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By Chris Walker, PSA No. 12
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Chris Walker |
It’s amazing how many club players’ first questions to me concern how they can incorporate some deception into their game. They seek advice on how to read their opponents’ shots, or they want tips on how to hit deceptive shots. This is a challenging inquiry to answer. Deception is not a simple thing to break into component parts, but I’ll try to simplify the basics:
• Be creative with the racquet. If you have the wrist strength and timing, ‘flick’ the wrist and send your opponent the wrong way.
• Use body movement. Convince your opponent that you are in the process of executing one particular shot and then, with a subtle alteration in the timing of striking the ball, hit another.
• Get to the ball early enough to “hold” your shot (waiting a fraction of a second before starting your swing). Show your opponent through body language that you are in a position to play a variety of shots. Then simply play one of them. Over the course of a match your opponent learns that he must cover these different shots. Eventually, because the shots you play are all executed well, it is inevitable that you will send him the wrong way!
Some other tips: Try to catch your opponent on his heels or off balance just at the moment you hit the ball. Try getting to the ball quickly and getting your racquet back early, then pause for as long or as short of a time as you want before hitting a ball. The objective is to try to get your opponent to be static on the T when you hit the ball. Force him to start stationary and move quickly to the ball; he will have no momentum to help move to the next shot.
I am sure you all know that it is easier said than done. You may play several shots that you think should be deceptive, but in fact your opponent reads every single one. Then again, you may play what you consider to be a simple shot, and suddenly your opponent doesn’t see it and goes the wrong way! Your best deceptive shot may completely baffle one player but not another.
The bottom line is to be patient.
Often trying to be more deceptive in a match leads to a kind of stubborn self-destruction. You may get into the frame of mind of “I am going to send this guy the wrong way, whatever it takes.” Sometimes it takes 45 minutes and the first games—which you happen to have lost! The downside to deception is that, if it is not effective, it can put you in deeper trouble in a rally that you were perhaps on top of. Look at deception not as a match winner, but as another string in your bow—more ammunition to throw at your opponent during the course of a game.
There is no need to unleash all your weapons of deception in the first couple of rallies, either. It is always worth playing into a match and getting comfortable with the speed of the court, the bounce of the ball and the strengths of your opponent. It is also more effective to occasionally introduce your variety of shots during the course of a match. The chances of catching your opponent unaware are greatly enhanced with this strategy, and it gives you the ability to change the pace and direction of the game when you wish.
But before even thinking about being deceptive, I suggest getting to a level where you feel like you have some consistency in your basic swing, technique and ball control. It is important to have some foundation on which to build and then develop your deceptive shots. Then, practice your new shots on the back courts away from public scrutiny before trying to incorporate them into a match situation. There’s nothing as humiliating as introducing a new shot into a game and completely hashing it up because you haven’t practiced it beforehand. Maybe you can use a local coach to help with this preparation.
Another key part of squash is covering the array of shots that your opponent could play at any given moment, whether deceptive or not. When you have played your shot you should always start heading back to the T. The key is to try to arrive on the T as your opponent is about to hit the ball. If you get this right, you should be constantly moving around the court during a rally. As you are getting close to arriving at the T, watch your opponent very carefully (rather than just the racquet or ball) and try to time your reaction to his shot as he strikes the ball so that your momentum helps you move to the ball smoothly. Glide!
As your court awareness improves, you will be able to sense when your opponent’s options of where to hit the ball are restricted by the quality of your shot. When this occurs during the course of a rally you can make a calculated risk and start to anticipate your opponent’s next move…but that’s another story!
Please continue to email me at chris@walker.net or Squash Magazine (editor@squashmagzine.com) if you have questions.
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June 2010
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