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!

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!