Introduction to doubles squash practice

By the time I came to Canada, I had only seen a doubles squash court in Edinburgh, and had played on it only once. The game looked fascinating, and I tried to find out how to play. When I asked players how they practiced and what squash drills they did for doubles, I soon found out that no one did any, except to play games. I then started my search for literature on doubles squash and found very little. Being faced with teaching doubles squash, I decided to set about writing a “self-help” doubles drills book to help me play and teach this wonderful game. More and more players are getting involved in doubles squash. I hope this book will give anyone a way of getting even more enjoyment out of a game that is going from strength to strength.

I start off with the same age-old questions: Why should I practice? How should I practice? When, where, and what should I practice?

My intention is to answer all of these questions.

WHY
The reason why practice is necessary is to raise the percentages in your favour. A famous golf quote, “The more I practice, the luckier I get” is very applicable to squash. Practice is the time to work out any technical flaws, either in your racquet or footwork, and practice game situations and tactics.

HOW
This book provides many drills; either solo, pairs, threes, or conditioned games. Squash is one game that is very easy to practice. All that is needed is a court, a ball, and a racquet. Practicing alone can be very beneficial; however, it is essential to have a clearly defined goal when working, or else the practice can be detrimental. Keep your practice short and sweet, and experiment with the pace and height of shots.

WHEN
If practice is directional and specific, it can be enjoyable. This means, every occasion you go on court can be practice. Each time you can learn something new, or try to hit a particular shot from a certain situation.

WHERE
Doubles squash allows players to play on their strongest side, but good teams cover for each other. Practicing both sides of the court makes sense. Familiarizing oneself with the whole court is also useful. Every team plays the ball differently. The more familiar each shot is, will minimize the opportunities to be caught off guard. Most winning shots are played from sudden loose balls popping into the centre. Playing winners in these situations must be practiced.

WHAT
All the basic shots and angles should be practiced to find out the preferred shot to hit, from where, and at what height and speed.