Tips & Drills For Beating The Mid-Season Slump

It's the time again where we all have to come back after the mid-season break.

For many of us, Christmas was celebrated, food was eaten, and drinks were drank.

For most of us who play regular team squash, tournaments, or even just training, this was a much needed break from the relentless squash season!

New Year just adds fuel to the fire too, with it often being a pretty light night at the very least.

Although just a few weeks off doesn't always sound like much, it depends how you spent those two weeks.

I know that some of you will have stayed strong, sensible, and healthy over the festive period. 

But I didn't, and this week's newsletter is for those of you in the same boat as me!

I feel like I've now bounced back pretty well and, this week, I thought I'd share some of my tips and drills for dusting off the cobwebs, getting back up to scratch, and into gear for the second half of the season.

Tips

1. Train at 70–80% Effort for a Few Sessions

This one might sound counterintuitive at first, however, I learned my lesson the hard way.

After a pretty heavy New Year's Eve night, I decided to play a full match with a friend of mine the day after New Year's Day.

The first 20 minutes were okay. The second 20 minutes were absolutely awful.

I was fatigued, exhausted, wobbly, shaky, and very inaccurate. It didn't help that the friend I was playing is a couple of levels better than me and he was sending me all over the court with pace.

After that session I was written off for about two days.

So, what did I learn? 

Easing off the intensity a little, even just slightly, could have been a much more effective way to break out of the mid-season slump.

I originally thought that a shock to the system might do me good, but, in actual fact, it just made me unable to play for a further couple of days.

When you’re feeling flat, frustrated, or a bit off after a break from squash, the instinct is often to train harder, hit harder, and push your body to force the form back.

In my case and, I imagine many others, mid-season fatigue (both physical and mental) quietly builds, then going at 100% every session can cause your timing, touch, and decision-making to suffer without you even realising why.

Whether you're playing a match or just doing some drills, shifting to that 70-80% effort range gives you space to groove your technique again without the added pain and discomfort that comes from over-exerting.

Your swing becomes more relaxed and fluid, your movement more natural, and your brain actually has the bandwidth to focus on the things that matter such as spacing, preparation, and targets.

It’s enough intensity to keep the rallies purposeful and open up your lungs a bit, but not so much that every mistake feels like a crisis or that you’re dragging yourself through each point.

Sticking to this approach requires a bit of discipline, especially if you’re the type who feels like anything less than 'full gas' doesn’t count as real training.

It helps to set a clear intention before you even step on court.

Tell yourself what the focus is before you step on court. Are you working on rhythm, feel, quality, or something else?

It's not about winning the drills or outworking your partner, it's about getting your game back to scratch.

If you catch yourself slipping into competitive match mode, try to slow the pace, take an extra second between rallies, and think about slowing your breathing too.

The goal is to rebuild confidence and reconnect with the basics that make your game work when you’re playing well.

A few sessions at this controlled intensity can make a huge difference.

Players are often surprised at how quickly their timing returns once they stop forcing it.

You’ll feel lighter on your feet, clearer in your decisions, and more in control of your swing.

Most importantly, 70-80% training helps reset your mind, reminding you that form isn’t something you wrestle back, it’s something you ease back into.

2. Refresh The Basics First

As I mentioned above, rather than diving straight in to full matches and just hammering your body, a better and more structured way to get back into the swing of things is to start with the basics.

Mid-season slumps often creep in because the foundations of your game.

Your preparation, your spacing, and your timing, can all start to slip without you noticing.

When you’re tired or your confidence dips, those small technical details get fuzzy, and suddenly everything feels harder than it should.

Going back to the core fundamentals helps reset your muscle memory and rebuild the consistency that your game relies on.

The mistake I made by going in too hard with a tough match against a better opponent made me essentially throw standard squash out the door.

It was more like I was fighting for my life and going for silly, desperate shots that I would never normally try.

Refreshing the basics doesn’t mean doing anything flashy or complicated, in fact, the simpler, the better.

Focus on clean strikes, early racquet prep, smooth movement, and hitting your targets with purpose.

Stripping things back gives you a chance to reconnect with the feel of the ball and rebuild trust in your swing.

One of the biggest benefits of this approach is that it removes pressure, you’re not trying to 'play well', you’re simply reinforcing the essentials that make good squash possible.

It’s important to approach this with patience.

The basics might feel boring or easy, but, when it comes to a match situation, it'll feel like you're playing terrible since you can't find a good length or get into a rhythm.

By giving yourself permission to slow down and focus on quality, you’ll often find your confidence returning faster than expected.

Once the fundamentals feel sharp again, the rest of your game naturally begins to fall back into place.

Think of it like tightening the bolts on your game, a small tune-up that ensures everything is aligned before you ramp the intensity back up.

A few focused sessions on the basics can turn your form around more effectively than grinding through another scrappy match, and when you do step back into full play, you’ll feel far more solid and composed.

3. Don't Be Too Hard On Yourself

It takes everyone a different amount of time to bounce back from a bit of time off.

Some players feel sharp again after one or two sessions, while others take a couple of weeks before things start to click, and both are completely normal.

The biggest mistake you can make during a mid-season slump is expecting yourself to perform at your peak straight away.

When your timing feels off, your lungs are burning earlier than usual, or you’re making uncharacteristic errors, it’s easy to spiral into frustration and self-criticism.

These are things that can affect your confidence in the longer run too.

But remember, a slump isn’t a sign that you’re getting worse, it’s usually just your body and mind readjusting.

If you push too hard emotionally, you shorten your patience and lengthen your recovery.

Instead of judging yourself on every rally, try to zoom out and look at your progress across a span of sessions, not points or games.

Improvement in this period is rarely straightforward, one day will feel great, the next day messy, and that’s all part of the process.

Give yourself permission to play imperfect squash for a little while.

Take the pressure off your performance and focus on small wins like cleaner contact, better movement into the ball, or recovering the 'T' a little quicker.

Each of those small steps builds momentum, and before you know it, you’ll feel like yourself again.

The goal during this phase isn’t to dominate, it’s simply to rebuild rhythm and confidence without piling unnecessary expectations on top.

4. Don't Neglect Your Rest & Recovery

When you’re trying to dig yourself out of a slump, it’s tempting to think the answer is always more, more court time, more drills, more sweat.

But mid-season is exactly when rest and recovery matter most.

Your body is carrying months of accumulated fatigue, your mind has been grinding through matches and training, and pushing harder without recovery can lead to feeling even flatter.

Proper recovery isn’t passive or indulgent, it's strategic, and it directly improves performance.

One of the simplest but most overlooked steps is getting consistent sleep.

It sounds obvious, but even one or two nights of poor sleep can impact your reaction time, decision-making, and movement efficiency.

Aim for a routine where you’re winding down properly, not scrolling your phone in bed, and prioritizing 7-9 hours.

Hydration and nutrition are also absolutely crucial during this phase.

After a break, players often jump straight back into heavy sessions but forget to fuel properly.

Make sure you're getting enough carbs for energy, protein for repair, and electrolytes, especially after tougher sessions.

Even small tweaks like having a recovery snack within 45 minutes of playing can make your next session noticeably smoother.

Then there’s mobility work, which can make a bigger difference than people expect.

Adding 10 minutes of stretching or foam rolling on non-training days can help reset your movement patterns and reduce DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness), making it easier to train again without feeling stiff or sluggish.

Light mobility flows, especially for the hips, ankles, and thoracic spine, can quickly improve how fluid you feel on court.

Active recovery is another powerful tool.

Instead of hammering yourself every day, mix in low-effort activities such as a gentle bike ride, a long walk, or very light ghosting.

These help increase blood flow, aid muscle repair, and let you rebuild your movement mechanics without taxing your system.

And finally, don’t underestimate the impact of mental recovery.

If you’ve been grinding for months, give yourself permission to take a genuine rest day or do a non-squash activity that resets your head.

A fresh mind often leads to fresh movement and better decision-making on court.

In mid-season, rest isn’t a luxury, it’s part of the training plan.

Manage your recovery as seriously as your practice, and you’ll find your sharpness returning much faster and more sustainably than if you try to simply push through.

Oh, and don't do what I've done in the past and think that, because it's a rest day, it's the perfect excuse to get a greasy takeaway. It just makes you feel worse the following day when you want to get back on court!

Drills

1. Progressive Length Games

This is what I SHOULD have started with when I jumped on court after New Year (rather than a full match).

However, once I had a couple of days rest, length drills (or alley games) were the first thing I started with to get back up to scratch.

The key here is the word 'progressive'.

Start slow and steady just playing a straight length rally to the back of the court on either the forehand or backhand side.

Depending on your standard, what you're working on, or what you want to get back up to scratch, you can adjust this first step.

For example, you could make it a rule that every length has to go above the service line, or, that no volleying is allowed at first, just to ensure the rallies are steady and slow.

This will help you ease back in and not put too much pressure on your body too quickly.

Once you're comfortable and properly warmed up, you can start to add in more conditions and rules.

You could add in the drop shot on the volley if you want to speed things up a little, or, from the back of the court if you want to keep the pace somewhat low.

You can also start to throw in shots like boasts (that have to be returned with cross courts to make sure you stay on the same side of the court).

There are so many changes, rules, and progressions you can make with length games, that's why they're possibly the best type of drill that you can do as a squash player.

Once you're feeling sharp and ready, you can then add in the competitive element of scoring.

You could even go one step further and stick a target down about a foot or two behind the service box, giving extra points if someone hits the target, and, even more extra points if they hit it from a volley.

Make sure to alternate from side to side every time you change a condition, or, you can add conditions that bring the ball to the other side of the court if you want too.

This could be only going cross court from a volley or being allowed to hit straight from a boast.

Whatever you fancy! Just have a bit of fun and get creative with it, just remember my first tip of the newsletter: train at 70%-80%.

2. Touch The 'T' 

This is one that everyone hates and it's easy to understand why, but, if you want to sharpen up your movement, speed, reactions, and changes of direction, this is one of the best drills I can recommend.

If you're super dedicated, you can just do this just as ghosting (without a ball), you essentially just move from corner to corner making sure to touch the 'T' with your foot or racquet between every single movement.

I generally tend to do this drill during straight length rallies, or, sometimes in back of court games where the ball has to land first bounce behind the half court line on every shot. 

Doing it in a full court match is almost impossible (and very tiring) but if you want to give that a try, be my guest.

Not only does this one get your movement back up to scratch, it ensures that you get into the right position after every single shot (rather than hanging back in a more lazy position).

You're forced to get onto that 'T' regardless of how good or bad your previous shot is.

If your shot is bad, then you're going to have to scramble to touch that 'T' and then reach your opponent's next shot, or, if your shot is good, you may give yourself a little more time to get to that 'T'.

Which is another great benefit of this drill, since your rewarded with slightly less-harsh movements for playing tight and accurate lengths.

Not only does it force you to think about your movement, but, your shots as well.

It also helps you develop a much more positive 'T' position which essentially makes sure that you're ready for any shot your opponent may throw at you, plus, you can pounce early on any weak shots they may play.

3. 2 Straights & A Cross Court (Volleys)

This is one for sharpening up your volleys, and, maybe I should have featured it as number one since it's a superb way to warm up the ball too.

It essentially involves both players standing near-ish the 'T' as close to the mid court line as they're willing to get, then, each player hits two straight volleys back to themself followed by one cross court.

You can do this as hard or soft as you like, however, in my opinion, you get the most out of this one if you hit your shots with a bit of pace.

After all, the whole point of volleying is to take time away from your opponent, you may as well hit your volleys hard!

However, if you're more interested in practicing guiding your straight volley drives tight and your cross court drives wide, then maybe taking a bit of power off the ball is wise too.

This exercise is ideal for getting your reaction, timing, and swing speed back on track after the mid-season break too.

It also helps you work on getting your cross courts back up to scratch and nice and wide.

This is yet another drill that can be progressed and made competitive too.

You can turn it into a cross court volley game with your opponent where you try to get the ball past them on every shot.

You can either do this where you volley one straight shot back to yourself before each cross court volley, or, you have to go cross court on every shot.

Whatever you fancy really!

Also, despite the pace of this drill, it's not too tiring as you generally don't have to do too much movement other than laterally along that mid-court line.

If you want to progress it even more, you can make it a full cross court game where either player can hit any shot that lands in the other half of the court (e.g. boasts, lobs, cross court drops, kills etc).

It's good fun, and, as I mentioned, the perfect way to get your width back up to scratch after that mid-season break.

This is something that's often forgotten about when we get back on court too!

This article was taken from our On The 'T' Newsletter, if you're interested in receiving more content like this, please feel free to sign up using the subscribe section located at the bottom left of this page (or underneath the article if you're on mobile), thanks!