PREAMBLE
After a gap of 18 months I have finally the time to resume playing in the local squash leagues again. (I have missed playing very much because squash is such a great game). As a consequence I am obviously spending time in the local club. There are 8 courts and plenty of activity - players of all ages and abilities including energetic beginners. It is to those energetic beginners I am addressing this blog. It is not for children particularly - but for teenagers and adults who are having a go for the first time. Very often that initial game leads to playing more regularly as squash can easily become addictive. However like so many things in life, getting the basics right at the beginning - while perhaps a pain (when you just want to have fun) will save you time in the longer run and help you become a better player more quickly. In fact I will go as far as to say you will never fulfill your potential unless you get the basics right and getting out of bad habits created is often very hard to achieve.
The first thing I should say - should recommend - is you get some initial coaching - ideally from a qualified squash coach - or at the very least an experienced player. All clubs will have someone suitable. As a second best - watch You Tube or buy a book likely to be called something like a beginners guide to playing squash! However if you don't do that - here is my absolutely paired down minimum (succinct) advice to the squash beginner :-
TIPS FOR THE RAW BEGINNER SQUASH PLAYER :-
It would be irresponsible of me to start with anything other than safety - because it is very easy to get injured or injure your opponent in the confined space of a squash court. (when thrashing around with rackets and a hard ball (which fits perfectly into an eye socket!) in the heat of competition. A racket head in the teeth is to be avoided!
1) SAFETY. There are obviously rules in squash that help make the game safer and flow better. (I am not going to try and explain them here - you can learn the finer points later. However this is what you MUST fundamentally understand in the interest of safety - even before you go on court :- When it is your turn to hit the ball, if you think you might hit your opponent with either your racket or the ball because they are not giving you enough room - or if you have to run into him/her to get to the ball - you MUST STOP. If they are marginally in the way - you ask for a LET - which means you replay the point - or if they are clearly in the way you get a STROKE - which means you are awarded the point. Both players must do everything they can to avoid physical contact on a squash court. It is totally irresponsible to hit your opponent to prove they were in the way!
2) GOLF NOT TENNIS. When it comes to how you swing a squash racket correctly there are more similarities to swinging a golf club than there is in swinging a tennis racket. In tennis the racket comes around your hip. In golf the club goes from ear to ear. In squash the racket head goes from ear to ear and NOT around your hip.
3) IN SQUASH YOU DO NOT HIT THE BALL WITH YOUR FRONT (chest) FACING THE FRONT WALL. As 2) above. To hit a squash ball (correctly) to the front wall your body position is the line of your shoulders pointing to the front wall and your chest parallel to (facing) the side wall (as standing on the golf tee.)
4) FOREHAND As in 3) above. If you are righthanded - face the side wall - feet 2 or 3 feet apart. Then with your left foot only - take a step forward so your toes are pointing at the side wall. Bend from the hips. Try and hit the ball when it bounces on the floor in line with your left foot.
5) BACKHAND As in 3) & 4) above - but you have turned 180 degrees and it is your right foot forward - on the backhand (definitely not the left foot).
6) RACKET GRIP it is VITAL to get this right from the outset. ((you are not holding a frying pan!). The racket grip is the same playing forehand and backhand. Hold your hand out like you shake hands and shake hands with the racket grip. At this point the top edge is facing to 12 on the clock face and the bottom edge to 6. Now turn the racket in your hand just a touch clockwise. This will have the effect of "opening" the racket face (putting a slope on it) so when you hit the back of the ball the racket face lifts the ball slightly ie the bottom edge of the racket is facing to 7 the top to one. This is how to hold a squash racket. Get this right from the outset and it will make a massive difference to your squash future. Getting into the bad habit of holding a "closed" faced racket head (as so many players do) will cause you a lot of grief and will be hard to change. (it will cause mishits and/or your forehands to go too low and your backhands too high).
7) GETTING THE BALL OUT OF THE BACK CORNERS - a beginners nightmare. You absolutely DON'T do it by putting your bum on the back wall and trying to hook the ball out. Think about this - it is not as complex as it sounds! Imagine there is a diagonal line drawn from the T (the centre of the court} to the back corner. To get a ball out of the back corner approach on this line - you are actually facing into the back corner. From there you will be able to "boast" the ball to the front wall by hitting the side wall first - or get around the ball and play it straight. These are harder skills but are essential to learn. There is no squash future with your bottom touching the back wall!. PS at any squash level it is better to play the ball - usually by volleying - before it gets into the back corner - if you can!
8) AVOID PUTTING YOUR FOOT/FEET IN THE FLOWER BED - imagine there is a "flowerbed" all around the base of the court walls as wide as the length of a squash racket. You should avoid trampling the flowers in the flowerbed! If your feet are in the flowerbed you are definitely in a wrong hitting position. If the ball is close to the wall you bend in as described in 4)/5) above - you do not put your side against the wall and somehow try and scrape the ball off the sidewall - probably with the racket head pointing down. There is no squash future playing like this.
- don't stab at it. The racket head should follow the ball through in the direction you want to hit it.
10) UNLIKE TENNIS SPIN PLAYS LITTLE PART IN SQUASH - only at much higher levels of squash might spin be used to meaningful effect. Just concentrate on hitting cleanly through the ball - no chops!
11) WATCH THE BALL HIT THE STRINGS - as in all ball games you must watch the ball. (ie don't move your head with the racket swing). If you do not watch the ball you will not hit the ball cleanly and will have miss hits. Remember hitting a squash ball hard is not about brute strength and muscle - it is about a good fast swing and hitting the ball from the sweet spot of the racket (the centre!)
12) THINK ABOUT BALANCE - squash is a fast game and requires quick movement and lots of turning. However squash players should not be running into the walls or pushing off the walls with their hands because the have over run the ball or cannot stop themselves. If you do this you are not properly balanced. Good squash players keep a low centre of gravity by bending or crouching when moving around the court quickly. To reach a ball you should stretch from a solid leg base and not run so close to the ball you cannot stop. From the stretch position a squash player can push back off their outstretched lead leg rather than topple forward. Try to move with control and not like a dodgem car!
12) SIMPLE TACTICS
- do not try and hit too hard - accuracy is more important.
- hit the ball where your opponent isn't - if you can. Make your opponent work hard.
- try to keep the ball "tight" ie close to the walls - because this makes the ball harder for your opponent to hit.
- usually the player on the "T" - the centre of the court - has the upper hand in a rally - so generally move to the T after you have hit the ball.
So there we are - that's enough to be going on with. Be safe. Get the basics right. Enjoy fantastic exercise. Join the leagues to find your level and to improve..
Squash is a truly great game - a real test of character - game of chess with a ball - a gladiatorial game - an immense challenge and deeply satisfying to play well.
