It's been a while since my last squash journal, partially because I didn't get a chance to play too much squash over the holidays. Most of the people that I usually play with had gone home for the holidays, or were spending their time with their families.
However, in the past week and a half, I've played four games or so, and attended a really great tournament, so I've got some thoughts to write about now.
First, the tournament - As I've improved at squash (and I think I have been), my appreciation of good (and bad) squash has changed significantly. It reminds me of when I started spinning records - when I first started getting into electronic music, and going to raves, I had very little ability to discern between the different styles of music I was hearing. They all blended together and sounded the same. Then as time progressed, I started to pick out various genres, and learned what I liked and disliked. Until I started spinning, the differences I noticed between one DJ and another were solely based on their taste in music. Once I started spinning records, I began to realize the difference between a good mix and a bad mix, and REALLY started to realize how bad (and good) some of these DJs were.
I think any refined art/sport is like this. When I'm at a bboy competition (which doesn't happen too often anymore), I notice that some of the people there are totally impressed with big moves, and nothing more. The dancer that does the biggest flip is the best. Clean and simple. But for me, I'm analyzing how he worked that flip into the rest of his dance. Was he actually dancing to the music? How well did he isolate that move? How well was it executed?
So let's try and bring this back to squash. I saw a lot of really well played squash on Friday. At its core, squash is a very basic game. The strategy itself can even be broken down into one very simple rule to follow: Put the ball where the opponent isn't. Over and over. Until he has a heart-attack and you win. Putting that strategy into action is an entirely different matter, and requires great skill. Being able to reliably hit the ball, over and over, into the back corners of the court requires a lot of practice and dedication.
Anyhow, perhaps due to the simplicity of squash's basics, well-played squash is very aesthetically pleasing to watch. The tournament had shot after shot that arced gracefully into the back corner, only to have a return made to the exact same spot. Seriously, it was insane - I saw a guy that would beat me soundly almost lose to a girl that was about twelve years old, and he definitely had her beat for pure power. Seeing these shots made me want to grab a racquet and jump on a court, even if it meant playing in loafers. I plan to enter the next tournament, which is called the Club Champs tournament. Might be a bit of a misnomer in my case, but that's alright - the practice will be good.
Aside from the tournament, I've been slowly improving. Here are a couple of things that I want to keep in the main queue:
- Keep working on high soft shots.
- Undercut drop shots, and start making them from mid-court.
- Improve the lobs
These shots keep getting better and better. When the ball arcs into the back corner, rather than following a path straight back to it, it leaves a lot less room for the opponent to make his shot. Not only that, but this shot is almost guaranteed to move the opponent off the T everytime. They can't really cut this shot off if it's done properly, since it travels back too high in the air. Best of all, this shot always seems to frustrate opponents, and that's never a bad thing.
Never forget - low and hard when the opponent is out of position, high and soft when they're waiting on the T
The more I can undercut the ball, the better my drop shots are. Undercutting the ball imparts downspin to it, and causes it to bounce less and stick closer to the front wall after it first comes into contact with it. This means that I can execute drop shots from further back in the court, and this is a good thing. Of course, dropping from mid-court is only a smart move when my opponent is behind me and out of position - a good rule of thumb is that you never want to send your opponent up to the front unless he's going to have to be running to get there.
The other day was the first time I succesfully undercut a shot, but it accomplished the desired purpose. Keep this in mind while playing, and try and make the shots more. Don't worry so much about a shot that hits the tin, or goes out - consider it practice towards making better drop shots.
I noticed today that I'm still not getting under my lob shots enough. For a good lo shot, I should have my racquet underneath the ball, almost parallel to the floor. A good lob really needs to arc up and come close to hitting the ceiling. Don't worry if they hit the ceiling for now - that's better than having them travel too low and getting nailed by my opponent. Again, focus on getting the technique right, rather than winning the point.
Those are the main focal points I plan to work on over the next couple of weeks. My drives feel like they've improved significantly over the past two months - they don't come off the wall on the full nearly as much, and they're sticking a lot closer to the side wall, and that's made playing squash 0.5 percent less frustrating everytime I play.
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