Good footwork is crucial to being an effective squash player on court, enabling them to quickly move around the court and reach shots that would otherwise be difficult.
Use these ladder drills to improve your footwork and movement patterns and to develop your game on the court. Not only are they fun, but they will help your game evolve as well.
Ladder Drill
The standard ladder drill can be an extremely effective tool for improving agility when used in combination with plyometric drills. Ladders also help elevate heart rates and engage the central nervous system for increased cardiovascular endurance – essential in squash’s dynamic game where short bursts of speed alternate with longer recoveries periods.
The Ickey Shuffle is an adaptation of the traditional ladder drill designed to improve footwork by moving both forward and laterally at once. It takes its name from Ickey Woods of former Cincinnati Bengals running back Ickey Woods; when doing it yourself you should stand perpendicular to your ladder before taking steps into each square with both feet in turn, starting with left feet first before switching sides for each new square until reaching each one with right feet first and so on. To practice doing the Ickey Shuffle properly you must begin perpendicularly perpendicularly perpendicularly facing your ladder before stepping in each square with left foot first before moving onward with right foot then making up one square before repeating until reaching all squares have been entered by you or other.
River Dance drill is another variation on the ladder drill, using a cadence of “In, In, Out” with some lateral movement to provide a more challenging version. Touch each box with both feet while learning your pattern before trying to go fast. When comfortable with this pattern switch your lead foot with another foot. Repeat as necessary!
Crossover fast feet is another simple yet effective way to increase agility. Simply stand perpendicular to a ladder and quickly lateral step into each box by crossing one leg behind another as you do so – crossing left feet behind right feet each time! While this drill requires more physical movement than traditional ladder exercises, it still provides an effective method of increasing agility.
The Bounce Jab Step ladder drill is an effective exercise to develop strikers’ quickness, though non-strikers can use this exercise too. To use it effectively, start in a high plank position with shoulders stacked directly over wrists and legs long behind you; walk your left foot into one square on the ladder before hopping onto another square with your right foot — while throwing jabs each time!
Box Drill
The Box Drill is an excellent way for novice fencing students to become aware of their distance, attack when available, and execute solid blade work and footwork to support decisions made correctly. While easy enough for experienced fencers to grasp quickly, novice fencers may struggle more as it requires both reading the situation correctly and then executing appropriate blade work and footwork to meet correct decisions made during an attack.
To effectively carry out this drill, have the student make an aggressive attack and retreat. Next, have them move forward again but this time attack from lower angles – either inside or outside – rather than hitting hard from above. If an inside line attack misses, retreat immediately post lunge for maximum efficiency in recuperation time and improving backside mechanics.
As students advance, they should gradually extend the time between lunges. This will teach them to read situations more effectively and determine whether there is enough space for lunges; additionally it will assist them in learning how to create effective lunges by moving both feet and hands together in unison.
This drill can be performed either with multiple partners or just one. For optimal results, have your partner watch closely and give feedback on how well you are performing; this will enable them to provide assistance that will enable you to advance in technique while building confidence as a fencer.
Great Plains recently introduced its 50-foot BD7600 hydraulic drill, which blurs the lines between box drill and air drill with its hydraulic drive. Furthermore, Great Plains DrillCommand technology works with most ISOBUS-compatible monitors for manual section control, variable rate seeding and prescription maps – perfect for large-acre producers who seek technologically superior air drills with lower costs of ownership than box drills.
Feed Drill
The Feed drill is an effective way for your student to develop his or her ability to defend against both direct and indirect attacks, and introduce blade work within a distance framework, both essential components of advanced fencing practice in foil and epee. The basic version can teach simple “distance traps”, as well as practice advance/retreat movements; more challenging variations of this drill can also be customized to increase its difficulty up to an intermediate intermediate level level.
Stand with feet hip-width apart and one in front of the other, and bend your knees to lower yourself into a lunge before pushing off from your back leg to return to starting position. This variation of lunging targets glute muscles while placing more emphasis on medial quadriceps muscles than with traditional forward or backward lunges.
Static lunges may seem simple enough, but to increase difficulty and focus in your workout you can add variations such as walking lunges. Walking lunges work all of the same muscles as traditional forward or backward lunges while adding movement by walking forwards or backwards during each lunge – increasing both challenge and balance requirements!
Another variation on the static lunge involves stepping into a lunge position but instead of returning to standing by lifting your lead leg back up – this move targets medial quadriceps and adductor muscles of inner leg which are essential in lunge movements.
Add an element of explosiveness and build overall power by performing lunges on an unstable surface such as a wobble board or balance board, for a greater challenge. Doing this will allow for quicker recoveries between lunges while building overall power. As an extra challenge, try setting up cones in a star shape on the ground, tapping each cone with your left foot while simultaneously balancing on one leg – this requires greater coordination while strengthening core muscles.
Ghosting Drill
With lockdowns around the world loosening and courts re-opening, thoughts have turned back to squash and preparations are underway to return to play. Although many players will focus on physical training for their return, other key strategies must also be considered to ensure maximum effectiveness from these sessions.
One of the biggest mistakes players can make when Ghosting is to focus too much on its pattern or sequence and not enough on what should really matter – which is the ball itself. Ghosting can help improve peripheral awareness and sensitivity, but to maximize its benefits you must fully immerse yourself in what you are doing by paying close attention to every element involved – including paying attention to where the ball goes during a Ghosting drill.
To master shot-making and position play, it’s crucial that your feet can make quick adjustments at will. Therefore, it’s crucial that your warm-up routine includes quick-moving high intensity drills like wall sits, bodyweight squats and pistol squats (holding weight on one arm).
Another excellent approach is using a’shot and ghost’ drill, which incorporates quick recovery as well as actual hitting of shots between repetitions of Ghosting phase. This approach makes ghosting sessions as close to match play as possible and boosts both speed and accuracy in your game.
For those who want to add variety and intensity to their plyometric drills, adding in some jogging drills or sprint interval sessions could help. Doing this will increase overall intensity as well as enhance recovery movement quality while building both aerobic capacity and anaerobic capacity.
SquashSkills Fitness website features numerous high-quality examples of plyometric drills and sprint sessions, so don’t forget to have a look!