EXCERPTS

Here are some excerpts from 'Double Up' by Barbara Cooper - The doubles squash drills book.

Chapter One
DRILLS
“The difficulty in life is the choice” George Moore. “The bending of the bough”

“In our lives, the one thing we can never be without is our ego; therefore we must learn to train it to our best interest. You must talk your ego into drills rather than baby it away from drills.
EGOS NEED TRUTH, BODIES NEED DRILLS.”

Chapter Two
OPPORTUNITIES
“The robbed that smiles steals something from the thief.” Shakespeare, Othello

“Having one game does not mean one pace. It means using all of you, within each and every game you play. Whatever you need to make in the game you are playing, you make. Whatever shots need to be hit, whatever running and retrieving needs to be done, you do. This flexibility is limited if you are worried about others calling you an egotist. When you accept that others are free to think, say and do whatever they choose, then you can continue to play.”

Chapter Three
UNTHINKABLE
“What was once thought can never be unthought” Freidrich Durrenmatt, The Physicist (1962)

“Working out a game plan is useful, when you add in all facts, including flexibility. You cannot know all the shots that your opponents can come up with. Therefore, you must be prepared to be flexible. The situation will never be 100% predictable.
Can you allow yourself that margin of error, plus a surprise element from the opponent, and then add your mental game plan as a back up? Covering all factors allows you the changeability of shots and choices.
Do you want to know the most constant thing in squash? The greatest constant in the game is the inconsistency of the game. There are always variables of human nature on the court and it is impossible to predict always what shot the opponent will choose. We can put our faith in the ball, however, predicting what opponents will or will not do is not an easy task.”

Chapter Four
BODY
“Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.” Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gra.

“Choices are given to those who have the ability to stare and pick up all the available data. Can you begin to win the staring contest in the game? Can you stare more at the ball than your opponent is able to? Can you begin to stare at your opponent and enjoy so doing? Physically this can feel quite comfortable, but insofar as manners are concerned, it can feel a little bit uncomfortable.”

“Do you rush when the opponent increases the pace of the ball? Do you rush and panic, when the opponent slows the pace of the ball down? Which speed causes you the most timing problems? Each one of us will have a speed between slow and fast with which we are not that comfortable.
The idea is to find that pace and make it so familiar to our senses that we no longer treat any pace as mysterious, or threatening. All speeds of the ball must become familiar and easy to deal with.”

Chapter Five
LIBIDO
“When desire dies, fear is born.” Baltasar Gracian, The Art of Worldly Wisdom.

“The process of depressurizing want energy is to again take pen to paper. This is another form of house cleaning, or mind and body cleaning. Write down the first ten wants that come into your head. It does not matter if they are realistic or far-fetched. Just allow yourself to complete the exercise.”

Chapter Six
ENJOY
“Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.” Paul Goodman,, Growing up Absurd.

“As important as we wish to be to others, so we should become to ourselves. When we fulfil our own need to be important, we will not seek others to fulfil that need. We will get on with our own business of liking all that we are. Can you begin to reverse all the concepts of being liked, loved and cared for by others, and direct the flow from yourself to yourself?”

Chapter Seven
UNDERSTANDING
“A moment’s insight is sometimes worth a life’s experience.” Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

“Try this exercise write down 10 instructions to get a good backhand. Can you cut those instructions down to 5? Can you increase those instructions to 20?

Chapter Eight
POWER
“True power and true politeness are above vanity.” Voltaire