S Q U A S H 5 7
C L U B

CONDITIONED GAMES ADVANCED SHOTS FOREHAND BACKHAND DROP BOAST VOLLEY SERVE DOUBLES FITNESS GRIP WORDS OF WISDOM

Click on the technique you are most interested in.
The videos below are designed to help you continue to improve on your Squash57 (racketball) journey. Please ensure you have read our DISCLAIMER prior to starting any of the exercises/drills shown in the videos.

Welcome to Squash57 Club

Conditioned Games

Conditioned games are a good way to practice your shots under competitive conditions

Channel game down the wall. This pairs drill helps you work on shots, tightness and accuracy down the wall.

Drop & drive down the wall game.

Advanced Shots

Watch these videos to see what type of additional shots you can add to your repertoire!

Advanced Shots 1. This video shows different types of shots you might try to incorporate into your game - which will hopefully cause difficulties for your opponent!

Advanced shots 2.

The Backhand

You will normally have a favourite side and that tends to be for a lot of people their forehand, so it’s vital that you don’t neglect your backhand! You don’t want it to become weak spot which your opponent targets! Use the solo practices above to work on your backhand and also try the drills below to strengthen your backhand.

Backhand drive off back wall.

Backhand drive into the service box.

The Forehand

The Drop

The drop shot is a difficult shot to hit in racketball due to the ball being so bouncy BUT that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be part of your repertoire! It is an important shot as it opens the court up and means you are then using 100% of the court which will make it more difficult for your opponent to cover all the options you can hit. you can work with a partner to practice them or go solo!

Backhand drop at the front. Working on your backhand drop shot at the front of the court. Work on touch. Don't worry if you make mistakes - it's practice!

Backhand down the wall drop shot drill. This drill will help on your accuracy, tightness down the wall, consistency and touch.

Working on short & long drops at the front of the court.

Drop to and from short line.

The Boast

Practicing boasts works better in pairs. The boast & drive is excellent as you are both working on a shot, you can also make this competitive which adds to the fun. The boast and drop is hard work but it helps you work on both shots under pressure, working as a pair you swap after hitting x amount of shots so both players get an alternate rest.

Boast & drive pairs drill.

Working on basic feel to hitting a boast and the 2 wall ‘moving’ boast.

Boast & drop pairs drill.

The Volley

The Volley isn’t an easy shot to hit in racketball because it has to be very accurate, it is quite easy to hit a ‘loose’ shot and give your opponent an opportunity to win the rally. Therefore it is important to practice the shot to build up your confidence. You can do this working as a pair or solo.

Backhand volley down the wall pairs drill. Volleying the ball back down the wall - looking to groove your swing. Don't get too close!

Backhand volley down the wall. Solo drill.

Backhand volley drop behind shortline. Solo drill.

Volley off the Wall. This is a good basic practice for getting used to the space needed to hit the ball off the wall.

Backhand volley down the wall from the shortline. This drill helps you work on your control and consistency of shot. It's really about being able to hit the ball where you want to hit it. Not that easy! Have a go.

Controlling racket head for the Volley.

The Serve

The Serve is one of those underestimated shots. For some it is merely a way of starting the point! If this is the case then you are missing a trick! It’s the only time that you are fully in control, your opponent has to wait for you and you have the opportunity to hit many different serves to put them under pressure. A club player who serves well probably picks up 1/2 cheap points a game due to their opponents errors. Have a look at L1 serves in the beginners section but you will hopefully find the L2 serves more helpful.

The Serve L2 - The Forehand. Recapping what you should be looking to work on for your forehand serve.

The Serve L2 - The Backhand. Recapping on how you can improve your backhand serve.

The Serve to the body. A good variation is to hit the ball at your opponent. This variation should be used sparingly in order to keep it a surprise!

Doubles

Thought about playing doubles?

This video will take you through the basic rules for racketball doubles and help you work out where to stand and move to during the rallies.

This is a more in-depth overview of doubles which was prepared for the WSF Squash 57 commission and is viewable on their YouTube channel.

Fitness

Fitness is very important on court if you want to survive those punishing rallies! Some people will go to the gym or hit the road running but conditioned movement on court is something that works well for your fitness and your specific movements on court to the different corners. Before undertaking any of these routines always check with your doctor (please read our DISCLAIMER) and never try to do too much! Slowly but surely you can build up your corners and your level of fitness. Not only will it build up your fitness and recovery rate in between rallies but it will also condition your body to move economically to the ball.

Ghosting to the front corners.

Getting Your Grip Right & Watching the Ball

It’s always a good idea to check out your grip to make sure you’ve got the best preparation you can for hitting the ball. Everyone tends to have a slight variation in their grip especially if you’ve been playing for some time. If it doesn’t affect your game and you are comfortable playing all your shots and you don’t have an issue with them - then DON’T change your grip! If you feel there is an issue then check out the videos below. Do you watch the Ball? If not then check out the ‘watch the ball’ video you’d be surprised the amount of players who don’t watch where the ball goes in between shots.

As a beginner the most important thing is to get your grip right on your racket so it is easier to hit and control the ball. This clip will show you the fundamentals.

This takes you through a 'photographic' overview of the grip. This hopefully will make it easy for you to pause the clip at any stage so you can practice how you should hold the racket.

This will help you work on the traditional footwork for your forehand & backhand as well as demonstrating the racket swing for you.

Watching the Ball. A major issue for beginners and some club players is watching the front wall and not the ball in between shots! Watch this video to see how to correct this mistake. Equally important for squash or racketball players.