David and Goliath by Joshua Taylor February 27, 2015
- Have you ever heard the story of David and Goliath? The story where
adversity is overcome and the underdog triumphs. In a book written by
Malcolm Gladwell the celebrated author outlines how this result, and
many others like it, were not upsets but actually truly deserved wins,
calculated to perfection to place the perceived underdog, in the
publics’ eye, into a position of strength.
So let’s turn to squash. This Wednesday just gone was a fine example of
how to do just that. The scene is Nottingham University Men’s 1st’s vs
Loughborough University Men’s 1st’s, Quarter Finals of the BUCS
Championship, the pinnacle of university squash in the UK. Unlike most
sports Loughborough were firm underdogs: a small coaching budget, 20
times less than Nottingham’s, facilities that have seen better days,
and a recent record none comparable to that of the success Nottingham
have seen.
So how did it go ?
A hugely unexpected 3/2 victory to Loughborough! Every Loughborough
player performed above their normal capabilities, whilst showing an
increase in playing standard from the start of the year. Now link back
to David and Goliath, how did Loughborough overcome these odds, just
like David did in turning the battle into a match in which he could
succeed?
The art of planning, mentoring and coaching is how. Go back to the
start of the season my goals as a coach were simple and that was to
gain rapport with the players. This is the only way you can get them to
buy in to new ideas and trust their skills when it counts, under match
pressure. The way I personally aim to do this isn’t from above,
prescribing or dictating a regime, it’s from on the same level. The art
of building rapport is being able to be at the same level as your
players, have a laugh, join in at times, and fundamentally be seen as
human. From there you can lead them not as an external motivator but in
fostering internal drive and desire in your players to succeed for
themselves and their peers. It is possible to help create a close knit
environment where each player cares and works for each other, as a team.
Once you’re there it is possible to know your players, their
personalities, and motivators. When you know this you can afford to try
things as a coach, as you know when you can throw the spanner in the
works and take a calculated risk received by an open mindset to change.
So what in terms of the nitty gritty of the training for high pressured
environments and getting them ready for the big game? Loughborough
needed to build a team of big game players, ones capable of a big task.
The approach we adopted as a team was to use something called
punishment training. This has recently been researched in the academic
world with the sport of cricket, and made aware to me on England Squash
and Racketball workshops. The principle is that the use of punishments
such as fitness exercises, forfeits, and being placed on the spot can
recreate this real life tense atmosphere in the big game. We used this
regularly for a period of time in order to prep our players to deal
with pressure and learn to handle it when it came.
As a team the boys had become more able to deal with pressure and it
was now a case of planning for the event. As soon as the draw came out
we realised when we would need to peak to succeed in the tournament. We
used the match as the drive for the training and peaking for the event.
Using the budget we had as a coach I carefully crafted the coaching,
fitness, and match play schedules to give us the best chance.
On the day it was case of controlling the team’s emotions. A subtle
morning text to each player was sent with a rough game plan and
reminder of the motivators for each of them, to get them pumped up and
looking forward to it. Before the game we had a team meeting where each
player could give input to each other’s game plans and a reminder of
key aspects as a team in terms of the momentum and support they can
give one another throughout. From there, time to reflect was built in,
and brief chats to each player were given to remind, settle or pump up
the player dependent on the person.
During the match most of the real work is done, and as a coach it was
now about rolling the dice and seeing how it unfolded, and not being
afraid to ask more of the players you are working with between games.
But really when it came down to it, it was the players on court that
counted and the work that they had done before to get them to that
point.
And it worked for us! Now I am not saying this is the way to do things
or the best way but it worked for us as a team. Equally so, it wouldn’t
have worked for every match we had played as that emotional buy-in has
to be invested where it is most needed and it isn’t infinite.
The true test now is crafting the response from this, and seeing if we
as a team can do what your giant killers of the past have failed to do
and back up one big result with another. It’s fair to say this is a
team, and club as a whole that have developed a great drive, and it
would be interesting to see what would be possible with parity of
funding for the club as a whole. Next up for the Men’s 1st’s is the
toughest task of all in the shape of UWE of Bristol, meanwhile the
Men’s 2’s take on Nottingham 2’s in the cup and the Men’s 3’s fight for
promotion alongside the 2nd’s. Wish us luck!
Josh Taylor is the Loughborough University Head Coach and ESR East Midlands Regional Lead Coach.
