Things have been pretty hectic in the past 2 weeks on the work front – and the squash has also suffered over the past week. I need to get back to it from tomorrow with the same enthusiasm with which we had started a couple of months back.
Over the past three months I have realized that it takes supreme effort and discipline to attain excellence in any sport – it is so easy to go and play when things are good and you are rearing to go and play. It is only on bad days – when you do not feel like going for the coaching and make all types of excuses – that the real desire shows. Dragging yourself to the court on these days takes mental fortitude and calls for immense discipline!! Guess I have to learn that now and make sure that I am there for the coaching – no matter what!!
Over to some of the technical things about squash – I have realized that as we start practicing more and more, my main problems are two-fold – or maybe they are related!! The first problem is that I get too close to the ball thereby preventing me from recovering well and controlling the directions on my shots. This is especially true when I have to run back from the front to the backhand back corner. I end up cramping myself and hitting either a weak boast or hitting the ball in the tin on the front wall trying to hit a rail. Everytime I run behind now, I have to keep reminding myself not to run into the corner and hence cramp myself!! I am trying hard but – get hampered – either going too close to the ball or staying so far that I can barely manage to flick the ball from back wall.
The other big problem is that of balance – I always seem to overrun or be out of balance thereby preventing effective recovery. I understand that this also has to do with the strength in my legs and I need to get down to doing some extra exercises for my legs – things that will make my footwork faster like skipping.
So the agenda from this week onwards is going to be following:
1. Sun salutation/ yoga for overall stretching to get the body going in the morning
2. Skipping – 300-400 for 1 week
3. Squash coaching – 45-50 min.
4. Push-up’s – 10X3 sets for 1 week. The aim is to hit 50 push-up’s and then gradually increase it to 100 in 8-10 weeks.
5. Sun salutation/ yoga to cool down after the practice
Wow!! That sounds like a cool plan!! If only I can put it to work – it will mean waking up at 5.15 AM everyday to make sure that I can make it to the office on time after the exercises and the squash practice!! Will keep you all posted on this
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
PSA Masters in Mumbai
Our new year started on a bright note – albeit slightly late!! Our squash coaching that was off as the flooring of our court was being repaired resumed today. Since the coaching was resumed after a gap of a month – we escaped with the coaching being slightly easy on the body. The sprints up and down the court were not so bad – nor were the drills.
While we were away from the court for about a month or so – I was witness to something that has made me a lifelong squash convert!! Bombay hosted a PSA squash tournament with several of the world’s top ranking players participating in the same.
Now, for all my passions for squash, I had never seen a professional tournament – simply because we do not have too many of them in India. The tournaments that happen in India are partly run by the elite and exclusive clubs – that are not really open to the non-members. Having said that, nothing that I would have seen in India would have prepared me for the spectacle that is professional squash at the top level!!
The tournament featured top players like Ramy Ashour, Nick Matthew, Amr Shabana, Gregory Gaultier, James Willstrop amongst others!! This was like a feast for someone as starved as squash for me – if I could, I would have spent all my waking hours watching these extraordinary players play!!
It was as if these players were from another planet – their court coverage, the accuracy and the variety of their shots, the deceptions, stamina, footwork…..to me, it was all magical!! Their rails almost kissing the wall looked so deceptively simple that I was left wondering about the number of times I end up smashing my racket on the wall!! Their movement on the court – reaching forward to take the drops and almost effortlessly gliding back to retrieve the lobs really made me wonder about my lead-footed efforts to cover the corners of a squash court!!
What was really amazing to watch was the way these top players had about 2-3 options after reaching the ball for the type of shots that they could play. The players would reach the ball so early that they made the entire game look deceptively simple.
Ramy Ashour and Nick Matthew made it to the finals – and the finals was such a visual treat – Ramy was as unorthodox as they come and Nick was copybook. Between them, they would have played the entire range of shots that you would expect to see in a squash court ….and then some more. They were hitting rails from impossible angles, retrieving impossible-looking passing shots and playing the kind of drops that players like me can only dream of. For someone like me, it was squash nirvana!!
While we were away from the court for about a month or so – I was witness to something that has made me a lifelong squash convert!! Bombay hosted a PSA squash tournament with several of the world’s top ranking players participating in the same.
Now, for all my passions for squash, I had never seen a professional tournament – simply because we do not have too many of them in India. The tournaments that happen in India are partly run by the elite and exclusive clubs – that are not really open to the non-members. Having said that, nothing that I would have seen in India would have prepared me for the spectacle that is professional squash at the top level!!
The tournament featured top players like Ramy Ashour, Nick Matthew, Amr Shabana, Gregory Gaultier, James Willstrop amongst others!! This was like a feast for someone as starved as squash for me – if I could, I would have spent all my waking hours watching these extraordinary players play!!
It was as if these players were from another planet – their court coverage, the accuracy and the variety of their shots, the deceptions, stamina, footwork…..to me, it was all magical!! Their rails almost kissing the wall looked so deceptively simple that I was left wondering about the number of times I end up smashing my racket on the wall!! Their movement on the court – reaching forward to take the drops and almost effortlessly gliding back to retrieve the lobs really made me wonder about my lead-footed efforts to cover the corners of a squash court!!
What was really amazing to watch was the way these top players had about 2-3 options after reaching the ball for the type of shots that they could play. The players would reach the ball so early that they made the entire game look deceptively simple.
Ramy Ashour and Nick Matthew made it to the finals – and the finals was such a visual treat – Ramy was as unorthodox as they come and Nick was copybook. Between them, they would have played the entire range of shots that you would expect to see in a squash court ….and then some more. They were hitting rails from impossible angles, retrieving impossible-looking passing shots and playing the kind of drops that players like me can only dream of. For someone like me, it was squash nirvana!!
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