What's Urtak? Some Recent Findings ...

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

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

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.

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

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?

The 5-Let Rule: FANtastic News

Several times in my career as a squash enthusiast I have dragged uninitiated sports fans to pro squash tournaments, assuring them that squash is a great spectator sport and they'll have a blast. 

Some did, but some didn't, and in the latter group a major reason for this less-than-stellar result has been irritation over the repeated entreaties to the ref, with players childishly begging for a Let, like a toddler whining for candy. Some players routinely whine more than others because it is literally part of their game-plan, and some matches devolve into a whine-fest that renders this great game into a stuttering, spasmodic, episodic, unflattering denial of the many athletic attractions that should exist in a top-flight match. 

I have several friends who are excellent squash players, and even they -- who should know better -- argue that squash is a bad spectator sport because of all the starts and stops that one is subjected to in many matches. 

So the news that the US Pro Squash Tour is actually doing something about the over-abundance of Let calls is, for me, fantastic news -- with an emphasis on the first syllable, for it's the fans who will be the big winners from this change. You can see the full press release here: 5-Let Rule Announcement.  John White, one of my favorite players of all time, is quoted in support of the rule: "By limiting the Let calls to 5 per match, players will have to start playing and clearing the ball a lot more. There are too many Lets for minimal interference. Once players know that it could come down to a Stroke or No Let they will start to play the ball." After 5 Lets have been awarded, the referee will be limited to awarding only No Let or Stroke decisions.

Change is always hard. We need only remind ourselves how difficult it was to transfer over to the PAR 11-point scoring system -- many opposed it, and some still do. So this new 5-Let Rule will likely be opposed by some, but my feeling is that if squash wants to attract more attention, both from players and the media, it has to relentlessly focus on the fan experience. This is a very good, hugely welcome, and major step forward which was made with the fans' interests uppermost in mind.  

At What Point Does One Say 'Enough'?

The Squashist is not amused. Not happy. Pretty pissed off, even.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I've had a tough time lately with injuries. In the summer I experienced a torn rotator cuff, but after much rehab I was able to get back on the court and avoided an operation. Then, an old nagging ankle injury flared up, and what used to be a mild annoyance began actively hindering my game and keeping me off the court. So I had laparoscopic surgery to correct that. It was successful; that was nice.

For a couple of weeks, that is. Probably as a result of a slightly altered gait from the ankle injury, I also developed runner's knee, or what's called chondromalacia patellae, a misalignment of the knee joint that can lead to pain, particularly on the back of the knee. This too is rehabable, which I was doing. But I was also playing, because I felt pretty good.

Which is why last Friday I was on the court in a tournament, playing pretty well, but in the first game I realized that my knee was going to be a bit of a bother. Not a big deal, but it was in the back of my mind. I lost that game, though it was close. In the second game, towards the end, I planted my right foot and swiveled to my right to hit a fairly standard rail. Unfortunately, pop went my knee. I lost that game and made a lame attempt to get back on in the third, but after the first point I realized I might be hurting myself more and the pain was enough that it was stupid to continue. 

I have an ortho appointment tomorrow to get the word on what happened, but I suspect that the chondromalacia allowed my knee to move in ways it shouldn't, and damaged something as a result: ligament? tendon? muscle? confidence? Now I look back and see that, in the last nine months, I've had three serious squash-related injuries. I've been more off the court than on. 

It's a question that every squash lover must unfortunately address sooner or later: When do the insults of age (I'm 51) exert enough of an effect on your ability to play this game as you are accustomed that you would rather bow out with honor then peter out pathetically? I was playing well against a player who was nearly 30 years younger; that's a nice feeling. But it's not nice to forfeit because of injury and limp off the court for another month or two of rehab.

I also play tennis. Tennis is a nicer game on the joints and legs. It has more upper-body work, so it is tougher on the rotator cuff and shoulder, and in my experience it is also a little harder on the back, but in general tennis is nicer to the body. 

Is a smart progression for a squash player feeling his years to segue into tennis? Am I really the Tennisist? 

I've decided I will rehab this latest injury according to what the experts tell me to do and wait to get their okay to get back on the court. But I don't think I can take another injury.... 

Sex and the Squash Player

OK, kids, look away now, this one ain't for you....

Back in 1995, Austin M. Francis, an avid squash player and marketing guru, wrote a very important book for the squash community in the U.S. called "Smart Squash: How To Win at Soft Ball." It was important because the great tidal shift from hardball to softball squash was under way, and many players were going out on the new international courts with the strangely squishy ball and didn't have the foggiest notion how to play the new game. Most players, me included, started out by playing hardball tactics with the softball, and that, friends, doesn't work. So he set out to teach us a thing or two, and he did. It was a very important work in the history of U.S. squash.

Francis also added a brief chapter towards the end of his book on the eternal question raised by participants in athletically demanding sports: Is it okay or bad to have sex before playing the game?

He only briefly raised the question, and quoted only from one unnamed pro player who had 'scientifically' tested his physicality after sex and after no sex, and had decided that abstinence fully 48 hours before a serious match was advisable.

This is called an N-of-1 study, and while it certainly has its place, it doesn't pass much muster among the scientific community. Indeed, there seems to be wide agreement that the physiological evidence for abstinence before squash is just not there. In fact, science has found that testosterone levels increase following sex, not diminish, so loss of power -- except for the brief recovery period directly after sex -- is not an issue. The psychological effect of the sex, however, could vary greatly among the participants, so it might provide a tremendous psychological boost or wreak havoc on the ego, or somewhere in between. Thus if the sex distracted an athlete, for example made them feel poorly about themselves for some reason, then that would likely not be a positive influence on their game.

The advisability of sex before competition has been argued for millenia. Pliny the Elder wrote in the year 77 that "Athletes when sluggish are revitalized by love-making." I note that he was "the Elder," so he must have succeeded in creating "the Junior," and hence may have known what he was writing about.

Boxers have mostly taken a hard line in favor of abstinence, believing by doing so that they get meaner and more aggressive for the trials that await them in the ring. It's been reported that Muhammad Ali, the greatest boxer ever, would abstain for six weeks before a bout. He apparently didn't realize that having sex can actually reduce the sensation of pain, by blocking a neuropeptide pain transmitter called 'substance P.' Apparently, Ali didn't have to worry about reducing pain, since his opponents often had a hard time hitting him. But still....

Since the majority of pro athletes have historically been men and the science behind this question has therefore mainly focused on male athletes, women who wonder about sex before competition will have to keep on wondering. However, I offer this quote, from an article on BBC.com, which I suspect will be heartily endorsed by female athletes the world over:

" ...And then there's Israeli physician Alexander Olshanietzky, who's all in favour of sex -- for female athletes, at least. "We believe that a woman gets better results in sports competition after orgasm," he said in 1996, before the Atlanta games. "... The more orgasms, the more chances of winning a medal. Coaches generally tell their athletes to abstain before competition. In the case of women, that's the wrong advice."

And finally, there is the rather rare question of whether sex during a competition is advisable. This would not be possible in a squash match, since there are literally seconds between games (unless you are a gerbil; they're fast), but the question, I suppose, has to be raised. Here's a quote from "The Observer" that addresses whether this athletic tour de force is advisable:

"What about sex during an event? There isn't scope for it in most sports, but the experience of snooker star Paul Hunter suggests it can help. Trailing 6-2 to Fergal O'Brien in the final of the 2001 B&H Masters, Hunter retired to the Wembley Plaza Hotel with girlfriend Lindsey Fell. 'Paul's manager told me he was under pressure and that I should relax him,' explained Lindsey. 'So I stripped down to my lacy g-string and bra. We made love and he didn't think about the tournament for a second.' Hunter returned and notched up four centuries in six frames to win the final 10-9."

The Tawdry Chaudhry Incident

Most of us have seen the video of Baset Chaudry, team co-captain of Trinity's squash team that has just registered its 12th year of perfection, yelling in the face of his Yale opponent and nearly head-butting him. It was, indeed, ugly.

And yet, one can only imagine the pressure that one must feel carrying the weight of so many successful years, playing in front of a rambunctious home crowd and his own parents that came from overseas to watch, playing an opponent who had goaded him at least a bit during the match.....  The stage was set.

Chaudhry lost his cool. Adrenaline kicked in as he won the match, won the team competition for Trinity, and won yet another year as the best collegiate squash team on the planet. 

By all accounts he is an exceptional kid who is also a great squash player. Chaudhry sincerely apologized, and I'm sure he meant it. He just lost it -- let it be a learning experience. Unfortunately, he has since voluntarily opted out from defending his singles title, which is up for grabs in a few days, and I'm sure this decision was at least partially, and perhaps heavily, suggested to him by his handlers at Trinity.

That's too bad. While proper behavior, both on-court and off, should be an important focus for educators, forgiveness is a wonderful thing to teach too. His four years of exemplary scholarship and athleticism should have bought him a ticket to the action. While Chaudhry's on-court behavior was a mistake, his removal from the singles competition compounds the error.

Motor Overflow in Sports

Watching high-performance athletes, one sometimes can observe unusual facial phenomena that the athletes would never do normally, but during the heat of battle do with gusto. It's interesting to note that many of the very best athletes have these muscular contortions, so the question is why.

There are three contortions that involve the mouth. Michael Jordan, who many consider to be the best basketball player ever, was famous for sticking out his tongue as he raced down the court preparing to go airborne for a monster dunk. Jordan's fame was so great that schoolyard players took to imitating the tongue-wag, perhaps thinking it was done by Jordan out of bravado and not an unconscious act. In squash, the great Peter Nicol would often be seen demonstrated another mouth phenomenon, known as a rictus, in which the lips are pushed tightly backward in what looks like a half-smile, half grimace. Opponents knew that if Nicol had that look he was fully concentrating on the task at hand, and that spelled trouble for them. 

The third possible mouth contortion is biting the lip, as one sees most often in children who are concentrating intently on something. (Another profession that shows its share of facial tics: professional musicians, such as pianists and violinists, where lip biting and rictus are more popular than tongue wagging, since licking your violin while you play may be problematic.)




So why does this happen? These actions are all examples of motor overflow or motor disinhibition, in which the athlete's capacity to direct their overall motoric response to the circumstances at hand is diminished. A pictorial representation of the part of the human brain that directs movement and motoric information to the rest of the body is called a cortical homunculus (above), a fancy name for a drawing that proportionately relates a body part with the motor cortex of the frontal lobes of the brain. Thus, the legs are represented in superior regions, while the arms are below the legs, and the neck, brow, eye, lips, jaw and tongue descend from there. These relationships vary individually, and also change with age, but the topographical drawing is useful for neurologists and other clinicians studying the brain. 

Are you still with me? (Are you biting your lip perhaps?)

Motor overflow occurs when an athlete is working exceptionally hard physically and mentally, necessarily exerting extensive control over superior and medial regions (i.e., the legs, arms, and hands) and temporarily 'disinhibiting' regions where control isn't particularly necessary for the task at hand, a dunk, say, or a crosscourt shot to the nick. The disinhibited regions result in movement of the face, lips, and tongue.

There are many top athletes who don't exhibit motor overflow, of course, so there is nothing to suggest that only the very best of the best show motor disinhibition. But I think one can say that of those athletes who do show these signs it is wise to be careful when playing them if the tongue comes out, the rictus starts smiling, or the lip gets bitten.

Because you are about to lose....

Brace Myself

Your humble reporter, The Squashist, is back on court.

Three weeks after my minor ankle operation I set foot on a court once again and felt the joy of a good hit. I practiced moving and hitting a bit solo and then had the good fortune of serendipitously bumping into a player who needed a game, so off we went.

In normal times the player would be a step or two below my level, but getting back into the game demands some caution. We played together and had a good match, which I eventually won. The sensation I had was that every other joint but my left ankle seemed to be creaky from disuse. We played again later in the week, where I won again, so I now feel I'm ready to play my regular A- level partners and have two such matches set up for next week. We'll see how that goes ...

To look at me as I get on court you have to wonder how I could possibly move. I wear Air-Cast braces on both ankles, which I heartily recommend. Although they take some getting used to, they don't appreciably hinder movement. (You can buy them here: Air-Stirrups. PS: Hey Air-Cast, sponsor a squash match, people, your product is perfect for squash. Wake up! Increase your sales!). I also wear patella-stabilizing straps on both knees just to be nice to these joints that have a lot of miles on them. My well-braced wardrobe looks like I've been patched together from some foreign war, although I tell myself I am just gearing up for battle.

I like to think I'm a smarter player after all these years, a thought which sustains me in a difficult match. Certainly, however, a crucial part of being an older athlete is adapting to the changing conditions of your body. So on go the braces....

The Swedish Open är Mycket Bra!

Viktigaste squash turnering i Skandinavien börjar snart. Det är The Case Swedish Open, ett 5-stjärna PSA Tour match. Det kommer också att juniorer och masters turneringar som pågår samtidigt. The Case Swedish Open kommer att spela i en helt glas plan vid Linköpings Sporthall. Spelare kommer att inkludera Nick Matthews, Amr Shabana, James Willstrop, och Gregory Gaultier. Mitt val att vinna allt är Sveriges bästa spelare, Christian Drakenberg, som kommer att spela som en Viking och dräpa dessa främmande inkräktare! Du kan se matcherna på Squash TV. 

The major squash tournament in Scandinavia starts soon. It's The Case Swedish Open, a 5-star PSA Tour match. There are also juniors and masters tournaments occurring concurrently. The Case Swedish Open will be played in an all-glass court at Linköpings Sporthall. Players will include Nick Matthews, Amr Shabana, James Willstrop, and Gregory Gaultier. My pick to win it all is Sweden's best player, Christian Drakenberg, who will play like a Viking and slay these foreign intruders! You can watch the matches on Squash TV.

Stretching, the Truth

Finally, after a long delay and rehab, I'm about to take my first tentative steps back on the court. Monday morning, 6:30 AM, I'll have a racket in hand and a ball in the air, just hitting by myself and doing some light ghosting. Next week I'll go back to match play.

Part of my rehab has involved stretching, and stretching, it turns out, ain't all it appears to be. For most people it would appear to be axiomatic that stretching before and after physical exertion is clearly beneficial to injury prevention and whatever sport you are playing. But a note of caution to all you out there who contort your limbs before the big squash match: unequivocal proof that stretching is beneficial does not exist.

I've been interested in this for years because, historically, stretching before a match has never been helpful to me, and when I did it -- mostly because everyone else waiting for their matches seemed to be doing it -- my injury rate increased. (I know what you're thinking: I didn't stretch in the correct way. Trust me though, I did.)

I found in particular lower limb injuries increased when I stretched, so I finally got the message: For years I haven't stretched before a match. After a match I will do light stretching for a brief period of time, and I find that helps recover from the match.

But enough about me, what do the experts say? They say they're stumped. One study (Am J Sports Med. 1993;21(5):711-9) split male runners into two groups: one group of 159 runners would use a standardized warm-up, cool-down, and stretching regimen; the other group of 167 runners acted as controls and did not use the regimen. The study found no beneficial effect among the stretchers, who experienced more injuries per 1000 hours of running.

A more extensive review of injuries in runners was performed by the Cochrane Collaboration, an independent medical group that exhaustively reviews the effectiveness and appropriateness of treatments and medical interventions. Physicians know that a Cochrane Review is the most thorough approach to understanding in an unbiased way what is the best approach to a medical problem.

One Cochrane Review looked at various interventions for preventing lower limb injuries in runners (Cochrane Database Syst Rev.2001;(3):CD001256). This was the first major review on the subject. The review looked at any appropriately randomized trial that touched on the subject, and found 12 trials with 8,806 participants. Of these, 5 trials with 1944 participants and 3159 controls looked at the effectiveness of stretching. Their conclusion: "There is insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of stretching exercises for major lower limb muscle groups in reducing lower limb soft-tissue running injuries."

Other studies have not only found no benefit but have found injury rates that, as in my personal experience, increase with pre-workout stretching. One study (see it here: To Stretch or Not To Stretch?) found that runners who stretched before running were about one third more likely to be injured compared to non-stretchers. The study also found that stretching after a workout helped lower the risk of injury. Here's another study that had the same result in exercisers in general, not just runners: Res Sports Med. 2008;16:213-31.

The best study on stretching was done several years ago at West Point Military Academy (I'm sorry but I can't find the reference). Half the incoming freshmen were given a stretching regimen to do before physical exertion of any kind ("And that's an order!") and the other half were told to not stretch. Injury rates were then watched for their entire 4 years at the academy. You guessed it: The stretchers were injured more often than the non-stretchers.

So what's the take-home? I think the truth is that stretching after exertion is always good for you. None of these studies has found anything wrong with that. However, in some people -- and judging by these studies it may be more than 50% of us -- stretching before exertion may permit your muscles to stretch beyond what they should, thereby encouraging injury. Furthermore, I think those who are naturally fairly limber and loose-limbed, myself among them (and that's a description of an awful lot of squash players), are the ones who are likely not benefited by pre-workout stretching. Finally, there is an age quotient to this. As you get older you become a little less limber. Whereas stretching in my 20s and 30s increased my injury rate, as I've advanced in age (and wisdom) I am naturally less limber, and stretching naturally becomes more and more a beneficial thing.

Which is why come Monday morning, I'll stretch. A little....

The Great One: A Meeting With Peter Nicol at the ToC

Serendipity smiled on me this past Friday. As a commuter who goes through the lovely Grand Central Terminal every day to get to work, I went by the Tournament of Champions site on Friday night. I will be attending Monday night's quarter-finals, but I like to hang out at the ToC as much as possible when the games are on. I see a lot of my fellow squash addicts from the city and we get to indulge our addiction in sight of the best of the best. And it is quite a show! One of the fun things to do is to hang out on the opposite side of the front wall of the squash court and listen to the comments from everyday New Yorkers who are looking at squash for the first time. Some of the comments are absolutely hilarious. One from Friday, as a youngish couple gazed wide-eyed at the spectacle of the very close Touminen-Waller match : "What the HELL!? Just looking at that makes me tired!" She rolls her eyes; he looks annoyed.


Event Engine knows how to do these things right. And it turns out I know the engine in Event Engine from my long-ago youth. Melissa Winstanley works with John Nimick to organize these events, a fact I only recently became aware of. And on Friday, lo and behold, there she was. Back then she was called Missy Conkling, my next-door neighbor growing up in suburban Nyack, 30 miles north of the Big Apple. My parents actually bought the Conkling's old house; the Conkling's then built a new house on the parcel of land next to ours. When anyone brings up Missy Conkling in our family, it's always accompanied with the phrase, "I always thought Missy was great...."

We hadn't seen one another in over 30 years, so we had a very nice chat and caught up on the various doings of our family members. She then offered to introduce me to her daughter, who lives in Scotland (that should have tipped me off...). "Sure, she's right over there." We go over to say hello, and I see this beautiful young lady sitting talking to a man. He looks familiar, though I can only see half his face. Then I realize who it is: Peter Nicol!

Now I looooove Peter Nicol. You may recall in an earlier blog (here) I opined that Peter was the best player of the past decade (tied with Shabana). Despite interrupting a private conversation, Peter was very pleasant and interested in my ramblings about squash topics. In addition to being one of the greatest players of the game ever, he is a relentlessly positive ambassador for squash and blessed with a stellar personality. He is every bit the gnetleman he is purported to be. And, it turns out, he is marrying the daughter of my long-ago next-door neighbor!

He told me he hasn't been playing a whole lot of top-level squash lately, so it will be tough for him on Monday when he plays Jonathan Power. Nonetheless, he's still very fit and I expect a good showing.

I have a very nice picture of us sitting together chatting, which to protect my secret identity I can't share with the world at large!

If you are in New York City, or anywhere near it, check out Event Engine's ToC. It may surprise you!

Dear Director of Marketing:

I am not in squash professionally, I'm only a squash enthusiast, but I am in publishing professionally, and nowadays that means I do a lot of work providing as much value as possible for our advertisers, whether they are in our print publications, on our websites, or perhaps buying a presence in one of our emailed newsletters to our audiences. If I see a way to significantly improve my advertiser's market position, I will let them know, and if the means by which this is accomplished happens to involve advertising across the many channels we offer, then we have reached the proverbial 'win-win,' and everyone's happy.

My point is that the media world has changed considerably over just the past few years, and marketers of goods that have always relied solely on mass media to get their point across should now reconsider that stance, as heretical as this may appear to be.

Indeed, for a relatively small amount of investment, I have just the marketing edge you are looking for, and I can prove it ....

It's the sport of squash. The U.S. Squash (USS) association undertook an extensive review of its membership back in 2006. Using an outside specialist firm, the USS wanted to better understand its diverse membership. Based on earlier direct-mail invitations to its e-mail list, 1,429 squash player surveys were completed. There were a wealth of findings, including:

• 86% were males
• Average age was 43 years old
• 81% self-identify as being White (<2% off US average of over 79%)
• 92% have a 4-year college degree or higher
• Those with a graduate degree: 57% (US average, 9%)
• Mean household income is $287,000
• Percent with household income over $100,000: 58% (US average, 12%)
• Percent who own home: 80% (US average, 66%)
• Mean household non-real estate assets valued at $1,407,000

What were their occupations?

• C-level (eg, CEO, CIO, etc.): 19%
• VP: 9%
• Director or Manager: 19%

Where and when do they play?

• 52% play at a private club
• 30% at a public/commercial health club
• 19% at a country club
• 18% at a college facility; and
• 11% at a squash-only commercial club. 

These numbers are important because it shows that squash players invest in the game they love.

• 52% of respondents were from the Northeast; 20% were from the South; 15% from the West; and 13% from the Midwest (therefore it is no longer true that squash is only a regional, northeast sport)
• Respondents play on average 2.6 times a week.

What kind of vehicles do they own?

• imported luxury car, 29%
• domestic luxury, 5%
• sedan, 32%
• sports car, 16%
• SUV, 38%
• Motorboat or sailboat, 10%
• airplane(!), 1%.

Other sports?
On average, 30% or more of the respondents said they played the following sports:

• golf, 49%
• tennis, 45%
• skiing, 38%
• cycling, 37%
• running, 37%
• swimming, 31%. And 14% sailed....

If one defines 'high-wealth households' (HWH) by those with incomes over $250,000 and net worth at >$1M, then you arrive at 430 respondents whose numbers become particularly impressive. HWH:

• have a significantly higher average household income ($538,000 vs. $287,000) 
• have a significantly higher non real estate asset value ($2,937,000 vs. $1,407,000)

More ...

• Average # of airplane flights per year, all respondents: 5.9 (HWH averages 6.8)
• Average international flights per year, all respondents: 1.9 (HWH averages 2.3)

In what do USS players invest?

• life insurance, 35% (HWH, 45%)
• 401K or IRA, 77% (HWH, 85%)
• stocks, 65% (HWH, 83%)
• bonds, 37 (HWH, 52%)
• real estate, 36% (HWH, 51%)
• venture capital, 11 (HWH, 20%).

I could go on. Squash is a demanding sport, it's tough to do, so there will never be millions of players in the US like some other sports. But squash is nonetheless a robust sport, with wide interest in countries all over the world, whose relative demographics and financial information in many cases likely mirror those found in the US study.

A global brand would do well to promote itself in a milieu where these smart, high-achieving, relatively well-to-do individuals are fully engaged: in squash magazines, squash websites and other media, and by sponsoring tournaments that can be found on every continent save Antarctica. You will find your dollar goes a lot further than in such high-expense sponsorships like those found in golf and tennis, and the demographic and financial profile of the squash player is unrivaled. No sports segment comes close. If you are a luxury brand that needs to target individuals whose pockets are deep enough to consider purchasing one of your products, then it's time for some new thinking.

Oh, one more thing. Another old-school line of thought said squash spectators were too reserved, that the media quality was so problematical that you couldn't see the ball, and that the players were uninteresting and unexciting. Check this link out, which refutes all those points,and then some. It's 155 seconds of what squash is all about: Today's Squash.

Feel free to contact me with any questions. I personally have nothing to sell, but as a publisher I hate to see a great opportunity go unexamined.