Footwork is a key aspect of squash. That is why even top players often lose to those who seem to play “wrongly,” yet still win.
Front corner shots present unique challenges, as they require rapid reflexes and responsiveness from you as a shooter. Ball feeding drills that focus on this area will help your ability to handle these situations successfully.
Ghosting Drills
Ghosting is one of the more obvious footwork drills for squash players, yet can be more beneficial if done with intent and focus. It can be easy to become focused solely on pattern-and-sequence when ghosting, forgetting that moving with the ball requires total awareness and engagement from you and vice versa. Ghosting is one of the fastest ways to develop movement around the court – if done successfully it could make a real impactful difference in your game!
To perform this drill, place a ladder on the court and sprint from one end of it to the other while moving between blocks in it. This simple exercise should take only 10 minutes and will help improve footwork and coordination.
Combine this activity with sideways shuffles by shifting from lunge position to lunge position while switching your lead leg, in order to increase both lateral movement and agility. This will further develop both of your skillsets.
Put a cone at the bottom of your court, and sprint from one side of it to the other, backtracking as necessary as you move between spaces on either ladder. This simple drill can be completed within 10 minutes and will help develop both speed and agility.
Add an element of live action with these drills by competing against another Ghoster and testing your improved skills in game situations that really demand them. This way you will have an opportunity to assess whether your improvements have taken hold and to bring them into the real world where they’ll be needed most.
Ghosting will enable you to develop peripheral sensitivities that can greatly benefit your game; such as being able to recognize when an opponent moves into your space and be more aware of where their shots will hit walls, or developing an intuitive sense of where everyone stands on court.
Lunge Drills
An effective squash player must move quickly and efficiently around the court. Therefore, footwork drills are a vital component of their training regime to develop quickness of movement on court as well as increase positioning and reaction times for greater advantage over their opponents. Furthermore, footwork drills can help enhance an overall player’s game.
One of the best footwork drills for squash players is lunge drill. This drill requires them to run from one end of the court to the other while lunging into and out of each cone on their journey, helping develop balance, agility, speed, and coordination simultaneously.
A great squash footwork drill, the ladder drill is another effective one. While more involved than its lunge counterpart, this exercise involves standing before a ladder and placing one foot in each space while leaving one outside; running across and back peddling to return to starting position to complete this workout which helps develop lateral movement, balance, agility and back peddling skills.
Squash is an intense game that requires quick reactions. Therefore, practicing various footwork drills – ghosting, ladder drills, and shuttle runs – is vital in becoming more agile and improving reactions on court. By practicing such footwork drills regularly, players can become more adept and increase agility on court.
Alongside footwork drills, it is also crucial that players pay attention to their positioning on the court. By strategically placing themselves, players can increase their chances of victory by striking with more accuracy and force while conserving energy throughout a match or tournament. Proper positioning also helps players conserve energy efficiently – which is especially helpful during long games or tournaments.
Though most squash footwork drills can help improve reaction times, it is equally essential that they become part of an overall training program. By warming up and stretching before practicing specific footwork drills and taking advantage of visual aids and technology aids, players can improve their footwork and take their game to the next level.
Ladder Drills
Ladder drills are an efficient and quick way to work on agility, helping you change directions swiftly and smoothly. They can be included as part of speed ladder workouts or used with other exercises like the bear crawl, as part of high-intensity functional training (HIFT) workouts that focus on functional multi-joint movements while simultaneously building strength and aerobic exercise.
Your first ladder drill to try should be the lateral in-and-out toe taps movement. To accomplish this drill, stand sideways to the ladder while tapping each box with both feet stepping in and out to practice this drill’s movements – make sure that neither heel touches the ground; aim to tap with balls of feet for improved footwork; as soon as you feel more comfortable, speed up and increase its intensity!
Start off by performing a zig zag hops motion with both feet. Hop diagonally forward with both feet until landing inside the first ladder square; move one foot back behind your leading foot to land in the second box of the ladder; repeat this pattern for both feet by switching front/back position of each foot.
Another effective ladder drill is the centipede move, performed by stepping in and out of each box of the ladder. Similar to the lateral in-and-out toe tapes drill, only instead of placing both feet into each box simultaneously on a count of three, one foot will move into each box on an interval. Your direction of travel will dictate which leg becomes your lead leg; therefore it is crucial that your posture remain firm throughout this drill.
For an extra challenge, use any of the hopping drills discussed here on one leg! This will put your agility through its paces as you’ll need all your legpower to move down the ladder. Try zig zag or Forward Forward Back Hops using just one leg and increasing speed as much as you can go!
Shuttle Runs
This drill, popular among competitive athletes, helps develop agility, sprinting speed and reaction time while strengthening lower body muscles. However, this exercise can be quite taxing on the central nervous system; therefore, it should be completed in an adequately ventilated area after warming up with jumping jacks, jogging or dynamic stretching as part of its preparation.
Shuttle runs are an effective way of testing both aerobic capacity and direction-change speed, as well as your overall physical fitness levels. Long used by sports scouts as one of the ultimate tests for measuring cardiovascular endurance.
The Reactive Shuttle Run test assesses a player’s ability to change direction, accelerate from a static position, and control their body position. It involves using a key and three SMARTSPEED gates located 8 feet apart (see diagram). Players start in a straddling position between two gates before being prompted to start by red light on SMARTSPEED timing system; once accelerated through first gate they should make sure to touch next gate before turning back towards middle line which will signal end of drill.
Note that turning is of great significance during a shuttle Run and can make all the difference when it comes to finishing faster. Transition should be made smoothly. A side-on turn would allow for maximum stride length retention and momentum building.
Shuttle Runs should be an integral component of your training if you want to maximize your athleticism and prepare yourself for game situations under pressure. Just be sure to warm up prior to beginning and listen to your body to prevent injuries.