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Tall squash players?

Published: 07 Mar 2006 - 00:06 by reraw

Updated: 24 Sep 2008 - 12:20

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I have recently began playing squash for a club, about 6/7 months now, and i have noticed that alot of the better sqaush players are six footish types. I am only 5, 8". Do you need to be tall to be a really good squash player?.

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From Bolgy - 14 Mar 2006 - 12:03

I'm 6'3" and I find that while my height is advantage in some aspects, it also has it's disadvantages. Jonathon Power is right in that saying making tall players continually bend down to pick up the lower balls makes them work harder. There are a couple of guys at the club I play at who are quite short and hit the ball really low and hard. I find them awkward to play.

There are plenty of short players out there who do really well though, a good current example is Alex Gough. Machine! What ever he lacks in reach he makes up for in pure speed. Bengy's another one, and Peter Nicol is not much taller.

Just play to your strengths.

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From lowrider - 13 Mar 2006 - 16:40

i play with a friend who is 6'4" tall.  he also has a plus 4" ape index (ie long ass reach). i am 5'11" and negative 2" ape index.  i have yet to lob him succesfully, and it is really hard to put the ball where he cant get it.  he is able to reach the corners in 1 or 2 steps sooner than i can. also, since he is so big he takes up much of the court, so it is hard to manuever around him. this to me is the most frustrating part.  i call let many times when his massive body blocks the other half of the court.   i may be exagerating a little, but it really seems much harder to play him than my other oponents who are more my size.  im probably just a little bitter cuz i just got smoked 3 matches in a row today by him so it felt like he was over dominating just by size. but there is defenitely some things that hold him back. i just havent learned to capitalize on them very well or very consistently yet. 
just like anyone else it is something you have to adapt too.  it is hard, but its also hard playing someone whose 5'5" and hella fast.  different opponents = different game.

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From raystrach - 07 Mar 2006 - 07:35

to answer the question...

NO.

there are plently of examples of short champions. i remember reporting on this site in an answer to a question that jahingir khan, one of the greaest ever, was  5' 9'. geoff hunt was about the same.

reraw ,  dont let your height hold you back!

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From rippa rit - 07 Mar 2006 - 07:17   -   Updated: 07 Mar 2006 - 07:20

The points aprice and Slavi make are very valid observations.
Well, I have  been thinking about the new breed of player recently, and they are not the norm average size any more.  Maybe the hot bouncy ball due to the new style power rackets, fitter players, prolonged rallies suits the stature.
As Arthur said the height sure makes the lob hard to get over their head with that tremendous reach.
With a long gangly person, it is certainly an advantage to make them twist and turn, as it is hard on the body and fitness moving those limbs around, and then bending down, and recovering to the centre court.
Smaller players are generally quicker, and more agile. Therefore,  what they lack in reach they gain in speed.  They probably move around quieter so are harder to track.  So the shorter players have to creep around under the armpits of the others, hey!
Yeah, like all the other attributes and strategies, there are pluses and minuses.
Remember there are always exceptions to the rules.
The bottom line is, what can we do about it - nil.

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From drop-shot - 07 Mar 2006 - 02:43   -   Updated: 07 Mar 2006 - 02:43

... and according to Jonathon Power, when you play tall players you should play a lot of low balls to make the opponrnt bend and go down a lot... Well, that's just a joke :)

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From aprice1985 - 07 Mar 2006 - 02:18

I know nothing of tall players except don't lob them, they will be able to jump well but you may find that they don't twist and turn as well and so alternating from side to side and keep the ball low so they have to bend more may help.  They may also be slow to accelerate due to having more mass so making them run may help however if the ball is close enough their added reach will aid them.  I would say there is no major anatomical advantage to being tall, it will help some aspects but hinder others

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From drop-shot - 07 Mar 2006 - 01:03   -   Updated: 07 Mar 2006 - 01:03

Well, according to my experience, your height has no influence on your game. Obviously, tall players have longer legs and arms so they may (!!!) get the ball faster, but still I would not put too much weight on height of the player. But ... hey, we have doctor on the forum (or somebody-to-be-a-doctor-soon), so Artie, please speak up :)

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Excellent tip that Rita.

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