Cleveland 'Squash in the Land' Tournament Recap

Better late than never getting these match recaps done!

Usually I try to write these tournament recaps as soon as possible after the tournament ends, so the details are fresh in my mind. However, as soon as I got back from Cleveland, I was straight into commentating & MC duties for TOC, plus I caught a bug of some sort as well which really knocked me on my butt. I was in full survival mode!

Once I recovered, I had a lot of immediate coaching tasks and admin to get done which took priority.

Anyway- here we are! :)

Squash in the Land Open

Truth be told, I wasn't quite ready to play this tournament.

After playing World Teams in Hong Kong, I needed a bit of a rest at home in Victoria. I trained, but just enough to keep things ticking along (once a day). When I got back to NYC, I had about a week to prepare for the Cleveland tournament. Unfortunately, a lot of hitting partners were still away for the holidays, so while I was able to get on court most days, it wasn't quite the rich environment I needed to gain some momentum.

Since I didn't feel hugely confident in my game going into the tournament, I gave myself the goal of enjoying the event and appreciating it.

Sometimes in the past I have gone to events, and regardless of my confidence in my game, not enjoyed being there to compete.

I saw this as an opportunity to see if I could allow myself to be a little more relaxed than normal, and try to enjoy my practice hits more (rather than overanalyzing and stressing).

I had a couple of practice hits and solo/gym sessions before my first match. Although my fitness and shots didn't feel at peak levels, my body and mind felt good, so I tried to gain confidence from this.

Match Day vs Sarah Jane Perry

I'd played SJ a few times in PSA over the past couple of years. I had yet to get a game off of her, but had been getting closer, losing in tiebreaks.

She is a tricky player to play, because her racquet skills are excellent, and the way she holds and hits the ball makes you feel like you can't get into a rhythm.

On the very cold Cleveland Racquet Club courts, it proved very difficult to outplay SJ. I felt inaccurate, and I wasn't covering her attacks very well. Credit to her, she came out firing.

The match was over in a bit of a blur. There were a handful of good rallies, but I never really gave myself the opportunity to sink my teeth into the match.

I did, however, watch the match back later that night.

Watching your losses back is a bit of a painful process, but it's so helpful. I noticed a few major areas that I was losing silly points from. Just a simple change in tactic would have kept me in the rallies, rather than letting SJ stay in front of me and dominate the T.

The major takeaways were:

• hit WAY more straight, so I'm not feeding her volley/wingspan and giving her angles

• instead of forcing the ball short on the first opportunity, be prepared to hold and hit deep to create more distance for your opponent. There is space in the back of the court to attack into as well!

• Movement under pressure- especially to the front- HAS to be better.

Analyzing these 3 takeaways were huge, because it gave me very clear direction for my training afterwards. It was uncomfortable at first, but the more I practiced straightening out and looking for the volley to attack deep, the more pressure I was able to put on my opponents. I also got more comfortable taking the ball in short without feeling like it had to be a winner, ie "working" the ball in short. It helped me figure out what kind of short attack I should play, as well. A soft short volley drop. More of a quick "kill" volley drop which comes back a little further but stays tight? Hold and volley boast?

Annoyingly, just as I was starting to gain traction, I got really ill and was busy working TOC, so I couldn't train at ALL for about a week.

The good news is, I've been able to get back to this structure since feeling better, and I'm loving having this in my head to focus on every time I go on to drill, play, or solo. The next test will be to see how it holds up in competition, because the mental side always plays a big role in how well your tactics actually hold up.

After I was done playing, I stuck around for a couple more days as I was asked to MC at the glass court downtown. This allowed me to get some more practice hits in, make a bit more $$, and of course, keep working on my speaking skills! :)

Next up:

I'm commentating in Houston at a PSA Gold event next week, and there's a slim chance I get off of the reserve list (I'm currently #3) to play. If I don't get in, my next event is a Copper tournament in Vancouver in early March, followed by the Australian Open!

As always, a big thank you to my sponsors (Harrow, Control the T sports, Richardson Wealth, Open Squash, New York Athletic Club). And of course, thank you to any of you who are subscribed to my Squashletic App or have purchased a program for me! I appreciate your support, and I feel very grateful to each and every one of you whom I'm able to help using my knowledge and expertise.