Squash players

[Swinglowandslow]

It can be unlike other sports. At school I had a mate who never played any sport.Not football, nor cricket- nothing.
Didn't play kickabout in the school playground- nothing.

Some twenty years later when I was well into squash I went to play at the areas top squash courts in a competition. This complex had a full time squash Pro.
He was nationally known.
I was surprised to see two schoolmates at the top of their Division 1 leagues.
One was this non sport chum I've referred to.
Really surprised , I mentioned this to the Pro, telling him how non sporting he had been as a schoolboy.
He sang his praises as a squash player, topping it by saying that my schoolmate had the hardest backhand shot he had ever seen. And he knew all the top players.

Just shows!!

 

[Mudball]

Squash balls used to come in different grades. Are you using the correct ones for your ability. I do not remember having to hit it particularly hard once it was warmed up.

I was not.. we had one ball and we wacked it.. but as the hour progressed, the more experienced guys gave me some of the Red/Blue ones. Made it slightly easier

 

[sev112]

Yellow white red and blue dots in my day. And we had green, blue, black and orange balls themselves

used to be fun to play a red dot once in a while as it tests your physical and mental stamina with very long rallies, but also means you have to play a real winner to get the point

 

[SteveJay]

I played a bit when I was still working, never very good though although I was reasonable at both badminton and tennis.

I would say that squash is the one sport where the difference between amateurs and pros is probably the greatest. Watching pros is like they are playing a totally different game, in a smaller court and with a bloody bouncey ball (where in fact it is less bouncy!). The rallies go on for ages and they cover the court like its tiny.

I know pro golf differs so much versus amateurs, but the comparison of pro squash to amateurs is immense.

 

[SocketRocket]

The best bit of advice I was given was to imagine a new squash player to a fly in a room. The fly tears around at great speed bumping into everything looking for a way out, if he slowed down and looked around him he would notice the open window and simply fly out of it.

 

[Mudball]

i thought i had fully recovered from all the pains, but apparently there is a another muscle above your hamstrings where the pain has just reached after going thru layers of fat... cant sit today,

 

[Mudball]

Upped my game.. played a total of 11 matches over 90 mins against 3 friends. Using a red ball was a big change. Even managed to win 1 match. I can retire on a high.

Woke up this AM, with even more back muscles sore.. plus some strange muscles near the ankle (all that stretching to hit the ball).

What is the best way to recover from muscle soreness/DOMS. Last year, I came across epsom salts and warm bath. pretty good. Been reading about cold/ice water baths. But I dont think I am an 'athlete' to try those yet (plus it sounds very cold

 

[Foxholer]

Upped my game.. played a total of 11 matches over 90 mins against 3 friends. Using a red ball was a big change. Even managed to win 1 match. I can retire on a high.

Woke up this AM, with even more back muscles sore.. plus some strange muscles near the ankle (all that stretching to hit the ball).

What is the best way to recover from muscle soreness/DOMS. Last year, I came across epsom salts and warm bath. pretty good. Been reading about cold/ice water baths. But I dont think I am an 'athlete' to try those yet (plus it sounds very cold

Grin and bear it you wimp!
I've never been sore enough to need time off - and that's not recommended anyway, except in extreme cases. It's just a symptom of the different muscles that get used in different activities - I remember aching seriously after an evening of Badminton, even though I was playing a lot of Tennis at the time!

 

[Mudball]

I am going to train like this..

 

[SocketRocket]

Upped my game.. played a total of 11 matches over 90 mins against 3 friends. Using a red ball was a big change. Even managed to win 1 match. I can retire on a high.

Woke up this AM, with even more back muscles sore.. plus some strange muscles near the ankle (all that stretching to hit the ball).

What is the best way to recover from muscle soreness/DOMS. Last year, I came across epsom salts and warm bath. pretty good. Been reading about cold/ice water baths. But I dont think I am an 'athlete' to try those yet (plus it sounds very cold

Do a warm down routine after playing.

 

[Billysboots]

One of the dad’s is fairly big. He is also the most experienced. When he was playing with me, he hardly every moved. I was a headless chicken fetching it from every corner.

i used to play badminton as a kid, so have some muscle memory. But squash is fairly counter intuitive for a badminton player. My knees were ok, but I did struggle to spot the ball a few times. Also, very difficult (for me) to judge the height of the bounce as the ball kept warming up. Also we switched a few balls (dots to white), the bounce kept changing.

One has to start somewhere

I used to play in my younger years and had a regular partner just like that. He was a hefty fella, a decent squash player, and he literally adopted a position in the middle of the court and made me run round him.

I still break into a sweat at the memory.

 

[Tongo]

Havent played for a few years but follow the pro game. It's a great sport and fantastic to watch. Never quite worked out why it doesnt get better media coverage. Watching it up close the sound of the ball crashing into the back wall is astonishing and mesmerising. TV doesnt do justice to the power the players possess.

Almost all of the top players are Egyptian who seem to almost produce world class players at will! Its also one of the more advanced sports regarding the women's game being as popular as the mens.

 

[Mudball]

I decided to venture out and go and play with the local squash club last night. My word, what an experience it was. 2 hours of pure joy & pain in one go.
It is a group of mixed ability. They play 2s and 3s. Got put in some intermediates, who were kind enough to gift me some points while they taught me different things.
Played 3 matches against a 70+ guy and won 1 of them... only later did I know that he was the lowest ranked player. Now they have found me.

Played a 3s match where the other two were the best players. It was unbelievable quality and privilege to watch from inside the court. A few times, I could not even see the ball. Just had to keep away from harms way.
My prayers were answered when i won 1 full point against one of them..

Again what a workout. The first 40 mins I was in court, my max heart rate ranging 80-95%.

Finished at 9:30 pm. I was so tired and aching that I thought I would sleep like a baby. On the contrary, I just could not get much sleep. It was like I was fully charged up. Must have dozed off early hours.
This morning, too many aches to notice. There is a muscle at the back of the ankle which is very painful as i walk up and down the stairs.

Cant wait for next week's club night.

 

[Foxholer]

...
Finished at 9:30 pm. I was so tired and aching that I thought I would sleep like a baby. On the contrary, I just could not get much sleep. It was like I was fully charged up. Must have dozed off early hours.
This morning, too many aches to notice. There is a muscle at the back of the ankle which is very painful as i walk up and down the stairs.
...

I always found that, while I might ache the following day after a big workout of any sort, it was the following day(s) where I really seized up!
It's really a case of 'getting fit to play squash rather than playing squash to get fit' - purely the nature of the game.

 

[SocketRocket]

I always found that, while I might ache the following day after a big workout of any sort, it was the following day(s) where I really seized up!
It's really a case of 'getting fit to play squash rather than playing squash to get fit' - purely the nature of the game.

Always good to warm down after.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

I am going to train like this..

That's like a Rocky training montage

 

[Foxholer]

Always good to warm down after.

Generally did. Squash is somewhat unique in that, once warmed up, extreme (excess?) effort is often not recognised, certainly if player is not a regular player. It's that excess effort that causes subsequent pain - at least for me. Same happened with Badminton, even though I was 'Tennis' fit - muscles all down my right side and back ached the next day and hurt on the 2nd even though it wasn't noticeble during the session.

 

[Rooter]

Finished at 9:30 pm. I was so tired and aching that I thought I would sleep like a baby. On the contrary, I just could not get much sleep. It was like I was fully charged up. Must have dozed off early hours.

I swim late on Tuesdays and often struggle. I have found coming home, a cup of green or mint tea and read of a book for half an hour, then up to bed. If you come in late and go straight to bed, no chance! Still buzzing!