Balls to the Wall: Look at Yourself by Alan Stapleton October 4, 2016
In
my teenager days, of grip-and-graunch garage parties, the first hour of
the party was spent with handbags of girls, standing, giggling and
whispering on one side of the darkly-lit area, while pockets of boys,
ever-so-macho, huddled just out-side, secretly eyeing their anticipated
‘prey”. Like an important squash match, these were nervous moments.
where the “state of the court” is measured and competitors preen, plume
and suss each other out. King William’s Town was blessed with only
single sex schools, and the opposite sex was placed on pedestals and
idolised. Alcohol, as a confidence booster, was generally in short
supply, but if available, it was a boot-legged concoction of mixes
stolen from Dad’s booze cabinet. Some head-stomping rock-n-roll music
was generally used to ‘break the ice’ of this squash-like warm up. One
of the favourite, “get-the-party-going” songs was Uriah Heep’s “Look at
Yourself”, a wild rocker that pulled people to their feet to unsettle
the dust from the freshly swept, cushioned and blanketed floors.
It’s doubtful if any of us, lusty teenagers took much heed of the
lyrics, yet, ironically it was that confused teenager LOOK at YOURSELF
introspection which was the cause of all that nervousness. We saw
ourselves as too fat, too thin, too tall, too short, over-developed,
under-developed…so the stalking started with pimpled faces and gawky
bodies moving gormlessly in a mingled mish-mash of sweaty bodies,
clapping and jiving to the loud-as-the-neighbours-will-allow rock
screeching. As partners paired themselves off, lights were lowered,
just sufficiently for the host-child to change the LP on the record
player to slow the pace and allow for the afore-said grip-and-graunch
“waltzing” to start. The unpaired repaired to their places, for more
giggling introspection, or to sneak a “hidden dop” or cough on a
furtive cigarette. And in the morning, amidst more introspection of
success (or failure), rumours of hickeys and dickeys ran rife as to who
ended with whom…….
At this time of the year, Conference Centres are over-booked as
corporates pack their staff off to getaway venues to look at
themselves. To analyse their year’s performances, put plans together,
to right the wrongs and strengthen the strengths of the past year.
Hours will be poured into presentations where staff will commit to
sweat the small stuff, think out of the box, challenge the status
quo…and then get back into their boxes, and do what their boss tells
them to do in order to achieve those “stretched” budgets. A fair amount
of time and budget is allocated to Party Time, and similar to those
teenage parties, much Team and Self Introspection and rumour-mongering
trails home, afterwards. The parties are normally remembered, the
presentations, probably forgotten
Where am I going with this?
My year-end brain leads me down strange pathways. Aaah…Squash
With Inter-provincials and Winter Leagues, now just a memory, some
squash players bury their hatcheted racquets in their cupboards, while
others relax themselves into the more social, doubles and summer
leagues where beers beaten are probably more important than results and
rankings.
But, Now is the Time, that squash players, administrators, and coaches,
need to stop, and listen to those “Look at Yourself” introspective
lyrics. They too, need to take themselves away from the courts and
review their year. Wait for January and you will be whisked away on a
new year wave, and probably be dumped back to where you stand, right now
Like teenagers, many of us, are far too critical of ourselves as
players. Probably, the first and most important question, we all need
to ask ourselves, is “Why am I playing Squash?” Answer that question
honestly, and you may be saving yourself a Uriahed heap of angst.
Whether your answer is “Fame…recognition…because I am good at
it…because I enjoy it…it’s great exercise….to lose weight… I am meeting
wonderful people…. gives me an outlet to be myself…. gives me an excuse
for a beer”…. your answer is right
To the ambitious player, in search of squash stardom, then this “dead
period “is key for you. It is ‘dead time” from a competitive
perspective so an ideal time to iron out technical inefficiencies,
build up a stamina base away from the courts, introduce a shot to your
artillery, identify weak and strong areas of your game and to plan your
next season in terms of tournaments, peaking and resting.
Be harsh, but gentle on yourself. Possibly get a coach, or fellow
player to compare notes but do know that you are taking steps to
improve yourself as a player, and those disciplines will improve you as
a person. The changes may affect your play for a period. That is why,
NOW is the time.
To the other, probably 98% of the squash population, the secret to your
next successful season is to play, play and play more squash. But get
out of your regular rut, and play some different players, ideally a bit
better than you.
To those who head off into Squash hibernation, enjoy the break, bronze
the beautiful bodies, grow that gut and soak up the sun. But be
prepared. You may well be over-taken by some of the eager beavers who
have sat down, set their 2017 squashing goals, put a plan together to
achieve those goals, and then used this “dead period” to put their plan
into action.
Me? I will keep on looking at myself. But as opposed to my teenager
days, I know, I will never find perfection. And I must accept myself
for who I am, and the talents afforded me. As a coach, I will keep on
looking for new ways to develop players. As an administrator, I will
keep on looking for new ideas to make my club a happier, user-friendly
“home”. As a player, climbing down the squash ladder, as long as my
gormless knee-moniaed body will listen, hopefully I will find some
players willing to bash with me and share a beer, so that I continue my
grip-and-graunch love affair with our beautiful game.
