Squash News From Around The World - Serious Squash

 I'm always looking for a new squash thing to get into. For those who have followed my journey of Serious Squash, I've designed merch, started a podcast, sold instructional videos and even designed a custom racquet. Serious Squash is always active on social media and I enjoy trying to explore new squash related avenues. 

While in lockdown I started researching and getting into crypto. I did this a few years back and have always kept an eye on this market. I was intrigued by the idea of a new monetary system and not having to rely on banks or the stock market for investments and loans. 

One are of crypto that has caught my eye recently was NFTs (non fungible token). If you don't know what an NFT is I will try to explain it. Basically an NFT is something digitized that can be traded and old over the open market. The NBA has started something called Top Shots where they sell short video plays from their stars. These are listed edition and in some instances only a single copy of a play can be sold. A Lebron James dunk recently sold for well over $100,000. The owner now has this exclusive video and will be the only owner of this video clip. They have the option to then resell this on the open market when and if they decide to do so. This is basically like a virtual basketball card. 

NFTs are also been using a lot in video games and artwork, Just this week someone transferred a Banksy painting into an NFT and afterwards burnt the original painting to increase the value and ease of sale of this artwork. It was a $70,000 piece of art and I imagine the price will increase even more now. I know it sound crazy, but there are a lot of very good reasons to do such a thing. If this person wants to sell the painting they now have access to a larger population and they can sell it instantly over the internet without having to ship a product. 

A lot of sport teams are also starting to take advantage of NFTs. Some soccer teams are using them as a virtual ticket to their games and others are adding bonuses, like a virtual trading card of a star on their team. I realize that it's difficult to comprehend the value of an NFT, but I do believe they will be a mainstay in our world and they will continually provide more and more use cases for them. In fact, Kings Of Leon just released their newest album only on NFTs. The possibilities are really endless. 

So what does this have to do with squash? Well yesterday I decided to create the very first ever squash NFT! The trick is that an NFT has to be under 30mb so my video had to be pretty short. I decided to use a video where I did a cool new solo drill. I was also able to determine how many total I am allowed to sell and how much people can buy it for. I decided to offer a maximum of 10 copies of my NFT and the price is .01 Ethereum per NFT. 

So I'm sure you're wondering, 'why would I buy an NFT of your video if I can watch it online for free or even screen record and save a copy for free?' Well this goes for every NFT on the marketplace. The NFTs are sold through the blockchain, meaning that this is the only way to own an official copy of something. All other copies are simply a replicate like a burned dvd. 

I realize this is not for everyone. But if you are into squash and also crypto (which is probably about .000000001% of the global population lol) then I thought this might interest some people. And for that small percent of people that would like to look at or perhaps even purchase the first ever squash NFT you can do so here: 

Serious Squash NFT

I strongly believe the PSA will eventually get into NFTs as they are excellent for engaging fans and for generating extra revenue streams. Think about how cool it would be if you could purchase the ownership rights to a shot of a month by your favourite player? Who wouldn't want to won a copy of that crazy rally with and Gaultier? What about an epic dive by Paul Coll or a wild celebration by Asal? The possibilities are endless and it's only a matter or when not if for the PSA. At least I can say that Serious Squash was ahead of the curve and got things rolling in the right direction. 

With all of this excess spare time I've come up another Serious Squash side project. What I've created is a video series called, Story Time. The goal of Story Time is to share short informational videos on specific areas surrounding squash. 

We are in a full lockdown so I can't access to the courts or the gym to film at this time. I only haver a few more on court clips to post, but I though that I could still create some useful content from home. 

I'm going to have some fun with this and I'll keep the episodes coming as long as we are in lockdown. In the first episode I provide my 4 main tips for getting more out of your solo practice. If you haven't already seen it you can watch it here.

Episode 2 will be dropping tomorrow and it's about the future of squash. I basically discuss how challenging this pandemic is and is going to continue to be on all of us. Whether you're a casual player, a professional, a coach or a club owner, we are all in a really challenging position. 

Are our numbers going to drop significantly? What does the future of tournaments looks like? How many professionals are going to retire in 2021? How many clubs will close down for good? I don't think we will fall completely off the map like racquetball did, but I do think things are going to be tough in our industry for a long time to come. I'm really interested to hear everyone's opinions so make sure you watch episode 2 and comment. 

If you haven't already done so, subscribe to the Serious Squash YouTube channel so you can stay connected with all the latest content. YouTube will be the only place I'll be publishing episodes of Story Time. YouTube.com/SeriousSquash

It's been a pretty busy fall and start to winter so I'm well behind on blog posts. I do have a lot of updates since the last post. I've had a number of new podcast guests since the last blog post. I've had squash legend Mike Way on discussing Ali Farag, Jonathon Power and college squash. I also recorded a tribute episode to Canadian squash legend, Stuart Dixon. The most recent episode featured Bob Bowers who is 1 of the top squash trainers in the world. If you're interested in training this is a must listen to episode. You can listen to these episodes wherever you listen to your podcasts by searching 'Serious Squash Podcast.'

In other news I'm up to episode 87 of Squash Shots. There's a new episode every Monday morning. If you want to learn more you can check it out at Patreon.com/SeriousSquash or on Instagram @SeriousSquashShots

In the most recent podcast I had longtime friend and college teammate, Greg Hutner on. Greg is a 3x Canadian Junior Champion and was 1 of the top players at Western University. He know runs one of the top junior programs in the country at Mayfair Lakeshore in Toronto. In this episode we discuss junior and college squash and have fun remembering some of our old squash days. Here's the link if you'd like to give it a listen: Episode 3: Greg Hutner

If you want to stay updated on all things Serious Squash sign up for the email list: Serious Squash Email List

That's all for this week. Stay tuned for the next couple of podcasts as I have on some of the top coaches in the world. Also, consider subscribing to Squash Shots which gives you a weekly exclusive video. This week the video is on the front forehand corner when you have time and next week I look at the differences in this area when under pressure. Learn more at Patreon.com/SeriousSquash

How does one gain this level of self-efficacy regardless of recent struggles? As they say, winning breeds confidence and as your skill increases your self-belief increases too. There also must be a correlation with making big shots and having the increased confidence to do it again, regardless of what has happened previously that day. I fully believe that the best athletes in the world have days and times where they’re low on confidence, but for the most part they have rehearsed certain plays and shots so frequently that they can execute more times than not in the clutch when the game is on the line. The main point from that last sentence is the mind, that they are not experiencing any self-doubt and that they continue to have positive self-talk and belief that the next thing they do is going to work, period. 

Clearly a lot of training must take place to reach this point as an athlete, but it’s also how you’ve been coached and how you practice. As already mentioned you need to have a lot of success and experience with winning. I’m mostly interested in how that athlete was able to attain the mental skills necessary to get to this winning mindset. When this athlete was younger and developing they must have made many mistakes trying to, for example take a difficult fade away jump shot. A more conservative and conventional player would always want to be set properly to take a higher percentage set-shot; this is what most coaches encourage and like to see; look for the highest percentage play that will yield the best outcome. Somewhere along the line that athletes must have practiced that difficult play over and over to make it higher percentage and to be able to execute it even when they’re having an offday. When you see someone struggling, but they execute in the clutch is a big reason why I love sports. Certainly there are other athletes that can make that same play, but fail to do so when the pressure is on and even more so when they've been struggling. 

I attempt to demonstrate a good balance as a coach between trying to get someone to play smart and technically sound, but also letting the athlete experiment and play around with what they can do. This is why in squash, as other sports too there are cultural differences in styles of play. Squash is actually a terrific example of this because most Egyptians are known as being creative and attacking while players from a country like England are known for being more attrional and structured. Egyptain squash has ruled the game at all levels recently yet somehow other countries aren’t able to adapt their style to their own athletes. Is this style and mental trait something that was learned and fostered when the current players were young? Is it instilled by their culture or by their peers and role models and coaches? Either way it is a lot of fun watching these contrasts in styles and I really appreciate the fearlessness they play with. Egyptian players for the most part have a more relaxed swing which I believe also contributes to being able to play the way that they do. If someone is nervous about playing a shot they tend to get tense and automatically think, ‘don’t mess up.’ When someone is thinking such a negative thought they are severely impacting their chance of executing a difficult skill under pressure. This is the outlook I try to have when playing now, play with confidence and expect the shot to go where I want it too. 

I understand that excess tension when performing a skill can have a detrimental impact on my performance and because of this I have designed a simple routine for when I notice this happening. If I play a shot that I am a bit too tense I simply shake out my hand afterwards as a reminder to relax and to stay loose. I have found this routine extremely beneficial to me, but again this is something that each athlete has to design for themselves. Another way to ease tension is simply by breathing. As mentioned earlier, focusing on your breath brings your attention back to the present, but a conscious deep breath can also physically relax you if you’re nervous or tense. 

I have one more point about this fearless unwavering confidence. As an athlete and coach I’ve always been analyzing my technique. It’s normal to always want to improve, but after playing a sport for 30 years my swing is pretty much my swing. A few years back I asked a mentor of mine for some feedback on my forehand swing and he told me that I should not be worried or even thinking about my swing anymore. Once he said this I started playing more free flowing and with a lot more confidence. Instead of thinking about how I was preparing and swinging for my shots I began simply thinking about where I want the ball to go. This was one of those moments that really improved my skill level and it was all between the ears once again. Now don’t misinterpret the value of technique, it’s just sometimes it’s overrated and being too overly conscious of it might just be what is holding you back. 

Questions to consider…

1. Are you afraid of making errors?
2. Do you tense up during pressure times of a match? 
3. Do you play to win or not to lose?
4. How does your most recent success impact your current confidence? 
5. What is your self-talk like when things aren’t going their best? Is it helpful or damaging? 
6. Do you use a conscious deep breath as a part of any of your routines?

Time To Make Some Notes About How To Play More Confident, Free Flowing and Positively 

• In the space below write out a detailed (it can be short and precise) routine that will help you relax and remove unwanted tension during competition.

My Removing Unwanted Tension Routine

I hope you enjoyed this section. I'd appreciate any feedback you may have. My email is info@SeriousSquash.com

Jun 17 2020 10:43AM

Squash Canada's 2020 National Championships

Squash Canada recently announced their fall schedule which will include the make up dates for the 2020 National Championships. Solo hitting is now allowed in many clubs here in Canada so it's great to see us getting a bit closer to our 'new normal' which will include squash. For the upcoming national championships Squash Canada selected hosts which have previously hosted large events which will make the operations run slightly smoother, if indeed they do run as planned. I realize every athlete wants the opportunity to play in their annual national championship, but we are in uncertain times.

I'm going to go through a few of the reasons I have issues with this rescheduling. The first being is that people outside of Ontario are not going to want to book flights and accommodations for something that at best is 50/50 to occur. Currently people aren't travelling and you should only do so if it's essential. You need to plan ahead for traveling to a big tournament and I don't think many people are going to feel comfortable booking travel right now.

The 2020 National Championship Schedule

Another major issue I have with the new tournament dates is that these will likely be the first tournaments of the season. How is an athlete supposed to peak for the start of the season after so long away from the courts and competition? You shouldn't be starting a new season with the biggest events. Currently many people around Canada are just starting to solo hit and it's been months since our last match. It could easily be 5+ months of no squash for people hoping to play and compete for a national championship. This is not only going to lower the caliber of play, but it will also come at an increased risk of injury. 

No sport wants to have a gap year with no championships crowned, but I think that's what Squash Canada should do; that is actually what will likely end up happening anyways. Will it be safe to have a large grouping together in a club for a tournament by October? Professional sports with unlimited resources like the NBA, NHL and MLB are still trying to figure out how to return to finish their seasons in a safe manner. 

As someone who has played in and coached at multiple national championships I know this would greatly impact my schedule for next season. I would like to participate in the masters event and coach at the junior one, but I don't want to get injured and I don't know when I'll be able to start my junior program. 

I want squash to come back as much as anyone. Squash is unfortunately a high risk sport for transmission of the virus so I don't think Squash Canada should have bothered rescheduling these events. I know they may very well get cancelled at a later date and they are planning for the best so perhaps this won't matter in the end. I'm normally an optimistic person and I believe in the power of positive thinking, but I think we should be more cautious and realistic in this instance. 

It may sound like it, but I don't want to blame Squash Canada for this decision, it's their job to run events. They probably don't see a big issue if they have to cancel later on, but from an athletes and coaches perspective I see a lot of roadblocks with this announcement. I do believe Squash Canada should have consider the planning that this entails for the participants and the lack of preparation time for the athletes and their coaches. For the sake of squash I hope I'm proven completely wrong. 

In closing, I've decided to pause the Serious Squash Shop for the time being. With so many clubs closed and people struggling with their finances it's not being used as much as normal. I've since posted the instructional films on the Serious Squash Youtube channel. If you've ordered a new Serious Squash tee, not too worry, it will make it to you shortly! And if you'd like to order one please email me at info@serioussquash.com message me on the Serious Squash Facebook or Instagram account. Squash Shots is still up and running strong. Now that my club is open I will be able to record lots of new solo and on court training drills. You can find out more at Patreon.com/SeriousSquash 

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