General

My Dad nearly lost his sight in one eye while playing squash because he wasn’t wearing protective squash eyewear.

He was playing a friend in a local club match and the ball came at him quickly from an unexpected angle after hitting the crack between the front and sidewall.

The ball hit him directly in one eye and his body dropped. As it was late in the night, his friend had to drive him an hour and a half to the nearest hospital that was open.

Dad said each bump the car went over only magnified the already infinitely intense pain he was feeling…

…like a knife cutting into the back of his eyeball.

He stayed in hospital for two weeks, much of that time the pain persisted.

Fortunately, his eye recovered.

A 50/50 Chance

The guy in the bed next to Dad wasn’t so lucky.

Exactly the same thing happened to this guy – a squash ball hit him directly in the eye.

But the result for him was losing his eyesight completely – forever.

He now only had one eye to use for the rest of his life because of a stupid little black ball and the fact that he wasn’t wearing protective eye-wear.

My Dad took this as a cheap lesson.

From that moment he always wore protective eye-wear on court.

And in the mid-1980’s, the eye-wear that was available was awkward & uncomfortable to wear, not to mention how much they restricted your view on court.

However, Dad had learned his lesson and he knew the harsh reality that it’s just not worth the risk.

If you were going skydiving and were told that
there’s a 50% chance that
the parachute won’t open, you’d be like:
“Stuff that, I’m not going.”

How The Eye-Ball Gets Sucked Out

Do you know that when a squash ball hits a wall at high speed it actually flattens out to a very thin sheet of rubber?

From the moment it begins to ‘un-flatten’ it’s actually sucking itself off the wall.

So when a squash ball hits an eyeball at high speed, in the process of ‘un-flattening’ it literally sucks the eyeball out of the socket — with extreme intensity, sometimes to the point of causing irreparable damage; that is, blindness.

It’ll Never Happen To Me!

It might… and you are foolish if you don’t consider the possibility.

Protective eye-wear is mandatory for all junior players who are under 19 years of age. Why – because everyone knows the risk theoretically and for a kid to lose their eyesight at such an early age for such a stupid reason would be tragic.

So why should it be any different for you?

“Well, I’m an adult – I’m free to make decisions concerning my safety… after all, it’s my life.”

Plus, you might say, no professionals ever wear protective eye-wear, which brings me to the crux of my message here…

Professionals should wear protective eyewear
– and it should be mandatory.

If you ask them, 99% will say professionals have such control of the ball (infinitely more than a club player) that the risk is infinitely reduced, almost to zero.

In response, I would say 2 things:

• First, accidents do happen – that’s why they’re called accidents.
• Second, it sets the right example.

At the moment the only reason kids wear protective eye-wear – unless their parents are smart enough to explain to them the dangers of not wearing them – is because it’s mandatory.

Is this really the optimal message we want to be sending to impressionable little kids?

I admit though, the chance of protective eye-wear becoming mandatory for everyone – that is, professionals too – is close to zero, unfortunately.

So here’s the next best option…

What If Ramy Ashour Wore Protective Eyewear?

One of the kids I coach received a present for Christmas – the same kind of tights that Ramy Ashour uses.

Ramy is his favorite player so the idea of a boy wearing tights wasn’t even a little bit of a concern for him (not that there’s anything wrong with boys wearing tights but in some sections of society there’s a stupid stigma associated with this).

Ramy wears tights, so this kid now wears them, proudly.

The effect of just some of the top pros starting to wear protective eye-wear would be instantaneous and powerful.

It would all of a sudden be cool to wear eye-wear!

Like racquets, there would be signature brands, different colors & designs etc.

More importantly, when kids moved from U19’s to the open division they would keep wearing them because it would be cool and, over time, the idea of not wearing protective eye-wear would become something so obviously ridiculous.

Would You Play Squash Naked?

In the last 5 years, I only remember two times when I wasn’t wearing protective eye-wear – because I forgot to bring them or I left them somewhere the last time I played.

Those two times I felt like I was naked on court, like one of those dreams where you feel exposed.

And I regret that I walked on court without my goggles.

Stupid.

One other time I forgot my headband, without which sweat instantly started dripping on my goggles. It was in the middle of a league match.

I almost took them off and threw them over the back wall mid-game because the sweat on the lenses was seriously restricting my view.

Then I actually said aloud, firmly, “No!” while being keenly aware of the dangerous thought,

“Well just this one time it will be alright…”

Are You A Coach? What The Hell Are You Doing?

If you’re coaching players but not wearing protective eye-wear yourself, you’re a damn fool – for your own safety because you are training people who don’t have control of where they are hitting the ball, and because you are indirectly communicating to your junior players:

“Technically as a junior you do have to wear protective eye-wear
but, actually, it’s a load of bollocks.”

And if a junior comes to practice without their eye-wear but you let them play anyway – just this one time – shame on you.

Please, whether you’re a coach or just a keen player, set the example for your team-mates and competitors, but more importantly:

Save yourself from potentially going blind
– wear protective eye-wear.

How Protective Eye-wear Keeps You Focused

One final thought – I wear goggles every time I step on court, even solo-practice. I’ve actually trained myself to use them as a way to switch my mind on to keep laser focused on what I am doing and how I’m playing.

The only time I don’t wear goggles is when I’m training my squash fitness workout, either on or off-court.

Anyway, I see goggles as an advantage I have over other (stupid) players – like a productive kind of tunnel-vision that maximizes my mental fitness!

Have fun & play your own game!
Shmick Mick

If you’ve ever seen footage of Michael Jordan taking a free throw with his eyes closed, to psyche out his opponents, then the answer to how he would have played squash surely would have been, at some point, with his eyes closed!

The more resourceful question though is how would he have trained for squash?

And the answer would be much the same as he did for basketball.

So how was that?

First To Arrive – Last To Leave

Jordan was known to be the first player at training. This is when he would give himself, for the most part, time to practice his shooting technique… jump-shots, 3-pointers, fade-aways, you name it.

Each shot he took before anybody else showed up to training was just a little more preparation for taking those classic game-winning shots in the dying seconds of a play-off game.

If he had been a squash player he would have been first at the courts to give himself time for 20-30 minutes of solo-practice – for the most part drives, or rails, which are fundamental for any squash player to maintain pressure on your opponent and keep it off yourself.

Solo-practice aside, before any squash training/playing Michael Jordan would have been smart enough to know that he needs to give his body 10-15 minutes for a dynamic warm-up.

And after an hour or two of playing, after all his training partners had cooled down, had showers and headed off to wherever, Jordan would have still been there…

• Running squash court sprints or ghosting drills…
• Or giving himself more time for solo-practice to really hone a particular shot like a volley cross-court nick…
• Or he would have given himself 20 minutes for static stretching (plus some active relaxation) so his body was recovered & ready for the next day

Note: Being the last one at training doesn’t count if you’re just standing around chatting! 🙂

Natural Talent? More Like Work, Work, Work

It’s well known that Michael Jordan didn’t make his high school basketball team. He wasn’t considered a natural talent. But he did prove to everyone that he was willing to work hard.

Natural talent will get a decent junior squash player through the rankings.

After he/she turns 19 though and moves into playing open tournaments, if they are not willing to put sustained hours of training in, they will soon be overtaken by others who are willing.

Players with potential who have the drive to work hard might not have been at the top of the rankings as a junior – just like Michael Jordan wasn’t in his high school basketball team – but once they commit to their squash goals and are able to control who they surround themselves with and where, then it’s often just a matter of their mental fitness.

Michael Jordan had to be mentally strong whereas the players who made the basketball team in high school, probably had less of a need to be mentally strong:

• Maybe they were just naturally tall from a young age…
• Maybe they were just physically strong from a young age…
• Maybe their father or uncle or friend’s parents were a basketball coach so they had one-on-one guidance from a young age…

But none of those guys had the inner-drive and desire to get better that Michael Jordan did… not at basketball anyway.

So if you have just a little bit of potential on the squash court and the desire to improve, target your practice by…

Working On One Thing

The Michael Jordan training ethic described above of being the first to arrive at training and the last to leave is wrapped up in the idea of working hard.

And working hard, day-to-day, often means focusing on one thing at a time.

When I began playing again after a long break since my junior years, it was because I had the inner-drive to want to be on court. And my time on & off court is much more focused now.

As a player I am keenly aware of what the weakest link in my game is.

And as a coach, I am keenly aware of what the weakest link is for my student.

It doesn’t matter what standard of player I’m coaching or what standard of club player you are – the process is the same.

How To Be Like Michael Jordan On The Squash Court

If you’re a smart squash player, even if you’re not the most naturally gifted athlete, you can model your training ethic after that of Michael Jordan and maximize your potential…

Be the first to arrive, the last to leave, because
you want to work hard and practice.

Remember – practice does not make perfect, only perfect practice makes perfect. So identify your weakest link at any given time… then work on that relentlessly!

If you do, you’ll actually enjoy your time more because you will feel your squash skills getting better as your mind is clearer and more focused.

Have fun & play your own game!
Shmick Mick