The average squash player knows that cut (often used interchangeably with 'backspin') is important on drop shots, but not many players know how it can be used on every single shot in squash.

Professional players will hit almost every single shot with cut.

Just as topspin allows a tennis player to apply more pressure on a ground stroke, backspin allows a squash player to hit more severe drops, kills, boasts and lengths.

When training, many players do drills without any concise objective in mind. Players tend to “rinse and repeat” a drill without focusing on important things such as footwork or shot accuracy. Whenever a player is about to start a drill, they should always have an objective in mind, concentrate on it, and works towards as they do the exercise. This is very important since it will help the player develop better muscle memory as well as improve their game more significantly.

This week I was training one-on-one with my coach, and we decided to improve my game at the front court by working on: taking my time, starting my swing from the same position every time, making a shorter swing, and using my wrist more. The reason he told me I needed to do this was to incorporate deception on every shot, as well as increase my accuracy while retaining the same amount of power as before. Surprisingly enough, by the end of practice I was hitting better shots at the front with a shorter swing that always started from the same spot. It was very helpful and I believe it’s worth discussing so that other players can try it out as well.

Movement in squash is probably the most important aspect of the game. It is also one the things that really separates different levels of players. When moving to the ball there are a few key elements to consider. Most of the time if you can you need to get on the ball quickly to have the option of putting time pressure on your opponent. You also need to approach the ball in a manner that leaves you options as to where you hit the ball. One of the most critical points of moving to the ball though is leaving yourself in a good position to move off of the ball. I believe this is probably the biggest differences between high level players and lower level players.

The inspiration for this post was a twitter post from Roger Federer that was a simple statement with an attached picture.

Back to basics #nostalgic #MeVsWall pic.twitter.com/O3k2K0Th3A

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) April 10, 2014

This simple statement and image coming from the most successful tennis player of all time really makes a powerful statement. In fact you can read many things in to it. Practicing the simple fundamentals of the game would be the first thing that comes to mind. For a tennis player hitting countless tennis balls against a wall is one of the simplest ways to practice the basics of the game. When I see a racquet leaning against a wall painted like a tennis net I get an image in my mind of a boy hitting the ball against the wall because he loves playing the game. When I think of Roger Federer doing this I think of dedication and willingness to the basic things that are necessary to remain great. All three of these are really important in squash as well of course.

Squash is a bit of a funny game when it comes to where you are trying to hit the ball.  Most of the time you are trying to hit the ball off of the front wall so that it goes past you in to one of the back corners.  Hitting the ball in to the back corner so that it does not come out is your objective but should it be your target?

The title of this post isn't an open invitation to vent your frustrations of the day, rather an important question about your thought process on court. This is an exercise in metacognition; thinking about your thinking.

I've discussed the concepts of deliberate practice and "10000 hours" in earlier posts, and those themes tie in well here. To review, several sports science/psychology studies have shown that it takes a minimum of 10000 hours of deliberate practice to truly master a sport (for reference, I am at about 8000 hours...and nowhere near a master).

As squash players the lunge is something we are all familiar with.  I was practicing movement in to the front court with the help of my coach and one thing that we were working on specifically was how far forward the leading knee can go. If your leading knee goes too far you can lose balance on the shot you are playing.  Also if you go too far you will also not have the same strength to push back out of the corner.

James Willstrop