerobic and Anaerobic Fitness Training
Chapter 11: On Court Circuit Training
Chapter 12: Fitness Testing
Chapter 13: Footwork and Court Movement
Chapter 14: Routines
Chapter 15: Drills and Best Practices
Chapter 16: Strategy and Tactics
Chapter 17: In Conclusion

What To Do When You Lose Confidence In Your Short Game

We miss an easy drop shot and then another. Next thing we know we tense up and push our drops and hit them without any confidence and as they get worse we just abandon our short game altogether. We've all been in a situation like this. Do you try and grind out the win without your drop or do you continue going for it and if so how long do you stick with it if it's not working?

This past weekend at the Canadian Junior Nationals I coached some kids who made some simple errors and began to lose confidence in their short game. Nationals is more important than a regular practice or league game so what can we do to get back on track when this happens?

When I think back to a similar situation in 1 of my matches the advice that helped me most came from a coach who insisted I play the shot when the opportunity was presented. The insistence helped me hit the ball short with some conviction, rather than doubt and my short game actually was meh sharper the next game and I ended up winning the match.

When I make a mistake now because my arm or hand is a bit too tense I simply shake out my hand afterwards to remind myself to stay lose. I always found it difficult to stay relaxed on the forehand side and play the drop when a smash was much less risky when you're not feeling too sure of your drop shots.

Another way I've helped myself get back on track in the past is to attack the 2nd good opening I got in a rally. Sometimes when we get an early and unexpected opening we aren't prepared to take the ball in short and don't get set properly. If we build the rally a little more and have the confidence to create a second opening later in the point I always found there was a better chance that I would be expecting this opportunity and I'd hit a higher quality shot.

Know what your go to short shot is. Even if you haven't given it much thought you probably have a certain attacking shot which is so engrained in your game that you don't have to think about how to play it and you can execute it quite consistently. If you can create an opportunity to use this shot it can get your short game going and your confidence along with it.

Another method I began using later on in my career is to focus purely on shot selection. Whenever I made an error on the execution I would never get upset at myself, because at least I was playing the right shot and in time the accuracy of these shots will eventually improve. If I simply had go even up on the right shot because of lack of confidence, sure I might have won a rally, game or match that I may not have, but I also may tarnish my long term growth if this becomes a go to habit because I believe every game, match and tournament must be won.

What I tried doing with some of my kids this past week was getting them to completely move on and forget about their errors. I tried reinstating how good their short game was and install some confidence in it. If you make a few mistakes in a row our confidence, anger and lack of focus are all vulnerable and it's really the mind that we need to be weary of and in control of when we face these bad patches. Even the best players in the world have lapses in focus, execution and shot selection, but they learn how to get their game and mind back on track quicker before they defeat themselves.  Like I mentioned above, learning to have a positive outlook on a mistake can be quite a rewarding perspective. In stead of looking at the obvious mistake we made, perhaps we should commend ourselves for creating such a good opening. And if the opening wasn't there, that's a whole other story.

I know another coach who told me the most important drop shot in a match is the first one you play. if you hit a good one you feel confident to take another one in, but if you miss and miss badly doubt can creep in. We are all vulnerable to doubt and the fear of making mistakes. If you are nervous or settling into the match it can be a good idea to build your openings and wait to settle your nerves or for a A+ opening were you can properly set up the space and your body for the well struck short ball.

Remember if you create a really good opening and your opponent is way out of position you don't need to hit the ball half an inch above the tin. Aim for tightness and think of your drops and boasts as working/pressure shots and look to follow up on the next ball if it's returned. There's also other ways to apply pressure than just drops. Try a kill shot, working boast, an attacking drive, picking the pace up or simply stepping up on the T and volleying more.

Another way I like to get my short game going is to play some heavier drops or kill shots. These shots are struck with more force so there is less chance of you pushing your drop or decelerating.

Really you need to commit to every shot you hit, especially short shots. Hitting a shot with confidence makes all the difference in the world. If you're thinking don't hit tin you're probably going to hit tin. Yes, just like don't hit your golf drive into that pond to the right.

If you really want to have the best possible short game you have to work on it every time you step out on court. Learn how to take the ball in short different ways, from different nights, angles, spin and speed. There's 10 short game drills in The Secrets Of Solo Hitting which can help too. Here's a link to the film if you want to purchase it. You can steam it, download a copy and it comes with a money back guarantee. SeriousSquashShop.com/collections/coaching-videos

Pace

We all know that pace is an important part of squash. If you hit the ball consistently hard it will move faster and get by your opponent faster. It's also just fun when you crush a ball and the sound it makes off the front wall. When you're in the back of the court hitting with pace can help  ensure your opponent cannot volley your length. When you're in the front, hitting with pace can again keep your opponent from cutting off your shot. Not only can pace make it harder for your opponent to volley, it can also make the ball bouncier which many people struggle with. As the ball heats up many of us have more difficulty controlling the ball and can't bring the ball short well.

Back at university I played a boy who later went on to win the CSA Individuals and he hit the ball so hard and the ball got so warm that I struggled to hit a regular serve. It was to this day the bounciest ball I've ever had to use in match and it felt like I was playing a game of racquetball. He of course was used to this pace of the ball and the bounce and was much better equipped of controlling it. If you've ever experienced something like this you know that nothing else really matters if the pace 1 player is playing at is much higher than the other person can handle or is used to.

The big question here is do you need to be able to play pace or simply handle pace? Handling pace is perhaps more important than being able to apply pace yourself. I've seen many times where someone plays at such a high pace they eventually tire themselves out as their opponent just continues to chip the ball and waits for the right time to deliver the knockout blow. See it can be quite tiring to constantly be hitting the ball hard. Just hitting the ball hard in itself is not enough of a weapon if you are playing someone who moves well and can handle/control the pace you are hitting with.

If you however play a very slow pace you will find it difficult to apply consistent pressure on someone. When you get your opponent out of position you will have trouble hitting say a low hard attacking drive before your opponent can catch up to the ball. So yes, even if your opponent can play at a higher pace than you, you still have to be able to inject pace at the right times.

Again, back at university I remember hitting with an alumni who was still quite a strong player. Back at this time I didn't get a lot of feedback on my game so I was happy to receive some from him. He told me I could do everything well, but I needed to be able to play with more pace. I'm not a big guy, about 150lbs and 5 '7. So before I did lots of solo hitting I had trouble playing against bigger and stronger men. I also remember a good drill I was told to practice to improve my pace. I was told at the end of every practice to play a game or 5 minutes of rallies where I just try to hit every ball as hard as I can. Obviously there are times where I'd be late to a shot and I couldn't' hit it very hard, but the idea is to learn how much physical and mental energy and effort it takes to play a high pace. If you are going to try this I recommend you don't swing hard when the ball is tight to the sidewall and you also need to have reasonably sound biomechanics or you could injure yourself.

So what other tricks are there for learning to generate more pace? I don't have a long lever (arm) or a lot of mass to put into my shot, but I can hit the ball with a good amount of pace pretty consistently these days. A lot of solo drills helped me a lot. I really liked midcourt short hitting drills which helped strengthen my forearm and groove my swing. Hitting with pace also has a lot to do with timing. You can have a great swing, but if your footwork is off or you can't lunge properly you are going to have trouble playing at pace within a rally.

Pace really starts from the ground up. You need to have a solid base of support and if possible being able to transfer your weight from your back hip to front hip is really key. Also learning to rotate your shoulders to connect your core makes a big difference too. When you do this it makes your backswing bigger and it engages your larger muscles. When most people try and hit the ball with more pace they use their arm to swing harder and their arm gets straighter or further from their body. But really it's about weight transfer and rotational core strength. When you link these things together into the swing it becomes part of a biomechanical link which allows small people to hit the ball hard.

Here's a clip from the Serious Squash Youtube channel demonstrating the weight transfer from back to front hip. Notice the solid foundation/base of support. 

If you are simply trying to get adjusted to handling pace and less interested in hitting with more pace you could also try and practice with a bouncer ball (red or blue dot). Doing this will allow you to learn how to control a bouncier ball. You will need to cut your drop shots more and the ball will be higher when you strike it.

Some other tips for increasing your pace: try looser strings. Some strings also are more springy and produce more natural power. Improving your rotational core strength and range of motion. Footwork to get behind the ball. Working on your lunging and squatting will help you get lower and stay balanced when you hit the ball hard even if it's low or you're slightly late to the ball. If you're not athletic and you haven't been doing any strength training you won't be able to play pace under any bit of pressure in a match. Play around weight and balance of the racquet and find which gives you more pace. Hitting a LOT of balls/solo: the more you hit the more you will improve your timing. Do some feeding drills or finish with a condition game like I mentioned above where injecting pace is the priority. Rotate your shoulders, but your racquet shoulder should lower under your chin (your shoulders don't rotate parallel to the floor). You can also play around with the angle of the racquet face; slightly closing it will allow you to hit it harder as spin from an open racquet face takes pace off of the ball.

If you want more information on solo drills to improve both your accuracy and pace, check out The Secrets Of Solo Hitting. This was the 1st Serious Squash instructional film which was released almost a year ago and has already sold close to 300 copies. It comes with a no questions asked money back guarantee. Here is the trailer and you can purchase a digital copy here: SeriousSquashShop.com/collections/coaching-videos

Learning To Fall

When people first start learning to ski they are taught how to fall so they are not scared of this happening and injuring themselves. When I thought about this I started comparing it to squash and learning how to fail, or lose. See for some reasons we've come to think of losing a competition as a form of failure. Almost all of us have stepped out on the court often and played trying to lose than playing to win. We worry abut who we are playing and what the result should be. It's no wonder we normally play our best squash when we are up against a stronger opponent where we don't have any pressure and they do.

 I know a loss in a big tournament has bugged me for a year or more. I now try and give a short window(5 minutes) after to learn from the match and then completely move on. Unless you've filmed the match or are going to discuss it later with your coach it's best to let a loss or win go as soon as possible.

A squash match isn't like a test in school or any other test for that matter. If you prepare properly you generally know you are going to be successful, but in a squash match only 1 player is going to be the winner on that given day. Failure isn't something anyone enjoys and generally makes us want to train harder so we can succeed next time. But once again this doesn't mean that success is a given. If you prepare to the best of your ability I believe it can take off a lot of pressure and improve your confidence heading into a match, which are both very important to improving your likely of being successful, but it doesn't guarantee success. In fact, nothing guarantees success in sport, that's why we play the game.

One of the hardest things to teach a kid is to give everything they have to try and win, and even a little bit more, but that it is still okay if they do not. This is why as coaches we talk about process goals so often. When we set goals based solely on outcomes they are in many ways out of our control. This again makes me wonder if it's possible to redefine success from your matches so that you are always successful? Obviously if we break success down into some controllable categories it can be. I like to focus on the preparation leading up to the event/match, the effort and competitive level and if the athlete was able to experience the zone. Experiencing flow show a level of focus and being able to calm ones nerves, shake off bad moments which is essential to playing at a high consistent level of squash.

We could also talk about tactics, but nobody gets tactics completely right all the time. But if we focus on playing the right shot we will help our long term development most. Many people think that playing the shot that they are most comfortable with and will mess up less is smartest, especially in the big points, but this is also going to limit your growth and development in the long run. If you continue messing up on the right shot over and over in a match, at some point you need to put it on the back burner and work on it more in practice, but to never play the shots you're working on until they're perfected shows you are again focusing solely on the result and not the better picture. So when we look at measuring success on this level, someone could win a match, but not be successful. It's really all a matter of how we define success.

We care about winning and losing. We care about our ranking and doing our best, but these are all factors that will take of themselves if you focus on the things within your control. It's extremely difficult to let go of the fear of losing or being defined by your level of accomplishments, but it can also free you up to play better squash, with less pressure and ensure that you will enjoy playing for a longer span of time because it's more about the journey of becoming the best you can possibly be than it is about focusing on only winning each match you play. This means you won't be one of those old men are your club who still throws a temper tantrum in the C consolation draw. So yes, basically try your very hardest to win each and every time you step out on court, but don't focus on winning or let the outcome define if you were successful :)

There's some new Serious Squash products coming to the store soon. There will be a very limited number of custom designed yoga mats an another new product coming out in a couple of months. There are still lots of tees and 2 instructional films for sale. Check it all out at SeriousSquashShop.com

Where And When To Shoot

I recently worked with a student on her shooting. She's a young junior and has great hands, but at times would shoot from anywhere at anytime. I have no problem with people making mistakes in their progress of becoming great squash players, in fact it's absolutely necessary. I grew up as a very attacking player and lacked discipline so I know there is an optimal balance in here somewhere it's just about understanding it that is so tricky. As I've gotten older and played at a higher level I have a deeper understanding of the pros, cons and risks of shooting and playing aggressive squash. Squash is definitely becoming more and more attacking so I normally promote this and let players choose which style of play they want to play. I might prod with a few questions if I sense poor selections are a reoccurring theme, but I also enjoy seeing people taking the initiative and making things happen on court.

What I did with this junior was I had her draw up a diagram of when she should, shouldn't shoot and where it might be ok to shoot. Below is a version that I did on the 'maybe area to shoot from' which I chose as the back of the court. We are taught to focus on hitting length from the back of the court and to get our opponent behind us before applying pressure from the midcourt area, but as our skill set improves we can take the ball in short from the back if the time is right. I thought about the different scores in a match where shooting from the back is ok and when it is not; area like when I'm having a lapse of focus, I'm tired, lacking confidence, angry or other specific scenarios I know the odds are against me while in other more positive situations I can attacking with a higher degree of success. I first started with a basic list of 3 categories titled 'Shoot', 'Don't Shoot' and 'Maybe Shoot' before moving onto the following diagram.

Squash can be pretty dull to play and watch if we are too patient and the rallies drag on without the use of the full court and moving our opponents around. This weekend I've been watching some of the Men's College Team Championships live feed and I noticed how much the general tactics have evolved, some for the better some not. In my last year of playing varsity squash we were still playing to 9 where you had to serve to win a point. Now everyone can bring the ball in short half decently and thinks they can hit nicks in a pressure situation. Greenly the kids are faster too and can often make up for their poor shot selections, that is until they come up against a real top class player.

When I was playing at university most kids were very patient, basic and fit. Now it looked like most kids were using the front of the court for a third or more of their shots and quite often at the wrong times. I saw kids going for nicks when they were behind their opponents and fatigued at the end of a long gruelling rally, off return of serves when they were down gameball and I saw many losing their focus and basic structure in their games. I also felt like their basic length was not very accurate, which is understandable if they don't play it all that often. That being said, I did also notice some kids who just can't apply pressure against fast opponents. So finding the balance between structure and playing aggressively is a real key point for me when I'm watching people play, coaching or when I'm competing as well.

I don't like telling someone not to play certain shots, because I like people to think for themselves and to be creative and engaged in their match, but there are clearly ways we can all be smarter about where and when we use the front of the court. Do you go short when you're off balanced, tired, under pressure, upset or simply because you think you can make the shot event though it isn't the best option? Your opponent's skill set pays a big part in when to use the front too. Do they hang too far back on the T or are they super quick? Is the ball really hot and bouncy? The amount you 'shoot' or use the front of the court will also vary as the match go on. As people fatigue and the ball slows down there will be more openings to use the front of the court, so just because you're an attacking playing it doesn't mean you have to come out guns blazing form the first point. It also doesn't mean you have to hit 33 nicks to win a match.

After watching these college matches I thought shooting would be a helpful topic for all of us. Find the balance and learn where and when you want to go for your shots. And if you want to improve your short game work on it all the time. The Secrets Of Solo Hitting has 10 of the best solo drills for working on your short game and Mastering Deception will teach you some great drills to improve your shot selection, anticipation, disguise and deception. Both films come with a money back guarantee. Pick up your copy today at SeriousSquashShop.com/collections/coaching-videos

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10 Ways To Get Your Opponent Out Of Their Comfort Zone

What is the point of a squash rally? What are you trying to do? Hit the ball away from your opponent? Hit the ball to the back? Many players have no strategy or just a very basic one and when we play someone like this you can have a certain amount of comfort in this. We know what shots we should go for and when we should play defence. Most people play pretty predictable, whether it's the right shot or not they hit shot x from position y without fault. I love playing people like this because often they are making predictable, yet poor decisions. If someone was predictable, but hit very good shots and with good choices that's a completely different beast, but we are talking about 99% of all us amateur squash players out there.

Okay, time to get to the good stuff. Making good choices and being more accurate, hitting harder, being faster and fitter are all areas which we can improve and will help our squash game immensely. But some of us don't have perfect techniques or the time to do these types of things. Some of us are also just not genetically gifted athletes, and although we can always get faster and fitter we know we will never outslug or outrun some teenager who has endless amounts of energy and never tires. So what else can we do? Well I like to think about making life miserable for my opponent and you an do this in a number of different ways. Let's take a look at some of these.


Getting your opponent out of their rhythm can not only help you win more points, it can also help you tire out and frustrate an opponent. Let's g through a number of ways which you can do this.


1) Don't be afraid to open up the court. Are you just playing straight dives until you get a loose ball? Is your opponent cheating with their movement because you never take any risks like playing the odd boast, drop or kill shot from the back. Even from the back of the court, if you have time and space and you pick the right time you can apply a lot of pressure by mixing things up with a short attacking ball.

2) Be super patient/disciplined. It's amazing what can happen when you get into a few 30+ shot rallies. All of the sudden your opponent could start to slow down and force mistakes. Simply extending the length of the rallies could take your opponent out of their rhythm if they enjoy the short quick fire types of points.

3) Pick up the pace. If you have the ability to do this you can really change the game. The ball gets bouncer, your opponent has less time to react to your shot. Changing the pace can definitely take an opponent out of their rhythm, especially if they like a controlled, medium or slow paced style of squash.

4) Aggressively hunt the volley. If you can volley a lot and not let the ball get to the back wall very often your opponent will tire quickly. You can hit volleys to all 4 corners and really work a player around and they will be unaccustomed to having such little time between shots and how fast they need to move. If you can do this you are most definitely controlling the points and going to win the war.

5) Use angles. Many people have difficulty covering boasts and crosscourt. It's also much harder to hit tight off of an angle than it is a straight shot. Some people also do not turn well and get caught leaning expecting the straight ball. I also love playing a few intentional shots down the middle. Even good players struggle with shots hit right at them. It's just not something practiced or expected. If you can hit a few good middle shots. disguise a boast and/or trickle boast your opponent is sure to never ask you for a rematch!

6) Slow the pace down. Some people just love a fast style of squash, so why play into their hands? If your opponent can do this better than you try and take pace away from them. This is what is known as the old lob, drop game. But if you want to play this way you have to practice it, because it takes a lot of ball control and focus to be able to play this way successfully at a high standard. It's also a style you can try for patches within a match perhaps to extend a few points or even just to keep your opponent off balanced with a blend of height and paces.

7) Vary your pace. Many players tend to get into a 1 pace hitting. Even when they go short they hit heavy. Your opponent will eventually get more comfortable with your pace of play if you never change it up. There are also times when lifting or hitting down on a ball can be more effective. Just be cautious about getting stuck playing at 1 pace for an entire match unless that's your intention.

8) Get on the ball early/hold the ball. Getting on the ball early isn't simply about volleying. It's also taking a length before the back wall when you can and jumping on short balls earlier then you normally would. If you get on the ball early you force your opponent to recover to the T quicker and this will tire them out faster. If you have the skill you can also now decide if you would like to hold the ball (as example of this to the right where I've set up nice and square for a straight drive and late in the swing I rapidly accelerate my wrist/forearm to change the angle of the shot). Messing with the timing that you hit the ball is not only fun for you, but incredibly frustrating and exhausting for your opponent. I've done a lot of short hitting over the years, so this is something I do which makes the court play quite big and can make it easy to control rallies against most amateurs.

9) Contain your opponent. This is a style you would hear all the commentators say guys should try and play like against Ramy Ashour. Hit it straight so we can't use his amazing attacking skills. Anytime you play a boast or crosscourt and it isn't hit in the perfect spot it's asking for trouble. I also find this strategy can test someones focus and fitness. If you can get an attacking player into a rotating straight drive type of rally you are taking them out of their comfort zone. Maybe they are not very fit or they try forcing the ball in short. So you see, sometimes doing nothing is a strategy and it can be highly effective.

10) Change your serves and return of serves. People get into habits at how they start a rally. Most people only play 1 type of serve to start a rally and the same 1 or 2 return of serves. Even if struck well our opponents will do better against these shots as the match rolls on simply from the repletion and practice. If you can add in alternate serve or return once in a while it can lead to a different type of rally and you might even catch your opponent asleep at the wheel.

I also suggest taking your time between points if your opponent is rolling off the points. I don't mean intentionally long stalling tactics, but you do get some time between points. Don't let them rush you if they're winning. Likewise for when your'e rolling. Get up to the service box and hit your serve and keep the momentum going when you've got it. A lot of this has to do with your opponent still mulling over their last mistake and starting the next point without refocusing. It's also highly effective when someone is upset, angry or tired. I call this fair gamesmanship, just don't be a jerk about it.

People want to feel skillful when they play and they want to look and feel good about their game. We all want consistency and we tend to play people we like competing against and whom play the styles of squash we enjoy. We basically don't like change and this is what makes us become more predictable ourselves. If you really want to expand your repertoire try and play different styles and levels of players and pick 1 of the above methods and see if it works. Try a new 1 the next time and eventually you'll find the right combination, that is if and until they adapt and you have to again make adjustments to their adjustments. This is now a chess match about adaptations. Just have fun with it and don't be afraid to experiment.

Even simply adding a condition to yourself in a match (without your opponent knowing) can be highly effective. You can even switch it up game from game. This could make it quite tough for your opponent to continually attempt to adapt to your adjustments, which also means you are the one dictating the game, not your opponent and this is what today's post is all about.

Check out all the mech at SeriousSquashShop.com I've reduced some prices on what is left while I consider what to add to the shop next. There are also 2 instructional films which can be purchased digitally. The Secrets Of Solo Hitting and Mastering Deception both come with money back guarantees and can be streamed and downloaded here: SeriousSquashShop.com/collections/coaching-videos

Other Serious Squash updates: deciding between a sponsorship proposal or producing a Serious Squash signature limited edition frame. I'm also starting to brainstorm ideas for the 3rd instructional film. The last 2 weeks of March I'll be running full day advanced junior spring break camps. Registration is limited to 12 kid per week. If you have a child interested in attending please email me at info@SeriousSquash.com for more information. In June I'm still sorting out details about a trip to Brazil to run some clinics for a bunch of clubs. If you'd like me to do this in your country please contact me as the summer is filling up quickly. I'm hoping to play the world masters in July and I run a lot of local junior training sessions here during July and August too.

Lastly, I'm always looking for more connections with Serious Squash. If you have a company that you feel would work well with Serious Squash please feel free to contact me. If you'd like to advertise on my page, discuss endorsements or if you have a project or project that you would like to team up with me on don't hesitate to ask.

Play To Win, But Focus On The Process

A pitcher in baseball may want to strike out the batter, but all they can do is select a pitch and try and hit his/her location. What the batter does afterwards is out of the pitchers control. A poor pitch can be swung on and missed while a perfectly executed pitch can be hit out of the park. This post is about learning to focus on making your pitch (with confidence) and accepting whatever follows. If you can continually concentrate your efforts on improving the quality of your pitches you will give yourself increasingly better odds at producing the desired outcomes. Everyone wants to win, but nobody can always win or completely control the outcome.

When we grow up we are surrounded by people praising achievement. People who win elections and win sporting championships get parties and parades thrown for them. I loved squash more than other sports because winning or losing was mostly in my control. In a team sport you can only do so much and I enjoyed having a big part to do with the outcome. When I was young I also loved winning tournaments. They'd make announcements at school after you won a tournament and you'd get some really cool trophy or squash racquet. I remember even making the front page of the local newspaper at some point.

I know from experience it's a difficult balance helping a kid along this journey because most parents want to support their children and embrace success, but also are careful of not pushing too hard on the result side of it. I enjoyed winning and being the best at something and my motivation was 100% intrinsic. If we're good at something we tend to like it, practice it more, become more skilled at it and win even more; the trouble with this process is that our ego can disrupt our progression and the ability to perform at our best because we are only thinking about winning and not necessarily on the process, which after all is what dictates the results. What a tough concept to grasp.

Fear or anxiety of a poor performance and outcome leads many people to avoid participation in tournaments. It's much easier to handle winning than it is losing. Other people love competition and only play their best squash when they're in a tournament. Do you still register for a tournament when you have no chance of winning it? Do you play better when you're a favourite or underdog?

After many years of playing and coaching at tournaments I have a more relaxed approach to competition, but don't let that fool you into thinking I still don't want to win every match I play or coach. It goes without saying that we should always give everything we have to try and win, but winning should never be our goal. I always try and praise effort and preparation over results. If you've done all you can to prepare and leave it all out on the court, the rest will be simple. I believe the outcome focus for tournaments puts extra pressure on you. I've seen it many times where someone plays not to lose and is unable to find their zone and coincidentally their best squash.

Although I've just stated how your focus should not be on winning, there is 1 trait that going into a tournament expecting to win can give you which is desirable and that's confidence. There's a big difference between someone that goes out there not expecting to win and someone who is. This is the difficult balance we need to find as a squash player. How do we step on court each time with the confidence to be successful without focusing on the outcome?

Many times when we play against stronger opponents we give them too much credit and play without belief that we can win and because of this we don't leave absolutely everything on the court. Even at the highest level you don't always see the underdog do absolutely everything within their power to win that match. But again, how can we do absolutely everything within our power to win our match without focusing on winning? It may sound cliche, but it really is about focusing on the process. If we can focus on the process we can concentrate on playing the right shot more often and less about avoiding slightly risky shots and not losing. If we think so much about only winning our current match it can hold back our long term development and we may not give our best effort when there is no chance of us winning. Try your best, play the right shot, commit to it and accept whatever the results may be. It's not just about this single shot, point or match. Maybe your opponent is simply better at the moment, but if so that's just a great opportunity to learn and become better from it.

A little more on playing a stronger player, at least try and keep them on court as long as possible. I see it all the time and people just try forcing the ball short from poor positions hoping to sneak a few cheap points or don't try at all, but that isn't going to beat a better player or allow you to improve; if anything you're just ingraining destructive mental habits. The best chances1 to beat a stronger player is to get into super long rallies and hope that they lose their focus and give you a few cheap points because maybe they are thinking too much about not wanting to lose. They may even get more tired than you expected and all of the sudden you can find yourself creating some more positive openings. That's why you should always give it everything you have and never panic during a match. If something isn't working yet, it doesn't mean it won't at some point. Keep fighting until the last point is over. You see people lose focus at game or match ball all of the time. It's almost like they let their focus slip because surely they can close it out from here. We start thinking about winning, or that we are about to win and we change how we think and play. This nicely illustrates how destructive the outcome focus can be to our squash.

In Canada we don't have an under 11 at nationals because they are worried about early specialization and kids competing at such a young age. I think this is crazy, because I believe it's up to the coaches and parents to help the kids learn about trying their best and having fun at a young age. We all need to learn how to handle both winning and losing. Yes there will be a few tears, but that's okay it's a learning process at this age. It's still a learning process in the under 19 division too! I think all kids will develop better if they can learn the delicate balance between wanting to win, but focusing on the process and development. Eventually you realize just how many areas there are we can improve in our squash game. We can improve our swing, our accuracy, our power, play around with different types of spin, make better shot selections and of course improve our mental game and get fitter, faster and stronger.

Winning happens if we improve all of our skills and become the best player we can be. It's nice to see your hard work pay off in the form of wins and rankings, but this is where fitness and technical testing can help too. If we can measure our improvement in our training sessions, we will have confidence we are improving without the need of specific outcomes or rankings. If we increase our confidence in our ability to play longer and harder railer or hit specific shots more accurately in our matches we will have a better chance of being successful.

You probably have heard the popular term, 'focus on what's under your control.' In sport this is so critical to playing your best. If we waste our energy getting upset about a lucky shot our opponent hit or a bad ref or a tough draw we are setting ourselves up for trouble. All of these things are out of our control and this is what makes life and sport so fascinating. It's learning how to handle adversity and focus on doing our best which this journey is all about. I love the challenge of trying to find the optimal mindset for playing my best squash most consistently. If you can do this and stay hungry to become the best you can possibly be you will get your share of results so don't worry about this area.

Wanting to win is fine, but focus on the process and on improving your game. When I ran a provincial junior camp before nationals this year I worked with some amazing young players. I had a questionnaire and the first question was what are there goals for nationals? Many had to win or make semis, etc. There's a lot that goes into winning such a big title and it's great to have such motivated athletes, but I also felt they were too result oriented. How are they going to play relaxed squash, especially when games are tight if they are focused on the outcome only? Again, you never know how the draw is going to be and how the other kids will play. Squash isn't like a class in school where getting an A for everyone is achievable. In squash there is only 1 winner, but that doesn't mean many of the kids competing shouldn't leave happy with how they performed and where there game is at. It's the fact that they (their ego), their coaches, parents and peers all want them to win too. Kids can easily attach their self-worth to their sporting results. If someone leaves absolutely everything out on the court and plays to the best of their ability that is as good or even better than someone who won the tournament. We need to learn how to feel satisfied with these areas regardless of the result. As I've already mentioned praise effort and preparation not results.

A competition is simply a tool to measure your game and how much you've improved and what you need to work on going forwards. If you come up a bit short you may be hungrier than the person who won the title. If you won the title you may put too much pressure on yourself to repeat this the performance the next time. These are the lessons that I love about sport and I wish I had someone to help me rid my ego and outcome focused squash brain when I was young. If I knew how damaging it could be to solely focus on the outcomes I'm sure I would have changed it because I wanted to be the best I could be, but I had no idea that my winning every single time I stepped out on court mindset was also causing damage to my development. Nobody wins every match and if you are you aren't getting challenged. And I know there's people out there saying that this is a soft Canadian way of thinking, but I disagree. I am all for trying to become the best you can be, but I think there is a healthier process of getting to this place.

I just got back from playing in the 35+ Canadian Nationals. When I was playing in the 30+ a few years back I played to win. One time I did and another year I was the runner up. The year I lost it bothered me a lot; I kept replaying in my mind how I could have won. But even now at my age I've realized how debilitating these goals and mindset can be to my performance. Yes I did finish 2nd this time around too, but I didn't leave the tournament constantly thinking about how much it sucks that I didn't win. I know how I can prepare a bit better next time and that's that. If I only played in a tournament when I knew I had a really good chance to win I may never play tournaments again; that's part of the beauty of sport. I used to always be asked 'what happened?' or 'how'd you lose to that guy?' if I didn't win a match or a tournament. That puts a lot of pressure on you, so it's really about learning to not care what others think about your squash game and letting go of your ego and focusing on what is under your control, the process and getting better. Yes I wanted to win this time around and I had a shot at it, but it just didn't happen. I tried my best I can live with that. Maybe I'll win next year and I'll give everything I have to make that happen, but that's not my goal.

Have you bought a copy of The Secrets of Solo Hitting yet? 99 copies sold and counting! It's a 64 minute instructional squash video on solo hitting. There are over 30 solo drills with tips on how to improve your solo practice. Pick up your copy at SeriousSquashShop.com/collections/coaching-videos Here's a preview from the Serious Squash Youtube page

2017 Canadian Junior Nationals

I always enjoy not only coaching my only athletes at the nationals each season, but also watching the top kids and how they're developing. I wrote a review from a previous nationals and I mentioned that kids were not shooting enough. That has certainly changed and today I'm going to go over a few other things I noticed from the top kids. Here's a link to the draws if you want to take a peak: https://squashcanada.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/draws.aspx?id=0B5066C6-BCD8-48CD-B57A-ADF9E4B706B6

The nationals this year was held in Vancouver, British Columbia. Although we weren't at altitude 4 of the 6 courts were quite bouncy while the 2 back courts were quite cold. Kids definitely had to be able to make major adjustments to their targets, T positioning and tactics depending on which court they were on. The 4 bouncy courts tended to lead to a lot of overhitting by the older kids. I was quite surprised how the top kids rarely hit a medium paced drive; they either chipped the ball with no pace whatsoever or they hit the ball as hard as possible, which would land way too short or bounce way off the back wall. So for me 1 of the biggest problems was the lack of dying attacking drives from the back of the court. Because of this lack of well weighed drives there was an obvious lack of volleying from the midcourt as well. Here's a short clip on how to easily practice some attacking drives.

Another challenge on the bouncy courts was bringing the ball short. The kids still went short, but they were still trying to hit winners. The top kids are all excellent athletes and very fast so trying to hit outright winners with a bouncy ball certainly cost them more mistakes. I really think they should be aiming for the angle of their drops and to get them tight and focus on them being a working shot, not an outright winner. Their so fast there's no need to try and hit a drop with no margin when they can cover the next shot anyways. It's the mindset that really needs to adjust here. They should focus on working their opponent and making them do hard movements and pop out lose balls by being accurate with their weight of drives and keeping their drops tight. And here again is a short clip on volley drops. Hit it with slice and get it finishing tight off the volley. If you aim for the nick it will likely bounce back away from the wall with such a hot ball.

An area I see some of the kids developing nicely is deception. A few of them have some nice holds from the front of the court. This holds true for even a few of the younger kids. It's enjoyable to see different styles and a more attacking brand of squash being played by the top kids. Even though they often play the attacking shot incorrectly and force the ball short when out of position it's a better to be a little overly aggressive than passive for their long term development in my opinion.

There's something that was blatantly poor from almost all of the kids at the event. This was their serves. I can't recall how many times many of the kids would simply put the ball in play and hit it right to their opponents racquet without breaking it off the sidewall. There was also very little creativity in serve variation. This is something I remember hearing a lot about when I was young and I guess kids still overlook the serve and the importance of how it can set up the rally.

I can't wrap up this summary without a quick mention of the refs. Oh boy. I hate picking on people that spend 4 full days doing a thankless job, but there were some pretty brutal decisions. I witnessed foot faults and no lets when strokes should have been awarded. I heard that the refs were told to make the players play the ball and to award no lets if they didn't make every effort, but clearly when it's an obvious stroke this shouldn't apply. I also think a foot fault warning would suffice. It's also disappointing that a few matches ended on blatantly incorrect decisions. This did demonstrate how well behaved almost every single kid is at this event. I was pleasantly surprised with how well the kids handled the refs calls, even when they were match decisive.

Lastly, I'm more than a bit concerned about the future of our top kids. They've clearly dedicated their lives to getting to the level their at, but where to they go after juniors? I'm sure some will go to a school and play squash, but what happens after that or if they want to pursue a pro squash career instead? There is zero system in place that helps with this process and there is no funding for them as well. There's also not enough small PSA events throughout Canada that these kids would be able to compete in to gain some affordable experience. As of now there's only 2 options in my book. The first one is to build up the resources themselves around them. It takes a big support team around an athlete to help someone play successfully at the pro level. This option may indeed be best set up at a top post secondary squash team at the moment.

The second option would be to go to another country and try and get in a training group with some other pros. There's many pro leagues in Europe which you can play in and make some extra money in. It's really a shame there isn't a better system to help our top kids get from juniors to the pro level. Instead of Squash Canada worrying about if they should have a under 11 divisions and specializing an athlete too young, they should focus on helping those that have dedicated their lives to squash and have no system to help them take the next step. We all have ups and downs in our squash career and it's so important to have a team to help keep you in line and on track during those dips in confidence or motivation.

Did you play in or watch any of the Junior Nationals? Please share your thoughts and stories. And if you were 1 of the kids that had some troubles with the areas I mentioned above, checkout the new film I recently released. The Secrets of Solo Hitting is a 64 minute advanced instructional film which contains 30 of the best solo drills. The drills are sectioned into 3 categories: Straight Drives, Midcourt/Volleys and The Short Game. There is also a Technical Testing section which would be extremely useful to use over the summer months to set some goals as you develop your technical skills and consistency. Over 70 copies have been sold so far to people from all over the world. Check out the preview video below and order your copy today at SeriousSquashShop.com/collections/coaching-video

Knowing When To Stick With Plan A

One of the most difficult things I have found as a player and also as a coach is deciding after losing a game to not change a thing. We all think that because we lose a game we must change something so we do better in the next one. This is a really difficult concept to understand in the heat of battle as a player and as a coach. We want to play our best and if we lose we don't like to admit that our opponents executed really well or that there is a thing called statistics that balance themselves out over the long haul and that sometimes a single game isn't long enough to know if our tactics will prevail. In squash there is also a major fitness and mental component to a match which we must be taken into account. Often times all we need to change is our focus and other times it's simply maintaining that concentration and effort after a disappointing result. Plus if all we ever think about and hear after a game is what could have been better, how are we ever going to be confident in what we did well and what was working? Focusing too much on areas that need improvement doesn't always mean you will play better after acquiring such knowledge. Ahh, the art of coaching.

If we are playing someone stronger than our level we shouldn't look only at the score to determine how well we are playing. Here I prefer to focus on playing the right shot and simple things, such as getting your opponent behind you or extending the rallies or making them work harder. This all makes sense, but what happens when we lose a game to a person that we believe to be at or even below our level? This happens to all of us and when it does our ego takes a real shot in the gut. We get twisted up because we can't understand how we are playing so poorly, again forgetting that we are up against an opponent who has come out for a real fight.

The first thing here is just to let go of the worry about the outcome (outcome focused does not give you desired outcome results). Worry leads to tension, overthinking, anger and potentially freezing up. The key isn't always making a change, it's normally just focusing on the process; keeping things simple and staying positive. Keeping things simple and doing the basics well can take you a long ways on the court; the challenge is that this becomes all the more difficult to do when our back is up against the wall. And remember that if your basics are superior to your opponents, over the course of a match most of the time things will go in your favour.

If we use excuses like the refs or our opponents lucky bounces, or how it's not our day or some stoppages in play we are never giving ourselves a real shot of playing our best squash. These are all obstacles that are created more psychologically than physically. If you can learn how to enjoy the challenge of the challenges you face you will have the best chance of overcoming them in a positive manner. This is what handling adversity is all about. It's easy to be a good sport when we're winning and playing well, but when things are going against us it's when it reveals our true character. Learn to change your reactions to these situations if you aren't handling them well. But let's get back to the topic at hand.

Let's once again discuss the situation where you are playing someone of a similar standard and lose a game. I often see people lose a game by 2 or 3 points and they think they need to do something drastically different the following game and they come out and they end up following this up with a worse result. Normally when this happens the most important thing you can do is go out and play the exact same game. You almost won the last game, why make a drastic change? When we are in these situations it is so difficult to just stick with a game plan, but remember it's first to win 3 games not best of 1 or 3! At a high level squash is very physical and mental and if you can play a similar standard game later in the match often your opponent will drop, either their focus or fitness (which in turns results in unforced errors).  When we try and change our game too much we begin to overanalyze and possibly try playing out of our comfort zone and this is when we may actually perform worse. So don't go changing things simply because you lose a game; change things because you feel like your strategy was incorrect or could be slightly smarter.

I believe that we try and drastically change game plans far too frequently when we lose a game. Often it is simply about slightly better execution so just being given some reassurance that they are on the right track can be quite helpful. As a coach we also feel like we know better than the athletes and that we should give them some amazing pointers that will turn the game around! Once in awhile this does happen, but a great coach will know when to reaffirm what the athlete is doing and keep them positive and upbeat returning to court. I know this goes against the famous Albert Einstein quote about insanity, 'doing the same thing over and over and expecting to get a different result' which is possibly why we feel such an urge to change something.

This is an area I'm still working on because it is different from person to person. This is also why I believe you should always focus on playing the right shot. After a rally (not during) is your time to quickly process your previous point. You may learn 1 thing from it about improving your shot selection in a future similar situation; good players can make adjustments in game like this. If you are focusing on poor execution that's where we get in trouble. If we begin to think about our swing it is incredibly difficult to change our mechanics during a match so those types of self-analysis are best left for after the match. We might know we need to hit it deeper so we can change our target, but we don't need to get into specifics regarding our swing and how to do this unless you are quite advanced and if you are this advanced you probably don't need to think about your swing mechanics whatsoever to change your targets.

So if Plan A didn't quite work, don't be so quick to jump to Plan B or C! Sometimes our best chance of winning is by sticking with what we just did. Knowing when to jump ship and went stay onboard is something you should think about and consider experimenting with. If you got away from your style too much and you think if you got back to your regular game it would help things then go for it! If you don't have a coach with you it can be quite helpful to make a few notes on an index card. You could have 2 or 3 styles or keys that can helps you play well.

For example: Plan A) Straight, deep and tight perhaps the pace is what needs to change so for example you can go to Plan B) pick up the pace and take the ball early! or maybe we are being too impatient so we look at Plan C) set up golden mid-court attacking opportunities by creating more pressure with your length

You could also try something a little different like this if your focus is on level of discipline/attacking. Plan A) Just play your game! Plan B) Be More AGGRESSIVE! Plan C) set it up before your fire it in!

Here's another simple card you could have if you want to focus on volleying or movement. Plan A) VOLLEY VOLLEY VOLLEY! Plan B) Get back to the T before they hit! Plan C) Be explosive off the T

Don't use too many at once. When we think too much we can get paralysis by over-analysis. Often a simple, gentle reminder works best. If you have a tendency to overhit the ball, maybe your notes should say Plan A) easy big guy, smarter not harder! Plan B) You're blowing them off the court! Plan C) Bring the heat!!!!

So just a simple cheat sheet can be quite useful and you'll notice I kept an option of doing what I was already doing; but sticking with this after losing a game is what today's topic is all about. If you feel the movement, pace or aggressiveness of play is your key to success design your card around that and maybe you'll stick with your Plan A's a little longer. All of today's article has to do with focusing on the process of your squash and not the outcome. I want to win as much as the next person, but our improvement and even the current result is often jeopardized by short term and result oriented thinking. If we jump ship maybe we aren't giving our opponents the opportunity to have a mental or physical lapse in their match. It isn't all about us on the court. Sometimes it's just about being so gritty and determined that it eventually breaks our opponent. I'm sure we can all think of someone who resembles these characteristics.

If you haven't heard yet, Serious Squash has just released a 64 minute instructional squash video titled, The Secrets Of Solo Hitting. This video contains 30 of the best solo drills aimed to improve your squash game with tips on how to best execute these drills and why they're so critical to your development. Stream or download a copy of the film at SeriousSquashShop.com/collections/coaching-videos and if you're not 100% satisfied with your purchase I will give you a full refund. Here's an in depth preview of the film:

Lose The Battle, Win The War

It's easy to see when you're opponent is really having to work hard to get a ball back. Maybe they hit a short length and they don't have time to get to the T and you go ahead and play a drop as they are so far away that they have to sprawl out completely just to get a racquet on your shot or even better they can't reach it at all. Making someone do a diagonal and get the tour in a rally is also quite enjoyable and it's obvious to both players who is going to win if these type of rallies continue. As you get better in squash it's not always so obvious to the observer or even the players who is doing more work. Assuming both players are equally fast and fit and have similar skill level, the player who has to work just a bit harder will likely break first, either mentally, physically or both. We all have a limit where out shots start to lose accuracy because we're late to the ball and even later recovering to the T. When we get fatigued we tend to make more poor decisions and the mistakes can tally up in the blink of an eye. Today we're going to talk about how to get someone to this breaking point and to tally up quick and easy points once they do.

One way to break your opponent is to lengthen the rallies. Even if you are equally fit, if you move more efficiently the duration of the rallies shouldn't hurt you as much as your opponent. If you can hit great length and width and minimize your opponents attacking opportunities they will eventually wear down because they are less efficient moving around the court than you. This tactic can also be effective if you're playing someone that is carrying more mass around the court. If you lose the first game or two, but the rallies are long don't panic; stick to your guns and keep the rallies really long. Your opponent may just win the war, but you have a good chance at coming back and winning the battle if you make it tough enough for them.

Another way to break your opponent is to increase the intensity of the rallies. Making the rallies harder does not necessarily mean that the points are any longer in duration. Learning how to make a good player work hard in a rally is tricky. At a high level we generally have to get our opponent out of position before attacking. If you can volley this is a good way to take time away from your opponent. Even a simple volley drive can be quite difficult on the legs and the lungs. This brings me to my next points. Think about which movements on the court are the most physically taxing on you. Are these the areas which are most demanding on your opponent as well? Perhaps it's a 2 wall gut wrenching attacking boast that makes you rush off the T and make a big stretch to the ball and then hustle equally as hard to get back to the T. Maybe it's having to rush to defend a perfect weighted length. Maybe it's going back into the same front corner twice in a row. All of these are certain shots which may not result in us winning the point out right, but can put quite a bit of work into our opponents legs, lugs and mind.

If you can make your opponent have to dig deep to stay in rallies, the outcome is really irrelevant. If you can find certain shots or combinations that are making your opponent play shots at a full stretch, at top speed, stop and change directions over and over you have a great chance of winning the match. This is tough to learn as a competitor and also to notice happening as an observer. I play a lot of holds and use deception a lot in my game and most people that don't see deception much get super tired quite quickly regardless of how fit they are. For someone like Paul Coll he uses his counter drops often and even plays them sometimes when his opponent is already high up on the T and expecting it. He's not always playing these drops as winning shots or even to set up a winning shot, he's simply trying to stretch out his opponent and make him do lots of work over and over again because he feels he is going to win the physicality battle when it's all said and done.

I've always said that it's important to make your opponent pay for going short from the back of the court. It's super hard work moving up there and getting back to the T so if at all possible I like thinking about counter attacking so they don't continue to employ this tactic. If your opponent is getting weak replies off a boast from the back they're going to keep going to the well. If you go up there and play a great counter drop or drive and put the pressure right back on them, well it may have been hard work for you to do so, but your opponent may think twice about playing that same boast again. So if you get beat on a short attacking ball from the back you have to look out for it again right away. If you were nowhere near the shot your opponent is going to think you were not watching, were flat footed, too far back on the T or perhaps you're just too slow or getting tired. Whatever the actual reason is, you have to be ready for it the next rally. Get back up on your toes, stay up on the T and watch your opponent closer. If they do go right back to this shot again get up up to it faster and make sure you do something with it, otherwise it's going to be a long and painful match (actually probably a very short match). So learning how to take away these openings which your opponents use to make you do the hardest movements are equally as important as learning to exploit them.

Another example of putting pressure and not going for the outright winning shot is playing volley drives off of your opponents length. When someone hits a ball that you can volley they are generally forced to run to the T faster and sometimes they get in front of you before you get to hit your volley. When this happens you should think about volleying it deep and make them have to back up and go dig it out again. This is such a tough movement if you hit a good volley and it can lead to another opportunity to volley. Many amateurs just see a ball they want to volley short and do it every single time and think that their drop just needs to be better. In this particular situation it's about how quickly their length was struck. If you can volley quickly, prior to your opponent getting up high on the T the short shot might be the best opening. If on the other hand the ball was not hit that fast and your opponent has time to get back up high on the T, you can assume a good player is up and covering the front of the court and now the open space to attack into is back deep again. This takes a lot of skill and practice to get to this level, but it's an important part of learning how to have some patience and to focus on making your opponent work hard so you can win the battle.

Attacking drives, boasts, counter drops, holds and volleys are all so critical to working your opponent. At the highest level these shots in themselves rarely win points outright, but they eventually lead to a mental or physical breaking point which leads to cheap errors or slower movement, weaker lunges and easier opportunities for you. Learning to take the ball early, use the whole court, move the ball around and make your opponent rush back to the T only to hit it back to where they just came from or even have to change directions are so tough on the body no matter how fit you are.

Don't always think about winning a point or get bothered by the result of each rally or even of a game or two. Focus on being efficient with your movement and making sure you can get out of trouble within 1 shot whenever possible and at the same time making your opponent twist and turn, stop and start, rush, lunge, reach, stretch out and scramble. There is nothing quite as enjoyable as the feeling of breaking a strong opponent and then reaping the rewards of easy points and certain victory. Which also leads to the point that if you and your opponent are both working equally hard with the same fitness and skill levels the difference is going to be between the ears. Mind over matter is what it comes down to. Oh how great is squash? The perfect mixture of skill, mental toughness, physical fitness and tactics.

Next time you get out on court think about what movements or shots give your body the most trouble and notice what shots give your opponent the most too. Just because they return the shot or even hit a great shot, they still did some work and eventually with enough chips of the hammer that will reveal itself. Just like the San Antonio Spurs sign in their dressing room reminds them reads, "When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it -- but all that had gone before."

 Coming soon is the first full length Serious Squash film titled 'The Secrets Of Solo Hitting.' The video portion is almost complete and then it's the editing and audio portion. It will be available for purchase at SeriousSquashShop.com once completed. For now check out some of the clips from this project on the Serious Squash Instagram or Facebook page or on my youtube channel at cchsquashpro.