S Q U A S H
C L U B
SOLO DRILLS FOREHAND BACKHAND DROP BOAST VOLLEY SERVE GRIP FITNESS PAIRS DRILLS WORDS OF WISDOM
Click on the technique you are most interested in.
The videos below are designed to help you continue your squash journey on court. Please ensure you have read our DISCLAIMER prior to starting any of the exercises/drills shown in the videos.
Welcome to Squash Club
“Routines and individual practice are crucial to being able to play well on court when it counts. They develop your muscle memory and give you the confidence to hit those big shots when under pressure. ”
Solo Drills
The following 11 drills have been designed for you to do by yourself so that you are able to have more control of the ball on court. They are designed to take anywhere from 20 - 35 minutes dependent upon the amount of shots you hit for each practice. You can also download a paper copy below. Don’t just take my word for it, have a go and see for yourself!
Intro.
Practice 1. Forehand drive down the wall.
Practice 2. Backhand drive down the wall.
Practice 3. Forehand Volley down the wall.
Practice 4. Backhand volley down the wall.
Practice 5. Forehand drop straight at the front.
Practice 6. Backhand drop straight at the front.
Practice 7. Forehand drop from the T.
Practice 8. Backhand drop from the T.
Practice 9. Figure of 8 volley from T.
Practice 10. Forehand volley drop from the short line.
Practice 11. Backhand volley drop from the short line.
“There is no escape from the regular need to practise and, regardless of your ability, the greater the number of technically correct and well directed balls you hit the better. Proper practice will help you to fulfill your potential and even when you reach the highest standard you will have to practise to remain there.”
The Forehand
As a club player it is essential if you want to improve, to work on your basics. You need to feel secure with your forehand when you are put under pressure in a game. The individual practices below will be important to improve your all round game as well as your technique and accuracy.
These practices can also be duplicated on the BACKHAND side.
Forehand into the service box. A drill to help you work on your accuracy down the wall. Master this drill before you then attempt the drill hitting the ball behind the service box.
Forehand off back wall. This drill works well for both players to practice their straight drive off the backwall. It can be done on either the forehand or backhand side.
Forehand behind the service box. This drill helps you work on your length down the wall. As you get better try and hit the wall as tight as you can down the wall. This will become an excellent shot to play in your game both as an attacking and defensive shot depending upon your situation in the rally.
Figure of 8 drive. Doing the figure of 8 from the T, hitting your forehand and then your backhand helps you develop a controlled swing as well as your timing. It also helps you get used to hitting the ball low just above the tin - well worth trying to master!
The Backhand
You will normally have a favourite side and that tends to be for a lot of people their forehand, so it’s vital that you don’t neglect your backhand! You don’t want it to become a weak spot which your opponent targets! Use the solo practices above to work on your backhand and also try the drill below to strengthen your backhand.
Getting the ball out of the back corner. This exercise can be done on both the forehand and the backhand side.
The Drop
The drop is a very important attacking shot which opens up the court for you. If you only hit the ball hard to the back then you are only using 50% of the court and your opponent doesn’t need to worry about covering the front of the court. As soon as you start using the drop at the front of the court you are forcing your opponent to cover all of the court! Work on the solo practices above and then have a go at the drills below.
The Boast
The boast is a great shot which can be used defensively or as an attacking shot depending on the situation.
Basic boast swing. This practice works on creating a basic swing to help you groove your swing for your boast.
Practice Boast Drill 1.
Practice Boast Drill 2.
Boasting a difficult ball out of the back corner.
The Volley
One of the big differences between a club player and a beginner is that a club player will be looking to volley the ball where possible. By hitting the ball in the air before it bounces you automatically take time away from your opponent.
Leading edge. Using the leading edge to make sure your racket face is open. This can be used for your volley as well as your forehand and backhand drive.
Volley up & down from short line. This Volley drill works on your ability to control the ball. Start at the short line and then volley the ball up and down to the front wall and back.
Volley behind the service box. Working on your volley and accuracy down the wall.
Crosscourt volley nick. This drill is to help you work on your crosscourt volley nick into the front corner of the court. You can do this routine on both the forehand and the backhand. Set yourself a target of doing x amount of good shots before changing sides.
Hard straight volley. This drill works on your reactions as well as your ability to consistently hit the ball hard accurately down the wall just above the cut line.
Volley forehand to backhand. This drill is to help you work on your volley control. You are just hitting a forehand then backhand volley from the T. Attempt to do 10 in a row and then build up to 20 and then 30.
The Serve
The Serve is one of those underestimated shots. For some it is merely a way of starting the point! If this is the case then you are missing a trick! It’s the only time that you are fully in control, your opponent has to wait for you and you have the opportunity to hit many different serves to put them under pressure. A club player who serves well probably picks up 2/3 cheap points a game due to their opponents errors. Have a look at L1 serves in the beginners section but you will hopefully find the L2 serves more helpful.
The Serve L2 The Forehand. Working on improving your serve.
The Serve L2 The Backhand. Looking to improve your backhand serve.
Pairs Drills
Once you are happy with your individual drills and feel competentent then the next step is to work with other people to develop and improve your game. You don’t have to just play a basic game with them you can set different parameters and work on different skills and shots to help develop your court craft. The following drills are introduced by Richard Millman, Level 4 coach and previous coach to the American Men’s National Squash team.
Drill 1 Front & Back channel game
Drill 2 Above the line games
Drill 3 Above the line short game
Drill 4 Channel game - volley
Drill 5 Boast crosscourt drive
Drill 6 Boast crosscourt drive shot variety
Drill 7 The Zig Zag game
Drill 8 Boast, drive, self retrieve
Drill 9 Boast, drop, drive, retrieve
Drill 10 High Boast, volley retrieve
Drill 11 Serve,volley,drive, retrieve
Getting Your Grip Right & Watching the Ball
It’s always a good idea to check out your grip to make sure you’ve got the best preparation you can for hitting the ball. Everyone tends to have a slight variation in their grip especially if you’ve been playing for some time. If it doesn’t affect your game and you are comfortable playing all your shots and you don’t have an issue with them - then DON’T change your grip! If you feel there is an issue then check out the videos below. Do you watch the Ball? If not then check out the ‘watch the ball’ video you’d be surprised the amount of players who don’t watch where the ball goes in between shots.
You probably are already happy with your grip but if not …. check out how to hold your racket and how to use your wrist.
Watch the Ball. A major issue for beginners and some club players is watching the front wall and not the ball in between shots! Watch this video to see how to correct this mistake. Equally important for squash or racketball players.
Fitness
Fitness is very important on court if you want to survive those punishing rallies! Some people will go to the gym or hit the road running but conditioned movement on court is something that works well for your fitness and your specific movements on court to the different corners. Before undertaking any of these routines always check with your doctor (please read DISCLAIMER) and never try to do too much! Slowly but surely you can build up your corners and your level of fitness. Not only will it build up your fitness and recovery rate in between rallies but it will also condition your body to move economically on court to the ball.
Ghosting front and side. This 'Ghosting' routine starts at the T moving into the front corners and the sides. This is good for fitness and for footwork.
Ghosting on T forehand & backhand side. Starting on the T and ghosting to the forehand sidewall and then back to the backhand sidewall. Good for fitness and footwork.
Ghosting full court. This routine guides you through a 'ghosting' drill which will make you cover all six key areas ('corners') of the court. Great for fitness and footwork.
Words of Wisdom
Tips from top players to help you improve your game …
