Controlling squash temper and anger on the court

Squash can be a very frustrating game, particularly when one is training hard but not seeing any results. As soon as you start to smash racquets and scream, it usually means that you are trying too hard to get things perfect when you are physically and mentally not 100% ready. Best thing is take a break from the game and use the time off to relax. If you don't feel like being on the court, then don't be there.

Remember that there is another player on the court and that you have no real control over what he/she is doing - you can put them under pressure by good shot placement but you can't control their thoughts. Go out there and play basic squash - try one of my favourites - my squash coach used to tell me that when I found my concentration was waning, I should "look for the dots on the ball" - in that way, you are looking for two [or one] little yellow dots on a little black ball not a little black ball against a big white wall - what happens is that it brings your focus back into the court and helps to clear the head.

Good breathing techniques also help - try this one - empty your lungs as much as possible by blowing out through your mouth then breathe in deeply through your nose and hold your breath for a few seconds - does two things - helps to drop the heart rate quickly and clears the head - it's very hard to think clearly when you are shallow breathing after a hard rally .... and hopefully will help to keep you calm and curb your frustrations so you don't smash your racquet! Bad boy!

Another thing [pardon the lecture], try to take that anger and frustration inside and use it to your advantage - helps to steele the resolve. My husband [John] is an expert at that - he gets really cranky with referees who don't know the rules and those who cheat [ugh] - you can see it in him on the court - sucking up all that anger - and then he really ups his game and wipes his opponent off the court - John's not a high grade player but he's smart - and that's how you win - by playing smart.

Last bit of advice is to smash your already broken racquet. That is a good way to release the urge to hit something after playing a dumb shot.

You should understand that squash is a like any other sports, a better player/team can lose to a worse player/team. Of course, a better player/team win more often. So, do not underestimate the situation.

Realize that if you lose the game, you just lose a game. If you lose your temper, you lose your image too and which is far harder to regain. This will motivate yourself to control your temper, which is important because your emotional faculty of your mind "wants" to express the anger for temporarily relief.

Try to focus on the errors you've made and try to figure how to prevent similar errors from occuring again.

Your partner is looking for fun too. Don't ruin his/her day. Of course, I am not telling you to give up and let your opponent win! Just make it a good game.

Hit a few shots with all your anger energy. But while doing so, understand that you are just trying to get rid of the anger and the ball is likely to be fished in the net or fly sky high our of bound.

Another point to remember is that squash is a hard sport to be consistent at. One day, everything goes in just the way you want it, and the next day, you can't hit anything at all, and you get angry because the shots that were going in aren't, and it was just a day ago. You are just going to have a few bad days, and so you have to keep that in mind. Basically, you can just try to tell yourself how to fix the next shot and not blame yourself on the shot you just missed. Or try to keep to things that are working, or keep playing the shot you missed, and try to be analytical about what went wrong.

I think it's good to get angry at yourself. I don't think it would be too healthy to keep it inside. However, you have to be careful not to get so furious that you smash your racquet/swear loudly/etc. If you let yourself go like this, people won't think you're cool like McEnroe, but just someone who can't control his temper (hey.. so you are McEnroe after all!). :-)

You also have to set realistic expectations about your play. It's good to have lofty goals, but a day in which you nail all your shots, place them all well, etc., is an exceptional day, NOT an average day. One has to expect some bad days, too, and sometimes your opponent is the reason.

It is useful to think about why you may have missed a shot, but on the other hand I feel that one has to guard against being overly analytical or critical. If you watch some of the pros, after a mistake they will go through the motion of how they intended to hit the ball and then get on with it.