Squash Tips: Prepare for Success - Guidelines for making your squash training more effective.
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- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
- In this video I explain 3 things that can maximize your time on the squash court:
1. A squash mantra
2. Before you even get on court
3. Some paperwork..
These are really just introductions to each topic, which I will explore in future videos.
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ABOUT MY VIDEOS:
I make videos that contain lots of squash tips to help you improve your game. There are plenty of squash drills, both solo and pairs/groups, as well as videos about technique and swing.
Squash consists of three aspect: Mental, Physical and Technical and I create videos that cover all three aspects.
From 2018, the videos contain a special frame that tells you what the video is about (left), which aspect it covers (right), and also "quick jump" links (top) but also in the video description.
I respond to each and every proper comment, so don't hesitate to ask questions or offer feedback.
HASHTAGS:
#SquashTips
#SquashSoloPractice
#SquashDrills
MY MANTRA TO YOU:
Do something every single day to improve your squash!
MENTAL ASPECTS PLAYLIST:
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TECHNICAL ASPECTS PLAYLIST:
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PHYSICAL ASPECTS PLAYLIST:
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5 THINGS PLAYLIST:
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SOLO PRACTICE ROUTINES PLAYLIST:
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VARIOUS VIDEOS PLAYLIST:
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FOLLOW ME:
Website: www.coachphilli...
Facebook: / coachphillipnet
ABOUT ME:
Hi, I'm Phillip. I'm an ex-professional squash coach and was lucky enough to work with some incredible coaches, including Jonah Barrington and practice with some amazing players including Jahangir Khan and Ross Norman.
I was also one of the squad coaches for the England Junior boys for a few years.
Although I no longer coach squash professionally, I feel I still have knowledge and insight to offer.
That's why I started making videos and hope that viewers find them useful.
I hope my passion and enthusiasm for the game help inspire you to work smarter and harder, and hopefully achieve your objectives.
If you have ANY questions about me or my coaching videos, don't hesitate to contact me at CoachPhillipNet@gmail.com or even visit my website: CoachPhillip.Net
CREDITS:
The music used in the outro is by Bazz Facey and is used with the kind permission of Marc Woolhead.
Email: coachphillipnet@gmail.com
As a coach I am impressed by your use of NLP language - always positive statements even when it's negative e.g. play less boasts.
Good suggestion for the anchor too - touching wall
Excellent video
Thank you for your kind words.
Just discovered your videos. Really good ! Will be starting at the beginning now and working my way through
Great. Hope to see some comments from you.
I tried the "hit the strings" mantra yesterday during the short practice before the game. Required tons of focus but improved the accuracy a lot. During the game - it was gone...
Great tip, thank you!
Yes, it can be difficult to do at first, but each time you play, you will be able to concentrate for a little longer each time.
Alex, I'm glad you liked it. Are there any courts near you where you could practice and play?
Hey Phillip, I have not much squash experience but you're videos are really interesting and engaging, great teaching!
Thank you Alex, I wonder if you have played.
My fourth mantra: I will not get lazy when tired and will get to the ball in time. Thanks for the videos Phil. Just back to squash after many years away. Your videos are an inspiration.
May I suggest "I will get back to the T ASAP"? That way you should have more time to get to the ball and it's in your control more than "I will get to the ball in time". Anyway, glad to hear my videos are helping. Let me know if they do help what's left of this season.
Squash Coach Phillip Don’t you mean: “I’m going to the T ASAP”?
I'm brand new to the sport and your videos are really helping me. Thanks so much for all the hard work you've put into these!
Sorry for taking so long to reply. You comment must have slipped past me. I'm glad to hear you are benefiting from my videos. Hard, smart work can really pay dividends in terms of improvement and therefore enjoyment of the game.
Thank you for your kind words Paul. I must admit it's been a while since I read up on NLP - definitely something I need to do.
Have you heard of any othe squash anchors? I'm intersted in exploring this topic more.
Are you a squash coach or another sport?
It took me about seven years of playing before I realized that I wasn't really watching the ball and that I was looking up as I was hitting (first mantra). I wish I'd seen this video before then! Another mantra could equally be "I watch the ball come off my opponent's strings," instead of looking up and trying to read the shot off the front wall--most players, even good club players, do that, even though it cuts their time to react in half.
+Tavish McDonell Congratulations and I am not being sarcastic. Most people go through their whole playing life without noticing that.
To be honest, I don't agree that you should watch the ball come off your opponents strings. Here is an article I wrote for SquashSite.co.uk that explains it properly.: www.carteblanchesquash.com/2014/04/23/switching-from-narrow-to-broad-focus/
+Phillip Marlowe Thanks for the link. I really like your thought experiment of watching an invisible player vs. an invisible ball, makes it clear that the ball by itself doesn't tell you much. I am going through a period in my squash development where I am trying to become aware of exactly what I am focussing on at exactly what times in the cycle of moving off the T and back to it. I think in general these days there is too much attention paid to fancy tactics, holds, deception, etc. while these basic mental processes go unexamined! Thanks for the food for thought.
Here is a working link to the article:
What a great coach. Thank you
You are most welcome. Let me know if you have any questions about squash.
the best coach ever!!! :) fantastic job Philip!
***** Thank you szymon. Sorry for the late reply. Tell me about your squash.
This is great advice for the (big) psychological aspect of squash
Thanks, I hope it helped.
Hey Phillip
Thanks so much for your time & effort you put into all these videos! They
are indeed an enormous help to improve. I specifically like the way you address
your audience. A clear voice spoken with an appropriate speed and also using
your body language to support your most important tips. A pleasure to watch -
and even more importantly to put into practice! Keep up the good work. Small
wish from my side: the audio sequences which you dubbed are mostly much easier
to hear (no echo, no background sound). Pls so more of that, if applicable.
Also I wonder, do I not lose time if I want to put speed and pressure into my
ball if I do not instantly raise my head & eyes to follow that shot on the
front wall? Especially with when hitting the ball hard and only cm over the
tin...? Just a thought. Keep up the good work, Michael (from Berlin)
Hey Michael, thank you for your kind words. With regard to the audio, you are absolutely right and for on court sequences I will try to do that as much as possible.
In answer to your "head" question, no, you don't lose time. It takes no longer to move back towards the T with your head still than if it is moving upwards to follow the ball. Also, by keeping your head still you will hit a better shot. The problem is that just because you keep you head still DOES NOT mean you have to keep your body still. The moment after you make contact with the ball, your follow through should be helping you move away from your hitting position. In fact, you should be moving back to the T FASTER than you move to the ball. Move to the ball as fast as you need to, move back to the T as fast as you can.
Just watch a pro squash match and completely ignore the ball and also one player and just watch one player and see how quickly and EARLY they move back to the T.
Hey Phillipp.
You are and were indeed right! I have played Squash for 25 years now. I just
never had any idea that I should ACTUALLY look at my ball when it hits my
strings. I just tried this very evening at my squash club. Had a very
challenging opponent to beat. And it seemed to have worked! I had the feeling that many
of my shots were better, meaning more precise and some of them even unreachable.
Ultimately, it is of course hard to tell. I cannot do the same shot and/or
match twice (once the old way and second following your advise) and compare
the outcome. But still I NOW do believe in the validity of your valuable tip. Thus,
THX again indeed. I will do through all of your other clips now ... eager to find
more of those valuable hints!
Pls do keep up your excellent work, Phillip!
Cheers, Michael
It's always good to be doubtful and sceptical, especially of coaches. It's easy to sound knowledgeable and confident but the proof is whether it actually works for you. I'm glad you kept an open mind and tried it. You are right though, it's impossible to be completely scientific about it, but you will find that if you hit the ball to yourself and placed targets on the floor, watching the ball hit the strings would make you more accurate.
Don't hesitate to ask any questions you have from any of the other videos.
Dear
Phillip.
I am grateful for every answer I get from you - especially considering how many
remarks you will probably get worldwide by uploading all those excellent videos
onto RUclips. Just returned from my Squash club. Had to play two better players
than me. The first one I beat in a 5 set match. Was tough, but in managed. The
second I lost straight 0:3. I felt that I could have beaten him. I just could
not focus properly. Did several Squash sessions this week, just as I had
learned from your video in which you created that tableau on a piece of paper
(great one!). I understood from that chart, that I have to do a lot more practice
to improve (i. e. after having played this great sports for so many year now).
Keeping in mind all your helpful hints, yet I still could not get it right. I
looked at my balls hitting my string, I had my game plan figured out, and still
he beat me. I struggled (and am still doing so), that I could not control my
balls as I wanted. A disappointing experience. Sorry for this wailing. But I
figured that I had much more control over my balls than I was able to show
today in that last match. Do you have any tip as to what needs to be done when
you are under pressure and seem to lose it. There were moments in which I
thought that I could not hit any good shot (at all). I feel like running around
like a chicken instead of controlling the T the way that I normally do. I react
far more than I act. And I hat those moments. Any ideas how to improve in
situations like these?
All the best and once more my thanks to you!, Michael
Michael, I feel that if somebody takes the time to write a comment, the least I can do is reply. With regard to your points. Firstly, sometimes we have to accept that even though we do everything right, we lose. Having the right gameplan is only part of the puzzle of squash. Take heart in the fact that you did your best and nobody should ask for more. Now, what to do when under pressure is for me a simple case of slowing the ball down to give yourself time. I know it's easy to type those words and in the heat of battle it's never that easy but if you are struggling, the longer you can stay in the fight, the more chance you have to turn things around.
Lastly, we all have off days. Days when nothing seems to go right. It's how we deal with those that marks us as a winner. Accept those days as inevitable but aim to reduce their effect and number by working hard and doing your best. Sorry to sound so cliched and glib but we are not machines and should expect ups and downs.
Great teaching style, appreciate it a lot!
Thank you. I hope you are now prepared for success!
@@BetterSquash Yep, and I'm enjoying it more than ever before! 😁
Fantastic videos!!
Thank you, I truly hope they help you improve.
I wish you lived in New Zealand and coached here!!! Haha oh well 2nd best is good enough for me your videos are so well detailed you answer the questions I would have asked in person anyway! 👍
I am glad you like them. I don't know exactly where he is but Paul Wright coaches in New Zealand and I can't recommend him enough. As a coach, I would say he is the best I have ever seen. I learnt so much from him. Go find him. If he is close, you will be glad you did.
Muy buenos vídeos, claros y fáciles de entender. Felicitaciones Phillipe.
ines camargo Gracias Inés, me alegro de que os gusten.
Hey Phillip! Is there any video where you focus on the benefits/need to watch the ball hitting your strings?
Hi, No, but I have recorded some footage and even started editing the first part of the video. However, I have to have my hip replaced in a few weeks and that has delayed the release date by at least 6 weeks - sorry.
@@BetterSquash Speedy recovery! Thanks for the videos - just started watching, and particularly looking for exercises for solo practise.
.. thank you. You are an inspiration ! Hughie
Thank you for your kind words. HAs you game improved?
Hi Phil, I only saw this video yesterday, just before playing a pennant match. I got onto a court before my game and tried to watch the ball hit my strings, but it's all just a blur! I will try again as soon as I can, but it might take a while, I have been playing for more than 20 years! It seems to me that my racket is moving too fast for me to see the strings!
+Frank Fabre Hi Frank.
Firstly, NEVER try something new in a real match. Always practice it many times first when the outcome is not important.
With regard to the blur, you are right, it is a blur and if it were no;t you would no;t be doing it right! What should be happening is as the ball gets closer to you, you move your head to follow it. Just before you are about to hit it, you keep your head still at the moment of impact. What you will "see" is a blurred racket pass through all your view and a blurred ball that seems to disappear when you racket strings hit it.
This is normal and you are not expect to be able to see the spot on the ball or the individual strings themselves. The racket is moving way to fast for that to happen. What you are doing is balancing yourself really well at the moment of impact AND taking away a clue (looking up to where you have hit it too early), making it a little bit harder for your opponent to know where you have hit it.
Over time and with practice, you will begin to see the different parts of the racket head that the ball made contact with. In fact, let me recommend this practice to help with that: ruclips.net/video/GJGwUq_jAO4/видео.html
I recommend watching different professional players for different aspects of their game and in this case I feel Gregory Gaultier is the obvious choice, especially from the middle or front of the court (where you head movement is possibly more important than at the back). I had a quick look for some examples, but could not find any - sorry. There are plenty of squash videos featuring Gregory, so if you have the time and inclination, check RUclips.
Lastly,. let me suggest you read an article I wrote last year called Switching from a narrow to broad focus, that continues the watching theme: www.carteblanchesquash.com/2014/04/23/switching-from-narrow-to-broad-focus/
I hope that helps ease your worries about only seeing a blur and please don't hesitate to ask for more help or advice.
Great video thanks!
Very useful ideas.
Re playing the shot with intention, should I be thinking of where I intend the ball to go ultimately,e.g. The back corner behind the service box OR should I be thinking of where specifically on the front wall I'm intending the ball to go IN ORDER for it to go to the back corner/behind the service box?
Many thanks
Excellent question and I apologise for the delay in replying. The more detail you can imagine for the shot the better the result. SO, yes, think about where on the frontwall you want it to hit (just under the cutline for most club players on most courts) and even "see" the flight path of the ball to the bounce on the floor. Of course, imagining and "seeing" this takes a fraction of a second and shouldn't interrupt your swing process.
CoachPhillipNet Thanks for replying and the info Coach Phillip! Loving the videos! Really found them helpful especially the side to sides. Really improved my feel for the shots. I’m enjoying my training time on court alone now and it’s good for fitness too when I can’t get a game. Many thanks 👍🏻
Where can I find the video that I'm watching the ball but not really watch it?
I really have troubles with this, it makes my reactiontime way slower. It kinda feels like the visual checks you have to do for the car exams, you watch for the form, but you don't really watch..
I mention it in lots of videos but for now try these, in order of detail:
5 Common Mistakes on the backhand: ruclips.net/video/hTXG-0tugUU/видео.html
Side to SIde Solo Practice: ruclips.net/video/GJGwUq_jAO4/видео.html
A Mantra to help you play your best: ruclips.net/video/A8ZLziyQsVU/видео.html
Awesome, thanks!
Good night! I think this is one of your best videos. The mantra exercise is excellent. If I can give a suggestion to the next video, it would be about "the game plan" which best play to play in different positions on the court and also depending on where your opponent is. Once again, congratulations to the videos.
Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you like it. It certainly could be one of the most important videos I ever make. Thanks for the "Game Plan" suggestion. It's one I have been planning for a while, so expect something in 2017.
squash and life - lol
dm me on twitter @mainser and we can exchange e-mails as I have used a few anchors - one particulalry good one for clearing your head of a previous bad shot or error
Will do!
great video
Glad you enjoyed it
Great videos! - I am also watching all your other videos... and believe that they will help my game immensely. Thank you for your efforts...
You are most welcome.
I feel that you, coach phillip, are extremely dedicated to teaching people about the sport. I read an article that you wrote for squashsite and there was a side note about the author and you wrote this "Having started playing squash in my late teens, it was clear that I was never going to reach the heights of my dreams.". I am currently 17 in the first year of Junior College and I had no past experience of Squash but ended up joining my school's squash team. But according to what you wrote, it seems that even if i aspire to play on the global stage, i won't have a chance. Is that true? I have been playing squash for about 5 months and I really love the sport. However, I have a rigorous A-Level curriculum that i have to complete in 2 years and am unable to spend much time practicing squash. I treasure my time on the squash court a lot but i still face many difficulties being able to hit the ball hard enough. Many of my seniors tell me that hitting the ball hard is not important to be proficient at squash but I feel that im still hitting balls too softly that it's unacceptable. I have been watching videos on technique and grips but i still am unable to hit the ball hard enough that it will go to the back wall like the pros. Even if pros aside, I boast with difficulty. I also cant do a boast on the backwall. I feel that such skills are necessary for a fun and fulfilling game of squash. The main purpose of my post though, is actually to know more about your history with squash. ( Im from Singapore by the way, to put things into context)
Sorry, but I am really busy at the moment and can't answer this comment properly.
The truth is that if you have just started at 17 and only play a few times per week you will never play on the global stage. Professional sports players, of all sports, need to start young AND play as much as possible. That doesn't mean you can't become a very, very good player, but know that you WILL have to dedicate a lot of time and effort into it.
You can learn a little more about my squash from my website (coachphillip.net) but it doesn't cover my playing. I practised with Jahangir Khan and quite a few other world champions and professionals, but was never good enough to play professionally. The reality was that I didn't really have a proper training plan and didn't know what I should do. Even though I started late, I now feel I could have become a mediocre professional. I did play in the World Open (once when it was in Birmingham, UK) and British Open (at least 4 times I think) qualifying and even won a few matches.
I hope that gives you some insight into my squash history.
I suspected you wanted to kill whoever started playing that music near the end. And you hitting the ball at the end really sounded like gunshots :)
floydthebarber71 Yea, the area where I have to record these is not very suitable, but it's all I have.
Always expect the ball to come back!
Excellent words of advice.
CoachPhillipNet thanks, great videos ;)
My fourth mantra: I have to win the game, with confidence!
Here is a question for you. WHich would you prefer: To win or to be confident?
I feel if the latter is secured, the former comes automatically!