The Squashist

Last Night of the ToC! Boo-hoo!

2012-01-26T16:00:00.000-05:00

It will be an interesting match tonight as once again the #1 ranking is on the line, with Willstrop hoping to prove he deserves the accolade and Matthew hoping to regain what I'm sure he feels is rightfully his.

Matthew is coming back from injury, and that has a tendency to put a small grain of doubt in one's mind. If I had to guess, I'd say Willstrop in 5 very hard games. But I admit it could easily go the other way...

It's also nice to note that the ToC isn't just about the pros. Here's Chris Walker, still looking exceptionally fit, showing some StreetSquash kids the art of the drop.

The Empowering Effect of a Dose of ToC

2012-01-24T13:25:00.000-05:00

My arch-enemy Schumacher and I went to see the Tournament of Champions last night, paying good money to get seats midway down the left wall. It took a while to get used to the crazy angle, but once we did we were treated to some close-up views of the pros and their shotmaking.

We saw four matches. The first was Olivia Blatchford, one of two players from the US, playing Dipika Pallikal, the 7th-seeded Indian. It was really no contest, as Blatchford appeared by turns nervous and agitated over her play. She lost in straight games. Here's the last point, as recorded on my lousy cellphone:

We also saw Australia's Donna Urquhart, who is without doubt one of the sexiest woman in squash, play Pakistani sensation Maria Toor Pakay. Pakay has come under the wing of Jonathan Power, who is helping to guide her as she negotiates her way from the ultra-conservative tribal areas of her country, where a woman is not supposed to be involved in sport whatsoever, to playing squash at the highest level in venues around the world. A big step, and judging by her play last night, she's not there yet. She appeared to be nervous and relatively uninterested in doing anything other than smacking the ball hard to the back corners. Urquhart, on the other hand, remained unfazed and looked perfectly delightful in a wonderful peach-colored dress. I am here to report that there were murmurs of appreciation from the crowd, and they weren't talking about her squash game....

We also saw two good matches on the men's side. First up were Englishmen James Willstrop, looking very sharp, and Peter Barker. Barker looks to be in great form, so it is a little amazing that he hasn't had more success against Willstrop, but the latter seems continually to have the edge up, and so it was last night, with Barker being shown the door in under 40 minutes. We also got to take a look at Egyptian teenage sensation Marwan El Shorbagy, who seems to float effortlessly about the court, and a very impressive Daryl Selby, Englishman, who I think played a magnificent match. Selby can be quite deceptive, employing a full bag of head fakes and last-second wrist breaks. The effect of all this was to keep Marwan running, and that he did. They had several very long rallies, after which Selby seemed to take one long breath and then was quickly back ready to play, whereas I saw Marwan doubled over a few times trying to catch his breath. I think Selby, who won in 3, has a shot to reach the finals this year, he is playing that well. I also think that Marwan will be the #1 player within 7 years: he moves better than any other player I have ever seen.

There is something empowering about seeing a lot of high-level pro players going about their business. Schumacher and I agreed to play this morning, and I, feeling jazzed by my observations last night, foiled my arch-enemy's plans for total domination and offered up a soul-crushing win in 5. The squashist wins! The squashist wins!

The Ladies Come to the ToC

2012-01-23T14:00:00.000-05:00

Commuted in this morning and there was a pair of the female contenders at the Tournament of Champions doing a little early-morning practice. I think I am correct in saying that this was Natalie Grinham and Sarah Kippax playing a friendly -- both looked sharp.

I have to ask, why can't we get a full women's draw with some decent prize money for the ToC? C'mon, you masters of finance, help fund the ladies so they can have a full tournament at this great squash venue....

ToC Getting Ready in NY

2012-01-17T09:59:00.000-05:00

I was pleased to see the goings-on at Grand Central Terminal during my morning commute. The court is being assembled today! The best week of squash in New York City is about to begin ....

The Future of Squash Is Egyptian, Yes?

2012-01-07T18:26:00.000-05:00

Egyptians have just won 7 of 8 titles at the British Junior Open. A great achievement, with a clean sweep for the country denied only by one determined Pakistani, who won the boys 15 and under.

Above, Marwan El Shorbagy lets out a roar after winning the boys 19 and under, and you can bet he will make his presence felt on the pro tour soon.

But I worry for Egyptian squash. There is already news that squash is not receiving the political support needed to keep funding at recent levels, and we are increasingly seeing great Egyptian squash players opt for other locales -- often, the US -- as they segue into teaching pros.

That's great for US squash, but I would hate to see Eqyptian squash whither away from political disinterest. Egypt is too important as a squash nation, and their players are too great, to welcome something like that. Squash needs Egypt.

But at this juncture, will Egypt be able to win a similar number of championships at next years BJO? I think squash pundits would have to say, 'No, quite possibly not.'

Blogs Redux

2012-01-02T17:56:00.001-05:00

Rather amazingly I realize I have been doing this blog for 2 and a half years now. Sometimes the pathetic roll of the blogger is to publish a post and watch it head off into the blogosphere, never knowing for sure what fate will befall it, like a parent watching his child go off to college...

I've had a couple of strange experiences. On two blogs I mentioned Tiger Woods unflatteringly. The first time I did that lo and behold the very next day I got a reader for the first time in the town in Florida where he lives. Hmmmm.

Amazingly enough, I also mentioned the pope one time and, believe it or not, Rome lit up on my map of hits the next day. I envisioned the pope, sitting in his jewel-encrusted personal library, silently damning me to hell.... Perhaps the single posting that was read in more strange places than any was a Wikileaks parody I did. That post was read in some very dicey areas all over the world, including unruly regions of Africa and 'the Stans.'

Of course I've had my share of dud postings, but I thought I'd take a look back and revisit a few posts that I was rather fond of. Take a look; you be the judge:

Here's a review of loud grunting on tennis and squash courts.

How top athletes can remain very calm and hyperfocused at the same time.

Here are 27 great squash tips from the Khan dynasty.

I've always maintained goggles should be a must in squash.

Here I announce my love for Nicol David, a squash goddess.

A friend nearly loses it, but squash is his lifeline.

Two blogs reviewing squash injuries (part I and part II).

Here I review the 10 Commandments of squash.

Stretching before a match? Probably not a good idea...

Perhaps my personal all-time favorite: motor disinhibition in top athletes.

Does sex affect your squash game?

Here I try my hand at poetry. And then I try it again here....

I used to slice my feet with razors to reduce blistering. No, really....

All about how intense exercise can make you sick.

All about hardball doubles, from a master.

An interview with the Pro Squash Tour's McManus.

US Squash innovates again...

Here I recount a weird night out in superbia. Oh, I mean suburbia...

My personal list of things to remember when playing our game.

And finally, all about my birthday: September 11...

I hope you've enjoyed some of these. All you squashists out there, thanks for tuning in!

What a Mouthful!

2011-12-29T16:38:00.000-05:00

I'm on record as saying that the DailySquashReport.com site is a nice addition to the squash world's relatively paltry offerings for news. I make it a point to visit "the Report" after first checking out SquashSite. I definitely recommend lovers of squash bookmark both sites....

The Report does, however, have its quirks. The daily news is posted in the morning, so anything newsworthy that happens during the day will not appear until the next morning. So when Willstrop won the Punj Lloyd PSA Masters tournament, and thereby ascended to #1 player in the world rankings, there was nothing on the Report's site until the next day. But okay, fair enough, I'm sure the folks putting the Report out have other things to do during the day, and aren't sitting around a desk waiting for squash news to come drifting in.

Another quirky thing about the site is the writing of Rob Dinerman. I've never met the man, but having read his articles over the years you can draw a few firm conclusions: he is a hardball fanatic, is not a fan of US Squash (probably because of its embrace of softball), and is not a fan of the common period.

He writes enthusiastic reviews of professional doubles tournaments, in particular those played under the ISDA banner. He also recently picked what he considered the most important squash performances of 2011 in an article he wrote for his site, and of the 8 players highlighted, 5 were squash hardballers -- a disproportionate number, surely. But again, to each his own. If the Report wants to be mainly a venue for original articles about squash doubles, that's fine, although certainly limiting.

But of enduring interest is what appears to be Mr. Dinerman's antipathy towards the period -- a/k/a the full stop. He doesn't seem to like them, sometimes going to seemingly extreme lengths to avoid their use. Here is a wonderful example, from his recent article about the ISDA tour:

When Manek Mathur and Yvain Badan posted sequential victories over first Damien Mudge and Ben Gould (rupturing their 46-0 skein) and then Matt Jenson and Clive Leach, the top two ranked teams on the ISDA tour, in the final two rounds of the Briggs Cup, the last and most lucrative pro hardball doubles tournament in calendar 2011, they completely upended the prevailing status quo, generated the most noteworthy accomplishment in the nearly nine years since Leach and Blair Horler dethroned reigning champs Mudge and Gary Waite in the final of the April 2003 Kellner Cup (on a daring Horler reverse-corner at 14-13 in the fifth), became the first team in the 12-year history of the ISDA to win a tournament in which they faced match-point-against in the third game of their semi and culminated a meteoric ascent from having to hack their way through the qualifying rounds as recently as this past January to winning an event of this magnitude less than a year later.

When I first read this paragraph I searched desperately for a period, but only at the very end of the paragraph, spent and exhausted, did I find one.

It's clearly Dinerman's writing style, which he has honed over many years. I am a writer and an editor, and frankly I wouldn't write that paragraph that way, but clearly Mr. Dinerman is just exercising his own artistic license, and I'm all for artistry.

I was curious, though. There are ways of judging the difficulty in a written sample, and it has become something of a science. I am occasionally called on to write at a 6th grade level, for example, because I need to convey in layman's terms rather complicated things about medicine that need explaining, but big words cannot be used. Well, there is a site for figuring out grade-level reading abilities. WordsCount analyzes text through various means and can estimate the level of education one must have in order to understand it. So by copying the above sentence-paragraph into the readability calculator, I was able to get an approximation of the grade level one would need to understand the text.

The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level was 65.

Not 6th grade, but 65th grade. What the hell is that, anyway?

Smart Move

2011-12-20T17:52:00.001-05:00

The Pro Squash Tour, Joe McManus' let-shunning sports creation, has just made a very smart move, decreeing that as of the new year all players must wear eye protection.

It's been worrying me that in a no-let tournament players will be more likely to accidentally hit unprotected eyes as they scramble to get around the other player. I felt there was an accident out there waiting to happen.

It turns out McManus must have been thinking the same thing. And now he's fixed the problem. Players will probably whine a bit, but after awhile it will become part of the deal: If you want to play PST, you have to don the glasses. Easily enough done.....

The Old Farts Play On, Despite All

2011-12-16T17:56:00.000-05:00

I ain't no spring chicken, so the prospect of playing 4.5 league ball with those who are often 3 decades younger than I can often be discombobulating, disheartening, and disagreeable, leaving me disgruntled. That's just the way it goes when you are an athlete who's beginning to age out of the standard competition.

So here's a thought. Let's start new, age-based league divisions, starting at about 55 and going up by decades.

The Official League Denoting the Fellowship of Aging, Rheumatologic, Tragicomic Squash players -- The OLD FARTS -- could play once a month (not every week; we need time to recuperate). We might all chip in to have an orthopedist on hand in case something untoward happens.

Or maybe a cardiologist.

Who's in?

Willstrop or Won'tstrop?

2011-12-12T12:20:00.000-05:00

James Willstrop, current world #2, can attain the #1 ranking if he wins the Punj Lloyd PSA Masters tournament, which starts tomorrow. I hope he does it.

I've always been of the opinion that Willstrop is just too damned tall to be the best of the best, and yet the guy, to his immense credit, keeps trying to do just that. He's just come off two very successful tournaments, winning both the Hong Kong Open and the Kuwait PSA Cup. For some reason nobody has yet told him that he is too tall to play top squash. He's proven me wrong about my prognostications about his height and i'm both happy for and impressed by him.

He's only 28, so he still has some good years left, but this may be his best opportunity yet. With all the effort he has put in, I want him to be able to look back and say he made it to #1. Best of luck, Mr. Willstrop!

This happened to a friend of mine. He told me this.

2011-11-30T16:35:00.002-05:00

This happened to a friend of mine. He told me this. I know this friend very well. He was playing in a 4.5 league match against the smarty-pants over at Harvard. You know those types, the 1%-ers, probably. They play with their noses in the air. Anyway, he shows up, gets himself all psyched up, and onto the court he strides, awaiting the arrival of his adversary, warming up furiously before the battle is waged.

His opponent does show up, a little late, about a foot shorter than he, but in great shape and seemingly quite confident. The opponent warms up very quickly and then, without further ado, says, “Let’s play!” And play my friend does, as hard as he can muster, but the opponent holds the T awfully well, and there is something about my friend’s backhand that night, and I, I mean my friend, can’t seem to find a good range. The opponent senses this and starts firing away into his backhand, and all his return shots seem to end up in the middle of the court, and damn, the opponent’s dropshots are working great.

Game 1 to Harvard.

Next game my friend, the guy who told me this tale of woe, hunkers down and tries to relax a little, and ends up taking the game into overtime, but two nervous shots later, it was game 2 for Harvard, 12-10.

Jesus mother of god…

At this point, alarm bells are screaming away in this guy’s head, and a decision is made, no matter what the cost, no matter how devastating the injury, he is going to do whatever it takes to dig out every ball possible, no excuses. Flying around the court, all arms, legs and racket, he fights and fights and fights, and lo and behold, squeaks out an 11-9 win. Game score 2-1.

New game, new focus, my friend must tie the games up to have a chance at a win. First things first. So he tries to change his approach a bit, sets up some lobs to change the rhythm, but damn if the opponent’s overhead is working great, and damn if my friend’s backhand is still as bad as ever, and the plan backfires, and he goes down ignominiously in the fourth. Match to Harvard.

So he went over and shook her hand. “Nice game, miss,” he said. Ouch.

First Non-Urban Urban Squash Program Starts on Nantucket

2011-10-22T17:15:00.000-04:00

I happened upon this great video, the work of videographer and producer Joanna Hay and Kevin Luzak, who use interviews with many squash luminaries to discuss the growing list of urban squash programs that help underprivileged city kids learn squash and, more importantly, focus on education and citizenship.

There are several interviews that will make any squashist smile, as many of the speakers discuss the central importance that the sport has had on their lives.

The purpose of the video is to introduce a new squash-centered educational effort, called Nantucket Student Squash, whose exemplary goals are the same as the other urban squash programs, but with one singular exception -- the venue is not urban, but the seemingly tony island enclave of Nantucket.

But the program isn't for the rich summer people. It is a shock to hear on this video that Nantucket island has one of the highest suicide rates for high schoolers in the entire country. The truth is that the year-round population is not wealthy at all, and in fact times can be pretty tough during the winter. Thus the idea was born to create the first non-urban urban squash program.

This is a great video that is over 26 minutes long. It is time very well spent. Congratulations to Ms. Hay and Mr. Luzak. I hope my readers will consider a donation, small or large.

Chelsea Piers Gets Something To Boast About

2011-10-18T13:27:00.001-04:00

I have to confess I've long cast a malignant eye over to Chelsea Piers on New York's West side. Chelsea Piers is a huge mega-monster sports center which houses just about every sport you can dream up, including basketball, boxing, cycling, rock climbing, fitness centers, track, hockey, a golf driving range, even sand volleyball -- but no squash. I could never figure out how they could be so myopic not to see that squash should be part of their huge urban sports complex. I once went there for a corporate event and asked a guy working there, "Where are the squash courts kept?" I got a befuddled look....

But it turns out that someone over at Chelsea Piers was paying attention. Squash in the US is a growing phenomenon, and a huge sports emporium like Chelsea Piers must include squash on its menu. And now they will.

Not in New York City, at least not yet....

But Chelsea Piers is building another sports megalopolis in Stamford, Connecticut, scheduled to open next summer. And true to their formula, they are building a whopper: 400,000 square feet of sports facility housed in 7 separate sports arenas covering 18 sports that will doubtless dominate the sports-seeking public in the area. Included are daycare, restaurants, and pro shops. (I could easily live there: I'm wondering if they need an official resident?)

They will have their usual mix of athletic pursuits, but this time they are adding 11 singles and 1 doubles squash courts. That's a pretty dozen. And to top it off, they have hired former world #1 Natalie Grainger as their squash director. Natalie has been both a fantastic player and tireless proponent of the sport for many years, highlighted by her 8 years as head of WISPA, and her presence seals the deal for me.....

I forgive you for your transgressions in New York City.

Welcome to Stamford, Chelsea.

(Here's the floor plan of just one mega-floor: Can you spot the squash courts?)

Let Please Let Please Let Please Let Please Let Please Let Please

2011-10-13T17:36:00.000-04:00

The Pro Squash Tour and its merry band of squash infidels are now well into their tournament season, the details of which are located here.

I’ve noted before in this space how the PST has offered an important innovation by recognizing the mind-numbing qualities of the overabundance of ‘Let-No Let’ calls in tournament play. There is nothing like having a long and creative rally be nullified by a ‘Let’ call to suck the air right out of the room. Observers will often sigh when that happens. “Aw…,” says the crowd.

The PST recently noted in one of their squash e-zines that British reporters counted the number of Let-No Let-Stroke decisions at the 2007 Bermuda World Open. The numbers were even higher than I would have imagined.

In the entire tournament there were 31 matches, 116 games, and 1917 points played. In all of those matches, referee decisions were required 959 times, which is a fraction over 50% of the total points. That averages out to 31 decisions per match and 8 decisions per game.

Of the decisions made, 706 (74%) were Lets, 111 (12%) were No Lets, and 145 (15%) were Strokes. In just one match, between Wael El Hindi and Eric Galvez, there were a mind-altering 76 referee decisions made.

Aw…..

The Competitiveness Gene

2011-10-07T15:36:00.000-04:00

Many people have told me they are amused by my “coat of arms” and its heraldic saying: “Insufferable in victory, surly in defeat.” I’d like to take credit for that, but in fact it was my father who came up with it.

My father was a tough competitor. He hated to lose, and rarely did. He grew up in a farm community in Northwest Ohio and, while very good at several sports, was even better intellectually. He told the story of how he was given scholarships at a multitude of schools, including Ohio State and Harvard. He wanted to go to Ohio State, because several of his friends were going there, but that’s when my grandfather stepped in and said, “Guess what? You, son, are going to Harvard.” This was back at a time when upper-crust families tended to get their smart kids into Harvard and smart middle- and lower-class kids would have to really stand out before they would let them in. The Ivy League schools were not as generous with aid back then….

But he did stand out, and then later he went on to Harvard Medical School—not that he wanted to…. The day after Pearl Harbor, he and many of his Harvard College classmates stormed down to the Boston recruiting office for the army and demanded to be let into the armed services immediately. Many were let in straightaway, but they first interviewed everybody, and when they asked my father what he was studying at that fancy college, he said he was a premedical student. “Forget it kid,” the interviewer said, “something tells me we’ll need you more as a doctor than a soldier.” So he trudged on back to Harvard, and then on to medical school. He eventually headed up the burn unit at Fort Sam Houston during the Korean War.

Once there was a strike at Harlem Hospital, where he briefly had admitting privileges (most of his patients were at Columbia Presbyterian) and where he had a very sick patient. That patient was getting worse, but the strike had turned ugly and there was a barricade of hospital workers surrounding the hospital, refusing to let anyone in. This pissed old dad off, in a big way. He went down to the door and started jaw-boning the head union guy and his minions, who in turn argued that the patient would be alright, there were other doctors inside, and he couldn’t go in. His response: “Oh realllllly?!” he yelled, and socked the union guy in the mouth. He then ran into the hospital and took care of his patient. The union members left him alone, figuring he was nuts.

One more story to tell you how competitive and intense he was: My wife and I were visiting my parents in suburban New York many years ago, and that Saturday night we decided to play a game of Trivial Pursuit, that once very popular game in which arcane facts are answered, helping you move a game-piece around the board. Before the game, which pitted my parents vs my wife and me, my father warned that all answers had to be exactly correct, precisely as they appear on the game’s answer cards.

It wasn’t long before the level of precision was tested. We were asked a question whose answer was JESUS CHRIST. It was obvious, a slam-dunk, and I was already reaching for the dice to roll again. “Hold it!,” he said, a bit too loudly, “that’s wrong, it’s JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH.” I stared open-mouthed, but knew my father well enough to know the man was serious. My wife was beside herself, not being able to believe this was happening.

But later we got our revenge. My father rolled and was asked a question whose answer was the REVEREND MARTIN LUTHER KING. My father thought about this for a minute, because he remembered there was something tricky about King’s name…. What was it? Oh yes, he had a doctorate in philosophy and included that in his name. He answered “THE REVEREND DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING.”

I studied the answer card, pretending to read it carefully, all the while knowing what I was about to say would cause quite a big kerfuffle. “No! Close but not quite right. It’s THE REVEREND DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JUNIOR!” At which my father got up, steaming, and marched out of the room. (This is where the “surly in defeat” part of the motto comes from.)

Ah, family…. The memories….

My father was actually a wonderful influence, and that extended to my interest in squash. As a family we would always play tennis, but my speed, which was never a problem, often seemed to outdo my stroke mechanics. I would be immediately on the ball and then naturally undercut it, since I had found through experience that in my verve I tended to overhit unless I undercut. When I was in my mid-teens I was about to go away to a school where squash was offered as a sport, and I remember my father strongly advising I should check squash out right away. “You’re a natural, trust me.” He had played it while at Harvard, and he was right; I loved it from the very first second, and love it still.

Later on in his life we would occasionally still get to play tennis when visiting on weekends. Despite being into his senior years, he was still pretty good, and always very wily. My full-time focus on squash had meant that my tennis game really amounted to squash shots played on a tennis court, so my father would regularly win these matches. Up to a point. But one day we were out there and I realized he had slowed, and that his shots weren’t coming so hard anymore, and that I would win. But towards the end of the set I started thinking that this competitive man would be truly aggrieved to lose, and it seemed almost unfair of me to go through with it. So I didn’t. A couple of theatrically placed shots that were just wide, some heart-breaking shots into the net, and a double-fault or two, and there it was, a victory for dad.

I guess the competitiveness gene runs a little weaker in my DNA. I never ever let myself beat him in tennis.

My 9/11

2011-09-10T17:55:00.003-04:00

The media is in a frenzy this weekend over remembrances of 9/11. My natural inclination is to not spend too much time and emotional energy looking backward; I like to keep my gaze straight ahead. But it is certainly appropriate to reflect at least a little on that dreadful day, but for me, a little is plenty. I will largely avoid the replaying of footage of the tragedy, because I personally don't want to go back and experience the whole awful thing all over again. But some reflection; yes, I will do that.

My 9/11 a decade ago started early, getting to work at my office, a few miles from the World Trade Center, around 7 am. I was going to go out on the town that night with my wife and friends, leaving just about at 5 pm, so I wanted to get a full day's work in. I was in my office typing away on the computer when someone ambled by and said a plane had hit one of the towers. I thought it was probably an accident, or a suicide. I had no idea it was a full jet. I continued working. A little while later I got up to go to the copy room, and someone then told me excitedly that another plane had hit the other tower, and they had seen it live on TV.

Uh oh. That was obviously no accident.

We turned on the big TV in our conference room and, like just about everyone else in the world, watched the incredible images that just hours before would have seemed only possible in some big-budget Hollywood production.

I was antsy. What to do? We then started hearing that other planes were aloft and possibly part of this attack, and before I knew it confirmation came on the air that a plane had hit the Pentagon. I found out later that my nephew was in a meeting at the Pentagon and had only minutes before left that part of the building, which ended up being crushed in the crash. Some of the meeting attendees didn't make it out.

At some point someone suggested that we might be able to see the towers from the roof of our building, so I and a few others went up there. Sure enough, there they were. Again, the cinematic unreality of what I saw was striking. We weren't up there more than 5 minutes when the first tower fell. This huge structure didn't go down with a high-decibel crash; it let out the faintest of moans.

Clearly, any plans for the night were scratched, and I realized I had to get home to my family. But it turns out the authorities had decided to stop all trains leaving from Manhattan, so I was stuck in the city. Some time went by, and I either watched the news on TV or surfed on the internet trying to get the latest news. There was another plane that had crashed in Pennsylvania, they said.

My club at the time was the Princeton Club, right near Grand Central Station. It sounds odd, I realize, but I thought that I might go over there and play a game of squash, since I was stuck, and there I could await the restarting of the train service in relative comfort, getting quickly to the station as soon as possible. But the thought came and went quickly. It was an old impulse -- I have free time, I should get a match in! But who the hell could concentrate on a game when all this was happening....

So a decade has gone by; a lot has happened, some not so pretty. One of the early reactions to the tragedy was to blame Muslims, which is ridiculous and untenable. We should blame religious zealots, that's who we should blame, and there are plenty to go around from all religions. There are Christian nuts and Jewish nuts and Muslim nuts and...., etc. Sadly, we still have a few thoughtless boobs out there whose bias against Muslims, formed 10 years ago, remains strong.

With the exception of my personal physician, who is a Muslim, every other Muslim I've ever had more than a passing conversation with I've met on the squash court. I just played a Lebanese last night, as it happens, and like all the others I've met, he was smart, funny, and urbane.

I was going out that 9/11 a decade ago because 9/11 happens to be my birthday. That birthday certainly sucked, but the rest have been good. And I think it is important to remember that no one has stolen a day off the calendar and declared that from now on it is to be a sorrowful day. It has that aspect to it, true, but there are also little babies being born all over the world, to the great joy of their families; people exulting in their private and public successes; engaging conversations crackling between interesting people; great ideas occurring to brilliant minds; sparkling art illuminating unusual viewpoints.... It's life out there, not death. That's what I celebrate on my 9/11.

Aide-Memoire

2011-08-29T17:52:00.001-04:00

I've been playing strangely well lately. I've been thinking better and not rushing my shots. Not banging away as my default approach to the game, but really trying to think of every shot, even when under stress.

I recently added a note on my smartphone, called Squash, Remember. I tried to write down all the things I should do but don't necessarily do regularly, so that right before I go out on court, I look at the note to remind my spongiform brain to keep these concepts actively in mind. I guess these reminders are working....

Here for your edification is my note to myself:

Remember to:

move up
volley
keep him back
watch
even breathing
hold your shot
split step every time
matches more often lost from mistakes than won from shot-making!

The Degradations of Time Among the Static Crowd

2011-08-20T16:51:00.000-04:00

I have played squash for a little over 30 years. I've made it a central element of my existence. It's one of the things I do, reliably. It burns off the detritus of life and allows me to function.

Every now and again I'm struck how others in this world have not made exercise -- any variety, not just squash -- part of their life, and as I get older I'm beginning to see the effects of their nonathletic lives. I know people at work, in my community, friends of friends, who are my age or less and they seem to me very much older. They look older, they move older, and I wouldn't be too surprised if they think older. Invariably those people are the ones whose idea of sport is a bag of chips and the telly tuned to the weekly football game.

I know this sounds self-congratulatory, and I guess in a small way it is, but it has become increasingly obvious that the 'exercise effect' is medical fact. A recent study comparing exercisers to non-exercisers in The Lancet was notable for its sheer size. Researchers in Taiwan followed 416,175 men and women (in about equal numbers) with an average followup of over 8 years. They looked at weekly exercise rates and placed the participants in 5 exercise categories, from very high exercisers to those who did absolutely no exercise.

Among their findings was this: that those who were in the 'very low exercise group', meaning they exercised an average of 15 minutes a day, had a 14% reduction in mortality compared with the non-exercise group, and -- astonishingly -- enjoyed a 3-year longer life expectancy. So for just 15 minutes a day you win 3 years over the couch potatoes. That's amazing. Benefits increase as exercise increases, so all you squashists out there should feel damn good about your health.

A highly demanding cardiovascular sport like squash does carry a small risk of a cardiovascular event occurring during play. It happens from time to time. I think all squash clubs should do what schools in the US are doing. In the US, about 100 athletes will die annually from sudden heart failure. That ends up being a 1 in 40,000 chance, so not much, but the chance is there. Clubs should have automated external defibrillators readily available and either staff or coaches should be trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It's not hard and could save a life.

Footnotes From a Book Unknown

2011-08-07T08:51:00.002-04:00

Ripped away from what was apparently a booklet about squash, your reporter found the following footnotes in the trash, which are offered verbatim:

1. The term 'nonmarking soles' is accurate, but it implies that there is no transfer of material from the shoe to the floor. That is not the case, as bits of gum rubber flake off under duress. Players have reported a burnt rubber smell, both from hot balls that have warmed up and from their feet after scratching across the floor at high speed. It was only discovered later, at a toxicology lab in Middlesex, that the aerosolated rubber from the balls was highly toxic and potentially carcinogenic, leading to the on-going squash ball scare.

2. There are of course many benefits to aerobic exercise. They include reduced cholesterol and blood pressure, reduced body fat, increased metabolism, improved endurance, and toned musculature. Aerobic activities strengthen the heart and lungs and make them more efficient. Aerobic exercise improves the strength of bones, and – barring injury – ligaments and tendons. Aerobic exercise burns away calories and trains your body to use fats and sugars more efficiently. Aerobic exercise reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and reduces stress and alleviates depression. And, since squash is in fact one of only a few anaerobic sports, all the above is magnified.

3. The following quote was also attributed to the former number-one, but he disavowed it later, saying it was ‘equivocal’ and not really what he meant:

“It’s summer, so it’s no wonder my balls are so hot. When you are playing on 90+-degree courts, you know these balls will get hot, and mine certainly are. This observation is certainly obvious, but it is worth repeating: I mean, they are almost too hot to touch, my balls, and because of that I try to avoid touching them. But they are hot, that’s for sure. I can avoid touching a ball for an entire match, it’s easy to do, but if you were so inclined, what the heck, touch them and see for yourself. I’m not dreaming this stuff up…. Well, it’s summer. Some people don’t play squash during the summer for this very reason, because their balls get too damn hot in the summer. But I don’t mind; they’re hot balls, big deal.”

4. There is one unique injury that squash players suffer that other athletes do not:

Elite players, after years of play, can develop hip arthritis in a degenerative pattern that is not found in any other sport, including other racket sports like tennis. There is global, as opposed to partial, cartilage loss caused by frequent lunging. Hip arthroplasty is often the end result.

5. So called ‘endurance squash’ was an idea that sprung up as a result of the change to point-a-rally best-of-5 matches. Many matches against unequal players were over in less than a half hour, some even under 20 minutes. The old warrior ethos of squash demanded endurance, but the new scoring system took that important element away in many matches. So… endurance squash, with its own set of tournaments and trophies, was born, adopting a best-of-9 format.

6. Squash was proposed for inclusion many times in the roster of Olympic sports, but apparently no one was ever brash enough to bribe the members of the Olympic committee. “It’s all about money for them,” laughed Tony Dunsmore, head of golf’s Olympic study group.

People Are Crazy All Over, Alas

2011-07-24T19:02:00.000-04:00

This week we learned the terrible news that people are crazy all over, alas. The carnage in Norway is still hard to believe, but there it is, pictures of bombed out windows and shocked, crying children, and sensible people can only shake their heads in disbelief.

One of the understandable thoughts that kept coming up by numerous commentators was disbelief that that could happen in a place like Norway. We are used to carnage in the United States, because we have absolutely inane gun-control laws that allow pistols of all types, automatic or not, which can be concealed or slung on your hip like a desperado from the wild west. Since our country is so stupid about gun control it is no wonder that from time to time someone goes nuts and blasts a few innocent people in anger. In fact, it happened just when we were hearing about the atrocities in Norway: some well-armed nutjob killed 6 people at a roller rink down south. In this country, that's not terribly unusual or even all that interesting. The story came and went in a day.

Norway has more stingent gun control laws but, apparently, even there they can fall into the wrong hands. People are crazy, alas.

People are nuts in Washington, DC, too. In fact, in their case, it might be better if they WERE all armed. It would get messy quick, but then some sensible people might come in after the gunfire and clean the place up. While the world awaits a resolution to the debt-ceiling debacle, the politicians there are still intent on playing their games. Real leadership seems to be as rare as gun control legislation in that town.

And I too am nuts, i'm afraid.

Or at least I was last week. I played two matches last week in the midst of boiling temperatures in New York City. When you walked outside your office building you were hit by a wall of 100-degree heat and monstrous humidity. In this record-breaking heatwave I kept my appointments to play these matches, but I had a feeling I was in trouble when I walked on the court. It didn't seem to be much cooler than the outside temperature. Certainly, within about 5 minutes, the court's air temperature was in the 90s and the ball was hopping around like one of those dense rubber super-balls.

I got hot, and quickly. I think I developed the world's first case of squash-induced thermocephalia. My brain got mushy, my thought processes -- always with me a dicey notion -- degenerated into what I can only describe as a gloppy bowl of mashed potatoes. I did stupid things, crazy things. I lost both matches, and the proof of my pathetic physical condition was the fact that I really didn't care. I was happy to be alive.

I am desperately sorry about the events in Norway, I'm getting more and more angry about the events in Washington, and I'm looking forward to a better outing on the squash court this week. The latter is insubstantial compared to the first two items, I know. I'm not that crazy....

Strange Night in Suburbia

2011-07-08T13:29:00.002-04:00

Last night was odd.

About three times a week I get up super-early -- specifically, 4:40 AM -- to be able to catch the early train into the city in time to change and be ready on court to play squash at 6:30. It's crazy, I know, but I never promised anybody normality in this blog, now did I?

The timing works better for me, and I've gotten used to it.

So last night, about 10:30 PM or so, I laid my weary head down to rest on my soft pillow and prepared to slumber 6 hours or so before the next day would start with my alarm clock's annoying caterwauling. And restful sleep I did have ... until 1:10.

At about 1:10, somewhere down the block where I live, a dog decided to announce its presence to the world with a mournful howl. This wasn't terribly interesting to my sleeping ears, but to my dog this was very interesting indeed, so he let out a series of full-throated, amply decibelled masculine barks to let the other dog know that he was there and he felt his pain.

I woke up and looked at the clock: 1:10 AM.

Oh shit. There are nights when my brain will unnecessarily switch on and I can't get the darn thing to shut off again. I briefly thought about all the work that is piling up in my office, but quickly got on to a much more interesting topic, and that was the match I would play later in the morning. In a few short hours, in fact.

My opponent has been giving me a hard time. He's not significantly better, but he has a few nice shots that have been troublesome to me, so I go over things I should do to avoid putting him in position to pull those shots on me. And then I go through a variety of ways that I might recover from trouble should I find myself subjected to these annoying shots of his. This occupies my mind, even while in the back of it, somewhere just to the left of the occipital lobe, I am telling myself that I have to shut my brain up and go back to sleep.

I toss. I turn. I notice that my nice soft pillow is beginning to bug me. Is it too damned soft? or maybe I could use a little more cottony bounce to it? Is this the pillow that I like that we got from LL Bean last year, or did my wife steal it again?

I replay an interesting point from the other day when an attacking boast caught me off-guard and I was barely able to move a muscle it happened so quickly. I told myself I have to bend down more and split-step for every shot, not just the ones I think may prove troublesome. I can't get lazy, I say to myself, no sir. And look, dammit, always.

I turn to stare at the clock. It's big digital face announces that it is now 2:20.

What?! 2:20 already? I've been up for more than an hour! All because of that damned dog outside.... That dog should be inside someone's house, like my two dogs are. My dogs are so coddled that they even go to a daytime doggie fun-park where other spoiled 4-footed big-nosed terrors get to run around and have a gas all day long. I briefly envision such a concept, but for humans, where adults could go and chase one another around in circles and play tag games and run for balls and things. God what fun we would have, why is that sort of thing limited to dogs and kids, anyway?

I replump my pillow and think of the match I'll be playing soon. I have to remember to bring a new knee strap as my usual one is getting frayed. I also must buy new squash shoes soon as the current ones are getting old and shoes that slip can be dangerous. We don't want to suffer a tear of the ACL just because we got cheap with the shoes, now do we? I think perhaps I could suggest we play with the pro ball I have, you know, the white one. It's hard to see on a normal court and that might give me an edge... Hmmm, only problem with that is it might also completely screw me up; better not.

I look at the time. WHAT?! 3:30? That can't be, please god say it isn't so, I can't freakin' believe this! This has got to stop! Please, please, stop all the pig-slop in your head and get the hell to sleeeeeeep!

Oddly, out there in the neighborhood, I smell the odoriferous remains of a skunk having protected its turf by wielding the one weapon god in his wisdom decreed to it. The smell is gentle, so the skunk must have done his thing farther off. Maybe he nailed that howling dog from earlier, I think. I ponder the skunk smell a bit and realize it's really not so bad at this intensity; kinda smells like summer. Hmmmm.....

Eventually I must have dozed off. For the next thing I know the clock is caterwauling at me and it says it is 4:40 am. Wakey-wakey time in suburbia. I struggle up from the horizontal and prepare an extra-strong thermos of coffee.

I don't know why I looked at the clock last night at 1:10, then 2:20, then 3:30 and then 4:40. It was a little trick that was played on me I guess; a strange night.

I actually didn't play too badly, either, oddly enough. Although that aggressive boast of his still won him the match.

Tics, Anyone?

2011-06-29T17:09:00.000-04:00

As I've noted before in this blog, it sure is something to listen to the professional women tennis players at Wimbledon grunting catharticallly after every stroke. The men either don't do it or do it only occasionally, and at reduced volume. Somehow or another, the high-decibel grunt has become part of the culture of women's tennis, kind of like human vuvuzelas trumpeting their presence to the assembled throng.

I've also noted the manic pre-point dance that the women do. It's called 'happy feet,' and the idea is to keep those feet moving at all times so that no inertia sets in.

There is no more manic happy-feet dancer than Marion Bartoli, a Frenchwoman whose obvious hyperactivity disorder is apparently mixed in with a strong obsessive-compulsive streak, since her pre-point dance involves wild flailing of the arms following ritualized movements. You have to see it to believe it.

All of which got me thinking about movements made by athletes when they are not actually playing the point. What if we were to take some of these actions and put them on the squash court, what would we have?

Well, in the case of Bartoli, her spastic pre-point dance on a squash court might actually put her opponent at risk, since she violently swings her racket on the forehand and backhand side as she is pogo-ing around the court. Her opponent might very likely run off the court, terrified.

Another stylized tic that tennis players have is to reach behind them and grab a towel to wipe off their face. Apparently it is uncool to wear a headband or bandanna in pro tennis. The reality is that they are using the 15-20 seconds it takes to do this to catch their breath, so you'll see a lot of face-wiping in the latter stages of a tennis match. But could you imagine that on a squash court?

Even a mild motion would just not work in squash. Derek Jeter, the Yankees' fading shortstop, always walks into the batter's box and puts his rear hand up, signalling to the umpire that he is not yet ready and to hold the game until he is. It's a totally unnecessary thing for him to do, but he's been doing it anyway his entire career. If a squash player were to hold up his hand as he prepared to receive a serve, his opponent and everyone watching would view him as a madman.

There is something about being in the same room with your opponent that cuts down on the crap. In squash, its two bats and a ball in a box. There's no room in there for bull.

Oh Squash God, Hear My Plea ...

2011-06-17T16:16:00.002-04:00

Oh squash god! Hear my plea!

Fix forthwith my bum right knee.

With much sacrosanct piety,

And corporeal anxiety.

My knee, o lord, and thanks from me.

Knee cartilage wears down with the years,

My stomach grows larger with the beers,

Yet I still must beat my squashist peers,

But my balky knee adds to my fears.

Please squash god!

I swear I’ll return once more to church,

No more leaving god in the lurch,

Hell, I’ll feed Him some rainbow perch,

I’ll even fund sacerdotal research!

But please, seriously squash god….

I don’t mean to bug, protest or prod,

But I need that speed, not be a clod.

Hammies are good, plus left and right quad,

It’s just the right knee that needs fixing god.

Please?

No It's Not, It's DEAD!

2011-06-08T13:10:00.002-04:00

Because of the woeful inadequacies of the Google search engine, which are multiple yet obscure, I have noticed that I am receiving a lot of clicks on a blog I wrote last January about SquashZAG being up and running. I called it "It's Alive!"

Unfortunately, soon after I posted that blog the site's owners apparently gave up on the site and it has lain fallow ever since. So no, it's not alive, and this time it is most assuredly dead. Stick a fork in it, it's done. It's time to de-bookmark it.

There, Google, stick that in your search engine!

In Your Face!

2011-06-06T12:19:00.001-04:00

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: wear protective eyewear. If it can happen to these guys, it can happen to you.... This video is from PSA Squash TV's newly available archive.

Primum Non Nocere

2011-06-03T10:16:00.001-04:00

One of the principal guiding rules of the medical profession is summarized in the Latin phrase above, which means "First, do no harm."

Hanging on the walls or glass doors of most squash clubs all over the world is the phrase, "Non-Marking Soles Only," a warning that not all sneakers are fit to play on a squash court. Every now and then some knucklehead will go onto a court, oblivious, and try out the game, leaving behind a bunch of burnt rubber streak marks that take time and money to remove.

Would it be excessive if I were to say these people should be shot? Maybe trampled upon by a thousand well-trod squashists fed up with such behavior? Perhaps just slapped around a bit?

As I panted outside a squash court recently following a match, I looked up and there was the sign. But in my delirium I thought it said "Non-Marking Souls Only."

That would be nice.... Non-marking souls non nocere.

Best Club in NYC? Quite Possibly.... Check out CityView

2011-05-25T20:58:00.006-04:00

I just joined the Cityview Racquet Club, a relatively new club which boasts 7 Har-Tru clay tennis courts, 3 singles squash courts, and 1 doubles squash court. Not too long ago the venerable Printing House squash courts were torn to smithereens by uninformed jackanapes who double as executives at a fitness club chain. Long may they burn in hell.....

But I digress.

A goodly chunk of the Printing House players eventually gravitated over to the CityView club. As for me, I was looking for a club. I met one of the immigrants, who told me about it. I grew curious. I signed up.

There is lots that is great about CityView. They have an active tennis program, which helps fund their nascent squash program. (There is a locker with an "A Roddick" nameplate, you dig?) The pro also happens to be John Musto, not only a great player but, more important, a very good pro. (There are a lot of clubs out there that have great players as their pros but many fewer clubs with great pros who are good players.) The touring pro, by the way, is the stylish Egyptian Wael el-Hindi, currently ranked #13 in the world.

The club is artfully designed, really a beautiful club. It is also one of those clubs that knows how to have fun, with kids whose squash rackets are half their size running around excitedly swinging away, even before they get on court. I've been to plenty of clubs where the stiff-upper-lip attitude would never countenance a gang of young ruffians wreaking havoc. And that is much to their discredit.

The club also has an absolutely gorgeous lounge with a mesmerizing freestanding fireplace and great bar. You can hang out there and have a great time when the squash is over. And, during the summer, you can head on out to the huge balcony where, you guessed it, there is a great view of the City.

That's right, the view is so great of Manhattan because this terrific club is not in Manhattan, which is why it remains a bit undiscovered. It is actually only a few stops on the #7 subway line into Queens. I timed it; it's less than 10 minutes to travel from Grand Central Station to the CityView stop.

I just played a 4.5 squash tournament there and did well, considering my balky knees had to play 3 full and difficult matches in one day. The toughest match was the first, in which my opponent and I played one another to near exhaustion, but after about 70 minutes I finally won the match in 5. I was extremely lucky; my opponent had already played his first match so his energy finally ran out in the fifth. My next match was just an hour away and I felt thoroughly depleted, so went down ignominiously 0-3. My opponent later noted that I was tied with him in each game to about 6-all, when suddenly I started going for the cheap shot, which of course didn't work. I then had a 3-hour wait till my next match, which allowed me to rest up, and I won that contest by 3-0. Not bad, I thought, as I limped homeward.

Check out this club if you are in the New York area; it's damn good.

Another Home Run for US Squash

2011-05-19T13:41:00.003-04:00

One of the interesting things about the game of golf is the fact that the scores are inputted following the round of play and one's handicap is calibrated accordingly. It means that a player knows exactly where he stands in relation to the rest of the golfosphere. That level of accuracy has always been missing in squash, until now.

US Squash -- or USQ, as they like to be called -- has just instituted what I view as a game-changer in the world of squash, which drags our great sport into the modern era, kicking and screaming, so that we can also know in real time exactly where we stand.

As part of USQ's Play Squash initiative, everyday club matches can be inputted into the association's website computer, thus influencing one's rating and ranking. If I play the same group of 3 or 4 guys 90% of the time, which I do, why not use those games to create a more accurate accounting of my level of play? Now I can do that.

If you were to look up my rating you would see only a handful of games, all played in 2009 during a time when I had an ongoing ankle problem (that eventually required surgery). My ranking went down and down through 2009, and that is where it has stayed, remaining idle because I have not played any sanctioned tournaments since then. But I've recovered since 2009 and played a lot of matches with friends, so my ossified rating now reflects the problems I had 2 years ago, not the present-day me.

With the Play Squash initiative, that will change. I will start inputting all of the matches I have with players who are USQ members -- it doesn't work for non-members. And as I've opined before, if you are not a member of USQ then you are not supporting the sport and helping it advance -- with programs like this.

Both players have to agree beforehand that this match will count -- and I bet the intensity level will ratchet up a notch or more because of that. The only other requirements are that the match must be best 3 of 5 and the approved Dunlop ball must be used.

So next time you are out on the court, ask your partner to play this match for real. No kidding around. Results go straight to your ratings, and from there on up to your ego.

Jag Resa Slutligen till Sverige - Inte!

2011-05-13T16:51:00.001-04:00

Jag har noterat den här bloggen att min mor var född i Sverige och att jag är en elev i svenska. Mycket tyvärr dog min lärare i svenska, men jag fortfarande läser svenska, kallas oftast på en webbplats "8 Sidor" - www.8sidor.se.

I ett desperat försök att besöka Sverige, försökte jag att vara en av ett några personer som valts att vara i en "reality TV show", kallas den Stora Svenska Adventure. Jag förstår att 1300 personer sökt, och jag överlevde till den sista 100. Men jag tror att det bara fanns 12 människor i slutet. Serien börjar filma i juni.

Jag tror att det finns mycket att beundra om Sverige. Jag kommer att resa dit de närmaste åren säkert, och även jag hoppas kunna spela lite socialistisk squash.

The American Tennis and Paddle Tennis Association

2011-05-03T14:05:00.011-04:00

England's National Racketball Championships will be held May 6 - 8 at the Edgbaston Priory Club!

Or so England's squash association tells us. That's because in England the squash association is called England Squash & Racketball. And therein lies the rub.

If I remember correctly, England's squash association decided only a few years ago to welcome lovers of racketball into their warm, suffocating embrace. I didn't understand why they did that then, and the rationale for it still eludes me.

Racketball is a different game. It uses different rackets than squash and a different ball. It is played, in England at least, on the same court as squash, but that is its only similarity. True, squash players can readily pick up the game of racketball, and indeed the current top-rated men's racketballer in England is squash's own Daryl Selby. But this is akin to a top tennis player picking up a paddle tennis racket and having a go at it. Those are different games. No one has proposed incorporating the American Tennis and Paddle Tennis Association.

I think this is a question of a sporting association forgetting that, for the purposes of effective governance and good marketing, it needs to consistently tell a story to the public. What is squash's story? Why would England Squash want to bifurcate its message by throwing in another sport that is kinda like squash but not really?

I suspect there is money at the root of this issue, although I don't know what it is. I do strongly believe that it is not good for squash to have a national sporting association also promoting another sport. I think it's a really bad idea.

Honesty in Naming

2011-04-30T14:11:00.001-04:00

If things were named honestly, that would be an improvement, yes? Take the West Side Highway, New York City’s major north-south roadway that lurches alongside the Hudson River. That should be renamed “Expect Delays.”

“Yeah, hi honey, I’m coming home, currently on Expect Delays, but I might be a little late because I, uh, am expecting a delay.”

Or perhaps my Jeep Wrangler should be renamed ‘Lucky to Make it to 100,000 Miles.’ My car is currently at about 80,000 miles and I can foresee trouble ahead.

Politicians could go by a number of names, but I want to keep this column suitable for family viewing, so most of them I’ll have to keep to myself. One appropriate one would be ‘At the Beck and Call of Lobbyists.’

“Hey Joe, did you hear what old Beck and Call did today? He passed that bill that everyone was up in arms about, y’know, the one that turns Medicaid into a voucher system and takes money away from grandma.”

What about renaming sports more honestly? Women’s beach volleyball would be named ‘It’s Really About the Skin’. Golf would be called ‘Is This Really a Sport?’ NASCAR would be named ‘BURP – Oh, Excuse Me.’

Squash would be named ‘Best Individual Sport Bar None.’

Play and Pay

2011-04-26T12:25:00.001-04:00

The world is an unfair place, and one place where the disparity between fairness and reality is painfully evident is in the paychecks of top athletes.

"ESPN The Magazine" recently published a list of the best-paid athletes in a group of 30 sports, one of which is squash. Some of the findings you may know already. For instance, New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez gets $32 million. NBA star Kobe Bryant gets $24.8 million. Nick Matthew of squash fame made $166,926 in prize winnings in 2010. That doesn't include endorsements, which will up his income significantly, but it also doesn't include endorsements for Messrs. Rodriquez and Bryant, either. Matthew deserves significantly more, without a doubt.

Other entries are more surprising. The men's billiards champ made $118,494; the head bowler made $152,670; the top bull rider made a healthy $1,594,527, which will help pay for his extensive orthopedic bills; the top fisherman reeled in $915,500; the winningest poker player made $9,443,519; Lindsey Vonn skied her way to $509,542; and Rafael Nadal, everyone's favorite tennis-player-who-would-also-make-a-fantastic-squash-player, made $10,171,998 in prize money.

And then there's Joey Chestnut, at left, the top professional at Major League Eating, who gorged himself to $218,500, all earned one hot dog at a time. And then promptly regurgitated the whole disgusting mess out of view of the stage. Is eating really a sport?! Really?

Schumacher Toots Own Horn

2011-04-24T12:30:00.014-04:00

My nemesis Schumacher recently stopped thrashing me in squash long enough to toot his own horn.

Hard to see, I realize, but there he is, brandishing an inflatable saxophone while frantically dancing about a room.

And why was this happening? Because Nemesis Schumacher was celebrating his son Jonah's bar mitzvah, a big occasion for a kid, and also for a kid's dad, who has to pay for an event that's as much of a production as a wedding. Jonah displayed the insouciance of a Schumacher by not flubbing any of his lines, which is saying a lot because it's easy to get nervous in front of a hundred-plus people staring at you. Jonah is a great kid, and he's got a little brother and sister who emulate him.

If anybody needs assistance from the best podiatrist in New York City, Dr. Schumacher is available. And willing. Trust me. He's helped me, he can help you.

No, not Jonah, he's not a doctor yet. I'm talking the big Schumacher.

Excuse Me, But Does This Sport Make My Ass Look Big?

2011-04-19T17:37:00.001-04:00

How many times have you introduced an athletic friend to squash and had them running enthusiastically all over the court, only to have them call you later that day or the next and say, “Man, my ass hurts!” Or maybe you yourself have been away from the game, either from injury, overwork or temporary disinterest, only to return and be reminded of the singular importance of the butt in the game of squash.

‘Squash butt’ is a real pain in the ass for those afflicted, but the discomfort will fade away. The only real cure is to go out there and play more and build up those butt muscles.

So what are the muscles in the butt? Mostly, they are the gluteus muscles, of which there are three: minimus (provides hip stability and raising and rotating the leg), medius (allows for raising the leg upwards or to the side, as well as hip abduction), and maximus (the largest, outermost of the muscles, which allows leg rotation and raising the thigh upwards and to the side). In squash, when you explosively accelerate, quickly decelerate, or kick your leg off to the side to cut off a passing shot you are employing your ‘glutes.’ Do that a thousand times in a match and voila, squash butt. Or not, depending upon how fit your glutes are.

My feeling is that regular squash players don’t need to exercise their glutes specifically because if they are playing regularly, that is exercise enough. You will by definition have well-exercised glutes. If you don’t play regularly, or are trying to get back into squash shape following injury, the best gluteus exercise I know is squats. And lots of ‘em. You can try double and single-leg squats or plyometric squats where you jump from a squat position, among several variations. But squat you must.

Some people may wonder if all that glute action will give them a big butt. The answer is no. You will not have a flabby butt. You will not have a gelatinous butt. You will have a butt that is defined, shapely and muscular. No buts about it….

I Successfully Shoot Like Ashour!

2011-03-30T14:45:00.001-04:00

Today I played my nemesis Schumacher again, and had him huffing and grunting all over the court. He won, but he didn't dominate me out there.

I even had a wonderful Pyrrhic victory. I was at about the mid-court line when Schumacher lobbed a nice arcing shot heading for the backhand corner. I didn't like the look of that lob; I could tell it was going to drop straight down right in the corner. So I reached high with my racket, pretty much turned directly into the side wall, and tried to hit a little dunk shot to the right front corner. It required considerable concentration and balance, as demonstrated by this dog here....

This is a delicate shot, which I tried to do just to surprise the bastard a bit. But Schumacher watches well and he didn't hesitate for a second, moving right up to the right front corner to get his response.

But like Ramy Ashour, who does this shot all the time, my shot fell off the front wall and gently hit the sidewall nick, rolling purely off the wall without even a hint of bounce.

Schumacher let out a yell. I, like this dog here, let out more of a howl.

British Squash Sucking Wind?

2011-03-24T16:13:00.001-04:00

First it was the news that the British Open would not be held in 2011. That struck me as unfortunate.

Then it was the meager financial backing for the currently contested ISS Canary Wharf Squash Classic, the total purse for which is an unimpressive $50,000. The posters for the tournament feature Amr Shabana stroking a backhand, but he didn't bother showing up for the tournament, nor did any other Egyptian, with the exception of Karim Abdel Gawad, at left, PSA #44, who crashed out in the qualifying finals. The tournament is very much a European affair, despite its promotion as a 'classic.'

It's just too bad, that's all. Funding for British squash seems to be drying up.

What it Takes...

2011-03-20T18:26:00.001-04:00

One of the better videos I've seen about the dedication behind our sport. Check this out:

World's Worst Loser

2011-03-15T17:47:00.001-04:00

Have you ever beat someone playing squash only to have your opponent be a sore loser? They might slouch off the court without a handshake, they may yell an obscenity and stomp off, or they may even re-argue a few let calls during the match that they felt were thoroughly unjustified.

But what happens when you play a lunatic?

Here's a report from the UK of a thoroughly disgruntled man who started arguing over the number of games he had won. The argument gets heated, both players start calling one another liars, and then, as his opponent bends down to pick up his racket, he hauls off and kicks him in the face, hard, breaking his jaw. "The victim later told police the sensation was ‘like crunching Polos,’ and he was left in a lot of pain with blood pouring out."

Teeth were lost, the jaw was broken, the police were called, and the friendship was ruined. Plus someone had to clean up all that blood.

This man was no squashist, he was a lunatic with a racket, a guy whose unbridled competitive streak had no brake, no warning voice between his ears saying, Hold it, maybe I ought to back off.

To his credit, I guess, the fellow regrets his actions, particularly since he will now have to pay for the extensive dental work on his erstwhile friend's jaw, which has left his bite misaligned. And as in the US, there is the little matter of emotional damages, which has yet to be decided by a court.

I have on fairly rare occasions played someone who is clearly too aggressive -- too aggressive arguing lets, too violent in their swing, too upset over a match -- too emotional for the game of squash. I say thanks very much, and I never play them again.

The game of squash ultimately boils down to two people in a box with two rackets and a ball. We don't need an attitude problem in that confined space as well, it would get way too crowded.

Loading Up Teams With Foreign Talent

2011-03-11T09:53:00.001-05:00

Here's an article from the BBC on how colleges load foreign talent onto their teams in the hopes of dominating the sport. In this case, the sport is tennis: "No other American college sport has more international players than tennis."

However, US squash fans have heard the same discussion about college squash for years -- 13, in fact.

However, there is another angle to this story worth noting. One commenter to the BBC article, "Dedjiridoo," wrote the following:

"I played men's squash, a sport that that has been dominated for the past 12 years by Trinity college. Trinity has recruited the best players in the world--junior champions from England, India, Pakistan, and South Africa. This was intimidating as a player, but also a wonderful challenge. We knew that we were competing against the absolute best and it raised the standard of the league."

That's a good point.

Web Round-Up

2011-03-06T19:10:00.001-05:00

It's great when new internet sites about squash crop up, and I try to troll around the web from time to time trying to find the latest stuff.

I recently got an email from a new site called Squash Hero, an admirable effort whose principal goal is to give those interested in purchasing a racket a variety of statistics on rackets and then try to identify the cheapest internet source. The site also has a section on squash tips, which are taken from other sources and amalgamated on their site.

The breakdown of racket specifications on Squash Hero is a good service. It provides specific data about each racket that would otherwise require a lot of searching to get together in one place: it reviews weight (and whether it is appropriate for beginners or doubles play), head size, head-heavy balance (being the distance between the midpoint of the racket's length and the center of its mass), and string density (which they calculate as number of mains x number of crosses/racket head area). The site then notes the lowest price they have found for the racket. When you click on the racket's image, you get additional information, such as beam width, type of stringing, and type of grip.

Obviously, the principal benefit for the squash player is being able to quickly go to the squash internet store that offers the cheapest price, and generally speaking the site does indeed offer up the cheapest I could find. But they are not flawless. I looked up the Wilson Hyper Sledge Hammer 120G: Squash Hero finds the lowest price on Amazon for $149, but my favorite squash store is Squash Gear, and they list the racket for $139.

The site takes a little getting used to. You can sort your racket selection by manufacturer, weight, head size, or cost, all of which is great. But it takes some diddling to really get the feel for how the system works. Overall, though, I'd say it is worth it. It would be nice if they populated the site with additional squash tips, news, photos, etc. We'll see.

A great site that is absolutely not to be missed is No Let!, a video review of squash play with very interesting commentary. I'm not sure who is responsible for this blog; there doesn't seem to be any attribution for it on the site. But whoever is doing the commentary knows his stuff, and I highly recommend this site and encourage whoever you are to keep at it!

Another blog you should definitely bookmark is Racquetsphere, by squash's very own James Zug. He covers not only squash but also the more rarefied sports of racquets and court tennis, which are worth reading up on. Racquets really is the mother sport to squash, and court tennis is the mother sport of tennis. Both are minuscule peculiarities in the world of sport nowadays, but I can vouch for the fact that court tennis is a lot of fun, and I can also aver that I haven't the cohones to venture onto a racquets court, for fear of getting killed by its golfball-like ball that ricochets around the court at nearly 200 mph. Zug gets around in the world of all three sports and has interesting observations and anecdotes about all three.

The Black Toe Blues

2011-02-13T17:10:00.001-05:00

I don't know what it is about my feet, but I am certainly susceptible to black toe, those nasty hematomas underneath the toenail that eventually cause the nail to fall off. The process can be annoying and a bit painful. I've always suffered from them, and now I have tied my record by having two at the same time, one on the big toe and, on the other foot, on the adjacent toe.

These haven't reached the painful stage, but they will, that's coming.

For years I've asked people how I can avoid getting them, and I've heard it all:

In order to not let your toe move around much, buy tight-fitting shoes.
Get shoes that are as much as one full size too big so your toes can't jam into the toebox.
Don't get shoes that are too tight or too big, just get them very accurately sized down to the mm and get the right shoe for that size.
Wear thick socks that will provide extra cushion and will limit movement within the shoe.
Buy new shoes frequently, like every 6 weeks.
Wear two pairs of thin socks. This allows the foot to smoothly glide on the inside of the shoe and reduce friction, hence reducing the possibility of black toe.
Go pray to the God of All Things Black Toe, and ask for forgiveness.

I've developed black toe at about the same rate following all of these bits of advice, and so admit to being flummoxed. When I heard the rationale for #6, I thought that was probably a great idea and so enthusiastically adopted it. I think I developed black toe faster with that method than any other! Podiatrists are likewise stumped, but will happily drain the hematoma or remove the nail, for a fee of course.

If anyone has any better ideas, let me know. In the meantime, I will have to endure the 1-2 months of pain as I wait for these damn toenails of mine to fall off....

GCT's ToC A-OK

2011-01-27T16:10:00.001-05:00

I'm a big fan of the Tournament of Champions (ToC) and check it out obsessively each year when it rolls into Grand Central Terminal (GCT), a beautiful building from where I have the pleasure of commuting every day.

Unfortunately, this year the ToC hit as I've been suffering from a very stubborn case of bronchitis, so I only went to one match and hacked and coughed my way through it, not really enjoying the experience. (I went with none other than Schumacher, my arch-squash foe.... Grrrrrr. We ate at the Oyster Bar, so I can report that he slurps his oysters. I also saw Teddy C, working the entryway as a volunteer, who refused my bribe to get in free! What kind of a New Yorker is that guy?)

Early on I picked Nick Matthew to win it all, because I think he is in the best shape of all the top players, and he is as on-form as any of them. But he will have to go through Ramy Ashour to get the title, and that will not be easy. The one match I watched was Ashour dismantling the efforts of David Palmer, and the impression I had was that Palmer was nothing more than a gnat buzzing around annoyingly in Ashour's face, until SWAT!.... he was taken care of.

One question that one might fairly ask is whether the current discord that is roiling Egypt might possibly have an effect on Ashour's concentration. Surely he is hearing from friends in Egypt about what is going on, and no matter which way his political sensitivities go, he must be at least concerned. So the Tunisia-like riots must add on yet another layer of complexity for Ashour as he seeks to outdo Matthew in tonight's final. Good luck to you, Egypt!

Although I have not been able to cover the ToC, a fellow New York City blogger has, and has done a splendid job. Check out this site for some great interviews and photos.

PST: From One Court To Another

2011-01-24T15:58:00.001-05:00

Working on the theory that a lawsuit against the PSA would just enrich the lawyers, the Pro Squash Tour's Joe McManus recently announced that he was dropping his suit and would concentrate his efforts on the court of squash rather than the court of law. I asked him a couple of questions:

1. Where does this decision leave the original points of contention? For instance, the PSA did not like the fact that you ranked your players. Will that continue?

"In October 2010, the PSA banned their members from playing PST tournaments. After three months of negotiation, we came to the conclusion that an agreement wasn’t possible. To win the lawsuit would have taken as long as two years and over $100,000. We decided to spend the money on players instead of legal fees and withdrew the court case.

Regrettably, the ban forced us to defend ourselves and compete against the PSA. Before the ban, we viewed the association as a friendly group who shared our interest in growing the fan base for pro squash. Now their public and private actions have created a divide.

PSA is run by ex-PSA players. But their recent decisions are hurting the ability of current players to earn more money playing squash. In the fullness of time, this moment will be viewed as a stain on the PSA’s history. We continue to call on PSA to lift this ban. PSA changes leadership frequently enough. Maybe, the next group will be more thoughtful."

2. Is the PSA continuing to ban players who play in the PST, as they announced back in October?

"PSA isn’t telling its players what the punishment is for competing in our tournaments.

Ned Marks, a PSA member, played in our Connecticut Open. PSA suspended him for a month as a result and pulled his entry from the Tournament of Champions. No one is truly sure if that should be viewed as a precedent-setting moment. They don’t really value transparency in their operations.

Our next tournament is the Westchester Open. There are 16 players registered. 6 of them were PSA members as of December. We have 3 players registered for February’s Baltimore tournament who were listed as PSA members in December. PSA is going to lose a lot of membership dues if they continue with this ill-conceived ban.

PST does not charge players to compete in our events. Our players are professionals who earn money competing in our tournaments."

3. In what ways has the PST changed so that the court case is no longer an issue for the PSA?

"Pro Squash Tour is unchanged, except that we continue to grow."

4. I'm assuming your competitions will continue to be no-let matches, is that right?

"Absolutely. Once you’ve see what the pros can do without the hindrance of a let, you don’t want to go back to the old style of play."

5. You also announced a $100,000 signing bonus for a top-ten player from the PSA to jump ship and play the PST. Any bites? An excellent blog at brettssquashblog.com, proposes that Thierry Lincou might go for it.

"I have spoken to four players. Each asked for confidentiality. For the moment, I need to leave it at that. Brett wrote a very fair and thoughtful piece. He’s a good guy who loves the game. Squash has the benefit of having some very reasoned bloggers.

Regarding Thierry Lincou. He is a professional’s professional. If you need him to be somewhere at 3:00, he arrives at 2:55. He is more reliable than a sundial. He also plays the game in the manner it was intended to be played, and he is one of the best players in the world. I believe he could win another World Open or World Series. However, if he chooses to join PST, we would enthusiastically welcome him as the face of our tour.

We intend to make the person who accepts our offer the most famous squash player in the world’s largest market."

6. You announced that you are also starting an apparently separate entity called Premier Squash Tour. Is that correct, or will the Pro Squash Tour become the Premier? Can you give any specifics on how you see this new Tour developing?

"Premier Squash will provide exclusive squash experiences tailored to the desires of the host. We do not anticipate publicizing these events and will do a select few of these each year."

It's Alive!

2011-01-20T20:21:00.006-05:00

The original posting has been removed because the blog was about a squash site that no longer exists.

Please check out the latest postings here: The Squashist

The ATCO World Series Squash Final Goes Pffffffttt.....

2011-01-17T14:09:00.004-05:00

I'm normally pretty sympathetic to organizations, particularly those involved with squash, which run into unavoidable trouble and have to scramble. I don't want others to act like a jerk to me and I hope I'm not a jerk to others. For instance, I'm in the publishing business, and sometimes ads don't work out quite the way the customer wanted them to. So we run a make-good, or an extra ad in the next issue, or something to let them know we have their best interests at heart. Usually everything works out fine.

Nonetheless, the news that the finals of the ATCO World Series Squash Finals will be indefinitely postponed due to a technical issue with the inflatable building in which they were playing the series elicits very little sympathy from me. So, here comes the jerkiness....

When I originally read that the tournament had created this very odd bubble venue my first thought was, 'Why, dear god, why?' You are playing in one of the great cities of the world, and you create a microenvironment that displays none of the city other than the inside of some latex?

And typically for the PSA, they have released short, constipated press releases that fail to discuss exactly what happened, when the final might possibly be played, who was the fellow responsible for the big balloon, what did it cost, will they get their money back, etc...

I have an idea; both finalists, Matthew and Shabana, will be attending the upcoming Tournament of Champions in NYC -- not in a bubble, but in the magnificent Grand Central Terminal. I say start the tournament off with their final, giving them a bye to recover into the second round. We New Yorkers will show the PSA how these things should be done....

If the sport of squash wants to play with the big boys it will have to do better than this. I'm embarrassed, actually. This sport needs better than this...

Schumacher, Arrrrgh!!$!#$Y%$Y^@!!

2011-01-06T10:58:00.001-05:00

Well, I played this fellow Schumacher, and once again the lazy dog beat me.

You have to understand that this Schumacher guy is at heart a phenomenally lazy player, really fantastically lackadaisical, perfectly content to shoot whenever possible and avoid running around the court, which might somehow upset his delicate equilibrium. He’s well known for this tactic, and, unfortunately, he’s successful at it, a good A player.

When you play someone as lazy as Schumacher, you can’t help but be drawn into his game. I’m not playing my game out there, I’m suddenly shooting along with Schumacher, trying to out-shoot Schumacher, even trying to out-Schumacher Schumacher, and that takes me well out of my comfort zone and into his. Which explains why he does a lot of laughing on the court when we play.

Ha ha. Very funny.

Schumacher is a ridiculous player but I will eventually get him. I will. Schumacher, I hope you are reading this. Be forewarned. As soon as I smoke you on the court the whole world will know. Ha ha, now that's very funny!

Gott Nytt år och Fred På Jorden!

2011-01-01T22:05:00.001-05:00

That's Swedish for 'Happy new year and peace on earth,' a wish that seems to crop up every year about this time and which gets subsequently dashed among the sharp rocks of reality sometime during the first week of January. Oh well, keep hoping, people....

As the year has ended it is good to look back and wrap up a blog or two from the past year. Recently I highlighted the possible demise of the squash courts at the Printing House, a NYC club. Despite a concerted effort, those clubs are indeed history. A corporate fitness group bought the club and, in their genius, told the squash players to take a hike. I hope they do....

The PSA and the Pro Squash Tour are still at loggerheads. There apparently has been some discussion between the two organizations in an attempt to settle their jurisdictional dispute amicably, and these talks have not been without some success, but in the end fundamental differences persist. It looks likely that this will be decided in court. Meanwhile, the PSA and John Nimick will soon put on the fantastic show known as the Tournament of Champions; I'll be there, still irritated by the PSA's stance but too enticed by this great tournament.

Some things don't change: the incomparable Nicol David, the greatest twinkle in the squash firmament, is still number one, and is likely to remain so as long as she can maintain her focus (Question: Why isn't there a women's ToC?). And Nick Matthew is again number one on the men's side, as he was early last year. He seems to be in the best shape of all the men at the moment and I pick him to win the ToC; sorry James Willstrop!

A bad thing that happened last year: the squash world lost SquashZAG, which was a much-needed and much-appreciated addition for squash's chattering classes. Squashsite is a good site, I log on every day, but could we get another decent squash news site that would add another voice? Please? There are some good blogs out there, and some non-news squash sites that are interesting (here's one: check out South Africa's own SquashBall site), but no other major English-language squash news site. And could a major sports firm put the money needed to push squash up a notch in the sports world's conciousness? And make a lot of money in the process? Hellllloooo, Nike, is anyone home over there????

Personally, I've had a tough year physically, especially early on, with nagging injuries and, in January 2010, an ankle operation. But I'm feeling better lately, partially as a result of finally getting it through my thick skull that I can't play 4 or 5 times a week anymore, I'm not that young anymore, and that 1 or 2 good squash matches a week may be the best approach for me (with 1 or 2 tennis matches thrown in for spice). The end result is: I'm still having a great time out there on the court, still playing pretty damn well, and looking forward to the next time.

Which in my case will be this Monday morning against my old nemesis Schumacher -- man, he bugs me. I must get Schumacher....

Oh God, Please Don't Let It Be So!

2010-12-15T19:38:00.001-05:00

There are a few sports out there which, unlike squash, have Olympic dreams that are absurd in the extreme. I remember reading not too long ago about 'beach tennis' trying to become an Olympic sport. If you've seen it, and if you know how phenomenally un-international this marketing-inspired sport is, you'd laugh along with me.

But here's a new entry in the wannabe column: pole dancing.

And I'm not kidding. The International Pole Dancing Championships were just held in Tokyo, and acording to this article, "Hong Kong-based Ania Przeplasko, founder of the International Pole Dance Fitness Association, said efforts are underway to make pole dancing a "test" event for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016. Pole dancers had tried to get on the schedule for London in 2012, but were too late to make a serious bid." Did she just say 'serious'?!

Formally a skill reserved for strippers, pole dancing even has a men's division.

Yet another sign of the end-times, I'm afraid....

WikkiLeaks Document #23657.25 Reveals Squash at Center of Rift Between Allies

2010-11-28T18:13:00.001-05:00

WikkiLeaks has once again sent the diplomatic world akimbo.

One cable (#23657.25) from 2007, received from H. Pritchard, U.S. Junior Assistant Sub-Associate Charge d’Affaires, revealed a fractious and embarrassing incident in which the president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, ridiculed the then-president of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, to his face, causing an immediate response that was as undiplomatic as was the original Egyptian attack.

As talks dragged on during an Arab League meeting that year, Mubarak, who was seated next to Musharraf, and who had invited Pritchard and a small coterie of US diplomats to join his delegation as observers, leaned over to Musharraf and said, “Let’s cut this nonsense short and you and I go play some squash. I’ll beat you, guaranteed, despite the age gap.”

Musharraf, struggling to maintain diplomatic niceties, said: “Hosni, my dear fellow, excuse me but I would so kill you in a game that it is not even worth considering. The great genius of Pakistani squash runs deeply through my veins, old friend. Do hush up, I’m listening to the speeches.”

Mubarak, not one to shy away from a challenge, said: “That’s crap, and you know it. I haven’t seen much of the vaunted squash genius from Pakistan lately, you buffoon! Do you know I still play twice a week?”

“So I heard, and I also heard that you play only doubles, and threaten your partner with death if he should lose a game for you. We are not in Egypt now, old pharaoh, so where is your support when you need it?”

“You’ve heard wrong, as usual, just as your intelligence within your sad albeit mightily armed country is giving you a continual stream of faulty advice,” Mubarak said, jabbing his finger at Musharraf. “Use your eyes, use your wits, and you may yet succeed in running that mess of a country you claim to run. It’s like in squash -- eyes, wits and a smidgen of sense are the recipe – but do you have them? I think not!”

Pritchard, seated behind Mubarak, grew uncomfortable, and, squirming in his seat, said, “But …,“ only to have Mubarak swivel immediately and cut him off. “Shush, or you know what will happen!” Pritchard admitted in the cable that he recoiled, eyes agape at the warning….

“I would kill you in a game, Mubarak, and any roomful of Pakistanis would do likewise to a boatload of your best Egyptians, and there is no changing that, so quiet, please, will you?”

“Do not offend me, Musharraf! Do not irritate me to the point of anger, or you will see….” Mubarak growled at Musharraf, eying him stonily, while Musharraf glared icily back.

Pritchard leaned in once again, trying to restore calm: “Gentlemen, please, as allies and friends, could you please…”

“SHUT UP!” both Musharraf and Mubarak yelled, turning to Pritchard head-on, shouting within inches of his face. At that, Pritchard thought it would be wiser to leave, so he stood up, straightened his tie, bowed, and left.

“What a fool…,” grumbled Mubarak. “Perhaps a racquetball player, eh, Pervez?”

“Heh heh,” softly laughed Musharraf. “Yes, I suspect you’re right, Hosni old friend. Oh well…. Tea? The Darjeeling is nice….”

Run To Your Bookstore

2010-11-21T09:42:00.001-05:00

I was given a prepublication copy of a new book by Paul Assaiante, Trinity College's squash coach who happens to be the winningest college coach ever, of any sport, and James Zug, the incomparable writer who, in addition to his historical books, is famous in the squash community for writing "Squash: A History of the Game," which if not already on your bookshelf should be (buy it now and here).

This great duo teamed up to write a book which on the surface is a firsthand account of the 2009 national intercollegiate team championships against Princeton, a match that the Trinity posse would end up, as we all know, winning in a squeaker, 5-4.

I confess that I never had a coach anywhere near as good as Assaiante, and I also confess that before reading this book I had only the thinnest notion of what separates a good coach from a great one. I also had no idea what the phrase "run to the roar" was supposed to mean.

One of the keys to Assaiante's success is an all-consuming, 24/7 passion for his boys on and off the court. Indeed, he explicitly says as much: "The reason we finally became national champions in 1999 and the reason we haven't lost ever since is not recruiting or luck or better technical knowledge or tactical advice. There is no secret, mysterious formula. The reason is time."

Each chapter nominally looks at each match that was played that day, but the focus in fact is much wider, exploring what it means to be a parent, what it means to love, the importance of living in the now, the measure of character, and the alchemy of control. This book is a much bigger book than simply a squash book, or a book about coaching. That's why I would recommend it without qualification for anyone who is a squash fan, a sports fan, a person interested in the philosophy of life, or a parent. Particularly a parent....

Assaiante pulls no punches, yet most of the punches he inflicts are directed at himself. When a kid loses a match, he wonders how he could have coached that boy to a different result. When a student does well on the court but struggles off, he agonizes how he can help. He is constantly questioning how he can do his job better, and gradually, he does. About the book, he writes: "This is not easy. At times it is tragic, disappointing, painful. I have made horrible mistakes. I have suffered and I have made others suffer. And those moments have taught me as much as the victories."

Assaiante is not content to water down the story in any way, because the story has its ugly aspects, but he seems determined to record his failures straight on without blinking so that others might learn from his missteps. If that's not a coach, what is....

And threaded throughout this book is the recurring nightmare of his son's heroin addiction, a torment that tortures him still.

The voice of the book is first-person singular, with Assaiante doing the speaking, but the presence of Zug, crafting the lines, is ever apparent. This is another great work by Zug, an award-winning author and senior writer for Squash Magazine.

This is a full book, with no circumlocution. Its about two bats and a ball in a box, but it's about a lot more than that.

You can buy the book here. I urge you to do so.

Is The Printing House in Jeopardy?

2010-11-14T18:49:00.001-05:00

Please don't let them do it again!

It's a story heard before in the world of squash.... Real estate costs are considerable in a metropolis. Squash courts take up a relatively large chunk of a club's real estate. Wouldn't it make financial sense to convert this real estate into something where more paying customers can fit into that real estate, thereby improving income? Spinning, maybe, or another room of fitness machines?

We've seen this in Australia and the UK, among other places, where clubs of long standing have shortsightedly killed squash programs, even unarguably successful ones, for the pursuit of greater income. I wonder how many clubs have regretted that decision?

In every squash club where I have been a member over the years, the squash program has attracted squash players who go on to actively use the fitness facilities, attend the social events, and generally speaking enliven the club. Squash players are more fanatical than your average fitness-seeking members, they don't join for a few months and then quit when their fitness craze ebbs, and these ardent players tell their friends, and they tell their friends, and so on, and so on. Squash players help attract members to clubs! They positively affect the club bottom line.

Yet the scuttlebutt is that New York's Printing House, with an active 250 squash players and many years of successful NY/NJ Metro league play, has been purchased by the Equinox chain, which will shutter their 5 courts. I haven't been able to confirm this, but if it is true it will be a real loss for players in lower Manhattan. C'mon, Equinox, reconsider, don't make the same mistake that those other clubs have made.

The Printing House faithful have launched a campaign to get the attention of the management at Equinox.

1) Join and 'like' the campaign's Facebook page:

2) leave a message on Equinox's own Facebook page, begging them to keep the courts open; or
3) write a letter to Equinox corporate headquarters, at 895 Broadway, New York, NY, 10003.

You don't have to be a NY-er to take action. We have got to make an impression on management that this move is a bad one! Write them now, please!

Professional Squash in America: Growth, or No?

2010-11-05T17:36:00.001-04:00

The Boston Globe's Alex Beam wrote an irritatingly snarky column recently discussing the PSA-PST lawsuit, in which, after poking fun at the sport itself, making the obligatory reference to the vegetable, and generally attempting to dazzle the reader with his wordplay, he quotes PSA board member and lawyer, Richard Bramall:

“We are well established in other parts of the world, but in many ways America is the most important market for the PSA, because we want to grow in the US, and we are continuing to grow in the US.’

So that raises an interesting question, just how much has the PSA grown in the US? If you go onto the PSA's website and click on Calendar, there you will find the facts—all the tournaments and their purses through the years. I went back 5 years, to 2006, and compared the data. I reviewed all the numbers, separating out USA-based matches with those held in the rest of the world.

This tedious exercise proved two things: One, that I apparently have nothing better to do and my life is pathetically boring. And two, that the PSA's efforts in the US have not been particularly impressive. Here are some of the facts:

To be fair, one should keep in mind the economic duress of recent years, but even with that factor, it is hard to argue that the PSA's efforts in the US have been particularly stellar. Another way of looking at the data is to compare US purses with World purses over time:

This analysis shows that the total purse for the rest of the world has grown 48% between 2006 and 2010. During that same time period, the US purse has fallen 14%. The number of tournaments in the US has barely nudged upwards, while the rest of the world has many new tournaments. (The one mathematical oddity is that, with precious few tournaments in the US, the average player purse in the US is higher than the rest of the world. Oh, thanks.)

The stagnant growth in the US is one of the factors that has led to the alternative Pro Squash Tour, to help squash professionals in the US earn a living. They can't do it with the PSA alone, at least not with these numbers.

PSA Called 'Predatory,' and Now There's a Petition To Sign

2010-10-26T09:41:00.001-04:00

As I presumed it might, the PSA vs PST dispute is now headed for the courts. The core legal issue is whether the PSA engaged in predatory behavior by singling out PST events over other, similar leagues and tournaments.

And now there is a petition to sign. For those who feel strongly about the PST, signing the petition is a no-brainer. But even those who think the idea of 'no-let' squash is nuts should consider signing if they want to support innovation in the sport of squash and open up the game to new thinking. To my mind the PSA acted imperiously, without consulting its membership in a significant way. The link is here. It would be nice if these two organizations could have a meeting and work this out. Perhaps decide this on a squash court, maybe a best-of-7 match? Limit the lets, say, to 5???

Here is the complete PST release on the suit:

US Based Pro Squash Tour Files Suit to Defend Itself and Its Players

from UK Based Professional Squash Association Ban

Natick, MA (October 26, 2010) — On Monday, lawyers representing the US-based Pro Squash Tour (PST) filed suit in New York state court against the UK-based Professional Squash Association (PSA) and two other defendants for allegedly improperly restricting competition in the United States, including New York State.

The suit is in response to the PSA’s unilateral ban on October 14, 2010, barring its members, under threat of expulsion, from participating in any PST event. PST is challenging this anti-competitive ban to protect players’ rights and to defend itself against this egregious move. The ban’s unfairness is clearly illustrated by the fact that the UK-based management is solely targeting U.S.-based PST events while allowing its members to participate in any other league, tournament or exhibition match in the world.

“The management in England singled out our successful and growing American tour,” said PST Commissioner Joseph McManus. “And they appeared to have made this decision in darkness without discussing the idea first with their full membership.”

The six-count suit includes allegations that the PSA engaged in improper and anti-competitive conduct by interfering with PST player agreements and business relationships. The suit further alleges that the predatory behavior is being conducted with the specific intent to exclude competition and achieve monopoly power.

PST Commissioner Joseph M. McManus said he wants the players to be free to compete, if they so choose. “The irony is that we are now put in the position of defending players and their rights against the very organization that should be protecting them in the first place.”

More than 150 years old and played by more than 20 million people in 185 countries, including 885,000 in the U.S., squash has shown sustained growth in the US. in recent years. The US based Pro Squash Tour was founded in 2009 and coordinates a tour with stops across the United States. The season begins in September and runs through April.

An Open Letter to the Squash Community, From Joseph McManus, PST's CEO

2010-10-20T15:04:00.001-04:00

Okay, I've had my fun with photos, but when you get right down to it, no one's laughing. Joseph M. McManus, the commissioner and CEO of the Pro Squash Tour, has just released an "Open Letter to the Squash Community." Here it is, in its entirety:

Dear Squash Fan,

This past week, the management of the PSA without warning announced, effective immediately, that it was banning its members from playing in PST tournaments.

This blanket ban includes all members of the PSA: world members, continental members, country members, ratings members, and junior members. It also does not discriminate between the world #1 and the world # "last".

This ban was, moreover, singular in its focus. Simply stated, the squash players on the PSA are free to play in any tournament or event – except for the U.S.-based PST.

Further, the management induced ban, which is in conflict with its own Tour Guide, was done in complete darkness without input or a vote from PSA members.

The PSA management's surprise attack on its own members was shocking in its draconian measures and its immediate change in policy was beyond thoughtless. It was heartless. Pro squash players plan their calendars months in advance to effectively balance world tour tournaments with lessons, clinics, exhibitions, and other tournaments and league play.

And pro squash players are constantly balancing their check books. When tournament fees and player levies to the PSA are honestly accounted for, the total player purse for the world tour is slightly more than $3 million. Divide that by the 500 players PSA says are members and the average professional squash player earns roughly $6,000/ year playing on their tour.

Now subtract plane flights, meals, hotels, cabs, et al for 12+ tournaments. The average player on the world tour actually spends more money playing on the PSA than he earns. He also has to spend a few hundred dollars in PSA dues before playing a match. You can quickly see that players need to earn money elsewhere.

On the PST, we pay squash players to play squash. We have no initiation fees. In fact, our tournaments are open to all – without restriction. We are designed to give players who are in the U.S. an opportunity to make money playing squash.

We also professionally manage every event to ensure a first-rate fan experience. I have personally been on-site for every night of every tournament. This obviously limits our growth, but it improves quality. We are focused on quality.

Contrary to the PSA's recent public statements, we do not rank our players. Rankings on world tours involve a rolling, 12-month weighted, algorithmic average with divisors and penalties for players in losses.

Nor does the PST affect the PSA world rankings – unless the PSA chooses to continue penalizing its members for playing on the U.S.-based PST.

We do give players points for winning matches. At the end of the season, we'll give the top guys a bonus for a job well done. This may appear to be a semantics debate. The distinction is important, however.

The PST is 1 year old and very new to this international game. There are 185 countries that make up the world squash community. 71 participate in the Commonwealth Games. Of note, the World Squash Federation, a PSA partner, doesn't acknowledge our product as being squash. US Squash, the National Governing body of squash in the United States, makes no mention of our tournaments anywhere on its website. (And all of our events are in the U.S.)

Moreover, there is one dominant and regularly updated squash news site (www.SquashSite.co.uk) in the world. They are not yet covering our men's event results either. In our entire history, we have coordinated 7 tournaments.

The notion that our US based tour is a threat to the world tour strains credulity.

In fact, the management of the PSA has gone to great and creative length to cleverly craft a reason to pick a fight with us.

If we paid their 10% PSA tax for tournaments to be “recognized” in London, one expects all would be forgiven.

This ban is merely a case of a bully trying to impose his will on a smaller, weaker and newer kid on the block.

The great irony is that we are now being forced into the position of defending pro squash players' and their individual rights to the very organization that should be protecting them.

And we will.

We will fight to protect professional squash players' rights to earn a living in any country and any tournament they choose to enter. The PSA can end this fight immediately by lifting this ban.

And I hope they do so.

Joseph M. McManus
President
American Pro Squash, Inc. dba PST

Pro Squash Tour to the PSA

2010-10-19T12:52:00.001-04:00

Fuhgettaboutit!

PSA to the Pro Squash Tour ...

2010-10-18T17:16:00.001-04:00

Drop dead!

Fit and Ready To Play

2010-10-15T15:37:00.001-04:00

There is not a lot of fitness training information specific to squash available on the internet.

One excellent site is a blog entitled "The Science of Coaching Squash," located here. This site is presented by Tim Bacon, a fully certified squash coach and strength and conditioning specialist. Bacon is an experienced fitness guru, and well known in the squash world. Check out his often-entertaining site and learn the science behind coaching squash.

Another resource I've recently become aware of is the Fit and Functional website, found here.This site is run by Charles DeFrancesco, whose Fit and Functional company offers personal fitness training either at clients' homes or at various locations in New York and Connecticut. He also consults for schools and fitness centers. DeFrancesco is also certified at the highest level, and his stable of trainers all are well-certified and some have specific, squash-related experience.

But one of the greatest things about DeFrancesco's website is the free e-book on squash-specific training that is downloadable from his 'education' page. Click here for the book, which I heartily recommend, and get training. The book is 176 pages of information that can help you keep going while others whither and avoid annoying injuries. Check it out.

New Delhi Squash Animal

2010-10-11T16:45:00.009-04:00

Here's Shera, the mascot of the New Delhi Commonwealth Games, having a go on the squash court....

I feel pretty confident I would beat that furry little rodent....

How the BEEB Sees Squash

2010-10-09T10:53:00.001-04:00

At the risk of protesting too much, I was interested to read this BBC blogger's report of the squash competition at the Commonwealth Games. The squash tournament was viewed positively in this blog, and he argues that it should certainly by an Olympic sport. Great. But he also comments on the tumult over lets: "There is scope to bully your opponent [and] shout at the officials with seeming impunity."

And: ..."Both players at times were furiously asking for lets. Getting a let in squash is part tactic, part truth and a lot of bravado. The encumbered party looks angrily back to the panel of officials, miming the action he would like to have taken with his racquet, while the blocker looks aghast and points to some area of the court with palms up and a shrug - the full Mediterranean "What's he on?" The officials have a quick vote between the three of them and deliver a polite "yes, let". The point is replayed sometimes more than once and the sweat goes on."

This is the part of squash that I'd like to say goodbye to.That's why I'm in favor of no-let squash. Does the idea need tweaking? Yes, of course. But I say, 'Tweak away..."

The Pro Squash Tour: Opinion Emphatically Confirmed!

2010-10-08T12:36:00.001-04:00

I've opined on this blog on a few occasions that I thought the idea behind the no-let, "Point-Every-Rally" Pro Squash Tour was a great one that rightly places the fan experience first and foremost, where it belongs. The truth is, though, that I had never seen one of these matches, so my opinion was based on conjecture, not experience.

I now can give an eye-witness account of a Pro Squash match held earlier this week at the Sports Club/LA on New York's east side. This was tournament #3 of a tour schedule that now numbers over a dozen stops. The next event will be in Boston in mid-November.

And I say, don't miss it! The no-let match I saw, between US champ Julian Illingworth and Wael El Hindi, the highly creative Egyptian who now calls New York City home, was a grueling battle between two equally determined squashists who were willing to put their all into every shot. Yes, there were a few calls that had to be adjudicated by the ref. I can remember two let-point calls in the entire match, with both players receiving a call in their favor. Most of the time the players played right through, and it was not hard for them to do that in 95% of occurrences. Take for example the front corners, a place where many let calls are made, fished for or blocked over in normal pro play. In no-let, Point-Every-Rally matches, the players quickly learn that if they make an agile, fast stutter-step around their opponent—voila, no interference is made and they are right there, ready to strike the ball. It is a different way of playing, but not hard for these pros to get used to.

There was a little bumping, but the only serious instance of that came when El Hindi tried to get around Illingworth, tripped and ended up on the floor. There were a few questioned calls, but those few (maybe 3 in the whole match) were close and understandable and were a lot fewer in number than the tens of calls one would normally have in a pro match.

These guys kicked their mutual butts. The play was highly creative. This is a vigorous, intense, forceful, supremely athletic, strong version of squash, and it makes standard, everyday, run-of-the-mill squash seem practically lethargic by contrast. The Illingworth-El Hindi match, which was for 3rd place in the tournament, lasted well past an hour, and that was with every rally ending in a point—it was intense indeed! Illingworth finally won it in the 5th, to a very appreciative round of applause. In the final, France's Thierry Lincou beat Englishman Bradley Ball, 3-0.

My opinion of Point-Every-Rally matchplay has been emphatically confirmed. You have to check it out....

On-Court Grunting: Here Comes the Science

2010-10-06T09:25:00.001-04:00

In a past blog I noted the aggressive grunting by top female tennis pros, the likes of which can be quite impressive indeed. Male tennis players are not nearly so loud, but they do their fair share of grunting too. My point was that I thought that squash players should be allowed a grunt or two -- Hey, it's a tough game! -- and that our sport's obsession with insisting that a squash court is a no-grunting zone is a little too old-school for my taste. It's also not good for fans, who want confirmation that their favorite pro is out on court working hard.

Ah, and now the science..... Well, some intrepid psychologists got together and tested whether on-court grunting might have a negative impact on the opponent's game. The study (here) was published in the Public Library of Science ONE, an online, open-access journal. Their main finding is this: "When an additional sound occurs at the same time as when the ball is struck, participants are significantly slower (21–33 ms) and make significantly more decision errors (3–4%) regarding the direction of the ball both for easy and hard decisions alike."

Now, in tennis some of the louder yellers bellow their grunts at 100 decibels or more; in a confined squash court, that would be insanity. So we need to have these same researchers look at squash and quantify the degree at which a grunt goes from an acceptable audible pronouncement to an aggressive and unfair violation. I await the results.....

Ramy Ashour is Number One

2010-10-03T19:08:00.001-04:00

No, I'm not talking about Ramy being the best squash player on the planet, I'm talking about his singing. Check this out:

He should cut a record. I don't know what he is saying, but it sounds damn good to me. He's also quite comfortable performing in front of a crowd, as this video attests.

Now we know what Ramy will do after his squash career is over. The kid's a great crooner....

'The Let Has Evolved from a Courtesy in a Gentlemen's Game to a Strategic Weapon in the Modern Era -- It Outlived its Usefulness.'

2010-09-29T11:26:00.001-04:00

The Squashist has been an early proponent of limiting lets in pro play. The idea was advanced by Joseph M. McManus, the commissioner and chief executive of the Pro Squash Tour, which tested the hypothesis, liked what it saw, and then decided to go whole hog and chucked all lets, period. Not one is allowed. A gutsy move, whose impetus was to put the fan experience first and foremost in order to make top squash exciting and easy to understand for all types of fans. Predictably, there was much fretting, hand-ringing, gnashing of teeth, gaseous bloviating, and unsubtle orneriness from the sidelines. Still, they played on. And you know what? It's a great idea!

Here now an interview with Mr. McManus:

I notice that you are now referring to the brand of squash that you offer in your Pro Squash Tour as "Point Every Rally," highlighting the difference with "point a rally" (ie, PAR) matches, which don't always end with a point since a let might be called. What has been the overall feedback from fans?

Everything we do at the PST is geared to entertaining our fans. Removing the traditional let from the game is only one improvement we've made, but it certainly has gained the most attention.

The immediate feedback to our "Point Every Rally" squash has been magnificent. Since fans have been subjected to endless lets throughout their squash experience, it was hard for them to envision this new, more exciting game. Fans that have attended our tournaments can't imagine going back to the old style of play. It is simply more entertaining. (Note that we have posted fan feedback online here.)

Your reference to PAR squash not always ending with a decision is gentle to the point of being misleading. At the 2007 World Open Championships, there were 1,917 points played throughout the tournament. 959 (50%) of them required a referee's decision. Of those 959 decisions, 706 times (74% of the time) the referee chose a let (ie, do-over). Source is here.

The let has evolved from a courtesy in a gentlemen's game to a strategic weapon in the modern era. It outlived its usefulness.

Have there been any traditionalist fans who have voiced the opinion that they would prefer the standard PAR format over your "Point Every Rally" format?

Traditionalists preferred silent films to “talkies” and the horse and buggy to automobiles.

What about the players.... Do any pro players explicitly prefer the "Point Every Rally" format?

Yes, please go to our homepage or visit YouTube to hear their feedback.

I spend a great deal of time listening to players. And I listen closely. Certain areas of the game we have been able to fix immediately. Others require a longer term view. But they know I am listening. My partner in this effort is David Palmer. I regularly call him for advice and feedback. We all know him as the world’s most dominant player of the decade. Off the court, I know him as a trusted friend and advisor. John White and I are also on the phone regularly. As a former World #1 himself, he knows the game as well as anybody. He was also an early voice amplifying “Point Every Rally.”

How are the pros educated on how to play using this new format, which tactically must be very different from PAR? Is there a video they can watch, is there on-court instruction?

We tell them two things. Don’t hit a shot you can’t clear, and if you can play the ball, play it. It really is not much more complicated than that. The world’s best squash players are magnificent athletes with elite fitness, balance, hand speed, and hand-eye coordination. They don’t need me to tell them very much.

The pros tell me that there are some subtle changes to how they play, but that our innovations have made the game more fun on court. We are building a video library to help train referees and players. Also, whenever a player asks us to review a call, we do so and report back to that player on whether or not the correct call was made.

A lot of the early naysayers have worried about possible injuries with the "Point Every Rally" format. Have injuries been a problem? Has any player been injured at all in a Pro Squash match, and if so, how?

Actually, I find our squash matches to be cleaner. Since PST requires pros to clear their shot, we see less contact than on the other tours.

We did have one player catch a racket on his forehead. He came off court, got a band-aid and returned to play and won the match. I don’t think that rises to the level of calling it an injury, but it happened.

The World Squash Federation has made no move to adopt the no-let format, but they are clearly interested in its development. Has the WSF formally contacted you for feedback on your innovation?

Andrew Shelley (CEO of WSF) and I spoke briefly. He is a very talented man with the challenging job of balancing constituencies who are invested in the traditional game. I will leave the politics of world squash to him and his staff.

We are singularly focused on our fans and growing the game.

What about referees? On the one hand I would think this makes the ref's job a little easier, but on the other I can see how it would be harder. How are refs faring with the "Point Every Rally" format, and what is their attitude to it compared to the PAR format? Do they prefer "Point Every Rally" or PAR?

I don’t think in terms of making referees jobs easier or more difficult. Rather, I focus on preparing our referees to be ready to preside over these matches.

All referees became referees because they love the game. In my view, however, they have historically been treated poorly. They deserve better. When I asked Mike Riley to serve as our Director of Officials, he and I spent a great deal of time discussing the game, its past and its future. In my view, he is the best in the world at what he does, and as someone who has played the game at a high level, he was uniquely qualified to address the problems we were trying to fix.

Although Mike was the first to lead PST in this direction, Bob Hanscom has been lobbying for this idea for a lot longer than any of us. All that is to say that some top referees were also lobbying for this change.

Has there been any interpersonal friction between players during no-let games that can be blamed on the no-let system? Are players clearing better now that fishing for lets has been taken out of match play?

I should define these terms for the reader. “Fishing” is a term used to describe a player who doesn’t want to play the ball, usually because his opponent hit too good a shot. So, he creates unnecessary contact with his opponent to ‘fish’ for a let from the referee. “Blocking” occurs when a player doesn’t get out of the way of his opponent or clears slowly and causes his opponent to run around him. In our system, fishing results in an “appeal denied” call from the referee and blockers lose the point.

In fact, we are very tough on blockers. Under the traditional rules, a player only had to make every effort to get out of the way. This is not acceptable in our game. We actually require players to clear their shots; making every effort isn’t sufficient.

We saw fishing eliminated from match play immediately. Blocking, however, will be a constant battle. We will continue to remind players that they shouldn’t hit a shot they can’t clear. However, in game 5 when players are tired and their legs are heavy, they’ll block. Our referees need to hold the line here even more vigilantly. Blocking is not a part of our game.

One last question: Should "Point Every Rally" matchplay be considered for amateurs at the club level, or do you see this innovation working only at the pro level?

It’s advisable for pros and amateurs to play with different rules. Amateur baseball players use metal bats, while the MLB uses wood bats. The 3-point line is different in college basketball than the NBA. NFL and Division 1 football teams play with a plethora of different rules. Your readers, I am sure, are coming up with their own examples to add to this list.

Pros can simply do things with their rackets, the ball, and their bodies that amateurs cannot do. As always, I encourage fans to send me their comments and suggestions here.

Mr. McManus, thank you very much. I think the best way to judge this new format is to check out one of the Pro Squash Tours' events. Their calendar is located here.

Playing Sick

2010-09-16T21:49:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I played a great squash match. I have had a series of nagging injuries that I have slowly been able to rehab, and I'm happy to say I am almost back 100%. I have a hamstring pull that is still a bit bothersome but I've taken to wearing a brace and it doesn't bug me in a game anymore.

So for the first time in nearly a year I am back playing pretty damn well. I am trying to adopt a slower, more thoughtful, less physical game since the mortal clock is ticking and I finally realized I better adjust. So I am still hitting hard rails and laser cross-courts, but I'm also trying to work on a much slower rail that ends in the corner and a mid-speed cross-court that seems to catch opponents off-guard. I'm also going for more drops from the back court, which was heretofore used sparingly by me. Every now and then, when you notice your opponent has taken his eye off the ball, it's worth going for.

Yesterday, however, I woke up for my early morning game and knew I was not feeling well: a cold, with a bit of a runny nose and a stuffed, fuzzy feeling behind the eyes. This was this week's best game, however, and I felt, what the hell, I have to play, it is too good of a match. And I also had in the back of my head an old sports truism that sick players sometimes play better.

I'm not sure why that is, but I believe it. Not really really sick, of course, but a bit off. I was sick enough that I fully concentrated on my game and let all additional thoughts disappear. I was running well, shooting very well, and staying in the moment of the point better than I would have been if I were also thinking extraneous thoughts in the back of my head like the workday I faced after the match, how my son is doing, what's planned this weekend, etc. I only had enough in me to worry about the game, and that's what I did.

And I did well.

Of course, there was a price to pay. As I explained in an earlier blog (here), my squash match resulted in further reducing my post-game immune system, and now, here I sit, a box of Kleenex at the ready, sipping down my NyQuil, a mild cold transformed into a big-time headache. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Eyes Wide Open

2010-09-15T12:43:00.001-04:00

Forgive me, but this blog has nothing to do with squash..... Last night I had the great good fortune to take a plane from Chicago back to New York City, flying into Laguardia Airport. I've flown a fair amount in my day and one of the things I've noticed is the difference in behaviors as a plane approaches its destination. There are three basic types. The first type of passenger stares out the window, watching the approaching earth as it glides by, perhaps pointing out a landmark or two. Another type sits and fidgets, a necessity because this type of passenger is a nervous flier. The final type is the road warrior, who has been in a plane a million times, is not interested in watching the city below him for the 100th time, and would rather continue his paperwork, or his novel, or whatever else has occupied him during the flight.

But as we descended last night I was really struck by the virtual unanimity with which all the passengers stopped what they were doing and looked out their windows as this great, gorgeous, vibrant, remarkable city inexorably drew closer.

For some reason I felt proud.

Kvetches

2010-09-10T10:23:00.001-04:00

Sad to report, but SquashZAG really is down and out. There are a few additional last-minute postings on the site, but I can confirm that the site is truly shutting down. This is another blow to what could and should be a vibrant online community of squash enthusiasts, but for that to happen we really need more sites like SquashZAG. The ZAG was a very good site, and had a lot of offerings that kept people coming back to it daily. But to do that consistently, these sites need support.

I've already kvetched about SquashTalk.com, and I notice today that this site is once again on hiatus, not having posted any news since Aug. 19. But I can sympathize, because that site suffers from the same thing the ZAG suffered from, and that is minimal staffing (which is a nice way to say, only 1 person) and minimal support from squash companies.

There is still SquashSite.co.uk, a very nice site and the squash world's leader, but I would like to see some diversity out there. When the Olympic Committee, filled with money-obsessed nincompoops, analyzes the sport of squash and sees only one decent squash site, what does that say? To them it says, Let's move on, shall we?

I would love to see an English-language site from some foreign squash power, like the Australians, or even the Egyptians, since many of their squash players know English. But the most likely source of another site would likely be the US. Hell, didn't we invent the damn internet? Can't some slightly wealthy (that rules me out, sorry!) squash enthusiast bankroll a site that forces the squash firms to take notice? Or what about Squash Magazine, the minimally updated website for the print publication of the same name? The printed magazine is one of the benefits of membership in US Squash (now nicknamed USQ to the cognoscenti), but knowing what I know about the high cost of printing and distribution, couldn't this publication do more and better by focusing on the web, while ditching the printed publication, or perhaps publishing only an annual for the benefit of USQ members? Dunno, I'm just kvetching, but that smells like an opportunity to me.

A Re-Primer on the Dubs Game

2010-08-27T10:16:00.001-04:00

Peter Briggs got in touch and was pleased that some of his squash doubles wisdom was disseminated via the blogosphere. But he thought that a few changes would optimize his primer on the game. I have made those changes in red, and are available for viewing here.

On another matter, it does indeed appear that SquashZAG has unfortunately folded. It is a very tough job to do a full-time website largely by oneself, and it can prove expensive as well. The pressure eventually became too much. Too bad!

ZAG Down

2010-08-12T20:23:00.001-04:00

Don't know why, but SquashZAG is down again. I hope it's nothing permanent. We need good squash sites on the web!

You Go, Datuk!

2010-08-06T11:29:00.001-04:00

As an unabashed fan of Nicol David I was obviously happy to see her win the CIMB Singapore Squash Masters title again, which makes it four times straight. Is Nicol tough or what?

She beat back a very strong Alison Waters, and though the game score was 3-0, observers saw a tight contest whose first game went 18-16. I think Ms. Waters is peaking and I suspect she will be playing career-best ball in upcoming tournaments. She will be very tough to beat in the months ahead.

You occasionally read squash journalists who suggest that Nicol David has been so dominant over the past few years because, compared to Sarah Fitz-Gerald, she has faced a less talented crop of opponents.

I don't buy that for a second. That demeans the toughness of the Grinhams, Natalie Grainger, Vanessa Atkinson, a determined bunch of hungry Egyptians, and a score of up-and-comers like Ms. Waters.

Nicol David is the best women's squash player in a very long time. Period. Sarah Fitz-Gerald ranks a very respectable second place, but Nicol is the best.

You go, girl! You go, Datuk!

On Mediocrity

2010-08-03T10:50:00.004-04:00

I just got back from a conference on custom content, a term that encompasses a lot but implies editorial or other 'content' that is created specifically for a sponsoring company. An example would be a magazine paid for by a pharmaceutical company that has a series of (hopefully informative) articles and, oh by the way, some of those articles refer to the company's products. It's a type of marketing that seeks to engage the consumer more enthusiastically than a simple ad could ever do.

There are a variety of custom media nowadays, and many of the speakers spent considerable time opining on the benefits of using social media like Twitter, Facebook and the blogosphere as part of a custom media marketing plan. The point was also made over and over again that we are living in a world where the sheer volume of information about everything under the sun has multiplied algorithmically, and will continue to do so.

In fact, one opinion leader sagely decreed that nowadays 'everybody is a publisher,' with the profusion of blogs and tweets and chats and ramblings threatening to clog up the internet. Someone in the audience wisely asked, 'If that's so, what is the effect of all this 'content' -- some of it is not going to be any good, so how do we know the difference?' The speaker's answer surprised and pissed me off. He said that although the content on the web varies in ability, it is by definition 'just good enough', and maintained that big media companies aren't looking nowadays so much for quality writing (he cited The New Yorker) as they are looking for opportunities for engagement. It doesn't so much matter if the writer's grammar is dodgy so much as it is lively and engaging.

This conversation reminded me of my war against the word 'content,' which I have most emphatically lost. Early on in the advent of the internet people started calling the editorial that was to be found on their site 'content.' The word 'content' is such a nondescriptive, throwaway word for what should hopefully be editorial that is thoughtful, well-crafted, and artfully presented. 'Content', for me, an editor, was a disgraceful put-down. It sought to make the medium—the internet itself—more important than the message to be found in the words themselves.

So now I go to a meeting and listen to a thought leader who admits, yeah, 'content' can be pretty bad, but big media doesn't care that much. Here's an example from the squash world of lousy content—editorial that deserves the damning sobriquet 'content.'

What does this have to do with squash? Well, not much, but the internet's insatiable thirst for whatever it can get to fill its trillion pages is a recipe for mediocrity. I'm happy to say I haven't met too many squash players who are mediocre people, I've always found something special about the people who play this game. We are all editorial people, not 'content' people. Thank heaven for that!

Nike, Sports' Leviathan, Is Listening!

2010-08-01T10:25:00.003-04:00

Not too long ago I decided to send a link of my blog's comments on Nike, about the opportunity that they are missing by ignoring squash, to their corporate office. Just for kicks.

So I experienced a little flutter of excitement when, a week or so later, I received a note in my in-box from Nike itself. Whoopee, I thought, this is great, finally I can start a conversation with the many-headed hydra of sports marketing!

But it turns out the email was from their 'Outside Idea Submissions Team,' and was a computer-generated response to my original email.

You are receiving this automatically-generated message because you have requested a copy of Nike's Outside Idea Submission Guidelines and Agreement. If you have already received the Idea Submission documents and have a question that is not answered by the Idea Submission Guidelines, or if you have a question about a pending submission, please reply to this message, type the word "Question" in the subject line, and type your question in the body of the message. You will receive a reply within ten business days.

The email then goes on to warn me that ideas submitted to them should have a utility patent or one pending. Uh, thanks for the advice, Nike.

Wake Up, Man!

2010-07-30T10:24:00.001-04:00

SquashTalk.com was an early presence of squash news and commentary on the web, and for that it should be praised. It is also a one-man show, so generous leeway should be extended when evaluating its convoluted layout and sluggish frequency of updates. But when the last update to be found on SquashTalk is nearly 20 days old, the response is just to shake your head and walk away.

The U.S. is the country where much of the forward progress of squash is happening right now, so for SquashTalk to be the principal source of web-based news from the US is, at this point, embarrassing. Those interested in what's happening in squash have two main choices: www.squashsite.co.uk, the leader in information about squash, and www.squashzag.com, the top aggregator of squash commentary. In the U.S., one should also check out the US Squash site, both for its association news but also its links to World Squash News and player blogs.

But someone out there, some U.S.-based, aggressive, web-savvy, squashist techie, should put some energy into creating a web presence for US squash players we can be proud of. C'mon, man!

'A Primer on the Game of Doubles Squash' — Peter Briggs

2010-07-18T13:42:00.009-04:00

Some new edits in red...

Overall Strategy

1. The most important and critical decision in playing winning doubles is to pick a good partner and to practice with him or her regularly so you know what they do under pressure and what shots they like to hit, so you can position yourself accordingly for the opponents' counter-shot.

2. There are four corners in the court and only two people on a team. The simple goal is to split the team on the diagonal and hit to one of the open quadrants.

3. Always hit deep before you shoot short.

4a. Attack cross court to open up the court.

4b. Move laterally on the red line, not in a box step, when rotating with your opponent so you don't get blocked out.

5. Center your attack on the weaker player on the team and be relentless.

6. There are three attack and strike zones that correlate with the three red lines on the front wall.

Front-court attack zone, focusing on the lower red line just above the tin. All of these shots should be executed with an elliptical spin to lay the ball down (i.e., hit the inside or outside of the ball to make it spin elliptically).

a) Straight drops

b) Reverses

c) Roll corners
d) Three-wall nick

Mid-court neutral zone, aimed at the middle red line on the front wall and hit from the middle red line on the floor.

a) Hard rail

b) Hard cross-court

c) Three-wall nick

Back-court defensive zone, aimed at the upper red line on the front wall.

a) High rail

b) Cross-court lob

c) Skid boast

7. The number-one attacking shot is the reverse corner because the opposition usually has to play the ball back cross-court to your partner and they should be ready to attack on the volley. They can't go down the line because they risk a stroke call.

8. Volley every ball you can touch!! This is the Golden Rule of Winning Doubles. If the opposition's strategy is to push you to the back wall, don't go willingly. Volley! Visualize the ball walking at you and cut the legs off the ball with an open racket face, thereby assuring a margin for error on the tin.

9. When you pass the opposition on a cross-court don't try to hit the ball through the opposition. Instead, hit the ball high, hard and wide on the side wall and make one of the opponents go to the door; then either play a backhand or forehand from the back-court. Look at your cross-court opponent as having four targets. Vary your shot selection and don't hit the same shot or angle all the time. Remember that the attacking angle on an opponent will change according to how deep or shallow in the court your opponent stands. Aim your cross-court drives at your opponent's right or left shoulder or break the ball off the side wall at their right or left knee.

10. When defending, cover the shot that beats you, not just the shot that continues play.

11. Attack down the middle sometimes!!

12. Vary height and direction.

13. When defending a ball hit hard at you just block the ball with a fore-swing, do not take a back swing or full swing. If you do you will hit the ball out of the court or miss altogether.

14. Drop your back foot when digging balls out of the back corner.

Serve and Return

1. There are four different attacking serves. Practice all four serves before the match to get a feel for the temperature of the court and how high on the front wall you must hit the ball:

a) Lob to corner

b) Crisscross serve for a sharp angle

c) Chip serve to the side wall looking for a nick

d) Hard serve straight to the back-wall nick.

2. To return serve, stand one step's reach to the side wall.

3. Volley all service returns.

4. Rotate the back shoulder to opposite diagonal on cross-court returns of serve to assure good width.

5. Any returns of serve hit down the wall should be hit really low or really high so the opponent cannot block you out and attack the front corners.

6. Always have the racket up and stand with your weight on your toes and with knees flexed. That way, gravity helps you go to the front wall with a quick first step.

Preparation, Warm-up and Communication

1. Beforehand, do active stretching, speed volleys, and practice serves.

2. Talk with your partner. Decide what each of you will hit when covering for each other—usually a high lob down the rail.

3. Always have a plan.

4. Move on the court in sympathy with your partner. Always follow your opponent to the front wall and stay positioned on their outside hip because there you can cover more of their shot choices.

5. Always roll corner when the opposition hits a three-wall.

6. When deciding to hit a short shot to the front or a reverse take the pressure off your stroke production and just aim for the corner or intersection; then, either shot will be effective if the opponent is vulnerable -- front-side or side-front.

7. Motivate yourself by the thrill of winning rather than the fear of losing. Create your fate by your own hand. Take risk when there is a reward!

8. Visualize yourself volleying and attacking.

9. Play at least five length balls before going short.

10. Breathe on all your short finesse shots and exhale as you stroke; it will relax your forearms.

11. Good squash shot-making is enabled by the threat of the shot you didn't hit.

Have fun! Doubles squash is a life-long endeavor! -- Peter S. Briggs (October 20, 2007)

The Secret Handshake of Doubles Squash

2010-07-16T13:39:00.001-04:00

I've had the good fortune to be in regular contact with Guy Cipriano, a well-known hardball and doubles squash player and aficionado. He and I don't always agree on all matters related to squash, but I have definitely come to respect and look forward to receiving his musings on the sport. We both hold to the same core belief: namely, that squash is a fantastic, wondrous, multi-layered game, and that we are privileged to play it.

Guy is the capo di tutti capi of EI Associates—an architecture/engineering/planning/construction firm that has done large and small projects all over the place—and is one of those smart guys who effortlessly graduated from Princeton. (I interviewed to get into Princeton, but my rejection slip was waiting in my mailbox by the time I got back from the interview!) Since Guy is a big mucky-muck in both the world of business and the world of squash, he knows people, and one of the people he knows is this fellow named Peter Briggs.

Briggs is a well-known savant in the world of squash. I've never heard anyone say a disparaging thing about either the man or his squash knowledge, and I never will. Briggs runs the squash program at the Apawamis Club in Rye, New York, widely regarded as one of the very best, and has coached an astonishing number of kids who have gone on to captain their college squash teams—over 70!

But Briggs also knows and loves the game of hardball doubles squash, and I have the document to prove it. Back in 2007, Guy Cipriano, master builder and master squashist, built a doubles squash court in one of the buildings he owns in New Jersey. On the occasion of the court's opening day, Peter Briggs gave his friend Guy a printed primer on the most important points to consider when playing doubles squash. For anyone interested in this great version of squash, this is must reading.

According to Guy, Briggs "has so much doubles knowledge it defies description—he's like Yoda, or maybe Moses. This document emanated directly from the Burning Bush on top of Mt. Sinai!" I read his email to me and thought, Nah, no way, it can't be THAT good! But then I read the primer and agreed, this IS great stuff. As Guy put it in his note to me, "Congratulations, you now know the Secret Handshake of Doubles Squash."

And you, dear reader, will too. But you have to wait until my next blog ....

Aging and Squash

2010-07-08T16:59:00.001-04:00

One of the arguments lobbed against softball squash has been that it is physically more demanding than hardball, and so older players, often starting in the 50s, gradually get shunted aside as their body's aches and pains can no longer deal with the sport.

Since hardball singles is now largely dead, most of the old codgers out for a squash game have gravitated towards hardball doubles, a great game in which an older player can still hold his own, particularly if teamed up with a younger player who can go fetch the drops up front.

But what about those older athletes among us who don't want to play doubles, or, more likely, don't have access to a doubles court?

For them I propose racketball and squashitball.

Racketball, a game played in England, involves using racquetball rackets and balls on an international squash court. The tin stays where it is, and the ceiling is off limits. Everything else is pretty much like the American game of racquetball. Because the ball bounces more there is less running, and since the tin stays where it is, there is no front-wall nick as you would find in racquetball. Players have good long rallies, get to exercise their love of court sports, and get a good, but not paralyzing, workout. For some reason this option has not been popularized in the US, but I think it should be, as it is a nice game for players who want to get out there but want to spare their knees for another day.
Another option is squashitball. I'm not sure if anyone ever plays this or not -- I just made it up -- but it might also be a good option. Instead of using a shorter racquetball racket, the player uses the longer squash racket, thereby avoiding bending down if at all possible. The players play with a racquetball ball, so the bounciness allows them to avoid too much running and lunging.

I see the progression as singles squash, racketball, and then squashitball. And then table tennis.... And then arthroplasty....

"And I'd Like To Thank 'Nike Squash' for All Their Support!"

2010-07-04T12:38:00.001-04:00

The finals of Wimbledon have just been played and Spain's incomparable Rafael Nadal has, somewhat predictably, beaten Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. But I thought Berdych played damn well, and the difference between winner and loser came down to Nadal converting his chances at break points, while Berdych, though having those chances, never was able to do so. Thus game, set, match to Mr. Nadal.

One thing I noticed in the final was the Nike swoosh that appeared on both players. Berdych was wearing a cap with a black swoosh, Nadal a form-fitting bandana with a blood-red swoosh. Every time the TV camera focused on either player, there was the firm's well-known logo. They had a guaranteed 3 hours at least of uninterrupted TV airtime. Nike, the sports giant, was going to be a winner no matter what happened on the court today....

Nike is an international phenomenon, with its tentacles in all kinds of sports in all kinds of places. All over the world. So it continues to baffle me why a company like Nike would overlook the demonstrably international sport of squash.

Squash has wide appeal -- as demonstrated by the fact that the sport is played in about 190 countries -- but does not have the penetration in individual countries to attract their attention. Apparently.

But times are tough, and Nike managers must sit around their conference room table thinking of ways to increase sales worldwide. They must! If there ever were a fat target for them to go for, it would be for a relatively under-served sport like squash that needs a corporate champion to take it to the next level. Nike could sell hundreds of thousands of Nike-emblazoned apparel, shoes, and those hats that Nadal and Berdych wore during today's final, and the sport of squash would finally have its first big-time corporate sponsor. Everybody wins.

Thank you, Nike Squash, thank you so much!

In the U.S. at Least, Onward and Upward

2010-06-22T12:14:00.001-04:00

I was recently at a meeting about squash in the U.S. when the talk turned to the sport's fortunes elsewhere. Someone said the situation in Australia was bad, as real estate pressures have caused many clubs to shut down entirely or convert large squash courts into fitness centers. The same is true, to a somewhat lesser extent perhaps, in the U.K. Someone else complained that clubs were closing down in Canada, and the national squash organization there seems too disorganized to do anything effective about it.

Bad news, then, on several fronts. But the good news, at least for us in the U.S., is that squash is on the ascendancy. The US Squash association, under Kevin Klipstein's remarkable leadership, has in the last 5 years ratcheted up membership by 80%; doubled the number of national championships to 20 and increased participant numbers to 5000; spearheaded the US High School Championships, now the largest squash tournament in the world, with 125 teams and 1000 players; and increased junior squash participation numbers by 88%. And in what I predict will be a continuing trend for the foreseeable future, the Men's and Women's national adult and junior teams are making steady progress in world rankings.

The US Squash organization has also improved its own governance significantly and has demonstrated its desire to hear from as many voices as possible on how best to further the U.S. game. The association will host the inaugural U.S. Squash "Annual Assembly" this October 1-2 in Chicago, which can be attended by any interested player and will include a keynote address, the presentation of programs for the 2010-2011 season, topical breakout sessions on various programs, and constituency breakout sessions covering districts, pros, coaches and referees.

All in all, great news, about which the US Squash association should be proud. That there are still those out there who don't see the value in forking over a couple of bucks to support their sport's association remains a puzzlement.

Exercise-Induced Illness: The Open Window

2010-06-13T11:10:00.001-04:00

Not too long ago a reader of this blog wrote in complaining that he suffered from periodic flu-like symptoms that tended to bedevil him after training hard or playing especially tough squash matches. He is in top shape, and was wondering why this would happen to him of all people and if there might be anything he could do about it.

That's a good question, and unfortunately there is no definitive answer.

There is no doubt that moderate exercise is good for you and, more specifically, your immune function. But exercising at a peak level, such as what one might do during a difficult hourlong squash match, can put the body under immunological stress. Elite athletes in many sports have long suspected that overtraining can lead to bouts of illness, particularly increased upper respiratory tract infections (URTI). Studies have found that these athletes are correct.

Indeed, epidemiologic studies have proven that URTI risk rises with heavy training (Nieman DC, et al. J Sports Med Phys Fit. 1990;30:316-328).

So what exactly is happening immunologically after intense exercise? Well, here comes some science....

There is a decrease in NK cell activity, which may heighten risk of viral transmission. NK cells are 'natural killer' cells that protect against infection.

Development of neutropenia (low blood neutrophil) or neutrophilia (high), depending upon the athlete. Neutrophils are an essential component of the body's innate immune system, and are involved in the phagocytosis of both bacterial and viral pathogens. (Phagocytosis means to encircle and destroy -- a good thing!)

Development of lymphopenia (low blood lymphocyte count), important since these white blood cells are integral to the development of immunity and should increase in number in response to an infection. Also decreasing is mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation, which is a way to gauge the function of T lymphocytes (called 'T' because they are dependent upon the thymus).

Increases in pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, which mediate cellular interactions. Types of cytokines include interleukin-6, -10, and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist.

Depression of serum immunoglobulin levels, including IgA and IgG, both commonly found in airway secretions.

And there are other changes, but we are not reading this to get an advanced degree in exercise immunology, so let's cut to the chase....

The fact is that most immunologists now believe that there is an 'open window' after intense exercise in which the athlete experiences some level of impaired immunity (which can last anywhere between 3 and 72 hours, depending on the immune measure) and during which both viruses and bacteria may achieve a foothold. Lack of sleep, unusual mental stress, malnutrition and recent weight loss may all decrease immune function further.

So why would my reader be bothered by exercise-induced illnesses while many other squash players of equal intensity not experience these problems? I suspect the answer lies in the difference between the innate immune system and the acquired immune system. The innate system, which as its name implies is the system we are born with, is greatly affected both by genetics as well as nutrition in early life. One's genetics may just not support a vigorous innate immune system. Likewise, poor nutrition as an infant and child may not have provided the needed micronutrients to build up one's innate system. My reader may keep getting tripped up by an innate system that is not as vigilant as it might have been, for want of better nutrition.

When the innate immune system fails, the acquired immune system kicks in. The term 'acquired' is used because this system relies on the immunological memory of specific infectious agents to which the body has been subjected. The acquired immune system relies on such cells as the B- and T-lymphocytes -- the very cells that are temporarily decreased following strenuous exercise.

OK, so what to do? In addition to the obvious -- eat right, get enough sleep, don't stress out too much -- is there anything one might take? Several micronutrients are very important for optimum enzyme function, including zinc, iron, copper, selenium, and vitamins A, B-6, C and E. Eating correctly, however, easily takes care of these nutritional needs, and studies testing if high-dose supplements of these vitamins are beneficial against exercise-induced illness have failed to show any definitive benefit. Other studies looking at plant sterols, N-acetylcysteine, butylated hydroxyanisole, and glutamine have also failed to show a definitive effect. The jury still seems out on newer immunonutrition supplements, including beta-glucan, curcumin, and quercetin, but I have my doubts about them as well.

And here I would stress caveat emptor -- buyer beware. There are a lot of nutrition and supplement companies out there, none of which have to answer to the FDA and thus can pretty much say just about anything about their product. The usual line is: "This product supports [body part] health." It's a load of crap -- this industry needs much better regulation, because people are wasting a lot of money on often useless supplements, and sometimes are ingesting these agents at toxic levels. Don't be a sucker!

The one nutritional intervention that HAS proved helpful for elite athletes is carbohydrates, usually ingested in the form of a sports drink (or flavored cookies and bars). Carbohydrates reduce perturbations in immune cell levels and lower inflammatory cytokines.

So for my reader I would suggest two things:

Carbohydrates, before, during and after intense activity. In addition, there are many specific approaches one can take that involve food (e.g., avoid refined carbs and saturated fats, etc.), so a consultation with an experienced exercise nutritionist would likely be money well spent.

Moderation of his most intense activities. If he is currently playing 4 tough matches a week, then he should try ratcheting back to 3, and using that extra day to work in the gym on core strength, without raising his heart rate too high.

My reader is an athlete in great condition, so cutting back is not what he wants to read, but he should consider this: 3 good matches played fit is better than 4 played sick.

For those interested, the following reference is a good overall review of this issue: Moreira A, et al. Does exercise increase the risk of upper respiratory tract infections? Br Med Bull. 2009;90:111-131.

Tennis Squash

2010-06-04T17:00:00.001-04:00

In the olden days there was a variant of squash called 'squash tennis,' which enjoyed a rather brief popularity before sliding off the face of the world. You can still read about it in places like Wikipedia (here), but the game is no longer played by anyone. There is a new game developing however, called 'tennis squash.' This game could be around for a long while.

The French Open is underway and the men's final is in place, with the surging Robin Söderling, heir apparent to the great viking Bjorn Borg, ready to take on Rafael Nadal, who would dearly like to prove that his defeat by Söderling in last year's French Open was a fluke. I've always maintained that Nadal, with his quickness and maneuverability around the court, would make an absolutely fantastic squash player, and lo and behold recent press reports claim that he has taken up the game. Squash aficionados are well aware that Roger Federer is no stranger to squash, and occasionally will use a wristy slice shot when he is in trouble, particularly on the forehand side. Andy Murray, England's great tennis player, enjoyed squash as a kid, and Ivan Lendl, even when playing pro tennis at the highest level, is said to have used squash as an exercise to build up his backhand strength (see here).

The use of the wrist to apply extra spin and the breaking of the historically stiff tennis wrist has become a noteworthy recent innovation in tennis, with observers attributing the development to advancements in racket technology.

But what about the obverse? Are there any stiff-wristed, topspin shots that would be at home on a tennis court that we in squash might adopt? I know of one, and it's quite effective. Here is the scenario: your opponent has played a ball into one of the front corners, but you are on it without difficulty. You obviously have several choices here, including a hard wide cross-court, a hard rail, or a looping cross-court lob, among others. But another shot is to hit the loose ball into the corner with topspin at medium speed. The topspin makes the ball whip around the corner faster than either a flat or undercut ball, and the surprising shot selection will either leave your opponent flat-footed, forcing a weak return, or even outright fool him. Try it sparingly, and you might be surprised how effective it is.

Slicing Up My Feet With Razors

2010-05-21T15:36:00.001-04:00

The squash equipment we use today has gotten a lot better.

I was reminded of this by a great old video you can check out here on SquashZAG that shows Mohibulla Khan and Geoff Hunt engaging in a long, old-style point that involved less shot-making than you would see today and more attritional back-and-forth play. The difference of course is in the rackets they used then and the rackets we use today, which among other things have higher racket-head speed and larger sweet-spots. I can remember playing hardball way way back when with a (in hindsight perfectly ridiculous) metal racket that was significantly heavier than normal. This racket was soooo heavy and made of non-breakable metal, and thus it was great for a guy (that would be me) with very little money, because it would last a really long time. It was only after several months, when I realized my wrist was developing tendinitis, that I threw out the still-unbroken racket. I think that was the one and only time I ever threw out a racket that had yet to break.

Happily, racket technology has advanced. We also used to build up the top of the racket with tape in order to reduce the possibility of breakage as we scraped the racket head along the wall; nowadays, not many people do this, because the racket heads come with sturdy build-ups and don't seem to need it like they used to.

Another important advancement has been with shoes. I can remember limping home after a tough match, filling the bathtub with water, and soaking my feet for a half hour or so. I would then take a razor and cut out the bumpy calluses and blood blisters that had developed on my soles, sometimes shearing off 2-3 square inches of hardened skin at a time.

My wife, a psychologist, was concerned....

I told her I wasn't sick, just in love.

Ode to a Winning Squash Ball

2010-05-06T17:48:00.002-04:00

Well see here, my black rubber friend with two dots that stare like eyes!

I must say I'm quite fond of you for today's squash match surprise.

See, I played a level up today—not hoping much to win—

Against a very tough player with great court movement, good spin.

But at the loud clang of the tin at the close of the first game,

Behold! I had eked out a win, a faint echo of some fame.

At the break my sweat-drenched opponent I could see was bone-tired.

But my winning of game 1 was so sweet I became up-fired!

He's drinking water from the fountain like a dog at his bowl.

All that running the diagonal will surely take its toll.

As the second game begins I feel cautiously elated,

And as it unfolds my opponent's more and more deflated.

I hold my shots so brilliantly, my footwork, ahhh, superb.

I feign shots leftward, hold, then shoot to the right, which helps perturb

My weakened opponent, who has taken to heavy sighing,

A reflection of the fact that on court the sucker's dying.

Another game for me, and he's off court slurping like a fool.

A mess of gasping breath, twitching muscles, rivulets of drool.

Game 3 starts, and my opponent starts mouthing his excuses:

A twitchy back, a cough, a late night drowning in his juices.

And soon the tragic tale is through and I its mighty hero,

While my flummoxed opponent limps home, feeling like a zero.

In the bag you go, squash ball, I'll save you for another day,

You've got plenty of nap to keep you till the next time we play.

God help me if a seam should split you and ruin your facade!

Forever and ever I pray, saints preserve you, please, o god!

Amen!

What's Urtak? Some Recent Findings ...

2010-04-25T18:36:00.001-04:00

It's time for another look at what's doing at The Squashist's Opinion Emporium, made possible by our good friends at Urtak (accessible to the right of this blog, as well as here: Squash Urtak).

So far Urtak's squash forum has over 10,000 responses, so thanks very much for those who have taken the time (it doesn't' take long!) and thanks in advance for those who will respond in the future.

Here are a few interesting findings:

1. When asked if they are addicted to squash, 79% said yes. Of those who said yes, 74% said they can tell a lot about someone from the way they play the game; but to those who said they weren't addicted, only 53% said squash was a good barometer of personality.

2. The squash-addicted proved to be more generous with their time, as 83% of addicts claimed they happily played the game with less talented players, while only 69% of non-addicts did so.

3. Addicts also hung out with fellow squash nuts more: 85% of them said they did, as opposed to 70% of the non-addicts.

4. Beer seems to play a larger part in the addict's worldview. 83% of the squash-addicted said a beer tastes great after squash, while only 56% of non-addicts admitted as much. Perhaps they prefer wine?

5. There was a big difference in scoring preference. 71% of addicts have changed completely over to the 11-point scoring system; only 44% of non-addicts have done so.

6. Addicts seems to be willing to put their money where their enthusiasms lie, as 81% of the addicted belong to private clubs, as opposed to 64% of non-addicts. Learning to play the game with your nose up in the air takes considerable fine-motor control.

7. Squash addicts are also much more supportive of US Squash's efforts on behalf of the game. When asked if USS is doing a good job, 66% of addicts said yes, but only 20% of non-addicts agreed. As one of the addicted who believes without question that USS is indeed doing a good job -- I'd say a great job, in fact -- I'd cheekily like to venture the opinion that squash addicts have a deeper knowledge of the challenges and successes we see in our sport, and that as the non-addicts become ever more ensnared in the addictive joys of the sport, they will come to see the light.

And finally, racket manufacturers should take note that the response was evenly divided to the question whether the quality of a racket makes a significant difference in performance: fully 50% thought it didn't make a perceptible difference. That, dear sirs, strikes me as a marketing problem! You all should be buying more advertising and supporting more squash tournaments as a way of gaining dedicated adherents! I'm sure the same nonchalance can be said for squash sneakers and squash clothing.

Hey Nike! You have a worldwide sport here that has yet to embrace a particular manufacturer en masse. Wake up! Throw us some money and we will be yours!

Whack-It Ball

2010-04-19T18:34:00.004-04:00

I read today on squashsite.co.uk that Peter Nicol has decided to play in a racketball tournament, England's Dunlop National Racketball Championship, where he may end up playing 5-time winner Daryl Selby. [But, see Postscript below...]

Now why would Nicol go and do a foolish thing like this?

Actually, I can understand. About a decade ago I moved from the city to suburbia, and because of the move I didn't have enough money to maintain my city squash club membership. Believe me, the Squashist was very sad about this. Very sad indeed. After a while I realized that there was a local fitness club that I could afford to join so I could at least stay in shape, so I did, and I found myself drawn to their racquetball courts. What the heck, I gave it a whack one day.

It's not squash, you run much less, and you are mostly concerned with hitting to the back corners, so tactically it is less interesting. Still, it's a court and a racket and a ball, so I hit a few times. I then noticed they were having the club tournaments, so decided to sign up. The pro there said, well, if I played squash, I should do okay in the 5th grouping, of which there were 11 in all. Although I didn't practice at all and only played the tournament matches, I won easily.

I then went back to just working out, but lo and behold time went by and the club championships came around again. This time the pro told me to play the 2nd grouping. That too I won, again without practice, although the final was tight. Soon after this, I recovered my financial wherewithal and rejoined the squash club, and so have never played racquetball again. But I had a pretty good time playing. I'm told, incidentally, that the 3 top players at the club, the ones in the 1st grouping, are all ex-squash players who have adopted the sport since there are no local squash courts nearby to play on.

The racket skills and court sense one learns in squash are transferable to both racquetball and racketball, the latter of which is what an American would call racquetball but played on an international squash court, which I believe is the version most common in the U.K. where Nicol will play the tournament. I very much suspect Nicol will win this tournament, his skills are too immense. I am reminded of a story about Gary Waite, an excellent squash player as well as top hardball squash doubles player, who became the champion Canadian racquetballer, just to see if he could. Heather McKay, Australian squash champion who is the winningest female squash player ever, also famously played racquetball, winning multiple American and Canadian championships.

The point is that racket skills and court coverage are transferable. That is the intriguing idea behind Racketlon, a marathon racket skills tournament in which opponents are tested in squash, badminton, tennis and table tennis. Each set is played to 21 points, with the winner being whomever scores the most points across all sport disciplines. Racketlon started in Finland in the 1980s where it was called mailapelit, meaning 'racket games', and has continued to gain adherents.

I recently had a chance to play badminton, and found that the court movement and wrist action were similar enough to squash that I did well. And since I play tennis regularly, that sport's different stroke biomechanics are not a problem for me. Furthermore, a squash player's coverage of a tennis court is as good as anything a tennis player could offer. The problem for me: table tennis, which is much different from the other games of racketlon.

There is something about a racket player, no matter what the racket. See ball, run to ball, hit ball. I already feel a little sorry for Mr. Selby, poor fella.

POSTSCRIPT: It seems The Squashist has revealed a touch of ignorance with this blog, and stuck his big size 13 foot into his gaping maw. Mr. Selby, it turns out, is a top squash player, in fact is currently #9. I'm sorry, Mr. Selby, I didn't appreciate that fact when I wrote this blog! It does argue in favor of my basic point, though, that squash players can walk on the racketball court and play a mean game from the get-go, but it also puts into question whether Peter Nicol, retired from the pro game, can likely put up stiff enough resistance against a top-10 squash foe. However, Mr Nicol rarely does me wrong, so I still say he'll take it! Selby, prove me wrong!

The 5-Let Rule Passes a Test

2010-04-16T14:57:00.001-04:00

There was quite a bit of interest in the idea of the 5-let rule (see here), which was recently given a test run at US Pro Squash's Franklin & Marshall Invitational Tournament. Many comments were rabidly against the idea, while others were more open to it. My reaction was positive, since I thought it was at least an attempt to address the fan experience, which I believe is hampered by bickering over lets.

Guy Cipriano, long-time hardball player and doubles aficionado, was able to get a brief e-mailed comment from John White, F & M's squash director, who played in the tournament. Guy was kind enough to share White's comments with me.

White felt the experiment with 5 lets 'went well.' He noted that the 'players played more balls than normal when there was minor interference.' I think that's the principal result of this rule: players will not automatically stop when they could just as easily nudge around their opponent and get to the ball. White also said that Mike Riley, the ref, was careful to award strokes if he felt the opponent was blocking the other player, trying to force the player to use up a let call. 'This made players get out of the way more.' Another good result.... White's feeling was that the 5-let rule needed a few more trials to test its overall utility, but so far, so good.

This of course was a limited test. You had top players who were willing to give this new concept a go (including Baset Chaudry, who despite reports has apparently not given up the game of squash), and a capable ref who was prepared to handle the different dynamic that resulted from the new rule. Is this a good idea for amateur tournaments? Clearly, no. For other pro tournaments? Quite possibly yes, if further trials pan out.

While the new rule was a success, the tournament was not a success for John White. Most unfortunately, White suffered a torn plantar fascia on the bottom of his left foot in the semis, and now can be seen shuffling around in an orthopedic boot waiting to heal. Having had to wear just such a boot myself in the last few months, I deeply sympathize!

Kjell Olsson, R.I.P.

2010-04-10T19:39:00.000-04:00

For those who have read this blog for a while, you may know that I am a Swedish-American. I did not grow up speaking Swedish. Instead, I decided I wanted to learn more about my mother's country and started learning Swedish about 4 years ago. My Swedish teacher would visit me once a week in my office and we would talk Swedish; he'd give me assignments and I would do my best to learn the words, grammar, pronunciation, and beautiful lilt of this fascinating language. I would also get to talk to my very wise teacher, who had a great combination of humor, calm, and intelligence -- not only about teaching Swedish but about life as a whole.

One thing he learned early on about me was my interest in squash, so he went on the internet and got information about squash that was written in Swedish. That's a smart teacher! I found myself discussing the importance of proper court movement with Kjell, in Swedish, even though he had never played, nor would. But he pretended to be interested. And as he did he gently corrected my grammar.

Sadly, I just found out that Kjell (it's pronounced 'Shell'), who had a week or so ago gone to Sweden for a visit with his children, fell, and ultimately died from the fall.

It's a sad day. May he rest in peace.

Zug on Chaudry

2010-04-08T20:21:00.000-04:00

James Zug has a great article in the just-received March issue of Squash Magazine about the backstory of Baset Chaudry's on-court meltdown. If you are a US Squash member you'll get the publication soon or already have it, so please read the article, it's a very nice bit of reporting. (And if you are not a US Squash member, again I ask, 'Why not?!')

In it he reviews Chaudry's stellar squash and academic career and explores the emotional turbulence that ended in Chaudry's inexplicable -- even to him -- fulmination. As Zug rightly notes, 15 seconds of poor behavior clouded years of gentlemanly behavior, off-court as well as on-, sometimes in the face of outrageous taunting from spectators whose 'Paki-bashing' included chants of 'terrorist' and references to Bin Laden. Truly disgusting behavior, none of which should be permitted at an academic institution.

I'm on the record for forgiving this mistake, based on his aforementioned exemplary college career (see The Chaudry Incident). As it happened, Baset removed himself from the individual college championships, thereby stripping himself of a chance to tie Kenton Jernigan as the only other squash player with 7 intercollegiate or team titles. As you read Zug's article, you see both how sad this result is, and how unnecessary.

The most newsworthy item in the piece, however, was the revelation that, according to Zug, Chaudry "doesn't like squash." I was thunderstruck by that. (His first love was apparently cricket.) The many hours of grueling courtwork have left Chaudry numb to the joys of the game -- for me, a terrible legacy. I've heard this story before: college squash players are so over-trained and over-extended playing the game for their alma mater that, upon graduation, they leave the game forever, all youthful enthusiasm well and truly spent. Chaudry tells Zug in an interview that his rackets "are locked up now."

I wonder, what does that say about the coaching?