"The journey of a million miles, starts with a single step." - Ken Carter off the movie Coach Carter. It's that single step that gets the ball rolling (preferably out of the nick) and that single step is what makes things happen. I believe we should never get stuck in a rut of doing the same thing day in, day out. Life should be fresh, loved and lived to its full potential. So get stepping everyone - you can thank me later :)
Even as a Squash player - it's easy to fall into the 'comfort zone' as the NZ national coach calls it. The zone where you live happily, everything is comfortable and life flickers by. Sounds great right? It is, trust me... BUT - how does one improve and get ahead in a sport that is so, so tough on every level? Not only is it by working hard - that just comes with the territory - but it's also by finding the right balance of controlable things around you. Two weekends ago, I was lucky enough to have two of my good friends from home - who have just moved to London - come across to Leeds and Halifax to spend some time with me. Any home sickness, any negative thoughts and any issues I had were instantly washed away as I laughed, made memories and smiled the weekend away. Love this life - living this life - getting the balance right! It was nice to do a little bit of sight seeing, pop into any bar, shop or restaurant, be the tourist for once and be somewhat spontaneous. It's something I take hugely for granted when I'm travelling as a squash professional - as days contain moving from hotels to practice courts, back to the hotel for a rest before heading back to the courts for the all important match. Because I'm strict with my match preparation, every detail is planned out and my time is supremely well organised. This Leeds trip, if we wanted to stop and take a photo of something - we did. If we wanted to walk down that street - we did. If we wanted to be silly and laugh at something - we did. There were no time constraints, no rushing for flights, no strict diet and no pressure. I could get used to this!! Catching up on news from home, hearing that fantastic kiwi accent and seeing familiar faces has freshened me up ten-fold. It's no wonder that when I took to the court on Monday morning I was loose and ready to get stuck in!
I went to another one of Malcolms sessions and had a two hour session with Saurav Ghosal (World Ranking 19), Miguel Angel Rodriguez (WR #23) and Siddharth Suchde (WR #50). We played heaps of alley games and conditioned games and I more than held my own - Saurav was the only one I didn't beat. I'm becoming more and more accustomed to being surrounded by top quality players here on a daily basis - which in turn is bringing me out of my shell. It's nice to see that I can produce Malcolms style of squash even against the world's best players and I couldn't be happier with the learning curve he's sending me on. This was the first time I've met Miguel - who is renowned for being the fastest player in the world - nicely named 'The Flying Colombian'. I've seen Miguel playing on SquashTV and have been amazed by his speed - but it wasn't until I was sharing a court with him that it really took its full toll. This man can...
FLLLLLY - literally... True to form, all the guys were top blokes too, so it made the day even more enjoyable.
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. You playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people wont't feel insecure around you. We are meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." This is my favourite quote from the movie Coach Carter which took up my Wednesday morning as I rested up my blisters that were all over my toes, and to conserve energy for our final Yorkshire league match. I always feel inspired after watching this movie and it left me wanting to chant out "to the baseline" as I ran on the treadmill. Unfortunately for me, my blisters wouldn't let up so I had to take the whole day off, never ideal before a night time match - and never ideal when I wanted to include 'naturally I finished my set' in this blog. I turned up to the Phoenix Club and saw that I was up to play Laura Massaro who is the current British National Champion and Womens World #3. Interesting! I cruised through the first set and was up 6-2 in the second when I broke 3 sets of strings in 4 points! I was now out of rackets and had to borrow one from my team mate which was a Dunlop 4D Aerogel Elite - my least favourite racket on the market at the moment. The head of the racket is huge and the strings were strung super tight - the yin to my yang. I always thought that I could pick up any racket and be somewhat OK, turns out this is not the case! I couldn't feel the ball on the racket as I took the ball in short, nor could I hit a tight forehand drive to save myself. After a bit of a scare and a lot of cheering from a boisterious home crowd, we were headed for a 5th and final set with the score locked up at 2-2. Lucky for me (and my manhood) I turned up the pace AKA just smahsed everything, and boosted off to a 9/0 lead and won comfortably. I was letting my light shine - but I must've given Laura more than permission for hers to do the same!! After the match - dignity intact - I handed back the Dunlop racket and said thank you... and never again!
Losing... Not a topic I like to talk about, nor a topic I like to linger on. The pain I feel when I lose is so immense. It becomes similar to the feeling of the computer crashing on all your unsaved work, the pain when you hit the funny bone on your elbow, the pain when you've locked the keys in the car and girls - the pain you feel when your GHD breaks or you run out of Thin Lizzy just before a night out... AKA grrrr!! Now I make no bones about being this way - it's part of my make up being such an intense sportsman and probably has a lot to do with how successful I've been so far - and to be honest I'd like to see this fire in more kids bellies these days. But, with this trip what I have to come to reason with (and I promise I'm trying to get good at this) is to not only see reason to why I'm losing, but to make the changes necessary to get better. What I forget to realise is that over my 15 year career thus far, I've honed a very attacking and aggressive style which has held me as one of NZs most successful ever juniors, has got me to NZ mens number 3 and has slotted me in as the 81st best player in the world. All of which has taken a lot of time and practice - naturally. But is this game style - based off my perception of what's good from watching lots of YouTube and SquashTV - going to get me to the top level or even the next level...? Unfortunately not! The fact I'm losing here and now has a far less painful effect due to me knowing I'm trying new things, trying to implement things I've only just learnt and which are still heavily in the honing phase - and for a perfectionist like me... I may be some time! That's the reality of it, I hope anyway... Am I trying to convince myself? Time, solos and a lot of work will tell.
Another reason why I think I find Malcolms sessions so foreign (a good foreign) and enjoyable is the way he talks to you during his sessions. When he talks, you listen - there's no two ways about it. This, for a person who is easily distracted by negative thoughts but is a super quick learner - works a treat. The best part I find is when you hit the tin or make a mistake - even if it's a easy volley drop you should've made blind folded or if it's an extravagant cross court nick - Malcolm will never berate you, moan at you or criticize you. He simply says 'unlucky' or 'open the face of the racket more next time' or 'hit it softer next time' or 'it's fine if it clips the top of the tin' etc. Immediately, you've stopped dwelling on the past shot and your already preparing for the next one, hunting the next opportunity, WANTING the next opening to make things right. 'Good footwork and great shot Evan, your really playing well today.' I think over the years of bringing up a world class son, Malcolm has realised that squash players are a tad schitzophrenic/crazy - me severely included - so not only are we fighting our own inner demons, we don't need to be fighting anyone else! One comment from one man can liberate the badness and bring in the positive - making me even more powerful beyond measure and making my light shine brighter. Have I mentioned that I like these sessions yet?
Obviously I'm a squash enthusiast - so checking out squashsite.co.uk is as everyday a thing for me as checking the fridge, my emails and facebook. Even though I have trained, talked and rubbed shoulders with the best players in the world - I'm still in awe at how amazing they are - not just on court - but at dealing with everything that being a squash professional throws at you. The way they deal with their training, relationships, their diet, their sponsors and most importantly for me - how they deal with all the travel. In the last 10 months, the phenomomen that is Ramy Ashour has re-emerged himself to the very top of the squash world. Don't get me wrong he didn't go anywhere, injuries just plagued his 2011. Now he's back - looking fitter, stronger and meaner than ever. He's been 35 matches unbeaten (since May last year when he lost in the British Open final), has been in 10 consecutive World Series finals and has won the last 7!! A record unmatched since the great Jahingar Khan days who went a mammoth 555 matches unbeaten spanning over 5 years! For those of you who don't play squash or haven't heard of Evan Ashour, oops I mean Ramy Ashour - check these out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Impressed much? Try this one for size which has gone viral and has sent the squash world into a frenzy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
The fact that the world will never see these guys play because we can't make the Olympics until at least 2020 is heart breaking and borderline criminal. Even with me now being at the tender age of 23, I'll still be 30 if we make it in. The only positive for this I can take, is at 30 your in your squashing prime. Fingers crossed we can make it! #vote4squash.
Snow. Snow. Freezing. Freezing. Frostbite! As I looked ahead at the big trucking shoe prints left from someone else and sheepishly glanced back at the Adidas prints left by my kicks, I knew 'these boots weren't made for walking' (so to speak). As every piece of ice cracked under foot it opened new thoughts, new progressions and new revelations - I always enjoy my Sunday afternoon walks to Tesco! Because everything is so close here in the fax, I rarely get a chance to get out to think and to clear my head. So I took this opportunity and had a seat on a nearby bench. Recently I have found my matches from the Finnish Open I played in early February on YouTube. Having access to these matches is a great tool to use to improve as I can see exactly what I'm up to and where I'm going wrong. I'm really disappointed about my match with Steve Finitsis where I lost 3/1 after having a commanding lead in the first set - especially more so now that I can see the match in its entirety. I'm erratic, my length is so short and my movement is horrible - still good to see and learn I guess. A bit disheartened, it was nice to find and see my qualifying final match against Greg Lobban afterwards, where I played a lot better. Looking back - remember this was only 7 weeks ago - I can see major, major things that I've already started to change. My variations in length are much more tactile and knowledgeable, subtleties in my footwork have opened up more options and made me more accurate and I'm swinging a lot bigger and through the ball - Amr Shabana-esque (my favourite player) just to name a few. In such a short time, I feel wiser and although I can't see leaps and bounds of game play improvement - just yet - I know there's tactical, knowledge and most importanly mental improvements. And to be honest this is where I'm the most fragile and vulnerable - especially against the top players, so I couldn't be happier. My solo notes have become more and more sophisticated. I have notes from every one of Malcolms sessions, every coaching session I've had with Paul Hornsby from home and I have detailed descriptions on every shot stored on my iPod. So, anytime I have problems - out comes my squashing bible and on goes the focus hat. Is it my movement? Is it my racket prep? Am I too close? Am I low enough? Am I swinging to the right target? I feel like Squash is as difficult and frustrating as being a golfer... Except we need the precision and accuracy of Golf whilst running around like a lunatic at full speed! Haha.
Anyway, that's all for me for this edition - I have exactly two weeks left here until I'm back on home shores and can have my Mums lasagne again mmm - so I'm lowkey counting down the days. Not all the 70p Skittles in the world could keep me here much longer! Hope everyones going well and looking forward to the NZ squash season starting as much as me.
Ciao for now :)
