The fifth in a six part micro series to provoke a little thought about the way you see your game!
Squash is a complex decision making sport and can be played with remarkable variations. This indisputable fact is one of the reasons we love the game. As a coach, I love creativity, I love individual differences and I embrace chaos. Having said all that, I do like players to have a standard movement template to all four parts of the court as a real “safety blanket”.
The three criteria of footwork: facilitating recovery to the T, energy efficiency and ensuring a range of stroke are all pillars to build a game upon.
Now, after the last post, I had people asking, what about “pure striking situations”. By this I believe they meant, “what happens when someone dishes you up a simple ball in the middle of the court”. Well, the same principles apply, it’s simply that they may look a little different. A two footed plant may work well with time and space, whereas a lunge may be required to get that counter drop. A huge shoulder turn may need to be facilitated by your heel strike, if the ball is in the center of the court, whereas again, on a full lunge, maybe not so much.
The key message is that I believe all players should have a “90% rule” for their footwork and a clear idea of how to get themselves in and out of corners in the most effective fashion. If you’re hitting the ball from the center of the court all the time, you’re probably not in a competitive match! Improvising and a reliance upon pure athleticism isn’t the end of the world, but a series of “one off situations” doesn’t win championships.
See you all on court!