Today I'm going to talk about tactics and the mental game. In particular I'm going to talk about what to do and not do after you lose the first game. Some of us are naturally slow starters and take awhile to find our length or adjust to our opponent's style of play; perhaps our brain is still thinking about work or school. Regardless of why you end up losing the first game the match is a long ways from over.
With the scoring system now using point a rally to 11 the better player doesn't always win the first game. This is a smaller sample of points compared to playing to 15 or hand out scoring. This is why the warm up is crucial. You want to get off to a good start. If you don't you start thinking negatively and trying to do something special to turn things around. Nerves can also play a big factor in how you play the first game. If you are a bit nervous the first part of the game you may make a few mistakes or read the game slower than normal and make a few poor choices. This is alright, no need to panic. This is again why a good warm up and some relaxation or visualization can help you get off to a more consistent start to your matches. But this post isn't about how to get off to a better start, this is about coming back from losing the first game. So let's get to it.
After losing the first game generally we are upset. We probably feel that we just didn't play well. Of course this may be true some of the time, but we have to give credit to where it's due. This is where having a coach can help you. Coming off after losing the first game one can feel emotional and have trouble dissecting what has gone wrong out there. As you become more experienced you will get better at reading this for yourself.
When you come off the court after losing the first game, start off by asking what was going well for you. We tend to always pick on all the things we did poorly, which rarely help us. If you can't think of anything you did well, come up with a basic and positive strategy for game 2. A couple of good ideas are trying to get your opponent to the back of the court, visualizing some targets for your drives (behind the service box or just getting the ball to the back glass can help). Maybe you need to focus on extending some rallies and this can help you relax and change the momentum of the match.
When dissecting what happened in the first game you want to know a few important points. Even if you lost the game if your opponent did more work than you, this can be very positive for game 2 and the rest of the match. If this happens you may not need to change a thing. Stick to your plan and eventually their game will slow down and you will keep playing at the same level. If you did most of the work and still lost the game you may just be up against some stiff competition. Unless you're a lot fitter than your opponent you need to try and change this. Start giving yourself more time between shots; get your opponent off the volley; step up and volley to take time away from them, etc.
The psychology of winning and losing can be very damaging to your game. You may play a great game and just because you don't win it you are dissatisfied and feel like you need to change something. Losing a game by just 2 or 3 points doesn't imply you did anything wrong. Perhaps your opponent is just slightly more accurate or experienced. In this case do you really need to drastically change your strategy or just do a slightly better job executing it?
If you feel you need to change your style of play to be more successful, how can you do this? Are you comfortable upping the pace? Slowing it down? Can you push up on the T and try to volley more? Can you play straighter? Or perhaps more boasts and crosscourts? Can you try and extend or shorten the points? If there is a certain style that will increase your odds of winning you should try it. Of course this means you have to be able to execute this new strategy. So you should practice playing different ways. But remember you don't always need to make drastic changes to turn the game around. Maybe you were being too passive or forcing the ball short too quickly. But if you come up against someone who does what you do but better, do you have an option B? If not you're not going to have any luck.
Whatever happens in the first gam try and keep your emotions out of it. If you lose the game, it's over with. You have 90 seconds to refocus. Don't waste that entire time thinking about that past game and how awful you played. By the time you step back on court you want to have a clear picture of how you want to start and finish the next game. Sometimes I will just try and get off to a better start. I will try and get to 5 points first. Other times I know I need to execute the basics more accurately to open up the rest of the court.
The one area I would caution you with is overloading information between games. Keep the instructions simple, yet clear. I've made the mistake of giving too much information to someone and you should always err on the side of less information. First thing I do is make sure to get the person feeling more upbeat and then refocused on the next game and the strategy. If you can do this well you will give yourself the best chance of turning things around and tying things up.
Winning and losing is quite psychological. We want to blame the ref or some lucky shots, but in the end it's just a small sample and it's only 1 game. Sometimes the best thing to do is to be able to forget what happened, kind of reset yourself and go out focused, positive and with a clear strategy for the next game. This is why the mental game and tactics are so interesting. We see it at every level. With young kids (and some adults) we can easily read the self-detructive thoughts that they are thinking and feeling. We also see this at the very highest level. Some players are better at coming back from losing the first game than others. Especially if you feel like you left it all on the court, played well and it was a long physical game. Staying positive under the most daunting conditions is a skill that only some players possess, but is not a quality that can only be found at the professional level; losing the first game, regardless of how or why is simply an opportunity for you to showcase this ability.
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Tactical Talk: Meat and Potatoes With A Side Of Gravy
Today I'm going to talk about tactics. In particular a simple and effective strategy for playing a solid game of squash. You need to have the basics, which I refer to as the meat and potatoes. The basics are the length, width, serve and return of serve. If you do the basics well you will beat most people. The basics is the area that most kids don't enjoy practicing because they don't understand the importance of what exactly defines good length and width; they prefer practicing hitting winners. The fancy finishing shots is the gravy, but without the meat and potatoes to go with the gravy it will just sit unused in the gravy boat.
I like to play and coach an attacking style of squash, but this doesn't always suit everyone's game. Personally I never enjoyed just keeping the ball in play until the opponent made a mistake. This may make sense in a few tactical situations (e.g., your opponent is exhausted or self-destructing). If you hit a good length and force a loose ball, do something with it! This is the gravy part that takes a lot of practice to refine and this territory comes with a few mistakes, especially as you are learning and refining these shots. Many people make mistakes and shy away from the front of the court altogether. While some shooters don't have the basics down and force the ball short and make lots of unforced errors. If you can try and stick to a basic strategy of going for what you've set up, you'll improve and reduce your unforced errors. If you create a good opening go for it. This is what the purpose of good length is cause at a high level you won't win a bunch of points hitting everything to the back.
If you do the basics exceptionally well you may be able to go on the attack very early in the rally and roll over someone quite quickly. If you aren't applying any pressure with your serve, return or length you likely won't get many chances to attack the front of the court from a good position. I see strong attacking players completely give up on their length when they are unable to apply any pressure with their length against a stronger opponent. This will vey rarely ever work. Attacking from the back on occasion can be done quite successfully, but only if you can consistently get the ball by your opponent and have them struggle in the back corners. When this happens they will tend to start hanging back to cover the corners as this is where you've been hitting most of your shots into anyways.
I should also mention the positioning of you and your opponent when you go on the attack. If you're opponent is so far out of the picture you don't need to hit an inch above the tin. Hit the ball with conviction, but with a few extra inches for margin of error. Aim to hit it tight just in case your opponent makes a heroic effort and gets the ball back. You don't need to hit an outright winner, keep the pressure on without giving up cheap points on unforced errors from attacking positions. If you want to have a great attacking game (the gravy) you need to relentlessly work at it. For a lot of kids this isn't a problem; they love playing the nick game, but most adults don't spend time doing drills or getting the reps on short shots. So of course when they make an error or two they don't have the confidence to go for the next one and if they do it will probably be a couple of feet over the tin. Practice your gravy shots, but they are generally not what will win or loose you matches. This brings me to my next point.
I see people hit a great attacking shot and stand and admire it. All of the sudden their opponent gets it back and either wins the rally or you are struggling to get back a mediocre reply. Always expect the ball to come back until it's bounced twice. Get back into position as you're watching your shot and the play develop. Be ready for the next one and if your opponent is under pressure you should be expecting a certain reply. If you go short you have to cover your shot which is why many people don't like to drop right up at the front of the court. They are too far from the T and if their opponent hits it deep they will be under lots of pressure if they can get the ball back at all. This can also be an issue if you're mobility is limited or you're playing a very fast opponent. If you don't move well or your opponent is fast you'll have to really practice those attacking shots so they apply more pressure of be more selective about when to attack short.
So what's the best part of your game? The meat and potatoes or the gravy? The gravy is more fun of course, but you need the meat and potatoes first. But also don't neglect the gravy or you'll be stuck playing long arduous rallies. The earlier you begin incorporating some attacking shots as you develop and learn the game the better off you'll be down the road. Set it up, attack and cover!
I like to play and coach an attacking style of squash, but this doesn't always suit everyone's game. Personally I never enjoyed just keeping the ball in play until the opponent made a mistake. This may make sense in a few tactical situations (e.g., your opponent is exhausted or self-destructing). If you hit a good length and force a loose ball, do something with it! This is the gravy part that takes a lot of practice to refine and this territory comes with a few mistakes, especially as you are learning and refining these shots. Many people make mistakes and shy away from the front of the court altogether. While some shooters don't have the basics down and force the ball short and make lots of unforced errors. If you can try and stick to a basic strategy of going for what you've set up, you'll improve and reduce your unforced errors. If you create a good opening go for it. This is what the purpose of good length is cause at a high level you won't win a bunch of points hitting everything to the back.
If you do the basics exceptionally well you may be able to go on the attack very early in the rally and roll over someone quite quickly. If you aren't applying any pressure with your serve, return or length you likely won't get many chances to attack the front of the court from a good position. I see strong attacking players completely give up on their length when they are unable to apply any pressure with their length against a stronger opponent. This will vey rarely ever work. Attacking from the back on occasion can be done quite successfully, but only if you can consistently get the ball by your opponent and have them struggle in the back corners. When this happens they will tend to start hanging back to cover the corners as this is where you've been hitting most of your shots into anyways.
I should also mention the positioning of you and your opponent when you go on the attack. If you're opponent is so far out of the picture you don't need to hit an inch above the tin. Hit the ball with conviction, but with a few extra inches for margin of error. Aim to hit it tight just in case your opponent makes a heroic effort and gets the ball back. You don't need to hit an outright winner, keep the pressure on without giving up cheap points on unforced errors from attacking positions. If you want to have a great attacking game (the gravy) you need to relentlessly work at it. For a lot of kids this isn't a problem; they love playing the nick game, but most adults don't spend time doing drills or getting the reps on short shots. So of course when they make an error or two they don't have the confidence to go for the next one and if they do it will probably be a couple of feet over the tin. Practice your gravy shots, but they are generally not what will win or loose you matches. This brings me to my next point.
I see people hit a great attacking shot and stand and admire it. All of the sudden their opponent gets it back and either wins the rally or you are struggling to get back a mediocre reply. Always expect the ball to come back until it's bounced twice. Get back into position as you're watching your shot and the play develop. Be ready for the next one and if your opponent is under pressure you should be expecting a certain reply. If you go short you have to cover your shot which is why many people don't like to drop right up at the front of the court. They are too far from the T and if their opponent hits it deep they will be under lots of pressure if they can get the ball back at all. This can also be an issue if you're mobility is limited or you're playing a very fast opponent. If you don't move well or your opponent is fast you'll have to really practice those attacking shots so they apply more pressure of be more selective about when to attack short.
So what's the best part of your game? The meat and potatoes or the gravy? The gravy is more fun of course, but you need the meat and potatoes first. But also don't neglect the gravy or you'll be stuck playing long arduous rallies. The earlier you begin incorporating some attacking shots as you develop and learn the game the better off you'll be down the road. Set it up, attack and cover!
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