24. Opportunities to improve during Lock Down

The extreme restrictions implemented by the South African government during the 4 month lock down period, forced the coaches to review their philosophies, ideas and re plan the whole World of Squash program. The downtime proved to be an ideal period of improvement.

Bringing in world class coaches like Hadrian Stiff, Allistair McCaw and Wayne Goldsmith kept our players in touch with the outside world, but also opened up avenues to their thinking and training. The bottom line is that a lot of squash work can be done off court, and driveways and patios (and even bedrooms) are an ideal area to focus on the fundamentals of rhythm and movement, sport psychology and the art of coaching

It was a welcome period of seeing who was really committed to change, who was coach-able and who could embrace the process. The players who stayed on track and kept regular attendance will see the difference as we head back to court!

Ghosting is an integral and neglected part of improvement in any sport, and the restricted space meant that players could practise and focus on technical issues without needing a court, or a ball. The movement patterns demonstrated by Hadrian Stiff not only helped our players to become more rhythmic and balanced while getting ready to play the ball, but also when moving to the ball. Basic ball control and ball skillz improved as targets became an everyday exercise.

The one phrase that has come to the fore is : TRUST THE PROCESS, and we saw that players who did this, have improved and will benefit from the focussed sessions they did via Zoom.

Thank you to all our parents and players who supported the program and who made it worth our while to continue looking for better ways to get the message across. To those who rose out of their comfort zones and fell in with our initiatives and plans … a very big thank you!