hi doubledot

the replies below should be useful, but a point from years of coaching and playing:

move forward in the court closer to the T.

depending on your standard of play and playing conditions this will have an effect (the colder the temperature and the better player you are, the greater the positive effect)

very good players have little trouble getting balls back that have gone past them, however, if the playing conditions are relatively colder, a good boast is more effective, meaning that you must get closer to the front of the court to have time to retrieve the ball effectively

of course, all this means nothing if your shots are landing half court which means you cannot get in front in the first place.

this is often the case when you try to hit the ball too hard and it lands half court. this fives the double negative whammy of giving your opponent a wide choice of shot, but not giving you much time to get back into position.

if this is the case, aim higher on the front wall to get the ball deeper

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When one is being caught with any shot by the opponent it is time to change strategy, go back to the basics.  Go to our Squash Library and read the Ten Fundamentals, and if you are not following those basic concepts, it is likely the opponent is exploiting your weakness.

True, tall players do not like bending down at the front and it is necessary to make them twist and turn and keep them off balance.  However, if your shots are not tight and deep, and you are still back-pedalling and not in position, you lack time and get caught out.

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get a hitting partner and do some boast-drive-boast drills. this should help improve your timing and movement as you try to return a well-hit the boast. if you opponent plays the shot often, you should be able to anticipate it better.

you should also consider playing more drops and attacking boasts to draw your opponent to the front court. this will take the boast shot away from your opponent. also, if this person is very tall, they may not enjoy geting down to reach low front court shots.

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