The Importance of Solo Practice
Putting in alone time will increase your confidence
By Anthony Ricketts
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In squash, like any other sport, practice makes perfect. However, squash can differ from other sports in that you are able to do a quality practice (and a great workout session) without the need of a partner.
You can refine your stokes and bring great consistency without having to rely on having someone hit the ball to you.
If you watch the top players, you will see immediately that they can hit the ball straight up and down the wall consistently for an hour and a half. They are able to play volley drop shots with few errors; they are able to hit cross-courts with a consistent width. Sure this happens with many hours work with their coaches, but it is also happens with hours of work on the court on their own, hitting the ball over and over; and then refining the shot so that it becomes automatic—it becomes a habit.
There are many different solo routines you can do, and what follows are a few of these which will certainly make you feel more comfortable on the court.
The result of practicing length through solo work will be confidence and
precision when driving the ball straight.
The most obvious solo routine, but also the most effective and important one, is to drive the ball straight up and down the forehand wall. When doing this you want to hit the ball with the same amount of power with every strike, and you want the ball to bounce in the same spot both on the ground and on the back wall each time. It is important to remember that you are not trying to hit a winning shot—this is all about finding a rhythm, a flow, with repetition to bring a habit. With the idea of not hitting a winning shot, this will mean that the flow of the routine won’t stop—the rally will continue uninterrupted for five minutes.
When you feel as though you have found your rhythm, hit the ball short every third or fourth shot, around the service box area, then move forward and take the ball on the first bounce and hit the ball down the wall, with the intention of hitting a winner—then move back and flick the ball up and continue the routine. The idea of bringing the ball forward on the third or fourth shot is that it not only insures that you are moving your feet, but it also helps build your confidence hitting the ball straight up and down the wall from all areas of the court (which is your bread and butter squash).
Once you’re comfortable with this routine, stand back in the forehand corner and begin to hit the ball up and down the wall again—except this time do not let the ball hit the back wall. This will mean you will have to speed up your swing and make sure you have good racquet preparation. The idea behind this is that in a game scenario you want to be taking the ball as early as possible (not letting the ball get to the back wall)—and the only way to make sure you can control the ball is by practicing repetitive hitting in a speed situation. You now want to repeat these three different routines on the backhand side.
With the same principal of handling and controlling the ball coming quickly at you, and being used to speeding up your swing, now move up to the service line and begin volleying the ball back and forth to yourself on the forehand. One way to challenge yourself and keep it interesting is to count how many in a row you can volley back to yourself without making an error and then try to beat this number next time. This is a simple routine in principal but difficult to master. Once you are confident in doing this, chances are your ball control will improve to a degree in which you can hit the ball to most places on the court with great accuracy.
Another excellent routine to practice on your own is to stand on the ‘T’ and play forehand cross-court drops with pace so as to make the ball will come back to yourself with one bounce and then play a backhand cross-court drop with the same idea that the ball will come back to you on the ‘T’ on the first bounce on the forehand. Continue this routine, challenging yourself to hit the ball as low to the tin on the front wall as possible and with as much angle to come back to yourself as possible.
This is a routine helps you to become very familiar with the whole of the front court and to develop great control of your racquet.
All these simple routines, if done a few times per week (or as much as possible), are done for you to develop repetition and consistency on the court. It will allow you to become familiar with all angles on the court and give you confidence to play the ball to all parts of the court.
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