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Alphabetic Squashy Hints for 2012

Posted: 30 January 2012 - 0 comment(s) [ Comment ] - 0 trackback(s) [ Trackback ]

February sees Squash Players return to the courts, fattened from their Festive feasting and desperate to fight the flab and flourish the racquet. For most, New Year’s Resolutions will have already dissolved with memories of the mistloe, but the committed few will be willing themselves forward to stick to those committed plans. Diaries with dates, deadlines and tournaments will be neatly ear-marked, providing yard-sticks for their squash year.

To keep you on track, some alphabetically-ordered tips to make 2012, the squash year of your dreams.

A : is for Attack. While patience, and keeping things tight are always safe options, squash is becoming far more attacking and we need to develop our skills in the front of the court – the drop shot from the tee, the counter-drop, boasts and hitting the nick. More importantly, we need to understand WHEN to attack, and when to defend.

B: is for balance. In lifestyle, but also, while playing your shot. This year, you are not going to rush. In life , or on the court. You are going to glide to the ball, position yourself and play that shot you decided on as you left the tee. No mind-changing and rash decisions. And B, is also for Beer, that beautiful beverage that analyses, dissolves the memory of loss and bonds squash buddies in camaraderie.

C: is for control . This year, we are not going to just bliksem the ball, and hope that pace will conquer all. Shots played at 80% power but tighter, and dying in the corners are far more rewarding. How good is it to see your opponent dissolving in a dribble of sweat as he curses his tinned shot from the far corner. And control, in terms of behavior. No self-cursing, no referee-cussing.

D: is Doubles. Great for a sweat, great for meeting new people and mixing players of different ability, great for the slowing and slightly injured and a great tool to develop skills .

E: is Eastern Province. Our provincial sides had tournaments to forget in 2011. But there is a new vibe, and under Richard Driscoll’s guidance, 2012 will see the province back where it belongs – dominating amongst the Juniors, competing fiercely at Jarvis and Kaplan, and over-whelming with our numbers at Masters events

F: is for Fitness. If you haven’t started, yet, there is still time. But be clever. You will be amazed at how quickly you will be back-on-track, playing 2 or 3 matches a week. For those with higher ambitions, separate training sessions are imperative. Now is the time to be doing your work on court, with ghosting, and speed-related exercises. Are sit-ups and skipping part of your daily routine ?

And F is also for FUN - if you lose this aspect of squash, you have lost everything

G: is for Goals. If you don’t know where you are going, you’re probably there already. Push yourself a little . Write your goals down, both long-term, and performance goals, tell people about them –otherwise they are just wishes, which will get washed away in the hurly-burly of day-to-day activities.

H is for Hosting and Hansa. . Hosting is creeping back into our League ethos, and makes for a much more pleasant league experience and opportunity to meet new squash friends over some bitterly cold Hansa’s.

I is for Injuries – the bane of squash players’ lives. Let 2012 be injury free by doing gentle but dynamic stretching before your game, and controlled post-match stretching …. And before you have that much needed beer, make sure you re-hydrate with some of the more healthy liquids.

J: is for Joining a Club, and getting into the League structures. There are so many talented players hitting around socially. Clubs broaden your circle of playing partners and Leagues, are the best way to improve your game. And the camaraderie and friendship of a league side is special

K: is for Killer Instinct. This year those 13-7 leads against your nemesis are not going to happen. You will be calm and focused and play those last few rallies as if the score was 0-0. The game plan that took you to 13-7 will provide with some famous victories

L is for Length. The foundation of any player’s game. Without it, you will lose. Be clear in your mind what a good length is and if you are losing, this should be your first point-of-reference. And don’t forget the Lob - the most under-utilised shot in squash

M is for matches. Hunt for matches. Break the habit of playing the same folk week in and week out. Play people who are better than you. Don’t worry about losing. See how many points you can score, how long you can make each game last. Play with weaker players as well, but restrict yourself to only using certain shots.

N is for a New Shot to bring into your artillery. A Reverse angle, a trickle boast, a corkscrew service, a drop from the back of the court, a hard service, aimed directly at your opponent’s chest, a high, floaty soft service, a “plop” service, a backwall boast,….

O – is for an Open Court strategy. Much of our squash is mindless, and we moer the ball straight back to our opponent. This year, hit the ball away from your opponent, into the corners

P – Planning, Preparation and Practice. Plan your year and plan for matches. Know who you are playing, and think out a game plan. Get to the courts early. Pack properly. Practise. On your own. Properly, and perfectly. And if there is one thing to improve on, it is early racquet preparation

Q – Your practice and training sessions must drip with Quality sweat . Know what you want to practice, set yourself targets and mix skills with movement and fitness. 30 minutes of regular quality practice will take you to places you have not been before.

R – Recovery to the Tee. This year, your movement to the tee is going to be ‘blitzig”, and the benefits will be beautiful. And R is also for Referees. They, like you, probably don’t really want to be in that chair. Treat them with respect, and buy them a beer.

S is for Sex and Strokes . Never let Squash interfere with that important aspect of your life !! Just thought that I would slip that one in. Strokes and Lets. Read Rule 17, the Interference Rule. Just a reminder – strokes and lets are the decisions made by the referee, and, as the referee, he can’t change his decision.

T – Tournaments and trials – places where you can rocket up the rankings, or slide. Use them as a yardstick of where you are, and where you need to go. And if you don’t normally do tournaments, try them. Lots of concentrated squash, different people and lots of fun. And the EP calendar is FULL of events for all levels of play. And T is also for the TEE. Be there. And win

U –Understanding. Hopefully your wife and family will develop an understanding of your need to release those happy little squashed endorphins, which will in turn make you a far more pleasant person at home.

V – if ever a shot can change your game, it is the volley . Keeps you on the tee, reduces your opponent’s recovery time, and speeds up the game. And Visualisation – such a powerful tool but like your technique and skills, needs constant, regular ,perfect practice

W . Play to Win without Whining , and the Wine-ing will be wonderful, but spare some thought for our Squash widow wives who wonder where you are wandering and who wash those sweaty whites. And Clubs – when your women numbers start waning – watch out.

X is for the X –Factor. That unknown quantity that makes you so difficult to beat. Your uniqueness. Playing to your plan, aware of your strengths, point-for-point. Not thinking backward, or too far forward. Just this rally.

Y s for Yawning !! Yes, do you yawn before a big match ? Chances are you are not tired or bored. More likely, you are nervous. Learn to identify when you are nervous as this can be so debilitating. Running on the spot, breathing, smiling are all good antidotes

Z is for the Zone. That wonderfully mysterious place where you go when your mind and body are in synch. And you can take yourself there if you develop the abilities to relax and concentrate and control your emotions.

So as we head into 2012, remember that on the night, The Best Man Won. This year, Win and Lose, quietly. You will have tried your best, you will have exercised, sweated and competed, and for that you are a better person. Appreciate the fact that you can still be on the court, and experience Squash and all the good things it brings into your life

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You got the moves like Jagger ?

Posted: 30 January 2012 - 2 comment(s) [ Comment ] - 0 trackback(s) [ Trackback ]

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Dancing is not my forte’. Socially educated at the Grip-and-Graunch Garage parties of the Seventies in King William’s Town, moves on the dance floors were limited because of bodies in the corners, spades and rakes hidden behind record players, and that teenage tension and desire to get close-and-personal with any of the King Dream team, who were available on the prescribed Friday night.

My formal education into waltzes and two-steps was a crash course run by my mother on the Friday before a matric dance which resulted in a stilted, non-conversational dance style linked to whispered counting and consistent glances at my leaden-filled feet. While ( I think ) I am a reasonably presentable male with a reasonable intelligence and a reasonable sense of humour, females feared my fumbling approaches as they tip-toed away to the toilets. At university, my Afrikaner friends raised on a healthy nutrition of “ lang-arm dans”, had girls swooning and queuing to accompany them on the dance floor. I, conversely, between beers of Dutch courage, plodded along, counting my 1-2-3’s, stepping on toes and ‘shoulder-charging” unexpectant couples. To be different, I resorted to wild, frenetic, sweaty Saturday Night Fever/ Grease and Dirty Dancing-type gyrations in an attempt to attract attention. And as a person with limited musical rhythm, this was not pretty. This “season” of dancing was brought to an abrupt halt by my future wife, when she told me, that as much as she loved me, I looked like an idiot on the dance floor, and by association, she felt like one too. My confidence was shattered, and I have become a dancing wall-flower.

I am sure you are asking yourself, “What is this oke on about ? What does his ineptitude at dancing, have to do with Squash ?”

Well, it’s all about Movement.

Coaching someone to hit a squash ball is easy. Coaching someone to move effectively is difficult. For many years, movement has largely been ignored, and players, similarly to me and my dancing education, have been left to their own devices and have developed a myriad of bad habits in the process.

Many people will watch squash and marvel at the incredible speed and retrieving skills of the top players, yet effective squash movement is not all about speed. And for players whose strength is speed, speed can become their biggest weakness, as they use their speed ineffectively, and get themselves into bad positions, which impacts on their shot selection, and shot production. Many people are turned off squash when seeing it on TV, as firstly, they struggle to follow the ball, and secondly, the top players seem to glide effortlessly around the court, much like good dancers, and make the game look very simple. Good movement starts with 2 of the most basic principles of squash. Watching your opponent, and recovering to an area around the tee.

Most beginner squash players are ‘front-wall watchers” and only react, and start moving to the ball after it has hit the front wall. Hence, the efficacy of cross-court shots and boasts at beginner level. As players improve, they think that they watch their opponent play their shot, and most squash players think that they recover to the tee. And maybe they do, but not properly. It is all about split seconds.

Watching your opponent play his shot has huge benefits. Apart from avoiding being burned and bruised by that searing rubber ball-bullet, you can start picking up clues via body position and racquet preparation as to what shot is to be played, and in many cases, you can start moving in the correct direction, before the shot has even played .

Recovery to the Tee, is the most serious ailment. As in Golf, where many a duffed shot is a result of lifting one’s head in expectation of seeing your ball flying seamlessly into the heavens, most squash players, having hit the ball, stop, momentarily, to see what the result of their shot has been. And then they move towards the tee. This delay is the key, as they are now a metre off the tee area when the opponent plays his next shot and now have to sprint to the ball, which then results in not being able to stop properly, getting too close to the ball and losing balance as they perform their next shot. And so begins a snowball-effect as you are moved more and more out of position, and have to run further and faster after each shot.

The ideal, is to be positioned on the tee with knees slightly bent, watching your opponent as closely as possible, picking up clues as to the probability of his next shot, weighting yourself in that direction.On leaving the tee, preparing your racquet and decide what shot you should be playing, glide to a position from which you would play your shot, leaving sufficient stretching space between you and the ball, and from a balanced position, play your shot. Now, is when you must MOVE. Recovery to the tee, should be your quickest movement. A short quick burst, and you are ready for your next shot.

But how do you improve your movement, especially once bad movement habits have been imprinted into your muscle memory ? The secret is Ghosting – the equivalent of Shadow Boxing. Be warned – some of your regular playing partners may think you have “lost your senses” over the Christmas break, but get onto the court on your own with a racquet and simply practise moving around the court as you would in a match. To do ghosting correctly, one should concentrate more on the technique of movement, gliding to the position from where you would play the ball , selecting a shot, playing the shot correctly, and then moving quickly back to the tee, constantly visualizing the rally as if it were happening in a real match situation. One of the most important changes you can make when Ghosting, is selecting your shot as you move to the tee, as your sub-conscious will then position your body correctly for your chosen shot. The second area of focus should be where the ball would be, and maintaining a distance between yourself and the imagined ball.

Most players stick to a set schedule, moving from corner to corner in a clock-wise , or anti-clock-wise direction, but random shot selection is probably better. These exercises can be further advanced by isolating specific areas , and only moving from cross-court to cross-court, or just focusing into the back areas of the court.

Ghosting sessions, linked to solo practice, will add huge value to your game. Apart from improving your movement on the court, if you are playing the shot correctly, you will also improve your stroke technique. Break your session into 30 to 45 second sessions with equal amounts of rest , and as a fitness exercise, it will add even more value, as you are replicating the exact movements of a real match.

I wonder. How many girls could I have made happy, had I been given this sort of “dancing education” as a young, virile teenager ?

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Alan Stapleton

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