If I'm playing someone weaker, I'll practice things that I get told I need to improve on. For example, I'm quite a hard hitter (not a rash player who just swings at the ball, I just feel more comfortable putting a bit of power into drives) and I get told all the time to take a bit of pace off the ball.

So when I play weaker players, I practice hitting it a bit slower, taking the pace off so it dies in the back corners. I also like to keep the rallies going when I'm playing a weaker player, because I feel you don't learn anything if you go for a straight winner and end the rally after 3-5 shots.

Back to top

Back to top

hello aprice,

i sometimes go through the exact same problems as you. getting frustrated only makes things worse though. you will have to start reading the game better, move onto the t and watch that ball properly ie turn around a bit more so you can see the ball in the corner and keep looking until you know where its going to go. playing hackers is always hard, they are not supposed to be as good as you but yet the seem to give you loads of trouble right? goodd tight lenght and width will beat these players every time, they wont have the technique to give a good return to your good length shots. however, one mistake i used to make was playing too much length against these hackers, they soon cop on and realise the ball is going to come back every time. mix it up with some back court drops and boasts, i found that when you start mixing the game up, it can totally destroy opponents. they get confused and frustrated cos they dont know what shot is coming next.

just one more thing, it sounds like you are letting your opponents dictate the place and type of play. impose your own game on them and dont give them that chance to dictate. give a good tight serve, wait for the weak reply while on the t watching and impose your game from this point, ie volley the lose shot or return the length shot with interest.

hope this helps.

Back to top

aprice - you were too quick with your reply.

Go to "discuss this topic" as added to my reply below. 

Gotta keep thinking.   Not just head down and tail up when you have a difficult problem!!

Back to top

My serve is normally one of the better parts of my game but against this opponent it wasn't working, against other people of a similar level it is fine, i should have tried a lob serve a bit more but the ball as warm and tending to come off the back wall quite a bit.

Back to top

aprice - instead of worrying about the low hard drive coming from the opponent, think about your serve.

Sounds like your serve has to be closer to the side wall (fear he might hit the wall so he backs off).

Get the serve high enough overhead, and then it does not have to be so close to the side wall (so he has to reach up high to return it, making power difficult).

Soft enough so it does not rebound back into the court (to stop the opponent getting a big swing and to enable you to get into position for the return.)

For starters, instead of trying to do everything at once, just really concentrate on your serve for a couple of weeks, and observe the result.  You must change a serve immediately it is not getting a result.

Here I have added some help for you at  "discuss this topic"

Back to top

I think a big part of the problem is imposing my game against "hackers", people who hit and hope, playing against the guys at uni, who are far better technicians than me i can look good as it is rallying squash not hammer and pray.  Mind you today the big problem was seeing the ball as well as knowing what to do about it.  My opponent hit straight, quite low and hard on the backhand return of serve nearly every time and i hardly hit any of them, just couldn't get to grips with it for some reason.

Back to top

Back to top

aprice - when you play lesser opponent's that is the time to practice the new stuff, eg slowing the ball down, using the boast to move the opponent, volley, etc..  Then when you are down, say, 6:2 change again to your hard style.

I hope when you get your degree you have had some practice before trying the real thing!

Solo practice is good too and you get all the hits; plan it out doing various practice shots in short intervals of say 5 to 7 mins each, eg lob the ball from the back wall to the front wall and back consecutively; 2 drives/boast/cross court lob (make sure the lob is high and lands dead in the back corner); alternate f/h and b/h volley from the T; volley chipping; drop shot chipping, etc.

Take a look at the training videos in Gold, write down the key points before you head for the courts.

Give it a go....take the challenge.

Back to top

A physical/mental break from squash is always a good idea when feeling frustrated. I find it helpful to just slow down and focus on the basics with some solo practice. Sometimes, something as simple as a re-stringing or a new grip is all it takes to get yourself back. Here is a good example of what I mean:

http://www.squashmagazine.com/vcm/squashmagazine/RULES/Tips_from_Pros/fundamentals.html

Back to top

aprice - do you have only one competition per week?

If so it can be hard to break your current rut.  Perhaps if you can play some different players you'll get a fresh perspective. A break from the current comp may be good, as you'll probably start to miss squash.

The Sunday afternoon comp where I am has us play 3 games (3 separate opponents) to 31 PARS. It's a nice change from best of 5 to 9. The PARS can encourage consistency, and faster more attacking squash.

Perhaps you need to play a different night/event with different opponents and perhaps a different scoring system to get a fresh perspecitve?

Back to top

need to find a partner for lots of those suggestions!  None of the guys at uni seem keen on drill type stuff, they just play matches if they are on the team and if they aren't i can often beat them ( i can beat some of my uni 2nds but haven't been picked!)

Yeah different opponents make it hard, i learnt the traditional straight drive squash, if my opponent doesn't play that i get in trouble trying to inflict my game on them.  The hacker types who hit and hope cause me trouble, i have a slight tendedcy to do it myself when under pressure but only when i am desperate to return the ball. i make a lot of poor decisions when in control of rallies, i play a good length game for my general standard but struggle to use it i try to hit too many hard killing shots and dont place them well.  I think i have also lost some fitness recently as i havnt played as much as normal over the last few weeks due to uni commitments (they stole my "protected" wednesday afternoon!)

Back to top

aprice - I know how you feel.  Take a break from comp would be an idea and concentrate on some of the other aspects of squash, eg play more routines with a partner, play restricted games (even if your partner does not realise what you are doing); learn to play lobs/toss; read the tactics section of squashgame and in particular "about the opponent".

When we get our e-coaching facility on line submit a short video clip of your strokes so we can look at what is going on..

So, when the players hits hard and runs hard you feel OK with your game? You want to stay in the same groove/rhythm?

When the opponent mucks up the pace, you lose the pace in your strokes?

I am not convinced that you are losing because of the inconsistency but more from the style of opponent?  I am not sure if your comp has females playing, but in some comps that are mixed I see young fellas with muscles and fit, run their bum off in frustration when playing older females, because of the placement and ball control.  Control players love power.

On the other side of the coin, I have heard guys talk about their game, and the turning point for them has been with, for example, a knee injury, and they could not run, and discovered there was another side to squash - control the ball. 

Hope that helps.

Back to top