Development of footwork and change-of-direction speed are essential to effective squash movement, including being able to quickly accelerate when stopping or changing direction.
At the elite level, players tend to move with great control and balance on court due to years of structured conditioning training.
Lunges
Addition of drills for quick change of direction is one of the best ways to enhance your squash movement patterns. While these straightforward and efficient exercises might not appear on social media video show-reels of professional players, they’re essential if anyone wishes to improve their game.
The lunge is an effective multi-joint exercise that targets quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves. To gain maximum benefit from it, good balance is crucial; adding weight will force your body to use muscles that keep its posture upright as well as increase its challenge by creating power rather than rotational movement in this exercise.
To perform a lunge, simply stand with feet hip width apart and take one large step forward, lowering yourself until your front thigh is parallel with the floor before pushing off from your back foot and returning to standing position.
This lunge variation is an effective way to target adductors – inner leg muscles required when changing direction in squash. Furthermore, this exercise teaches an invaluable skill: keeping your front knee over the toes without pushing into them – an ability which will improve quickly changing directions when playing squash.
As an additional improvement, holding a barbell across your shoulders (a staggered shuttle) or using dumbbells in each hand will increase lunge load and force you to maintain low legs as you advance forward. Additionally, this drill increases lateral movements as well as demands placed upon defensive players during training routines.
Squash players spend much of their time in lunge position and moving around the court, so it is vital that they practice different forms of movement regularly. Ladder drills, sideways shuffles and jumping lunges can all help develop movement patterns which will prove invaluable in playing squash. Furthermore, watching top players at your club and copying some of their footwork movements could prove highly instructive in improving your own game.
Ladder Drills
Ladder drills can help develop agility, quick feet and balance. By moving laterally across a ladder with different foot combinations, these ladder drills help develop hip muscles that contribute to agility while increasing overall speed. In addition, ladder drills raise awareness of where your body is in space so you remain in control at all times.
The Lateral In-and-Out Toe Tap Ladder Drill (LIOTTLD) is an agility ladder drill requiring rapid yet controlled footwork. Position yourself sideways towards the ladder with feet about hip-width apart. To perform this drill, step your left foot into one ladder square by taking one step and leap with both feet into another ladder square after taking one step. After jumping successfully outside of each box, repeat until reaching the end of the ladder.
This drill can be performed solo or with partners and in circuit to build agility and leg strength. Go as fast as you can while maintaining proper form; gradually increase pace as you become familiar with pattern.
Another popular ladder drill is the Single Leg Shuffle, a fast drill designed to stimulate and excite your nervous system. To perform it, begin by standing sideways to the ladder and taking small steps with your left foot into each box on it – try hitting them all with one step; otherwise switch which foot leads.
Perform the Icky Shuffle Ladder Drill for another variation on grapevineing across a ladder. Begin by placing your lead foot (left foot) into the first square on the ladder, and alternate passing your right foot behind or in front of it for each square on it.
Star Drills
Squash players need to move quickly in multiple directions. By including various footwork drills for quick direction changes in practice sessions, your players can improve their movement on court quickly and without straining their joints. These exercises will enable faster movement without overexertion on joints and muscles.
One of the most frequently practiced footwork drills, known as the star drill, requires players to navigate a five-point star-shaped course with multiple changes of direction. Start by setting up cones on the field that represent its outer points as stars; line each player up behind one of these outer cones (such as bottom left cone) representing stars and when each player arrives at one point on a star they should quickly change directions before running back across its face; continue this pattern until each player has run it twice around the star.
Start accelerating the star drill to increase difficulty and simulate game-like situations. Have players touch their stick after jumping the last hurdle on their starting side, touch it again after touching back into star position, and quickly change directions into linear movement by pushing off with their lead leg in a sprint forward.
Make them move back around the circle quickly changing direction, similar to a soccer player sprinting down the sideline before changing back around and returning the ball to their teammate in the corner. This exercise is an effective way of working on quick movement, changing of direction and balance.
Footwork is essential to playing great squash. Honing this skill will allow players to move more efficiently and quietly around the court, decreasing chances of costly errors that could cost points or even games. Keep an eye out for top players at your club; take note of their quiet footwork: no “stomping” or shuffleing as they move, instead they “float and glide”.
Ghosting
Squash is a game of speed, agility, and rapid direction changes; these qualities are especially essential when handling front corner shots. Ball feeding drills focusing on these areas of the court can help players enhance their footwork and movement patterns for handling challenging shots more successfully and gain an advantage against competitors.
Front corner ball feeding drills can also be an excellent way to develop quick decision making skills. Squash’s fast pace often leaves players vulnerable to missed shots or unexpected moves from opponents, leading to poor returns or missed opportunities to score points. By practicing fast movement and decision-making skills during training drills, players can improve their performance and lower the risk of mistakes during critical moments during matches.
This drill is similar to the down and back drill but done at a faster pace, simulating changing directions quickly at high speeds. To perform it, place a chair or large object at the center of your workout space, with a line of cones or targets about five meters ahead. Begin seated before leaping from it as soon as you pass each target or cone along your journey forward – aim to touch each hurdle or target with your lead foot before quickly changing direction by running in another direction.
To increase the difficulty of this drill, increase the number of hurdles or change their position to make reaching each new one more challenging. Or add in a lateral shuffle after every hurdle to further test agility and movement skills.
Establishing good footwork and body movements takes practice and dedication, but the rewards can be enormous. Not only will it enhance your performance and help prevent mistakes, but developing these skills also allows you to conserve energy during games by cutting down on wasted moves that waste precious seconds or minutes – and ultimately enable longer matches or tournaments to be played successfully with increased endurance and success.