I had a great squash lesson once, and it really stuck with me. Like most adolescents over fifty, I have an aversion to cheating, so I was intrigued to hear the coach tell me to 'cheat over to one side'.

Here's the lesson:
First off, 'cheating' means positioning yourself slightly to one side of the court, or perhaps forwards of the T, anticipating a particular shot. It's not really cheating in the normal sense of the word; it's more like committing yourself in advance to a certain course of events.

The course of events that you want to create is to have your opponent hit a ball that you can volley in the air, before it bounces (thereby taking away your opponent's reaction time). Whenever you volley, it's usually much harder for your opponent to get to the right place in time to hit the ball.

So, when to cheat? Whenever you have succeeded in getting the ball deep, behind your opponent, on his/her backhand side. Due to the way the human wrist works, if the ball is truly behind your opponent, his or her next shot won't be a crosscourt. At best, it will come floating along the wall, just ripe for your cutoff volley!

I hope you enjoy the rewards of 'cheating'!

What a week. In one moment, I managed to hit one of my friends very hard with a tennis ball right where a guy doesn't want to get hit, and sent him to the doctor's. In another moment, I took a half step on court, heard my footbones crunch, and felt the shooting pain of a stress fracture in my left foot.

What's odd is that I don't think I could stop either of those things from happening again. They weren't unusual circumstances, they just happened. I certainly didn't try to hit my opponent, and I certainly didn't miss my footing when the stress fracture occurred. Apparently, in both cases, it was just time.

Maybe my freak accidents can be a good reminder for someone!

• You will get hit, at some point, if you play squash regularly. Wear protective eyewear.
• You will get a muscle or bone injury, at some point, if you play racquet sports. Cross-train for fitness, and respect your injuries by promptly stopping play. (You'll heal more quickly.)

What an amazing heritage for an intercity racquet competition! Court tennis's Payne Whitney Cup has been going strong since 1930, and the 78th competition was held this past weekend at the Racquet and Tennis Club in New York City. Held initially at the Whitney's estate called "Greentree", in Manhasset, Long Island, the Whitney Cup annually brings together amateur court tennis players from almost all the clubs in the United States.

Each club, or regional, team is comprised of five doubles teams, ordered by skill level. At least one team must be comprised of players who are age 55 or older. The other teams have no age limits. The level of play is always good, and the camaraderie quite warm since court tennis is a difficult game, and playing it well takes dedication. The players seem to appreciate seeing what others can do.

Similar in lineage to squash's Howe Cup, or perhaps the Fitzgerald Cup (the annual Baltimore/DC battle in squash), the Whitney Cup provides a fine tradition of sport, sportsmanship, and celebration of all the fun that swinging a racquet can bring.

For all those with inquiring minds, since you won't be able to read about it in your daily newspaper's sports section, the team representing New England bested the team from Washington, DC three matches to two in the finals on Sunday, December 14. The US Court Tennis Association has already posted a fine summary of this year's Whitney Cup. It was a hard-fought victory, and well-earned.

I predict the new squash scoring system endorsed by US Squash will catch on like wildfire.

This point-a-rally (PAR) system, played to 11 point games, will be welcomed first by juniors, and then by all squash players nationwide.

Disagree? Learn all about squash PAR scoring, and give up that old 'hand in', 'hand out' mentality!

Wow. US Squash just announced a very BIG decision today; namely, the switch to the squash point-a-rally (PAR) scoring system (with games played to 11 points) versus the more common international scoring system (in which only the server can score points, and with games played to 9 points).

This will definitely reward those players who like to shoot for winners when returning serve! That tactic is not well-rewarded in the international scoring system, but it sure can earn you a quick point in a PAR squash match.

Time to shoot for winners!

You may not want to make that big investment and get your squash player a new squash racquet for Christmas or Hanukkah.
There are plenty of good reasons not to:
The racquet might be the wrong model, or the wrong weight, or have a grip that just isn't right. Or the factory string job might be adequate at best.

But, even if you don't get your squash player a new squash racquet, there are some sure-fire presents that every squash player will enjoy. Happy Holidays!

The point started so routinely that he had no idea that it would take him well into the future, and all the way back to last Tuesday.
His opponent's serve failed to reach the side wall, so it presented a nice attacking opportunity.

Rip it down along the wall with a hard backhand volley serve return, and then clear to the T. A nice start. The point should go well from here. He couldn't volley that, and now he's in the back corner. Decent rail. I can get that. Okay, let's do rails. More good depth, tight to the wall. This could get tiring. Quick to the T. Watch him. That's a good rail, too. Racquet back, closed stance, watch the ball, use height on the front wall. That should do it. Quick to the T and hunt the volley. Yes, that one came out. Drop it, and cover his response. He's definitely slowing down...

The exchanges seemed repetitive, and dull to most of those watching, but a pattern was beginning to emerge. Five shots along the wall and then someone would get bored. They would switch from the game of attrition along the wall and try something different. A hard cross-court, a straight drop from behind the T, a skid boast to go deep cross-court, a hopeless attempt to volley-scrape the ball off the wall rather than letting it come off of its own accord. That was when he knew.

I can end this if I push right now. Gotta volley more, and cut things off. Steal his time. Make him run the diagonals. Straight drop volley, and then take him deep cross-court. Crap. How did he get that? Ouch. That's a good lob. Volley it before it drops, then it won't get so ugly next time. Man, I'm getting winded. Glad I did some cross-training, at least. Oh, he's anticipating better. How did he know I would go there? Am I telegraphing? Keep breathing. Back to the rails. Deep, deep, short, then deep. Move him. Back to the plan...I'm glad I drilled the rail exchanges last Tuesday. I know I can win along the wall, since I can keep it so tight he'll have nothing to hit. Thank God for drills.

Two shots later he had it. Straight drop off his opponent's desperation boast. The poor sucker didn't have a chance. Hand out. With the momentum going the right way.

(If any of the foregoing squash vernacular is confusing, see the squash glossary for definitions.)

It's something of a truism in squash that you can't play better than you practiced.

So that raises the next logical question:
How do you practice well in squash?

Luckily, there are some principles for how to have a good squash practice session.
Follow them, and you will rapidly improve your game. Happy squashing!

I've certainly gotten some great squash tips over the years, so it's only fair that I pass them on whenever possible.

Here's the short version of a really useful tip:

If you're sure your opponent, behind you, is going to hit a boast, get moving forward right away.

If you want a more full explanation of just what that means, you can learn much more about how to cover the boast.

If you are having trouble finding time in your life to accommodate your racquet addictions, it is worth studying a little Shakespeare.
He clearly knew what it was like not to get your needed dose of sport. The following quote from The Comedy of Errors, Act 5, Scene 1, pretty much tells it all:

Sweet recreation barred, what doth ensue
But moody and dull melancholy,
Kinsman to grim and comfortless despair.

So, avoid that melancholy, and the much worse despair, and get out on court!

And while you're at it, learn a bit about the tennis that Shakespeare would have played...