By Chris Walker, World No. 10
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Chris Walker |
Many people ask me how they can make the most of the little time they have to practice on court. The first obvious answer is to concentrate on ‘quality not quantity.’ Why waste time hitting the ball back to yourself, not really focusing on anything in particular? All this does is instill bad habits into your technique.
Every time I go on court to practice by myself or with a partner, I micro-manage what I am doing. For example, I will concentrate on my body position and approach to the ball during a given routine (boast and drive, or as you Americans call it, rails and angles!). Other things I work on: getting my shoulders around, getting my wrist cocked, getting on to the ball quickly and efficiently, holding my position on the ball as I complete a smooth and flowing swing, directing the ball to the exact area of the court I am aiming for—whether that be in the corner without touching the sidewall, or fading slightly and clipping the sidewall toward the back of the court.
But how did I start breaking down the whole process in my mind like this? Part of the answer is from practicing an insane number of hours on the court, starting as a junior and then throughout my squash career. I still break down a practice session in this manner now. Can you believe it?
Many, many times in my career I have had targets on the court to help me focus on my accuracy, whether it’s been within a competitive environment in a clinic against other players or during solo practice or a training session. A target could be a garbage bin at the back of the court to lob the ball into, or a racquet laid on the floor by the wall in the area where a good length shot may bounce on its way to the backwall.
One of the most popular ways to set up a target is to use masking tape on the floor or wall of the court because it can be easily removed and doesn’t affect the bounce of the ball if you desire to continue playing/practicing after a target has been hit. (I have seen tape targets like this set up on various courts of the world—probably because the coach at the club uses them on a regular basis. I have seen them on Robert Graham’s coaching court at the Santa Barbara Athletic Club, for example).
So what targets can you use?
The illustration here (below) shows some of the most common targets that I would recommend setting up for a practice session, either on your own or with a partner. Using the basic routines (boast and drive, drop and drive, hitting lengths back to yourself down the wall, boast/dropshot, and drive/boast/dropshot–either self-feeding or feeding a partner), set up the targets as shown depending on your standard.
As a beginner use the black markings laid out, as an intermediate player use the green markings, and if you are an A/B player use the blue markings as your target areas. I also drew some yellow marks on the sidewall to be used as targets for cross-court lobs, the service—a much under-practiced and underrated shot—and the cross-court service return or cross-court drive from the back of the court. You can be creative, too. There would be a slightly lower target on the sidewall for a hard cross-court drive from the front of the court.
Now there is no excuse for not making the most of your time on court! Think of using the targets because they are a great visual aid to focusing on accuracy. See how many out of 20 you can hit. Why not build up a series of challenges for you and your mates? Loser buys the drinks!
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