Having learned the sport in a relatively "rural" squash area, and now living in the biggest hotbed for junior squash in Canada, the topic of junior development is very interesting to me. I often think about the best ways to groom young players into stars, and try to figure out what key elements make or break a junior's development. Hopefully there are some juniors or parents of juniors reading this!

I have definitely talked about mental confidence before but wanted to discuss from a little different perspective this time.  I am sure we have all played against someone that is young, new to the game and really fit and can seemingly chase down any ball.  Even when they can't quite get it they often exclaim how close they were to getting the ball. They run all over the court and have a smile on their face while doing it.  They look like they are actually having fun chasing the ball around the court.  Why do they look this way? The obvious answer is more often than not the right one.  They are having fun!

Mental confidence is critical in a squash match.  Confidence can be fickle.  It can come and go if you let it.  What do you do if you are losing confidence?

I have been in the unfortunate situation of dealing with some physical limitations recently that have caused me not to be able to play as often as I like and when I do play it has been at a much slower pace.  I have a swollen foot which some days is worse than others.  When it is bad I can barely play, most days I can tolerate the pain enough to play although I am not as mobile as I would normally be.

One of the more frustrating elements of training full time for me has been the slow rate of improvement. It would seem logical to think that doubling the amount of time you train (which is essentially what happens when you go from juniors to pro) will double your rate of improvement. Andre Agassi touched on this in his autobiography; his father had him hit one million balls a year, thinking that any 10 year-old who hits a million balls would be unbeatable. I think there is some merit to this theory, but overall increased volume does not equate to faster improvement. For a while I fell into this trap, thinking that I would naturally improve just by playing more squash. I quickly realized though that drilling and playing unconsciously does nothing to help you improve and can even be detrimental to your game.  You have to be constantly aware of what is happening on court, what you are doing and why you are doing it. If you are trying to change something, be aware of it and make a conscious effort to improve it.

People often wonder why there are so few upsets at the very highest levels of pro squash. It is considered a major upset when someone outside the top 10 beats one from the top five, and seeing someone outside the top 20 take out one of the top boys happens only once or twice a year. Contrast this with tennis, where it is not uncommon to have several of the top 10 crash out early in a tournament. Even the dominant trio of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer fall victim to up and comers barely inside the top 30 from time to time. In my opinion, there are a few different explanations for this difference in dramatic upsets.

Congratulations to Nick on achieving the #1 spot in the world.  This last year of squash from Nick has been very impressive.  He has steadily moved up the rankings from the middle to bottom of the top 10 to being the top player in the world.  Since coming back from injury he has seemed more focused.  He has always played at a really hard pace but he has really become more clinical in finishing since his return.