I was pleasantly surprised one day to
find my name in Squash magazine (October 2012 editor’s column) thanks
to Jay Prince, editor in charge and one of my Squash mentors of late.
So I figured I will take this opportunity to jot down about my renewed
zest for getting better at this game along with my results at the 2012
World Masters held in Birmingham, England just before the 2012 Summer
Olympics.
As the 2012 rolled in and I bid
farewell to 25 years of steady 9 to 5 run of the mill lifestyle, I
decided to get fit, take my Squash addiction more seriously and play
more competitively. It was just a thought but then the opportunity
presented itself in World Master Squash in Birmingham, UK in July’ 2012
a week before the London Summer Olympics! On a whim, I signed up and
the saga began.
Of course as I started talking about
the event and my preparation back in January, people asked me – Naveen,
are you going to take some lessons? Before I could even think, my
response was ‘I am not ready!’ That made me think – really, that was so
true. I already know there is so much wrong with me, how would just
taking some lessons going to make a difference if I am not willing to
change. And if I did take a few lessons, I would be throwing the money
in the drain as I did not really put much effort into it on my own. So
I did a mental inventory of what’s wrong and sat out (stood up - more
aptly!) to do something about it.
First and foremost was my attitude
itself. I carried an air of arrogance on the court – not against my
opponent but more so against the poor refs (mind you it is a voluntary
and thankless job and I spared them no gratitude while on the courts
during a tournament match). I was often visibly and loudly upset upon
myself – and justified my cries of anger as a way to get motivated and
find my mojo. This all had to go, as I was going to be up against some
top players, top notch referees and a very polite English court
settings (ironically where in fact I spent 4 years playing in early
defining years of my Squash game – 20 years can change a lot of
things!). I made a promise to myself not to question referees calls for
any tournament I played since then (I have done only a passable job at
best on this but I am extremely conscious of this now than ever
before!). I also stopped cursing, shouting or throwing my racquet
around when I hit a poor shot. Instead I took the opportunity to pause
a moment and think what I could have done differently. Was I late at
the ball, did I try to force a risky shot before getting in position
properly or what were the other possible shots available..? I also
assessed the game score and options available for rest of the game. (I
am actually getting much better at this now than ever before! this is
also a perfect time to recite your favorite prayers or seek forgiveness
for your would-be bad behavior ;)).
Next on the list was fitness, I
always thought of myself a fit individual – my vitals checked out OK, I
wasn’t overweight. I had recently run into severe anemia issues but a
small iron pill a day took care of that. However I knew I needed to get
better (and now I know how unfit I was back then!). So came a fitness
regimen that included 90 minutes of daily morning drills on Squash
court with solo drills (twice a week), 2 person drills (thrice a week –
sometimes 3 person drills), stretches before, during and after the
drills, squats, lunges and push-ups – minimal weights but repetitions
and most importantly a weekly routine. I found a perfect Squash drill
partner in Wibe Wagemans who eats, sleeps and breathes Squash (his
wife’s words – not mine!). Wibe has a much simpler and very measurable
goal – He wants to be a 5.0 player before being relegated to masters
division for ever. Together we found a set of drills and matches twice
a week that have given both of us a tremendous boost in intensity of
our games. The fitness super hero, forever young Jim-Jean Francois,
another regular from our club, showed me the squats, lunges and push-up
routines that have now become part of my cool-down routine after
Squash. Jimmy, Tom Mace and I began to drill often in the morning hours
and each and every session made me get to the ball a wee bit easier and
play the ball ever so precisely. Besides court drills, I incorporated
twice a week of 1200 meter swim (mostly front crawls with a breast
stroke lap thrown in at the end of a set of 10 laps). Boring as it may
be, it has been a perfect low impact cross-training workout to soothe
my muscles and increase my lung capacity. Given that I swim like a
brick, it has also worked in my favor as I probably work 2 to 3 times
harder than an average swimmer at it. To break the monotonicity, I
focus on correct stance for arms (as correct as I can manage that is!)
for one lap and the same for legs in the next lap (this also helps me
to keep a count of number of laps as I want to be just fair and do all
my required number of laps but no more ;). When it came to stretches –
most important aspect of my fitness regimen – to ensure that I don’t
have torn muscles every now and then, I made time for my routine
stretches (a collection of Yoga poses really focusing on various joints
and muscle groups) before, in-between or after the games or swim. I
didn’t spare even the steam, shower or the dressing room to make sure
that I got the last set of stretches in before calling it a day (or
night for that matter)!
Besides regular drills, swim and
stretch routines, I also was taken up under the wings by Jay Prince and
Kyla Workman – both phenomenal Squash players in their own right. They
made time to play with me weekly (If I could, Jay was ready to play me
every day!) and helped me hone my competitive game. Our club Squash
Pros the venerable Mr. Yusuf Khan and then newly appointed, legendary
Zarak Jahan Khan made time to watch my games and encourage me to play
better with their profound knowledge of this wonderful game of skill
and fitness. Having developed a better listening ear recently (instead
of throwing fit at my bad shots) I was finally able to absorb some of
their tips to rectify weaknesses in my game.
6 months into it, I started to notice
the difference (and so did my opponents thankfully!), gone were my loud
breathing on the court – with-in one game I used to start breathing
heavily (I had blamed my anemia for this of course). Now I found myself
easily running up to the front court as often as needed to retrieve the
balls and being calmer helped me stay focused on the game. I told
myself, the real opponent is waiting for me in England with a
professional ref and a courteous audience who is not going to take
lightly to any of my outbursts – that really helped! Now was the time
for me to get serious help with my stroke play and the game on the
court. And the opportunity landed itself just perfectly. Zarak
organized a 3-day squash camp for the kids (and kid at heart) where I
injected myself in and this camp was indeed a game changer. After 20+
years of Squash play for the first time I learnt what a straight or
cross-court drive was and how to play it long and push my opponent to
deep corner. I understood what my buddies meant by having a strong
‘core’! I drove up north to Richmond, Canada to play with Shakiru Matti
– a great coach from Nigeria who also showed me how to strengthen my
core and hit strong deep drives. As part of the Squash camp, Zarak also
inducted a physical training routine with Curt Ligot who simply drove
my long held belief home that it is not the heavy weights but subtle
and mostly our own body weight that helps us become physically strong
and agile. Curt offered me a set of introductory movement focused
fitness training classes that I took upon for last couple of weeks and
I kid you not – in one such class when Curt asked me to turn to run
from sprint – I felt like Usain Bolt and I didn’t know I could bolt
that fast! Likewise I could jump just as high!
Those past six months had truly been
a transformational journey for me as an individual. I had my series of
setbacks – a bad case of flu that knocked me out for a complete week
and just week before the World Masters, I was knocked out again for
another four days by a serious bout of food poisoning. But setbacks
aside, I was ready in time – I dropped nearly 10 pounds of weight,
gained good chunk of muscle mass, I moved nimbly on the court and
all-in-all got ready to take on the World stage in England set against
the professional heavy hitters from all over the world.
It turned out to be a phenomenal
tournament – not only in its finest setting at University of Birmingham
– host of Jamaican and US track and field teams for the Olympics, but
also for British hospitality, super organization skills and last but
not the least phenomenal caliber of players on the courts. My first
match was at the Edgbaston Priory Club against Terry Manuatu from New
Zealand on surprisingly warm courts. Neither of us could keep the ball
down but Terry made far more mistakes than I did, helping me secure a
3-0 win handily. Terry passed me on a shirt from his home club in New
Zealand – what I great idea I thought, apologizing to him profusely as
I had only one shirt on. Next round was at West Warwickshire Club. I
was on fresh legs and had another easy 3-0 win over Ubirajara Fontenele
Filho from Brazil who was visiting with his son, who snapped a picture
for both of us after the match. Courts were perfect – Concrete walls
that absorbed most of the momentum of the ball making them perfect for
a good lob and drop game. Next day I peddled all the way back to
Edgbaston Club where I was playing my third round against an Englishman
Karl Hardy. It turned out to be a fine battle. I was nearly dehydrated
by the third game and Karl took me out 11-1. I borrowed some water from
a fellow player to pull back in the 4thand rushed to get a water bottle
from the bar but ended up getting a conduct warning as it took me a
while to order a drinks bottle at the busy bar. But thankfully I won
the final game 11-6 leaving enough margin for the losing party to take
solace that match was decided pretty fairly. Next Match – Round of 16
was at Solihull Arden Club. Courts were perfect, ball was great, body
felt great and my opponent Eamonn Price was a perfect opponent (3/4
Seed – British Over-45 champion and finalist at last year’s European
Masters in Cologne, Germany). First game was close till 8-8 but Eamonn
closed it 11-8 and then proceeded to put me in place. I never got a
chance to control the T in next two games and was forced to retrieve
the ball from deep back corners (forehand mostly). I would have liked
to give him a better game but everyone who knew him (and most players
knew him apparently!) told me that he is pretty darn good and so he
was. It was the end of the line for me. All-in-all I got to play four
rounds in the main draw in my first ever World Masters – played against
a Kiwi, a Brazilian and two Brits – met some great players, got to play
at some great venues and make loads of new friends!
This journey would not even have
begun without the overwhelming support that I received all around me.
Tom, Curt, Jimmy, Kyla, Wibe, Jay, Shakiru, Yusuf and Zarak and all my
family members, friends and many others who have egged me on – A big
thank you to all of you!
Parting Thoughts - Have a goal - Identify list of things to work upon - Get mentally and physically ready before getting professional help (and really listen!) - Drill solo, drill with a partner – nail the basics - Cross-train – listen to the body - Have a game plan – identify areas of attack, defense maneuvers and have mini-milestones - Have fun!
Now that’s a metaphor for how I should be doing most things in my life!
Naveen
is an amateur Squash enthusiast who picked it up during college in
India (as it was the only sport where he could keep the ball with-in
the court dimensions) and has carried it with him ever since through
his life as an IT professional in England, France, US (& Canada)
and Denmark. Naveen has played amateur tournaments and league in these
countries as well as participated in US Masters, European Masters and
World Masters Squash events. Recently Naveen started Seattle Urban
Squash with some of his likeminded Squash friends based on National
Urban Squash and Education Association charter of helping kids from
underprivileged communities to graduate from high-school through
regular and intense Squash training and tutoring. Naveen lives in
Seattle with his partner Anne-Marie Canis and their two dogs Daisy and
Lola.
What's On My Mind is a column by rotating authors. Contact DailySquashReport@gmail.com
