For me, it's been an interesting season for many reasons, and, with the warmer months now here, it feels like the right time to reflect, recover, and plan for next season.
In this article, I'll be doing a bit of a summary of my season, I'll go through my off-season plans, and my goals for next season.
Then, I'll provide some tips and advice that may benefit you during this off-season ...
I'll keep this brief!
Long-time readers of the On The 'T' Newsletter will be aware that I've struggled with an ongoing back injury for the past couple of years now.
The summer before last, I tore the ligaments in my ankle on a trail run, and, following four or five months of recovery, I managed to develop a back injury that likely stemmed from putting all my weight on my non-injured ankle for so long.
I ended up missing pretty much the entire 2024/2025 squash season while trying to figure out what the back injury was.
After seeing many physios, getting X-rays, scans, and an MRI, I still never got to the bottom of it; however, one thing I did eventually learn was that I should be okay to play squash without the risk of more serious damage to my back (so long as I maintained the injury).
This has meant lots and lots of stretching, warming up, and cooling down before and after training sessions and matches (which I really should have been doing before the injury saga began)!
Of course, the back pain has persisted, but I've figured out the best stretches and movements to do to minimize this pain as much as possible.
Anyway, this season just gone was my first season back after the injury, and I was over the moon to be back playing tournaments and team squash again.
In terms of end-of-season team results, this season was great!
I play for two teams, one is Northern RFC (my local club) in Northumbria league, the other is Bannatynes in the Durham league (the next area over from Northumbria).
Both teams won our respective leagues, which was a superb result.
Team squash is my favourite thing about the game. Tournaments are a lot of fun and a good challenge, but nothing beats a nice team meal after a tough match.
I'm good friends with everyone on both the teams I play for, and I thoroughly look forward to seeing them week in week out.
For me personally, there's something a little more fulfilling about playing for a team. You've got teammates counting on you to win, and you're playing for someone other than just yourself.
I think this actually makes me play better because I know I need to keep my head in gear and fight for every single point, even if I'm down or frustrated; my teammates are counting on me to do my best.
So, if you've got the chance to play for a team next season and don't already, I can't recommend it enough!
Anyway, on an individual level, I was over the moon with the standard of squash I've been playing this past season, especially during the second half.
The first half was a little tougher as it took my body a while to get used to playing two tough matches per week after missing a full season beforehand.
The stiffness and soreness were certainly a problem for the first few matches, but it felt as though I got back into the swing of things pretty quickly.
I did manage to get a good amount of training last summer, so shots-wise, I felt like I was hitting my targets well.
The only other issue was just general fitness. My style of play isn't as reliant on fitness as I do a fair amount of mixing things up and going for winners when opportunities pop up. I'm not one for extending rallies to tire my opponent out.
However, you will all know that regardless of how short the rallies are, any squash match is going to be tough physically.
I found myself really struggling with my breathing when rallies were longer, and, as soon as my heart rate spiked, I struggled to get it back down again.
Again, this was just something that came back over time. It just meant I had to endure a month or two of pushing myself as much as possible physically to get back up to scratch.
By the second half, I was feeling much more confident in longer matches.
Another issue I didn't foresee was that I'd actually put on a bit of weight during that season of injury.
In my search for other physical activities that wouldn't impact my back as much, I ended up getting hooked on going to the gym.
I'm hoping that the weight I put on was muscle, and not fat, but the fact of the matter was that I was carrying around more weight on the squash court than usual.
I definitely felt slower and less explosive, especially when pushing off the T or pulling out of lunges.
I made a conscious effort to try to lose a bit of weight, and I think that helped me get my movement back a bit.
In terms of individual wins, I'm over the moon with how the season went. I beat some players who I'd never beaten before and was pushing players who I didn't used to even get close to in the past.
I had a couple of bad losses, but I tried my best not to dwell on them for too long.
They were great learning experiences, and I tried to spend time thinking more about how I'd deal with those situations next time rather than beating myself up for what I should have done on the day.
I will mention that, towards the end of the season, some cracks were starting to show. It felt like things reached a crescendo, and I was a bit overwhelmed with team matches and tournaments.
I noticed myself not looking forward to the team matches as much as usual and was perhaps experiencing a bit of burnout.
After talking to friends, it seemed like everyone else was feeling a similar pressure, too, so it was nice that others were in the same boat as me.
Overall, I'd say it's been one of my favourite seasons of all time. With all the injury management, getting back up to scratch, and finding my rhythm again, I feel like I've learned a heck of a lot.
I couldn't be more pleased with my results, too.
The only hard loss of the season was at the inter-county finals, where our team (Team Northumbria) were unfortunately relegated from the Premier League.
We faced pretty harsh odds with a few of our best players being unavailable or injured; however, even at that event, everyone played their absolute best, and I don't think we could have done any better than we did.
The off-season is definitely welcome, and I think I'm going to be spending a little more time off court through the summer than I usually do just to recover!
Living in England, the summer isn't as reliable as it is in some other countries. Rain and cold are pretty much expected, and a nice sunny day is often a bit of a luxury.
So, on those rainy days, I'll most likely be heading to the squash courts to get training and friendlies in, or I'll be at the gym.
However, I recently bought a van and am converting it into a camper van. I'm hoping to do plenty of travelling in the country, hiking, and camping while it's warm (ish).
I live just under two hours' drive from a place called the Lake District, which is packed with mountains, lakes, and beautiful towns. If you ever come to England and have the chance, I'd highly recommend checking out the Lake District.
I also still do a bit of running and will be taking any chance I get to go outside and embrace the fresh air.
Squash-wise, as I mentioned, I'll be hitting now and then. Probably around once per week (and will then start to ramp it up when next season gets a little closer).
I'll probably give it a month or so before beginning to plan out my goals and targets for next season, too. I've also done plenty of reflecting, which has been very beneficial.
I've taken a much more laid-back approach to this past season, which I've really enjoyed. I tried not to put too much pressure on myself to win matches and instead focused on maintaining my body.
If anything, I think this made me play better squash as I felt much more relaxed on the court than I remember being in other past seasons.
This is an ethos I'd like to bring next season too.
Although I'm not focusing on thinking about my goals for next season just yet, they'll probably be focused around recovery, fitness, and perhaps a little bit of flexibility too (as I'm still stiff as a board nine times out of ten when I come off court).
I'd also love to see both my teams hold on to their league-winning titles again next season, too.
Of course, a lot can change with many players coming up who I haven't seen/played before, and many players are moving from club to club, too.
But that's what makes the season so exciting and unpredictable!
Rather than focusing this whole newsletter on myself, I thought I'd give some tips and advice on some areas that you might want to think about during your off-season.
Of course, everybody wants something different out of their squash.
Many of you will prefer to stay completely off the court over the summer, and others may want to use it to go hard with their training. Both ends of that spectrum are completely fine!
You will all have different goals and approaches when it comes to the off-season, so please take these with a pinch of salt.
The advice is purely based on my own experience as a player, so feel free to fine-tune it to yourself.
The first (and probably most important) part of any off-season is giving your body and mind a proper reset.
After a long season of matches, training sessions, and the general grind of trying to improve, it’s easy to feel like you should stay on it year-round. But recovery isn’t just about taking a few days off; it’s about properly letting your body adapt and rebuild.
For me, that’s meant leaning more into general body maintenance rather than squash-specific work.
Things like stretching, mobility routines, and prehab-style exercises that help keep everything ticking over rather than just reacting to problems when they pop up.
The off-season is also a great time to explore different types of training that you might not usually prioritize during the season.
Whether that’s Pilates, yoga, or more structured strength and stability classes, they can all help build a better base without the repetitive stress of constant court time.
Even just improving core stability or hip mobility can make a noticeable difference when you get back on court.
Equally, it doesn’t all have to be physical.
One of the most underrated parts of recovery is simply switching off mentally. Doing something completely unrelated to squash, whether that’s travelling, getting outside more, or picking up a new hobby, can be just as valuable as any session in the gym.
It gives your brain a break from constant performance thinking, which can quietly build up over a season more than you realize. I've certainly experienced that this season.
I’ve definitely found that the times I’ve come back strongest are the ones where I’ve properly stepped away for a bit, rather than just replacing squash with more structured training.
The key thing is not feeling guilty about slowing down. If anything, this is the period where your body actually gets the chance to absorb everything from the season just gone.
Reset properly now, and you’ll usually come back feeling fresher, stronger, and a lot more motivated when it matters again.
For those of you who do want to keep a bit more structure in your squash over the off-season, this is a really good time to step back and put a simple plan together.
Without the weekly pressure of matches and league fixtures, you’ve actually got space to look at your game a bit more objectively.
Instead of just turning up and playing, you can start to think properly about what’s working well, what isn’t, and where you might want to improve before next season comes around.
A good starting point is to be honest with yourself about your current game.
What are your strengths right now? What do you rely on in matches? And just as importantly, where do you feel you’re losing points or struggling against certain types of players?
It doesn’t need to be overcomplicated; even just writing a few notes down after a session or match can help you spot patterns you might otherwise miss.
Asking friends or a coach is a great way to figure out some of your weaknesses.
From there, you can start to shape your off-season training a little more intentionally.
That might mean spending a bit more time on specific areas like length under pressure, volley control, movement efficiency, or even just building confidence in certain shots you avoid using in matches.
It’s also a good time to think broadly about what you want your squash to look like next season, without going too deep into results or rankings.
More so, what style do you want to play? What do you want to feel more comfortable doing under pressure? What situations do you want to stop feeling like a problem in matches?
The key thing here is keeping it realistic and flexible. The off-season is long enough that you don’t need a rigid, week-by-week schedule, but having a loose direction helps make sure you’re not just drifting between sessions without any real purpose.
Even a simple outline, a couple of focus areas, a rough idea of how often you want to get on court, and a general fitness direction is more than enough to give your training some structure without taking away the freedom that the off-season is meant to give you.
Your brain will then have something to focus on while you play/train.
Get this bit right, and everything else you do over the summer tends to feel a lot more productive when you look back on it.
Once you’ve taken a bit of time to reflect and understand what you want to work on, it’s worth turning that into something a bit more concrete.
This is where goals come in, but the key here is keeping them simple, realistic, and measurable so you can actually track progress over time rather than just having vague ideas in the back of your mind.
Instead of something broad like 'get fitter' or 'improve my squash', try to break it down into things you can genuinely measure or notice.
This might still be physical/fitness-based, even something as simple as getting 20 court sprints in under a minute, or, being able to touch your toes when doing a hamstring stretch, would be great.
Your goals could be more technical, like reducing unforced errors in certain situations, or, a personal favourite of mine, putting some targets down and seeing how many times you can hit them in a certain time frame.
It can also help to include a mix of outcome goals and process goals.
Outcome goals might relate to results or performance benchmarks, but process goals are often more useful in the off-season because they focus on what you actually control, things like how often you train, how consistently you do your mobility work, or how disciplined you are with recovery.
The important thing is that your goals should give you direction without adding pressure.
The off-season isn’t about chasing wins week to week; it’s about building habits and improvements that will naturally translate into better performances when the season starts again.
If you can look back at the end of the summer and clearly say 'I did this more consistently' or 'this part of my game feels stronger than before', then the goals have done their job.
Keep them visible, keep them realistic, and don’t be afraid to adjust them as you go, they’re there to guide you, not restrict you.
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