Tiger Updates

Squash season is well and truly in full swing and the past weekend a great illustration of that fact.  You can read about Tiger players and their exploits on our blog, it was a great weekend with much more to come.  With that in mind we have a few simple points below to keep you in the loop and as always, feel free to reply to this email with questions - it’s a busy time of year and one of our roles is to make squash life as easy as we can!

2 big points!

US Open this weekend, good luck to our 20+ entrants and please confirm by emailing Coach Claire if you would like coaching throughout the event

Final chance to purchase our winter 3 Month Membership with a 10% discount - all details HERE - open to both new members and our current monthly players.

For your interest

Our next Rehearsal Tournament is scheduled for January 4 in Plainsboro (and part of our Winter Camp Schedule) - enter with Coach Claire or by replying to this email..  Free to 9 month members, open to everyone!

As everyone is aware, we offer stringing services at the club - some information here!

Winter Camp is two weeks away - keep it in mind - free to members, open to all and finally!

For lessons and Match Play Lessons reply to this email or contact coaches directly if you need to make any changes or are looking for additional 1 on 1 sessions - note we have our special 5 packs which offer a substantial price break.

Coach Ebonie’s weekly squash Psych blog is well worth a few minutes of your time

Our Mini Squash Program for children aged 5-8 is awesome, and also a very simple drop in.  Please pass onto families with little ones, it’s a great introduction to our sport - Saturday and Sunday mornings and Friday afternoon

See you all at training!

Stringing Reminder!

Strings, we all need 'em and preferably ones that aren't broken! With the competitive in full swing, a quick heads up about stringing.

Please give our coaches 48 hours from drop off. Having said that, accidents happen, and if a string breaks in practice we are always happy to try and rush things through, but if we can work together and plan then we can avoid disappointment.

Squash Psych Blog!

Overcoming Competitive State Anxiety 

Competitive State Anxiety is a feeling of extreme anxiety an athlete may experience when they do not think they can meet the demands of the sport in a certain competitive setting. This could be what torpedos an athlete's performance. 

Especially in individual sports like squash, it is sometimes extremely hard to overcome overwhelming feelings of anxiety during a tournament causing a downward spiral that a player may not be able to recover from at the moment. The symptoms may look like: loss of confidence, lack of focus, thoughts of failure, intense sweating, increase in heart rate, etc. It looks different for everyone but the overall feeling and outcome is similar for most. 

It is normal for someone to experience anxiety in the sport they play but not in any other part of their life. Normally, those who have an intense need to win and or have expectations that they cannot realistically reach will develop competitive state anxiety. 

There are a few tips for beginning to overcome anxiety in a sport setting: 

-First and foremost, acknowledge that you are feeling anxious. The more the feelings are suppressed the worse they can become.

-Set realistic and attainable goals for the upcoming match or tournament and rework them if they don't pan out exactly as planned.

-Practicing breathing techniques ( https://health.clevelandclinic.org/box-breathing-benefits )

-Practicing positive and instructional self-talk to help refocus the mind on the task at hand. 

These tips are not one size fits all and sometimes their needs to be a trail and error to get a handle on the anxiety that is being felt. It can be a process that can make an athlete more mentally tough if they buy into the process but it is not something that should be tackled alone. 

How can I help?

As a mental performance consultant that specializes in squash, I can give those who are looking to take their game to the next level mental techniques and skills that positively affect overall performance. 

Email ebonie@squashtigers.com to schedule your first session free!