Forget About Improving Your Squash

Every single day for the last 229 days, I have written and posted a squash article with the aim of helping you improve your squash. Some are great, even though I say it myself, some are okay and many are probably terrible. Every single day, I sit at my laptop typing, misspelling and generally sighing in the hope inspiration strikes me. I do it because I feel the daily habit/commitment is good for me, and I will keep doing for as long as I can because ultimately I enjoy doing it.

So what the heck has this got to do with squash and specifically, your squash? Well, the fact that you are reading my articles means you want to improve. That's good, right? Yeah, probably, but it's also important to enjoy the work required to improve. Some players claim they disliked training and I am sceptical of those claims. I don't feel that people love winning enough to continue to train even though they hate that training. Maybe I'm wrong.

Photo by Petteri Repo from the Squash European Team Championships 2017

But what I do know is that for club players, the process is way more important that the destination. I know this because there is no destination for squash players. At least not in the same way there is for professional squash players. Pros have to win to survive. if they don't then they have to have sponsors who will fund them in the belief that the coverage they get is worth the investment in that player.

When I see and talk to club players, it's clear they play for fun, for fitness, for stress-relief, for many other reasons, but rarely do I hear players say they play because they "love to win". At club level and for most club players, winning is a bonus. As long as they play fairly well, have a great workout and enjoy the accompanying time around the match, they are happy - and so they should too.

As a coach, I am guilty of producing content that hopefully helps you improve, but does that content help you enjoy the game more? Maybe. I often wonder whether playing better squash makes you enjoy the game more. I believe that up to a point, it's true. For example, being able to get the balls out of the back corner, hit the balls to where you want them to go most of the time, the ability to hit both hard and soft, the ability to change your game, even slightly, to counter your opponent, all of those things make squash more enjoyable.

Photo by Petteri Repo from the Squash European Team Championships 2017

But does being able to do more than that really make squash more fun for most people? I'm not convinced it does. So where does that leave us? It leaves us where ever we are right now. And that's fine.

Don't feel that you have to improve every single time you walk onto a squash court. Don't feel that every day must be filled with work aimed at improving your squash. I can't believe I am going to say this, but...

DO NOT DO SOMETHING EVERY SINGLE DAY TO IMPROVE YOUR SQUASH!

As long as you are enjoying your squash, be happy. Improvement and the effort to improve is a good thing, but not at the expense of enjoyment.

We all need a holiday, so take a holiday from your squash-hustle, take a break from your training, get away from the feeling that every squash day has to be productive.

But enjoy it while it lasts, because soon enough you will be back to the path of progress.

Improving your squash is important, but enjoying it is more important!