It’s very rare that a talk from a team mate or coach has ever had any real effect on me on any level, which really doesn’t bode well for me as a coach now desperately trying to get my point across to players mid-game.

One talk though really sticks in my mind. I got what it meant straight away and it set me off thinking a lot in the aftermath of the match.

‘You need to play with purpose, Nic.’ said my team mate, friend and one time mentor Hany Abou-Taleb. “There was no real direction or aim behind any of the shots you were playing, your were just going through the motions.”

It wasn’t that I wasn’t trying. Far from it. My shots were just harmless and my game not applying any mental or true physical pressure to my opponent.

It made me realise just how often people go through games without actually considering what the idea behind the shot being played is. I realised how many players (myself included) neglected to show any real intelligence on the court and hit shot after shot without regard for what they were trying to achieve with it. Often, they played like they were happy to settle for just keeping the rally going.

There was no real direction or aim behind any of the shots you were playing, your were just going through the motions.”

Nowadays before we practice or focus on any shot, I insist on the individual or group thinking about why they are playing the shot.

I even invented a rather crude game where I’d play against them and stop the rally if I wasn’t satisfied with a shot choice they had made and demand an explanation. ‘Why did you play a straight drive?’ I’d yell. If I wasn’t satisfied with their explanation, they did court sprints. ‘I don’t know really, it’s the easiest shot to play’ they’d reply. ‘Wrong answer’ I’d bark, ‘A straight drive is played to get the T position back.’ Eventually, I had the squad sit in on each others games and stop the rally if they believed a player had made the wrong shot decision or worse, hadn’t thought at all. Like a jury, they would proceed to question the accused. It wasn’t the most inventive game but it got everyone thinking about what shots they played and why.

One of the most common examples of lacking purpose in our play is when players repeatedly hack the ball down the line or cross-court with lots of power. Are these shots contributing towards winning the rally? Unless the opponent is inferior physically, this style of play lacks real merit. The number of opportunities to tighten the screw or win the rally by volleying or going in short that are passed up is staggering.

The player who I always thought played with the most purpose was Jansher Khan. Take a few minutes to watch some of his best rallies on YouTube. It’s like his opponent is a puppet. His shot selection is second to none. He always seems to pick the shot that will make his opponent suffer most. He’s always hitting into open spaces.“

Occasionally squash players can be guilty of enjoying the rush that the intense sprints of squash provide too much. Almost everyone can recall rallies or games where they just enjoyed bounding about after the ball hitting it as hard as they could, playing out lung-busting rally after lung-busting rally. Sometimes we love the rush more than taking advantage of an opening to go in short on the drop.

The player who I always thought played with the most purpose was Jansher Khan. Take a few minutes to watch some of his best rallies on YouTube. It’s like his opponent is a puppet. His shot selection is second to none. He always seems to pick the shot that will make his opponent suffer most. He’s always hitting into open spaces.

Whenever you go on court, ask yourself if you are playing with purpose. Why did you choose to play that shot? What purpose has it served? That purpose may be defensive or offensive but it should exist. If you have just played a shot for the sake of playing a shot, you are allowing your opponent off the hook and neglecting to apply any mental pressure.