I have spent unhealthy lengths of time trying to teach myself to believe I can win, so most of this advice comes from personal experience. There is a big difference between thinking you can win, knowing you can win, and truly believing you will win. When playing someone I usually beat, I have an internal calmness that is not shaken by lucky bounces, bad calls or even lost games. I am fully confident that I will ultimately take control and win the match. 95% of the time this is exactly what happens, and this total belief plays a big role in navigating my way through tricky scenarios. However, when I play someone who I desperately want to beat but haven’t, the exact opposite happens. Every tin and bad shot is heartbreaking. My body is tense, my movement is awkward, and I can’t find a rhythm. I feel the need to play perfect squash, but the result of my desperation is usually far from that. I firmly believe that this inability to find a comfort zone is due to a lack of confidence in my abilities. I do not think that playing within my own means will be enough to beat a superior opponent, so any small mistake is magnified tenfold in my mind. I think this a fairly common theme among competitive players.

The above notwithstanding, a more fundamental question perhaps holds the real key to taking down stronger opposition. Why do we have these ideas about being better than some opponents and worse than others? Where does this mental pecking order come from? Indeed, merit does need to be given to previous results and rankings. But these classifications do not matter when a match begins. Regardless of what happened the previous hundred times, you still need to get on court and play squash if you want to win. Reputations alone don’t win matches. You have go on court and use your skills and knowledge to win. There is no sense worrying about what tournaments someone has won or who they have beaten.  These are all external to the actual task of winning the match. As with many things, the less you think about it the simpler it becomes. Don’t talk yourself out of winning a match. Play the way you know how and get it done.

Of course, this is all easy to say from ‘behind the glass’. The current world #2, James Willstrop, has lost about 20 consecutive times to #1 Nick Matthew. Matthew had no business winning some of those encounters, but his total belief coupled with James’ possible self-doubts have allowed him to snatch a few of those victories from the jaws of defeat.

Anyone who knows me well will find these preachings ironic to say the least. But when put into practice, they are very effective. Next time you are playing that dreaded opponent, try to block out absolutely every notion of how the match is supposed to unfold. If you can, the result may be pleasantly surprising.

The pace of play for the outset was really fast and hard.  Both players are extremely fit and their movement is astounding.  The ability to retrieve balls that look like they are not returnable is quite amazing.  The first game was tight the whole way through with rarely more than a couple of points between them.  Our #1 was able to close it out in extra points though I believe 15-13.

Games 2 and 3 went to the junior but were tightly contested.

Game 4 is where it got really interesting.  The junior got off to a quick lead and kept adding points and our #1 was having no success getting on the board. At around 5-0 there were murmurs in the crowd of a possible bagel.  The junior was digging in and our #1 looked like he could not figure how to win a rally.  Even when he was really extending the junior the ball kept coming back.  This is where the really interesting turn came.  The lead eventually got to 7-0 and there was a clear focus from the kid on getting the bagel.  He definitely knew it was possible and wanted it.  Our #1 knew it too but for the last few points had worked the kid all over the court and even though he had lost the rallies it was clear who was doing way more work.  At 7-0 a very hard and low unexpected boast ended the run and the hopes of the bagel to bring the score to 7-1.  That 1 point was huge of course but the work that our #1 made the kid do was even more important.  The game completely turned around and the score kept getting closer.  The change in the match was not only physical it was also mental.  There seemed to be a definite focus on getting the bagel and when that was lost there was a mental let down as well. The game eventually got to 10-9 for the junior.  Remarkably close considering the score had been 7-1. The kid did manage to close the game out and thus the match but it definitely looked in question.

It was a very entertaining match to watch.  The 4th game was definitely an incredible affair with a couple of lessons to be learned.  If you are the player that is struggling to win even a point against a tough opponent don’t give up hope.  Mental toughness is imperative.  If you are in the rallies and really making him work focus on that.  Don’t let the negative aspect of the score deter you.  See the positive in how you are extending your opponent and realize the work you are making him do will pay dividends later.  Look for a let down in focus. If you are the player way out in front remember the goal is to win the match not bagel your opponent.  Certainly you do not want to give up any cheap points but keep focused on the match and its outcome not on winning a personal battle, getting the bagel, and in the process risk losing the war.

Perhaps the coolest thing about squash is its approximate, indefinite nature. Even the best players in the world rarely play perfect shots or points. This is why there are so many different successful styles and approaches. There is no single way to win at squash. Unlike “closed skill” sports such as swimming and running, where the same task is executed ad nauseum, there are literally thousands of decisions and actions being made every second that determine the outcome of a point. Closed skill sports tend to follow a simple equation: talent + hard work = success. However, “open skill” games like squash have no guaranteed formula for success. There are infinite combinations of movements and angles that can’t all be mastered. We all know someone who is annoyingly talented and hits the ball straight and clean despite playing once a week. Likewise, there are players who train excessively hard for minimal gains. Talented players seem to have an innate understanding of the angles and how to put the ball in the most difficult place. Without athleticism and coordination superior to their opponent, they manage to make people run laps just to stay in the rally! Jonathon Power is a classic example of a player who understands the game. I think this is why he can still challenge the best in the world despite being retired for six years and not training.

Another cool facet of the game is the psychology of winning. Mental toughness and determination are big reasons why less talented people often end up beating the naturals mentioned above. I can’t count the number of times I have seen a seemingly inferior player frustrate their opponent by running down every ball and forcing error upon error. Eventually, the talented player runs out of ideas and folds.

Both of these approaches are completely valid strategies for winning at squash. As the saying goes, people ask “How Many, not How”. How you win matches isn’t what counts when the dust has settled…how many matches you won does. So don’t obsess yourself with learning a certain style or playing perfect squash. In fact, the term perfect squash is really an oxymoron. Find a style you are comfortable with, and play each match on your own terms. Having a clear plan and sticking to your strengths is one thing I always do when I am playing well. Part of the beauty of the game is the ability to express yourself through your playing style. It is always surprising how much easier it all seems when you rid yourself of preconceived ideas about how it should be played, and do what feels natural.

Since the National Squash Academy opened last year, training for players based in Toronto has become centralized. Obviously this is a big step forward for Canadian squash. Any day of the week, you can find 6-10 of the best players in Canada and the odd international guest on court at the NSA. There are two sessions per day most days. One of them is either match play (three times a week) or drills involving lots of movement and options. The other one is usually a “closed” session, with the purpose of improving technique, accuracy and consistency. The more intense sessions are a great time to implement new skills being perfected in the closed sessions. Total time on court each day is usually around four hours, and there is always work to be done in the gym afterwards. Due to each player having different tournament schedules, it is rare to have everyone on the exact same program for a day. The core values of each session remain the same, and it is up to the players to tailor their training around tournaments as they see fit. This is a whole science of its own and often takes years to master.

Training full-time is a huge mental battle and there are ups and downs within each month, week and day. On the one hand, you have to put 100% effort mentally and physically into every session in order to see results. On the other, showing up to the courts every morning with weary legs and doing boast-drive for the thousandth time can leave anyone struggling for motivation. In my few months of being dedicate full-time I have started to understand two major points: 1) you absolutely cannot get caught-up in micro-frustrations. On a given day you might be a bit tired, a bit slow, or a bit inaccurate. This obviously happens to everyone, but letting bad days undermine your confidence and limit your enjoyment will only turn squash into a chore rather than a passion. 2) you can’t train with an insane intensity every day without burning out at some point. It can be tempting to exhaust yourself to satisfaction on a Monday or Tuesday, but the rest of the week will be compromised. Five days at 85% are better than one day all out. I’m always looking to derive new lessons from my training experiences. Hopefully they will pay off some day!

Mike’s posts will focus on squash from the perspective of someone that is turning professional and trying to make it on the PSA Tour.  You can expect posts from Mike focusing on his training, training tips for other players, life as an up and comer on the PSA Tour, coverage of tournaments he plays in and other topics related to squash.  We hope you enjoy his posts!

Your body position in the front corners is critical as it gives you the ability to hit the drop, the straight length or the cross court.  In particular leaving yourself the straight shot is critical and what Jonathon did so well.  It is a hard shot to play and most players don’t even leave themselves the option with their approach to the ball in the front corner.  Jonathon on both the forehand and backhand would setup the same for a drop, a straight drive or the cross court drive.

Racquet preparation is equally critical to your body position.  Jonathon’s racquet preparation when he was in the front corner looked the same for the drop or either drive.  It is very important to have your racquet in a position that will allow you to drive or drop. Many players when they are going to drop have already extended their racquet out in such a manner that prevents them from driving the ball.  Likewise they will only have their racquet back when they go in to the front corner when they are going to drive.  Focus on being able to hit a drop, or the straight or cross court drive every time you go in to the front corners.  Work on making your racquet preparation look the same for every choice.

The ability to hit a quality drop, a quality straight drive or a quality cross court drive front corners is the key.  Jonathon Power was great at all three shots.  He had an amazing drop.  He could kill it in to the nick given the angle or if the angle did not present itself he would keep it hugging the side wall.  His cross court drive had the width to get by his opponent at the ‘T’.  The straight drive from Jonathon was lethal.  It is a very tough shot as your can’t pull it at all, you can’t catch the side wall it has to be very straight.  Jonathon hit the straight drive from the front corner beautifully.

Jonathon Power was terrific in the front corners and his opponents rarely knew what shot was coming.  His body position, racquet preparation and the fact that he could play any shot with such quality from the front corners left his opponents guessing as to what shot he was going to play.

Squashskills.com is sponsored by Prince Sports

His discussion on not rushing back to the ‘T’ is critical and not something that I think you hear discussed that often. Most people are taught to get the back to the ‘T’ which is of course critical but with too much emphasis this can definitely lead to players rushing back to the ‘T’. This can cause a couple of problems. Getting stuck as Peter mentions and getting hit behind as well I would think is a risk too.

If you arrive back at the ‘T’ long before you opponent is going to play their shot it is very easy to get got caught flat-footed. If your opponent is very good at holding their shot as Peter Nicol noted Jonathon Power was then if you are at the ‘T’ too soon you have to wait, and wait for your opponent to hit the shot. They will definitely be trying to catch you flat-footed. Arriving back at the ‘T’ right when they actually are playing their shot will help prevent this from happening.

I think another point to this is that if you are to aggressive moving back to the ‘T’ you risk having your opponent hit the ball back to where you just left if they take the ball early. Your aggressive movement out of that corner will make it difficult to change direction and go back to where you came from.

Getting back to the ‘T’ is critical in squash but definitely take the great Peter Nicol’s advice and try not to charge back to it. Move fluidly and try and arrive when your opponent is going to play their shot so you don’t get stuck and caught flat-footed.

Back injuries are a very difficult injury to recover from.  I have been fortunate to have never hurt myself as seriously as Gilly obviously has.  I have suffered one back injury playing squash that was incredibly painful but I was extremely lucky that I recovered from it quickly.

Gilly Lane made the announcement on his Facebook page today stating “It’s been a tough couple months struggling with this back problem and today is even tougher. I have decided to retire from the PSA Tour due to the injury I suffered in July. I think the time is right to begin to pursue other avenues and start the next phase of my life. I want to thank Tommy Berden, Lucas Buit, Floris Minnaert, John White, Natalie Grinham for their coaching and constant support. Thanks to US Squash for their backing and efforts to put us in the right position to succeed. Also LJ Anjema and Cameron Pilley for being great friends and role models and my parents and family for their endearing support. It wouldn’t have been possible without my family and I owe them everything.”

On Twitter Gilly tweeted the following “Tough day as I have decided to retire from the PSA Tour. My injury has not healed in the manner I wanted it to and it’s time to move on.” He then tweeted “Looking forward to the next phase in my life.”

Good luck in the next phase of your life Gilly.

James Willstrop is sponsored by Prince and uses the Prince EXO3 Rebel Squash Racquet.

The 2012 season is really looking interesting.  Hopefully Nick Matthew and Ramy Ashour will be back and injury free.  Can James Willstrop reach and possibly even maintain a #1 position with these 2 playing injury free?  His current run has not included victories over either of them.  With the form that Willstrop has shown it seems possible though.  The control with which he has been playing has been astounding. He is moving the ball around the court with astounding precision and giving his opponents so few opportunities to attack.

I expect that Nick Matthew and Ramy Ashour are definitely going to push James harder than he has been pushed in his last couple of tournaments.  Ramy’s attack will no doubt be tough for James to counter.  The intense physical pressure that Nick plays with will also prove difficult for James.  It will be interesting if we can get all 3 of these players playing at the top of their game who will come out on top.  Will James’ precision on court be enough to contain Ramy?  Will it be enough to force Nick to let balls go past him to the back of the court to keep him from exterting his physical presence he normally does by playing so high on the ‘T’?  I definitely look forward to watching and finding out!

So what went wrong for me this week?  Focus.  I was playing squash but not with any purpose.  I went on court without any clear sense of what I was trying to work on or accomplish.  I hit shots without any clear objective.  I was not trying to get my length shots to die in the back I was just hitting them.  I wasn’t going short with the intent to work my opponent hard.  I was just hitting balls.  My movement was also without focus.  I play best when I am hunting the ball and trying to volley as much as possible. I was not returning to the ‘T’ quick enough to be able to do that.

I am playing today and am determined to play with focus.  The serve will be hit with variety and with an objective.  It will hit the side wall when I am aiming to.  There will be a few serves at the body to try and keep my opponent off guard.  Length shots will be hit with purpose.  They are going to get past my opponent in to the back corner and my opponent is going to have to really dig them out.  When I go short it will be with the intent to really stretch my opponent out.  They may well get the ball back but they will have to work very hard to do so.  The focus is not on winning it is on hitting the best shot I can – every time I strike the ball.  I will hunt the ball and volley as much as possible to exert pressure on my opponent.

I will focus.