How to improve your squash and other squash tips by Faraz Hussain
Here is a little background behind these e-lessons and squash tips. First off, I am not a Pro. I have been playing squash since I was 10, but never had any guidance. I played with the same people and consequently never improved. For fifteen years, I had no idea what a
boast, nick, or even stroke was ( boast , a shot that hits
sidewall first,
nick , a shot that hits the intersection of two walls ,
stroke , a point
awarded to you due to interference from your opponent)!
As I am originally from Pakistan, I am very proud of my countries achievments in the sport yet "embarrased" by my own standard of play. Therefore beginning January, 1, 2002 I made the decision to improve my squash game to the highest level possible.
Currently I am around a A- level player. You are probably wondering what a A- level player is doing preaching the game to beginners? You have to understand that I represent a unique situation as I am trying to learn the game properly at a mature age. I believe what seperates the pro from me, is knowledge and skill. While skill takes years of practice, knowledge can be acquired by reading these lessons. The e-Lessons on this website attempt to piece together the many bits of squash knowledge I have picked up into one complete guide to squash improvement.
I follow the philosophy "Train smart, not hard!". I am living proof that you can play the game for 15 years and remain a D player. However, by training smart you can take your game from D to B in one year.
I believe there are two aspects to training. The smart training involves increasing your knowledge of the game. Here are some example of my "smart" training:
Compete in tournaments to identify weaknesses and learn from watching the better players.
Take lessons from coaching pros
Read squash books by pros, coaches and top amateurs.
Watch tournament videos featuring pros such as Jansher Khan , Jahangir Khan and Chris Walker.
Watch instructional squash videos.
Surf the internet to soak in all the squash information from rules to tournament results.
Post questions about the game to online squash forums.
The second aspect of training is actually applying what I learned in the "smart training" on the court. Here is a list of things I do as part of my weekly court practice:
3 hours/ week on solo drills.
3 hours/week playing conditioning games against opponents of various levels
0.5 - 1 hours/week doing flexibility training, i.e stretching , yoga etc.
0.5 - 1 hours/week in the gym lifting free weights.
Every few months I will take a lesson with a top internationally ranked squash pro. It is very important to have a real teaching pro analyze your game as they can see where you are and tell you where you should be going. Your training must have focus , otherwise you may overtrain minor things while neglecting the bigger picture.
Don't worry if you don't have a good partner to play against. Gogi Allaudin, former Pakistan world #2, writes:
" Those of you who want to play professionally, I would like to say that you should practice three times harder than what you perform in a game. Even if you don't find a good partner to play, that ok becoz I learned playing by myself and reached the top most squash corner "
It is good to play people you can beat as you can work on single aspects of your game. Since you are more in control with a lower skilled opponent, you have time to focus on such things as footwork, racquet preperation, anticipation, and hitting the nick!
I hope your game can improve too by copying elements from my training program. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or suggestions.
Good luck,
Faraz Hussain
Founder - SquashClub.org
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