Squash & Racketball Coaching

DerekJThorpe@hotmail.com
Mobile 07887 560601

Training Camps
If you would like to enquire about our morning, 1/2 day, whole day or week long training sessions, email: Derek or call 07887 560601 .

Rackets & balls provided on request.

Courses Dates

England Squash Licenced Coach and CRB checked
email  DerekjThorpe@hotmail.com
tel. 01923-266722      or mobile 07887-560601

About Derek

Vets of GB Champion 2004           England Team Captain                     National Inter-County Champion 2004

British Champion 1998                   Club Champion 14 times
County Champion 6 times                               Guinness Book of Records  - Marathon 54.75 hours!!

Mind Game

Your game can be divided into four areas, each of which needs to be worked on if you want to improve your performance: physical, technical, tactical and psychological. This last area is the subject of the first in a new series of articles, written specially for The Squash Player Magazine by England International, WISPA no. 8 player and sports psychologist Jenny Tranfield

Almost all of us reach a point where we feel that our game has gone stale. We reach a plateau, bang our rackets against the wall and scream, “What more can I do?” Train harder? Put in more time with my squash coach? Seek advice on my tactics or techniques? We go over and over the physical, tactical, and technical aspects of our game. What we forget is that there is a fourth element to sports performance – the psychological element.

There are many examples in squash of top players attributing success to ‘getting it right mentally’….Lisa Opie was ranked top two in the world yet had not won a major title - she would get so frustrated at refereeing decisions that she would lose games and even matches as a result. After intensive work with a sport psychologist, Lisa learned to relax at the critical moment rather than to ‘blow up’ mentally. Shortly afterwards she won the 1991 British Open.

Think back to a time when you played really good squash – when you felt you were in the zone and your game was impeccable. How did you feel? What sort of things do remember seeing? Do any particular sounds stand out?

Now think of a game in which you felt unable to perform well and your game was mediocre and predictable. Again, how did you feel? What sort of things do remember seeing? Do any particular sounds stand out? What was different in the two games? The chances are that your physical, technical, and tactical play hadn’t changed that much between one and the other. What is more likely is that you couldn’t concentrate or focus because your mind was somewhere else besides the court.

A classic example of this is the current England captain David Beckham. After his move to Real Madrid and high profile scandal involving Rebecca Loos, he suffered a severe lack of form. He didn’t suddenly become a worse player overnight, what is more likely is that he was no longer focused solely on the task on the pitch. His mind was distracted with task irrelevant information.

In my experience, few players pay enough attention to their psychological preparation. They spend hours in the gym or on the court making sure they are in top physical condition. They spend hours with their coach discussing tactics and techniques. But when it comes to mental fitness, they barely give a thought to how they can develop and maintain this all-important element of performance.

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