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How to improve your movement to get counter drops back

I always found that having a tall and rather large build meant that I was vulnerable to counter drop or short shots; short shots which my opponent plays in response to my short shot. This was most apparent when I played a short shot from the front of the court and so was required to move into the front corner twice in quick succession; once to play my shot and then again to cover their counter.

How can you improve your movement to deal with counter short shots? 

Weight transfer is the most important thing when you are moving out of the front corner, as if you keep your centre of gravity in the right place you can leave yourself the option to move into the front again. 

The first part of the weight transfer is the lunge, squat or planting of your legs when you go to strike the ball. If you are lunging to an extent – whether it is as full stretch or a fairly shallow lunge – try to make sure you are using your back leg and non-racket arm to help you move out of your shot. This is done by allowing your back leg to drive through towards the ball as you follow through and keeping your non-racket arm back and out to the side. The momentum of the back leg driving through and the non-racket arm’s balance can then be used to help you move out of a shot and back towards the T-Position. 

Now comes the part where you need to really watch your weight transfer. Like a sprinter moving out of the starting blocks, it is really important that you stay low as you move backwards to the T-Position. It is very easy to spring out of a lunge and end up standing completely upright, but by doing this you will shift the majority of your weight backwards towards the T-Position, thereby throwing all of your eggs in one basket and making it very difficult to go forwards again. If you ‘unfold’ yourself gradually and stand upright again only as you get back to the T-Position, you will find it easier to shift your weight and move back towards the front corner again if necessary.

Whilst you are staying low and unfolding, you need to make sure you are taking small steps back towards the T-Position. The lunge might be a big step (of course assisted by the back leg and non-racket arm), but after that, you need to make sure that your steps are small and skimming the floor. Small, low steps also help to keep your weight in a more neutral position, as when you take big steps in any direction, you are committing your weight and therefore yourself to that direction and making it very difficult to change. That won’t help at all here given you need to go back in the opposite direction to which you were previously moving. 

Moving with shorter, lower steps is comparatively easy to practice compared with the lower centre of gravity, which can take a bit more practice and awareness. Ghosting and practicing the movement pattern is a very good way to start so that you can really feel the size and height of your steps, and also where your weight is as you move. You can then build that up by having someone feed you shots to the front corner, then the front corner and the back corner in a fixed order and lastly the front and back corner at random. You can then swap sides and add in more shots to make it more match-like.

One final thing; it can also help to change your grip as you move towards the ball. As you are taking your first step towards the front corner again, shift your hand down your grip to the very bottom of the handle in order to give yourself a touch more reach. You can read more about that on our post here.

Best of luck in maintaining a low centre of gravity and covering the front corners repeatedly! 

Do you actually get back to the T-Position? 

Or just part of the way?

Most people learn fairly early on in squash that you should try to get back to the T-Position, but do people actually get back to the T-Position? 

The ‘true’ T-Position

Generally, most players will get back towards the T-Position but not actually recover all the way to it. The ‘true’ T-Position, as everyone probably knows but forgets, is where the short-line meets the T-Line or serve line on the floor, which creates the ’T’ shape known as the T-Position. In some matches and on some courts during high temperatures, this might not be too damaging, but it certainly prevents you from fulfilling your potential.  

When it’s hot and there are lots of hard length shots being hit it might be sensible to not return all the way to the T-Position, but recovering to the ‘The average T-Position’ (pictured above) will give your opponent opportunities and also deny you key opportunities. 

The benefits of recovering to the true The T-Position include:

  • Being in position to create and use volley opportunities more often and earlier
  • Being able to cover short shots better 
  • Being able to do more damage with short shots by playing them earlier

Some players might think that they can volley enough from a deeper position, but the truth is even if you volley a lot from a deep position you will be missing some opportunities which could do even more damage to your opponent. The shots you are volleying will be hit half a second or a second later than you would be hitting them if you were on the T-Position. You shouldn’t underestimate the difference this can make. It puts so much more pressure on your opponent physically, which in turn puts pressure on their technique and mental game, all of which they’ll have to cope with in a faster paced game that will sap their energy. 

Your opponent is being let off if you are not taking advantage of these benefits. Who doesn’t like their opponent taking their time and not applying pressure? These opportunities are presented to your opponent if you are allowing them to take the T-Position by sitting deep behind the T. Then, you allow them more time to play a better shot, and because you aren’t in a great position to volley, you will probably be pushed to the back of the court and lose possession of the T-Position, which will then give them the chance to reap the benefits of the advanced T-Position. 

Pay attention to your T-Positioning the next time you go on court. Are you getting back to the T-Position as well as you can? Or are you comfortable to play against?

Moving around the ball instead of backwards



How to deal with loose shots using your feet 

When the ball is coming towards you – perhaps at an awkward or unexpected angle – do you step backwards or do you move more sideways and around the ball?

Getting your weight through the ball and staying central 

Moving backwards can be detrimental as since you and your body are now going backwards, it can be difficult to transfer your weight forwards again and through the ball when you hit your shot. This might mean you end up stretching forwards or flicking your racket at the ball, resulting in a weak or inconsistent shot.

Instead, when the ball is coming towards you, try to move ‘around it’ – moving towards the centre of the court in order to create space for the ball to the side of you, rather than in front of you. Think of how a matador tries to get a bull to run towards the red cape to the side of his body as opposed to having the red cape directly in front of his body.



Turning or rotating to create the angle 

Getting around the ball might involve a couple of small, quick steps or maybe even a larger step depending on your movement style, but it almost always involves some rotation to turn your body towards the side wall. This turn is the key, as if you are able to turn your body towards the side wall, you have more ability to guide the ball towards the corners of the court.

Another benefit of this sideways movement and turning is it can also keep you closer to the T-Position, resulting in less time and movement required to get back to the T-Position. It can even create a better angle for hitting the nick!

Have a look at how you are dealing with loose shots and balls in the middle of the court and see if you can rotate, turn or move sideways quickly in order to generate a more accurate, tighter shot.

Moving back to the T after a drop shot




Being ready for the long return. 

I’ve heard quite a few people say before that they won’t play drop shots when they’re at the front as they’re worried their opponent will smash their drop shot to the back. This should be seen as a positive outcome though, because if your opponent is just smashing your drop to the back they’re giving you a great opportunity to make them run.

You can read more about playing a drop shot here. 

Why is my drop setting up my opponent? 

There are many reasons why your drop shot might lead to your opponent winning the rally but most commonly it is because players don’t recover the T-Position properly after playing a drop shot. If you’re standing at the front, it won’t even take a very long shot to put you under pressure. It’s not even uncommon for players to linger at the front without moving back towards the T-Position at all. This means that even if your  is effective, you may not be ready to return your opponent’s shots, let alone attack the shot. If you are back near the T-Position, you’ll be in a prime position to volley any loose length and at least return any length with a counter length of your own, forcing your opponent into a sprint from front to back.

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How to move back to the T

After playing a drop, it is important you start to move backwards to the T-Position. If your lunge technique is correct, you will be able to remain balanced and ready to make a quick and smooth exit from the shot, pushing off using the momentum of the lunge itself.

As you move towards the T, keep your steps small and stay low and with your upper body crouched forwards slightly, as you want to make sure you can cover a counter drop if need be.

Quality of the shot itself

If it’s the quality of your drop shots that are lacking, it could be a few different things. The most common problem I see though is people not getting down low enough, which you can read more about here. 

If you get lower, you can be closer to the ball, allowing you greater control and more options and a quicker route back to the T-Position by exiting your lunge.

If your opponent is attacking your drop and winning the rally or putting you under pressure, see if your movement back to the T-Position is of the standard it should be.




Slowing down as you approach the ball




Smooth movement for improved shot and recovery. 

If you find you are having to rely on your speed and make a lot of sprints to retrieve the ball, or that you are rushing your shots, it may be because you are not decelerating properly. You are also not decelerating properly if your shoes make a lot of screeching sounds on the floor!

Deceleration is an important part of movement into any shot and should occur as a player starts to get close to the ball they are retrieving. Once a player is a couple of strides away, they should start slowing down their steps by changing their stride length so that their last step will be a stable lunge. This lunge will allow them to transfer their weight for a successful shot but also allow them to push off back to the T-Position using the momentum of the lunge.

Smooth movement for body and game

Deceleration as part of movement can be described using a simple analogy for anyone who drives. Decelerating is like slowing down and going into second gear and rolling gently, before moving off again. Not decelerating is like screeching to an abrupt stop, having to drop to first gear and then having to start back off again from zero. All drivers know which one is safer, healthier for your car and most comfortable!

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If you go charging into the ball without slowing down, you will have to slam on the brakes (which won’t be good for your body) and you will not only limit your positioning, you will make it more difficult to recover from your shot. Running at full speed and stopping suddenly is not good for your body. Your knees and Achilles tendons are absorbing that shock and they won’t thank you for it.

If you decelerate as you get to the ball, you are able to slow yourself down and achieve optimal positioning for your shot and lunge in to the ball. Importantly, by slowing down you also aid your movement back to the T-Position, as you are able to push back out of the shot more efficiently, which will help you to get back in position and make it harder for your opponent to make you run. If you come to a complete halt, you have lost momentum and so will have to create new momentum to start moving again and return to the T-Position.

Starting with small strides and increasing the length

The easiest way to decelerate in squash is by taking longer strides. To make achieving longer strides easier, you should look to start your movement with smaller, quicker steps. Players who struggle to slow down and screech all over the court often start off with long steps, which is why they struggle to slow down smoothly. It can also mean they’ll overcommit to shots and so may be vulnerable to sudden changes in direction or disguised shots.

If your shoes are making lots of screeching sounds or you are rushing onto the ball, try to see if you can work in shorter strides to the start of your movement and then increase the stride length to slow down as you get closer to the ball. This should mean you are able to control games more and make your opponent do the running for a change!