Game 1

I bolted out of the blocks to make sure I got my rhythm and confidence, not used to playing to 9 hand-out, it’s important I get a good start to each game. It started well, I won the ‘spin of the racquet’ to start serve and got the first point. I dominated and won easily 9-4.

Game 2

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I need your help – I am looking for the most up-to-date Squash rule book or video. If you come across a website that has them, please let me know. The only two sources I have found so far are noted below. I would like to find an e-book that explains all the rules graphically that I can sell on this site for other squash fanatics like me. We all need to get better at INTERPRETING the rules. Thanks in advance for your contribution!

http://www.worldsquash.org.uk/rules0.asp

http://www.squashplayershop.co.uk/inc/sdetail/2061

Squash is one of the fastest sports that relies on agility, quickness and speed. Agility to move to different places on the court, quickness to react to changing situations shots and opponent tactics and speed to actually get to the ball. With this in mind, a friend and Pilates specialist Bruce Hildebrand of www.balancecontrolpilates.com offered to give me a Pilates session.

Here is an excerpt from the feedback I gave him the day after I did only some of the exercises he suggested. He gave me two “blue squishy balls” to work with – both which ‘exploded’ within 10 minutes of use – soon to be replaced…

Bruce,

I played yesterday after getting through the foot part of the exercises and my partner noticed I played well – My feet were definitely more ‘lively’ and responsive than usual. My movement wasn’t at peak since I had several days without playing, but I know what my return to the court feels like and this was much better. BECAUSE I had more responsive in my feet, my balance and anticipation were keener and sharper, reducing the reaction delay – giving me more time to get to the ball. Fractions of a second count. They count psychologically as well as physically – building confidence to get there.

The other aspect is less fatigue by the end of the match. My opponent today was much less fit than I am,  but I still had less soreness on my feet after one hour of ‘pounding the floor’ so-to-speak. Squash players are notorious for having bad feet. Mine are fine because I started playing as a mature adult, but they still get their workout. I sensed yesterday that they (1) didn’t feel sore or tired during the games and (2) recovered much more quickly yesterday that today’s expected sensitivity is non existent.

So I am definitely a ‘convert’ to Pilates.

I am looking forward to learning more exercises and acquiring more quickness, agility and speed.

This is yet another example of what I call the 1 Percent Improvement Doctrine and antimimeticisomorphism in action. Pilates is one of the last places a squash player will look to improve quickness, agility and speed. An exponentially minded champion seeks ALL avenues and gauges each by the RESULTS they produce – simple as that.

I will, over the next few weeks, explain and illustrate in more detail some of the exercises Bruce has been teaching me. Today’s post was to introduce you to Pilates if you didn’t know what it was all about. NEXT WEEK’S POST will have the exercise video for you… Stay tuned!

At this stage of the process, I know very little – all I care about is RESULTS. Now that I know I can get INSTANT RESULTS, I want to and WILL learn more.

Welcome to the 1 Percent Improvement Doctrine where RESULTS replace REASONS for not achieving.

I am looking for the best sites on Squash – if you come across any, please send them to me by posting a comment on this blog. I want to get the BEST information from coaches, trainers, players, tips, techniques including rules and refereeing, historical facts, training camps…

If you happen to come across OTHER sports sites on ELITE training techniques, Mindset and Mental Preparation and any other related topics, please let me know. I am searching for the absolute best to bring it to you here as I absorb it and ‘Exponentialise’ it with an Exponential Perspective.

If you’re keen to acquire an Exponential Mindset to improve your sports performance, click on the hyperlink and start your journey to boundless opportunity thinking that leverages the Law Of Attraction to make you the very best athlete possible.

Beware The Vortex Of Mediocrity -it’s stronger than gravity and will pull you down into its depths of amateur play every chance it gets. With no disrespect to the guys I was playing today… We sucked. For no good reason, we just totally and absolutely SUCKED. We were hitting brilliant and ‘B Grade’ shots within the same rally. Totally and utterly INconsistent.

Champions Lift Their Game And Their Opponent’s Game

I have the honor and privilege of playing a world-class player and former World Champion who lifts my game every time we play – EVEN WHEN HE’S INJURED – more on that in another post.

Right now, I just want to rant about how terrible I played yesterday. I know you know how it feels. You show up on the day to have a good match and you just can’t get it right. Yesterday for me was frustrating BECAUSE it wasn’t just me – it was ALL OF US.

Note: We play multiple players on ONE court – rotate one player in and play only 3/4 of the court while the other players wait in one corner that is off-bounds (called ‘out’)…

NONE of us played well – it was literally like a Vortex that wouldn’t let go! We would tin, hit it out, get strokes… The thing was NONE of us had the strength to pull out of the Vortex Of Mediocrity.

That is the lesson and my frustration. I thought by now I could do it. I can do it for myself when I compete – but with others on the court, the PULL of the Vortex is MAGNIFIED.

That’s why when we play with my Champion partner and he lifts us all – THAT is MASTERY of the sport… Being able to dictate and eradicate the Vortex Of Mediocrity ‘almost instantly’.

That is my next plateau to aim for.

As you may know from Anthony Robbins‘ Peak Performance strategies – FRUSTRATION precedes… A Breakthrough.

Thanks for listening – it makes me feel better to share this with you. It really does. It helps me consolidate and integrate my learnings in a way that is documented within a timeline so that I can come back and review progress and development.

PLUS you give me comments and encouragement from time to time that really inspires and motivates me!

Thanks and I’ll ‘talk to you’ soon.

Don’t watch this video if you don’t like profanity, but if you like a good laugh, then go ahead and I promise you it’ll be a FUN FEW MINUTES… Even if you’re not a squash fanatic, this is just plain funny. The irony is this was filmed at my local squash club in Surry Hills – Hiscoe’s…!

A Funny Squash Video

I recently played with a squash Champion who recaptured his self-awareness his name is Dr Malcolm Simons. He was a squash legend in his day, I posted his results in this blog post on MasterMind Groups. Anyway… getting to the point – I was on the court with him and we both got a priceless lesson/experience out of it. He got back in touch with his self awareness on the court and I saw first-hand how a pro can not only take the pace OFF the ball, but to create his own pace REGARDLESS of how the ball comes off the front wall.

I sliced, I drove, I floated and I lobbed the ball – each and every time Malcolm created his own pace to hit his cross court nick drop shot – MASTERFUL.

Now that I have EXPERIENCED it first-hand I can now start the process of learning to mimic it to get the same devastating effect on the ball.

Champions like to help Champions get better…

Fun stuff!

If you haven’t read the classic bestseller the 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, well you simply must get it. As a squash player, it’s imperative that you use these same habits to improve your game.

The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Squash Players

Number 1 – Be Proactive.

That’s almost self explanatory. It means you are taking the initiative. You are not just playing reactively, but are taking a proactive stance in your practice, training and competitions. If you wait for someone else to motivate you or ‘give you your next breakthrough’, don’t hold your breath. Champions make things happen. Read More »»

Today’s post is about the Law Of Attraction. As you know, I am training for the World Masters Squash Championships coming up in October and one of the things I need to do is play different players more often to get better ‘court sense’ and adaptability to different styles of play and players. Just when I thought I would have to join a squash club (I have a court in my building)…

I popped into my racquet shop to pick up my new batch of racquets (more on this strategy later), and guess what? I bumped into a former squash buddy who had stopped playing due to a soccer injury and he’s back playing squash. How cool is that?!?!

Then Bob, the owner of the racquet shop said he came across someone who just moved to Sydney from overseas and is looking for a partner!

I am playing him tonight for the first time – I’ll let you know how it goes.

The moral of today’s story is that when you ‘put it out there’, the Universe will respond. That’s something non-champions have trouble with – they never put themselves out there so this rarely happens for them.

How do you ‘put it out there’?

GREAT QUESTION.

DECIDE, COMMIT and RESOLVE to lift your game. DO whatever it takes to make it happen and BELIEVE that when you are ready, the solution will appear. You know the adage “When the student is ready, the master will appear.”

This is the same thing – expect it works for ANYTHING you need – ANYTHING. Including a few new squash partners to have a hit with!

There’s an expression in boxing that says when you reach beyond your comfort zone, you’re “punching above your weight” which means you pack a punch like someone who’s a lot heavier than you are. Today, I went toe-to-toe with some of my squash partners and the last man standing (with me) stood his ground.

We played for 2 hours, there were 3 of us, then 4.

When we were 4, we played doubles on a singles court which is a great way to improve your reflexes, reaction time and quick movement as well as court sense – PLUS deal with all the visual and physical distractions of the 4 players on the court AT THE SAME TIME. (More on that in a future post…)

The last man standing with me only played the last hour, but still.

I was running him around and he hit the wall at about the same time I did, but did NOT blink.

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