"Social squash" was today at the new club - I played the same guy as last week. We played five matches and I lost them all! The bright side is that rather than scoring a measly one or two points per game as last week, I was biting his heels with 6-8 points per game. I'll win a game one of these days!
I gave my second opponent a much closer match, winning game one, but then he came back to score three victories with me close behind on 8-10 points. He won most of his points through drop shots - I have to get to the T after every shot! I won my points by driving, so a bit of practice on making my drives tighter would go down a treat at school this week.
On the video recording side, I dropped into curry's this afternoon for ten minutes to look at video cameras, to discover that one with the video quality I'm looking for and a sufficiently wide angle lens costs about £250! That's six months of saving for me - I'll have to investigate a bit more :/
~ James
Sunday, 2 December 2012
Saturday, 1 December 2012
Success!
Today was a day of victory - I managed to reach the squash club on time without getting lost, recover my racket and score my first out of school victory on the courts, winning 15-11 or thereabouts. In addition, since it was my first session, I got it for free! I will be going along tomorrow as well, although the people I played last Sunday were adults and (I think) all better than me. This should be good for my play though, as I will adjust to the difficulty with any luck.
Meanwhile, I am considering the idea of getting some video footage of me playing onto the blog. I don't think I have a suitable camera at the moment; I will need one with good quality recording and a fairly wide view angle, as I will have to put the camera on the court to avoid it being nicked! I will have to research the right camera/video camera for the job - a potential Christmas present ;)
If you have any ideas, feel free to comment. I'll write again tomorrow about how the session goes, and I will also email someone about some private coaching sessions that my parents have said I can have - win!
~ James
Meanwhile, I am considering the idea of getting some video footage of me playing onto the blog. I don't think I have a suitable camera at the moment; I will need one with good quality recording and a fairly wide view angle, as I will have to put the camera on the court to avoid it being nicked! I will have to research the right camera/video camera for the job - a potential Christmas present ;)
If you have any ideas, feel free to comment. I'll write again tomorrow about how the session goes, and I will also email someone about some private coaching sessions that my parents have said I can have - win!
~ James
Friday, 30 November 2012
New club - excitement!
I'm having my first session at a new club tomorrow; apparently the players there are much better than those at school so I am excited for the challenge! My racket is being restrung there too so I'll hopefully be able to grab that while I'm at it, which should boost my play by a bit.
The new club runs on saturdays and sundays, so if I go twice a week and play these better players for a while, my game should improve greatly! Usually when playing someone, I seem to adjust to their standard of play without realising it, so even matches I really ought to win by a clear margin end up being close - I hope this can work to my advantage this weekend!
I've been playing one-on-one matches more and more recently, such as my game last week (which I lost 0-3!!), some last weekend and a few over the last few days. Hopefully this is starting to get rid of my match nerves and I will soon be playing as well in matches as I do in training.
I've also set up a twitter page - @OnASquashQuest - so do follow if you're interested
I'll write back tomorrow night with how it goes!
~ James
The new club runs on saturdays and sundays, so if I go twice a week and play these better players for a while, my game should improve greatly! Usually when playing someone, I seem to adjust to their standard of play without realising it, so even matches I really ought to win by a clear margin end up being close - I hope this can work to my advantage this weekend!
I've been playing one-on-one matches more and more recently, such as my game last week (which I lost 0-3!!), some last weekend and a few over the last few days. Hopefully this is starting to get rid of my match nerves and I will soon be playing as well in matches as I do in training.
I've also set up a twitter page - @OnASquashQuest - so do follow if you're interested
I'll write back tomorrow night with how it goes!
~ James
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
An Intro: The Quest Begins!
I'm on a quest to revolutionise my squash play! I am writing this blog to motivate me along the way and help me to achieve my goals, and I hope to get some video footage of me playing up and involve some photos so that the blog becomes more exciting. I'll write a quick history of my squash career now so that we are on the same page.
I am now 16, but throughout my younger years I struggled to find a sport that was right for me. Being shorter than average, I was naturally disadvantaged in sports such as rugby and football. I am aware that many short players succeed in these, but I thought it was better to find a sport in which I had a fair chance. Cricket just never worked out for me, despite training at three clubs simultaneously (which isn't technically allowed, but they never knew!). At last I found squash, a sport that I could enjoy.
Initially I went to a local club once a week, but then quit for about half a year. After moving to my most recent school, I discovered that there was a small squash community and began to get involved, although I was not very good compared to the others. When I rejoined my local club, it turned out that I had become too good for the players there (although not very good relative to most), so continued at school. I have recently become more interested, and have determinedly worked my way up into the position of reserve for the school team of 5 players. I have played twice, and lost both matches 0-3.
The most recent loss was today, which has inspired me to become much better at squash. Before my lower 6th year (year 12) is finished, I aim to become a full member of the team, and will then work from there - perhaps even to compete on behalf of my region someday. I play about four times per week at the moment, but I now aim to play 6 or 7 times a week (total about 10-15hrs), as well as having lessons once per fortnight or per month, according to what I can afford!
A problem is that whenever I play a match that matters, I seem to underperform. It's not that I'm nervous at all; au contraire, I was having quite a fun time losing 0-3 today, no sarcasm intended. I cannot seem to work out the problem, but I will be working on it.
For me, the quest has begun, and I hope that I can have your support!
If you feel like saying something, do post a comment below.
~James
I am now 16, but throughout my younger years I struggled to find a sport that was right for me. Being shorter than average, I was naturally disadvantaged in sports such as rugby and football. I am aware that many short players succeed in these, but I thought it was better to find a sport in which I had a fair chance. Cricket just never worked out for me, despite training at three clubs simultaneously (which isn't technically allowed, but they never knew!). At last I found squash, a sport that I could enjoy.
Initially I went to a local club once a week, but then quit for about half a year. After moving to my most recent school, I discovered that there was a small squash community and began to get involved, although I was not very good compared to the others. When I rejoined my local club, it turned out that I had become too good for the players there (although not very good relative to most), so continued at school. I have recently become more interested, and have determinedly worked my way up into the position of reserve for the school team of 5 players. I have played twice, and lost both matches 0-3.
The most recent loss was today, which has inspired me to become much better at squash. Before my lower 6th year (year 12) is finished, I aim to become a full member of the team, and will then work from there - perhaps even to compete on behalf of my region someday. I play about four times per week at the moment, but I now aim to play 6 or 7 times a week (total about 10-15hrs), as well as having lessons once per fortnight or per month, according to what I can afford!
A problem is that whenever I play a match that matters, I seem to underperform. It's not that I'm nervous at all; au contraire, I was having quite a fun time losing 0-3 today, no sarcasm intended. I cannot seem to work out the problem, but I will be working on it.
For me, the quest has begun, and I hope that I can have your support!
If you feel like saying something, do post a comment below.
~James
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