Coaching Squash Deception Using the Games Approach – Drive or Angle from Front

In our first and second examples of coaching deception from the front using the Games Approach we looked at two of the most common situations: pairing a drop option with a cross-court drive and pairing a drop option with a lob – both force the opponent to cover the largest territory – the diagonal.  In our third example, we look at a less common option from the front, the pairing of an angle (roll corner in Americanese) with a straight drive.  This option could be classified perhaps as a “surprise” option or “an unexpected shot from an unexpected place” since without surprise both shots expose the striker to counter attack:  the angle rebounds towards the middle and the straight drive if loose could result in a stroke against the striker.  However we do see these shots played at the higher levels so players should be trained in their use and how to anticipate and respond to them.

As in the other two examples, we will focus more on the coaching method and framework or the Games Approach, and less on the actual technique of deception (e.g., use of wrist).  Here are the key teaching points from this video which may differ from more technically-oriented coaching sessions on the same topic:

• Flexible approach to the session’s’ content.  We see the coach accept the player’s suggestion to modify the game according to the player’s preference.  The coach can always return to the original options, but should be willing to experiment with the player’s suggestion in order to reinforce self-direction on the part of the player.  Build choices for your players into your squash coaching – they may not notice it but will develop more confidence in themselves.
• The Games Approach encourages competition so that training takes place in a similar psychological environment to actual match play. In fact here we see that Chris is somewhat down and not that competitive after losing the first conditioned game 5-0, but the coach encourages competition.
• In the previous example of Games Approach session we saw the addition of options or conditions to make the games more challenging.  Here we see the player presented with a simple skill drill to encourage appropriate technique – in this case the use of the wrist versus the stroking to control the ball. Lower standard players might in fact spend a majority of the session working on basic technique (grip or swing)  following the initial game if this is what might improve them the most.  What is important is that the student understands that improving technique is what will help them solve the tactical problem they are presented with (in this case how best to attack the opponent in the front of the court after forcing a boast).
• Playing a game instead of doing repetitive drills may encourage a player to more closely observe their opponent, if their opponent is clearly better at the game.  In this case it is clear that Shona Kerr is demonstrating superior deception with the wrist in the front.
• Videotaping and replaying the the Games Approach training session will help the student understand the effect of their initial shot on gaining (or losing) an advantage in the rally with the payoff occurring several shots after the first – something not possible with traditional drilling.

Coaching Squash Deception using Games Approach – Lob or Drop?

In this second video example of a Games Approach coaching session, the objective of the session is to work on the game situation where the player in the front is working on her deception by lobbing or dropping straight off a boast from the back of the court.

In this example, Shona Kerr, the player in front is winning most of the points (trained as a young girl in the use of the “Pakistani wrist” by Hiddy Jahan) so the emphasis of the session has switched to helping Chris who is responding to Shona’s lob or drop in the front.

By starting with a game instead of a drill, Chris’ weakness in this game situation becomes apparent.  Through the use of questioning by the squash coach (a key characteristic of the Games Approach) is becomes evident that he is not really aware of how his “T” position can influence the success of his opponent’s tactics, or his best options in response to her drop attack – although he becomes aware by the questioning process.

The initial game can be modified easily (as it was in this example with the added “redrop” condition) to make the initial game easier or more difficult, or to emphasize a different aspect or tactic.  Both players spend the entire time practicing in game-like conditions so appear to be motivated (without coach reminders) to recover, hustle and try their hardest.

The second step of the Games Approach, to drill the different options in more traditional drilling practice (in this case the straight drop and lob), was skipped because Shona demonstrated solid deception and quality lobs and drops.  We could have assessed her performance under more pressure by having the coach start with either a straight drive feed or a boast, which would have forced a later start from further back by presenting her from early anticipation of the boast.

Coaching Squash Deception with Games Approach – Drop or Drive

Here is a video example of a coaching session using the Games Approach method to teach deception in the front court. Notice the following in comparison to a “usual” technique-based coaching session:

• Start with a game to assess the squash player before any coaching takes place.  This assures a minimum of talking (boring) and an active start to the lesson with competition (everyone loves competition!).
• Use questioning to help the student figure out for themselves what they need to work on – if the squash coach tells them outright, the student will never develop the ability to think for themselves.  Notice in the video that Chris’ (the student) awareness of what is actually happening in terms of the results of his shots is not that great despite his relatively high standard (sorry Chris!)
• After identifying an area to work on, squash coaches can use more conventional drilling to improve the weakness.  If possible, make the drilling game-like by including movement to the ball and also including the recovery and follow-up shot (in this case the straight volley into the open court created by the drop to the front).  Also if possible, set a standard of quality (seen in the drop practice scenario in this: if the opponent can lob over the player after the drop has been played) that provides the player with automatic feedback (no coach feedback required).
• Missing from the video is finishing with another 5-point game to see if the student has actually improved.  Also for the sake of keeping things simple, we have not delved into a micro-analysis of Chris swing, use of wrist and hold, etc.

In this example, three players (including the coach) were involved.  Obviously the game could also be played with two players to make it even more game-like.  Thanks to Shona Kerr for helping out fresh off her knee surgery!

Squash Coaches: Train “Situations” not “Strokes”

We have published quite a few posts on the current Tactics First approach to developing thinking, smart squash players.  The key concept is that teaching technique alone (e.g., backhand lesson, forehand lesson) and leaving the match play and tactics to the student (laissez-faire approach) in their formative years does not encourage squash intelligence.  Squash is much more than striking the ball well. It is one of the most tactical individual sports and involves considerable perception, anticipation (reading the opponent) and decision-making (attacking weaknesses not strengths) on every point.  I would wager that squash is the most tactical of the individual sports - with more individual player decisions per minute of play than any other sport (in team sports like football it is the coach making most of the tactical decisions).  Our coaching needs to reflect this priority and we need to start training situations not strokes right from the very beginning of a player’s career.

How does a squash coach go about actually planning a Tactics First lesson or training session?  Here is a template that  coaches can use to plan a lesson around a particular tactical situation:

Tactics First Squash Lesson Template

Look for some video examples of Tactics First training in the coming weeks (maybe even days:).  In the meantime, here is some brief background reading from the ACE Coaching site - the leading proponent of a tactics first approach for tennis:

Game Based Approach for Tennis

Teaching Squash Deception: A Systematic Approach

Most squash coaches agree that deception, AKA disguise, faking, holding your shot, etc., is an important part of the modern squash game – thanks in part to the reign of Canada’s Jonathon Power and the current ascendancy of the Egyptians at the top of the world squash rankings.  So now what:  what deception shots and situations to teach first?  Which to teach second?  What do we do after the first few sessions? Although there have been recent articles published on how to teach deception (e.g.,  Cliff Wenn, David Campion,  Roger Flynn, John Lau) none of their work features a comprehensive framework for developing deceptive players and deceptions skills.

Even the world’s most deceptive players probably have very little idea about how to go about training deception in a systematic way.  Most of the world’s top players who use a significant amount of deception in their game started to learn deception through observational learning (i.e., watched others do it).  A couple of years after I coached the Canadian Jr. National at the 1990 Junior Worlds in Paderborn, I invited Jonathon Power (at 17 just starting on the PSA Tour) to my squash club in Montreal to run a clinic on deception for my A, B and C teams.  He did a great job (relative to his age and experience) but certainly did not have a very clear idea on deception teaching progressions

The purpose of this post is to outline a systematic approach to teaching squash deception that can be used to develop deception in one particular player – or a nation of players, through a country’s coaching education program.

Step 1. Start with a comprehensive Tactical Model to organize ideas around deception.  I plan to use System 3 – which is a zone model of squash, where tactics are determined primarily (but not exclusively) by a player’s position on the court when receiving the ball:  front, mid- and back-court zones.  In combination with the difficulty of the ball received (easy, medium, difficult) a player determines  his or her tactical intent or phase (attack, rally, defence) and then selects a shot to implement this phase (e.g., drop, drive, lob).  Any tactical model can be used however, and I will explain the System 3 Zone Model in a future post.

Step 2. Deception is a form of attacking (or counter-attacking) the opponent, so the next step in our approach is to list, in priority order, the different deception situations in each of the three zones.  There are several ways this priority order could be established:

• easiest to execute to most difficult (probably best for young juniors)
• most frequent to least frequent (probably best for pro players)
• most important to least important (i.e., good deception in this situation usually wins pt.)
• based on an individual assessment of a particular player
• personal preference (of either the player or squash coach)
• a combination of the above methods

Step 3. Make the list.  Here are a couple of examples for each of the three zones that probably reflect a progression of easiness and frequency at an “A” level:

Front

1.  Straight drop or cross-court drive off “easier” boast (show neutral compact drive preparation)

2.  Straight drop or lob off “difficult” boast (show drop preparation with hand).

3.  Show straight drop (slow moving arm) with last minute flick cross-court executed with wrist off boast.

4. As above but with straight instead of cross-court flick.

5.  Straight drive or angle off boast.

Mid-Court

1.  Straight drop or cross-court drive off a loose ball in the middle.

2.  Straight drive or attacking two-wall working boast off a low, hard straight drive from the back.

3. Straight or cross-court drop off a loose ball in the middle.

4.  Straight volley drive or volley boast of a not tight straight drive from back.

Back-Court

1.  Show straight hard low drive, surprise with attacking boast off easier ball off backwall.

2.  Show straight hard low drive, surprise with straight drop off easier ball off backwall.

3. Show straight hard low drive, surprise with reverse angle off loose ball off backwall.

Step 4. Choose a pedagogy or teaching method to teach the deception situations or skills.  The Games Approach seems ideal since this gives the squash coach an opportunity to evaluate the player(s) in a game situation to determine what work needs to be done.  For example, in the front court situations listed above, player A could “serve” with a boast, and player B, stationed on the “T”, could return with a straight drop or cross-court drive, and then play the point out to see if player B was able to take advantage of the situation.  After 5 minutes of play, an experienced coach would be able to determine which of the shots (drop or drive) needed more work, if the player was telegraphing the shot too much, as well as other basic elements common to all squash situations, recovery, ready position, quality of shot, choice of follow-up shots, effort, attitude, etc.  Obviously other teaching methods could be used as well.  With top players it might be enough to show a few video examples and then have the “play a game and try it out”.  Unfortunately, most squash coaches do not find themselves in this ideal situation and therefore need a systematic approach to teaching deception.

Step 5. Reinforce the importance of deception by occasionally using conditioned games to encourage your players to use and practice deception:  two points for a winning deception shot; A must play deep, B can attack with deception; short game (in front of service line); etc.  Give your player feedback on missed opportuities to use deception in match play – or the overuse of deception.

Wimbledon 2009: Psychological & Tactical Lessons for Squash Coaches

My prediction for the Gentlemen’s Singles was wrong – I was sure Andy Murray (with his big biceps) was ready to take Wimbledon and Federer with Nadal out of the way.  With Federer appearing to suffer some doubts and lack of confidence recently (obviously alleviated somewhat by his French Open win), I thought Murray’s increasing confidence would carry him through the pressure of the British press – apparently not.

The ability to keep pressure off in both squash and tennis is key.  I just finished two weeks of squash camp with Mike Johnson (former coach of Fitzgerald, Eyles and Ricketts amongst others) and he reckons this ability is the most important for players to acquire.  According to Johnson,  the inability to keep pressure off  (“I must win this match”) is the number one reason players underperform.

It was very clear in the Wimbledon women’s final that the William’s sisters are the dominant force in women’s tennis today (check the video!).  Their father played the key role in keeping the pressure off them in their formative years – forbidding them to play in junior tennis tournaments from the age of 12-14.  My hypothesis is that this allowed them to develop that “go for it” attitude which obviously has become a habit.  The lack of tournament pressure also allowed them to develop a variety of skills unhindered by the need to “win that match today”.  My two weeks with 70 of the U.S.’ top junior squash players has reconfirmed my belief that the “need to win” is the number one barrier to making necessary changes in one’s squash technique and tactics.  Many junior squash players are unwilling to accept the temporary drop in performance that would come with a grip change for example.  Since accepting a temporary performance decrement in exchange for future gains is logical, there must be external forces (parents, coach, tournament environment) acting on the junior.

Squash is much more tactical than singles tennis, especially tennis played on grass (with an average of less than three shots per rally).  Doubles tennis on the other hand, is at least as tactical and perhaps more so: the addition of the net game, poaching and faking, variety in positioning (both up, both back, Australian), use of the lob (rarely seen in singles), etc.  It was great to see the Canadian Nestor come through for the second year in a row.  I never worked with Nestor but did work with Canadian Sebastien Lareau (Olympic Doubles Medalist), and last week at Princeton ran into Canadian and former world number 1 doubles Glenn Michibata (with Grant Connell) – now coaching the men’s tennis team at Princeton.  Why has Canada produced so many top-ranked doubles players over the last 10-15 years?  It has to do with Tennis Canada’s Tactics First Approach to training their tennis coaches.  Their tactics first approach has been the official coaching method in Canada since at least 1985.  Although the Canadian tennis players are too few and not talented enough to regularly break into the top 100 in singles – in a sport which prioritizes tactics, they have dominated (per capita) the top ranking spots over the last 15 years. Smart play can overcome a lack of physical talent – a great lesson for sqush coaches.  in order to develop this “squash intelligence” coaches need to use a Tactics First Approach.

Application for Squash Coaches:

1. Help keep the pressure off your junior squash players through proper goal setting (task not win goals) and an emphasis on longterm development.
2. Use a Tactics First Approach to develop squash intelligence in your players

Designing the Ultimate Summer Squash Camp

Princeton Squash Campers June 2009

Obviously, for squash campers whether young or old, the squash coach’s priority is to ensure they 1) have fun; and 2) learn something – and we all know “there is more than one way to skin a cat” (apologies to cat lovers).

Having said that, due to the usual compressed time frame of a one-week squash camp it is easy to throw established sport science principles out the window – in a desire to teach the campers “everything possible”.  In this post we will discuss  a few guidelines based on the latest sport science research to ensure that your camper benefit optimally from your coaching program.

Volume, Intensity and Organization of  the Week’s Training. Since one of the primary purposes of a summer camp (versus national camp prior to World’s for example) is to teach new squash skills, care must be taken to not overfatigue the campers as this will hurt learning. A L-M-H-L-H (L=low, M=medium, H=high) distribution of  the daily training load over the week will help accomplish this.  This will produce more and better quality work that a L-H-L-H-L periodization for example.  Obviously, most of us will be violating the rule of thumb not to increase training volume more than 10% from week to week – as most summer campers will not be playing much sqaush or training very hard.

Planning the Daily Training Sessions. There is actually a theoretically optimal order in which to train the different components needed to play better squash (which I have adapted for squash from  Tudor Bompa – the North America Father of Periodization):

1. Train new technical skills first while the athlete is fresh.
2. Train speed and agility second, as improving these qualities require a fresh and unfatigued CNS.  If you save your sprinting to the end of the day you will be training your athlete to move at sub-maximal speeds in a fatigued state (actually not that unimportant in squash – but not speed work).
3. Practice well-learned technical drills or do match play or conditioned games third as they can be accomplished well with some fatigue (may even be desirable).
4. Train strength-endurance fourth, after most of the on-court work has been done as this does not require a fresh CNS to benefit the athlete. A camp is a great time to focus on functional or core training (e.g., CorePerformance.com to avoid making the prime squash movers (e.g. quads) overly sore.  Another focus would be to avoid heavy loads and focus on the athlete executing good technique – i.e., the actual training is symbolic, and secondary to learning about training.  There probably is no place for plyometrics or maximum strength training at a summer camp – although demonstrations are fine.
5. Lactic work (intense court sprints with efforts of 15+ seconds) should be training second last, since quality work is very difficult to do after a workout of this type, due to the long recovery period required to eliminate lactic acid from the muscles (at least an hour for partial clearance of LA).
6. Aerobic endurance training should be performed last, since little coordination is required, and if the intensity is around 60-70% it will in fact aid regeneration for the next day.
7. Mental and flexibility training and video analysis/tactical discussions can be interspersed with other training factors to help aid recovery and help provide adequate rest.
8. If you really want to help your squash campers learn how to train properly you can model your physical training sessions after an actual periodized training year:  Day 1 do General Prep training, Day 2 to Specific Prep training, etc.). With handouts, this will provide them with a template to help them plan their own year.

Princeton Squash Camp Coaches - June 2009

Pedagogical Approach to Coaching Technical-Tactical Skills. Doing our basic length and boast and drive drills, followed by match play will definitely improve our players, although to a much lesser extent that than a Tactics First Approach using Games Approach and Decision Training methodology and tools. This involves choosing a tactical model (e.g., Zone or Egg) to organize the week’s sessions, and then starting each session with a conditioned game related to the sessions theme (e.g., 2 pts. for a winning volley if the session topic is volleying) game  (not lecture and drills) in order to evaluate the players and motivate them to change in a fun way – everyone loves to play games!  Players trained with the traditional methods will definitely perform better in practice – but those training with a Tactics First approach will perform better later (weeks or months) in match situations – basically because their training has been more game-like – which is just common sense.

A Practical Example of a Sport Science Designed Squash Camp. I usually perform a support role at squash camps (strength & mental training, nutrition lectures, video analysis, etc.) in addition to squash coaching.  Along with the Anwar brothers at Squash Design, we have designed a squash camp based on the above sport science principles, and will give it a try at the Premier Performance Squash Training Camps in a about a week (July 10 – 18, 2009).  We will also be designing the camp around the presence of Karim Darwish to take advantage of the current dominance of Egyptian squash at the world level (a good amount of emphasis on attacking squash and deception). There are still a couple of places for those who have left booking their summer training camp a bit late (mention “Squash Science” to get a 20% discount of the usual rate).

Application for Squash Coaches:

1. Take advantage of recent advances in sport science to enhance the learning at your squash camps.
2. Where possible use a Tactics First Approach (versus traditional drilling) to introduce and coach new squash skills.
3. Be careful not to overfatigue your squash campers if you really want to improve learning.

Play Squash “Like an Egyptian”

I was attending a squash coaching conference presentation on deception a few years ago, and at some point the presenting coach stated that “Deception should only be introduced and taught once the basic strokes are fully developed”.  Although we cannot ascertain the exact age or stage of development that was meant, I disagree with the basic premise behind the statement.

As a small experiment the next fall, I had my team play a deception conditioned game in the front court on the very first day of our Smith College Squash practice.  We used a blue dot ball and blue painter’s tape to “raise” the tin and ensure multiple shots in a rally.  The condition that was assigned, was that the players must try and surprise their opponent on every shot by hitting a different part of the ball on each shot (outside, back, inside).  Since we rarely get experienced players at Smith (only 1.5% of high school girls will consider a women’s college), for some in attendance it was their first introduction to the game that day – none had played for more than three years, and were far from fully developed.  Everyone had a lot of fun, and were often successful in either deceiving their opponent or in anticipating their opponent’s shot.

Why are the Egyptians so good at both attacking and deceptive squash and scrambling, retrieving and anticipating around the court?  Because they have been playing that style from a very young age.  It takes a much longer time to develop a complete game with a wide variety of shots than it does to develop a defensive grinder.  Some might argue that playing a risky attacking style is a sure way to ensure failure at the junior tournament level.  It really depends what you are after with your coaching – do you want to develop a junior champion or a player with the abilities to succeed at the world level?

It has been my observation that often our coaching stifles creativity and shot-making potential – and the necessary calm risk-taking mentality that goes along with that style.  A grinding, defensive style will take you only so far up the world rankings, and it is very difficult to get a player concerned with rankings to add risky shots to their arsenal under the pressure of the tour.  I am working with Mike Johnson (former coach of World Champions Sarah Fitzgerald and Rodney Eyles this week at sold-out  Princeton Squash camps) and he mentioned that it took him about two years to get an adult Anthony Ricketts to add a very good drop shot to his repertoire.

Ideally, each coaching group (Training Center or National Program) should develop a hierarchy of deception tactics (e.g., easiest to most difficult), and then determine which ones should be taught at each stage of their squash LTAD.

We are putting this philosophy into action at the upcoming Premier Performance Squash Camps (July 10-19, 2009 – there are still a few spaces open for juniors, adults, and in our Coach Mentor Program – mention “Squash Science” to get a 20% discount off the weekly rate).  Each morning, while the campers are fresh and eager to learn, we will be using a Tactics First/Games Approach to work on some aspect of deception.  While we won’t expect the campers to be perfect when we leave, with the assistance of World #1 Karim Darwish (lead coach), we hope to instill an understanding of the importance of deception in the modern game, and provide the campers with the framework to work on these deception and attacking skills.

Application for Squash Coaches

1. Introduce some (10%) practice of deception skills early on in a player’s development – both the tactics and the technique (use of wrist).
2. Even attritional grinders should have some deception in their game so that the uncertainty it creates makes there basic length tactics more effective.
3. If a player shows a special talent (like some of the Egyptians) for deception and attacking squash you can help them develop a smart game plan that combines percentage squash with their attacking skills.

Squash Science Supports British Racketball!

From pedagogical, tactical, fitness, social and developmental perspectives, there are good sport science reasons for squash coaches to integrate British Racketball into their coaching activities.

Pedagogical: As the easiest-to-learn racquet sport, due to the slow, relatively high-bouncing nature of the ball and the relatively large racquet face, British Racketball should be the first step for both young and new learners.  The tennis world is currently swamped with progressive learning methods for introductory tennis – and of course in squash we have our Mini-Squash – I think British Racketball is just as good.

Developing Squash Anticipation in a Systematic Way

Did you know that A grade squash players move to respond to their opponent’s shot before the ball is struck, while D grade players do not initiate movement until after it has been hit?

We can define squash anticipation as the ability to determine where the opponent will send the squash ball prior to the ball being struck. Useful concepts when devising  a squash coaching plan to train anticipation are technical anticipation, tactical anticipation and partial anticipation (terms I leaned in Tennis Canada workshops with then Davis Cup coach Louis Cayer).

Technical Anticipation: Relying on  pre-impact body and racquet cues.  In a series of ingenious studies, Abernethy (from Oz!) and colleagues showed that “expert” racquet sport players rely mostly on upper arm and racquet cues for hints.

Tactical Anticipation:  When you get an early start to the ball because your opponent always drops the loose ball in the mid-court, you are relying on tactical anticipation – anticipating based on your opponent’s previous choices, strategy or game plan.

Partial Anticipation:  This type of anticipation is based on the knowledge of what your opponent cannot do when the opponent has several choices.  For example if you have glued a straight length drive to the side wall, you can cheat over towards that side because your opponent is unlikely to hit a hard cross-court drive past you – technically they are probably limited to a straight drive, lob or drop.   At a full lunging stretch to the front most players with a proper squash grip, cannot hit a hard, straight drive from that position, so we can move up and look for a cross-court drop, drive or flick.

There are systematic, progressive  ways to coach squash anticipation:

Method 1:  Always teach the anticipation cues associated with with each particular shot’s shot-cycle (e.g., watch-move-hit-recover-watch);

Method 2:  If you use a Zone Model of Tactics to regulate your technical-tactical squash coaching, identify and teach the different anticipatory cues associated with the different tactical situations in each zone (e.g., Opponent is on defence in front right – what are their possible options? Train the anticipation and response for each of these options.  Teach your players what to look for.).

Method 3:  Develop a hierarchy (list) of situations where anticipation has a major role or payoff, and work your way through the list with your players – developing a little practice around each situation.  Your list can start with the most common or  easiest situations (e.g., if a player turns extra in playing a difficult  ball off the backwall they are probably going to boast) or the most important (at the pro level only 5% of shots under pressure from the front right will be straight drives).  This hierarchy could also be based on a player’s stage in a sports LTAD (i.e., at this stage we train these situations).

One of the best ways to develop squash players with great anticipation of course, is to ensure that they grow up and train in an environment with frequent exposure in competition and practice to a variety of players and styles – especially attacking, deceptive styles of play (did I say Egyptian?) where developing anticipation is of prime importance.  This is great both for the young player and squash coach since anticipation can be learned mostly automatically though observation and trial and error, without having to resort to systematic teaching progressions (if the players are athletic and talented).

In developing anticipation skills with older players past the Golden Age of learning, it is important that the squash coach avoid excessive closed drilling and practice – that is every game or drill should involve choices and decisions – avoid mindless boast and drive and length drills except for a few minutes of warm-up.

Even the squash world’s best anticipaters sometimes get fooled – but that is a topic for another article: