The first in a six part micro series to provoke a little thought about the way you see your game!
Technique, technique, technique. Frequently when people speak about squash technique, they are actually talking about striking technique and perhaps not as much emphasis upon footwork. Although this preference for racketwork is understandable, nothing works without the feet…
It starts with the big question, what do we want from footwork. My rather traditional opinion of footwork has been that it needs to fulfill three criteria: allow a wide range of different strokes, facilitate efficient recovery to the T and be energy efficient or economical. Now, there are some implicit points here, for example, “allowing a wide range of strokes”, needs to include the notion that they be accurate strokes, however seldom regard accuracy as a “be all and end all notion” to what constitutes effective footwork.
Next time you’re out on court, ghosting or generally drilling, perhaps consider the three criteria. Does your movement pattern tick all three boxes? What do you emphasize the most and why? Our next few micro-blogs will deal with the different components of footwork, however fundamentally, as with most things in life, there is no right answer and the only wrong answer is to have not considered the question!
See you on the court!