Coaching and Development

Double yellows kill the game so try different colours! By NICK TAYLOR    In my opinion 90% of squash players are using the wrong ball. It drives me mad watching amateur and junior players using double yellow dots, having pointless two-shot rallies, not having to use skill, technique or tactical awareness, and coming off the court [...]

Paul Bell heralds new dawn in the North By MIKE GREGSON – Squash Mad Scottish Correspondent   These are heady days for Scottish Squash. As teams gather for the World Doubles in Darwin – including two Scots men’s pairs – there is optimism in the air. A breakthrough Men’s European Team Bronze, and a young [...]

Leicester Squash Club, one of the leading clubs in the East Midlands with more than 300 members, are seeking a new Head Coach. Applications, which are being managed by Fantasy Squash, close early next week. Full details below. Leicester Squash Club: Head Coach Part-time salaried coaching role at Leicester Squash Club through Fantasy Squash. 16 [...]

Feel and flow come first By HADRIAN STIFF – Squash Mad Coaching Columnist   In the endless search for better ball striking, accuracy and control, the debate around technique will always sit at the front of any discussion. In this article I will investigate ways in which I work towards these goals but primarily to help [...]

British Open picture special by Patrick Lauson By Alan Thatcher, Squash Mad Editor Lunging is a big part of a squash player’s workload. The fact that most players take it for granted shows what phenomenal athletes they are. The lunge is often used as a player moves in to keep the ball in play when [...]

One Health sponsor world champion’s Sheffield academy By FAYE ANDREWS   Squash superstar Nick Matthew has taken the first steps to securing a lasting legacy in the sport by teaming up his own academy with One Health Group, the Apex Squash and Racketball Programme and the Hallamshire Squash Club in a unique partnership. The Sheffield-based three-time [...]

Taking a new, in-depth look at the warm-up By DAVE IRESON   We all hear people discussing “warming up” and “cooling down”, and many of us choose to ignore these elements of sport, more than likely because the science or benefit behind it has never been explained to us, or indeed how these things impact [...]

Parents, teachers and coaches show they care when pushing pupils to succeed By DANNY MASSARO – Squash Mad Guest Editor   The phrase “pushy parent” is mostly used in derogatory terms. It insinuates a controlling parent being overbearing on the poor victim child, who would do much better if their mum or dad backed off. What [...]

Changing pace is the key to greatness By JOSH TAYLOR – Squash Mad Coaching Columnist What do Mo Farah, Barcelona FC, and Amr Shabana all have in common? Obviously they are multiple-time champions of their disciplines and they are all loved by their fans. But why do we love them and why are they so successful? What [...]

Squash? Mad for it in Manchester as growth of top-class strategy and academy delivers results By CHRIS LENGTHORN (2008-2015 Manchester Head Coach)   Manchester has been named the “home of squash” since the Commonwealth Games took place here in 2002. The programme since that day has grown in participation, structure, performance and engagement. The last [...]

A female-only environment can help nervous women to get to grips with squash By LAUREN SELBY – Off The Wall Squash Academy   My first coaching session today is ladies’ morning, a mixture of different characters, abilities and ages. All the ladies are a pleasure to coach, eager to learn, but nothing is taken too [...]

Top coach Brad Hindle leads summer squash camps in St Petersburg Leading squash coach Bradley Hindle arrives in Russia in July. There will be squash camps under his leadership. The venue will be the RC CLUB, a recently opened sports centre in the heart of Saint Petersburg. Hindle is moving into coaching after a successful playing [...]

Sports culture in South Africa brings hundreds of children to the squash courts  By JOSH TAYLOR – Squash Mad Coaching Correspondent   As squash in England is reeling from the publication of the latest set of participation figures, there are plenty of lessons to be learned from a sports-mad country like South Africa. Let’s begin [...]

Spirit of Squash urban programme grows in London’s east end By Alan Thatcher, Squash Mad Editor Insert Urban squash programmes are firmly established in the USA. We may be a little slow to catch up here in the UK but the Spirit of Squash Academy in London is continuing to set the pace.  In a [...]

If we learn from Gregory Gaultier, maybe we should start calling it the GG-Spot By TONY GRIFFIN – Squash Mad Coaching Correspondent and Author of G-Spot Squash Let’s talk this week about a scientific question that has been around ever since the game was invented: Where is the G-Spot in squash? One of the cleanest hitters in the [...]