Squash haiku poem

By Venezuelan SquashClub.org member, Guy Pommares

 
Crouch and watch
	Cock and rock
        	Wait and whack
        		High and tight
        			Pace and place
 

Interpretation by Faraz Hussain

If you do not crouch you cannot change direction if your adversary hits a cross-court or boast. If you do not watch your opponent hit the ball then you will lose seconds in seeing where their shot goes. If you do not raise the racquet early then you will hit the ball as it is passing you, resulting in a loose boast. If the ball passes you , it will likely get stuck in the back corners, where it will be very difficult to 'fish' out. Always play your shots with the leading foot forward and bent. This lets you play almost any shot from this position. You can purposely delay your shot to wrong foot your opponent, or take it early and force your opponent to chase after your shot. Hit the ball high on the front wall so it can land deep in the back corers. Also hitting high gives you time to recover to the T where you can watch your opponent well. Change the pace of your shots so to force your opponent to stay on their toes. If you play with the same rhythm then your opponent will easily anticipate your next move. As a result you will never get them tired, as one gets tired by making quick direction changes, not so much by covering large distances on the court. Last, always place your balls so they land in the easiest corner, i.e front corners or back corner.