We often try so hard to hit the squash ball forcefully, with authority, to put the ball out of the reach of our opponent. Once we maneuver him or her out of position, we can then kill the ball and hit it to the open court. How frustrating, then, when we do just that, and find that our opponent can still hit the ball when it bounces back off the back wall!
In short, that is called overhitting. It occurs whenever we hit the squash ball harder than would be most effective. You can overhit on a serve, a groundstroke, or a volley. It's really quite easy to do!
The biggest problem with overhitting is that it turns a potentially winning situation into either a situation of no advantage, or one that is actually disadvantageous. Overhitting means that your opponent doesn't have to run as far as they would otherwise, and has far more time than he or she deserves.
Overhitting is frequently caused by hitting with normal pace while simultaneously running full speed to reach the ball. In this case, the striker doesn't think to remove pace from his/her swing to compensate for the pace of his/her body. In some ways, it's easier to swing fully while running to reach a ball than it is to swing with control while running to reach a ball. And it's always easy to hit the ball hard when you're excited and playing a match, and are all keyed up with adrenaline.
So, how can you avoid overhitting? The first step is to become aware of how often your opponent plays the ball off the back wall. Is it rare? Is it all the time? If it's frequent, you are probably hitting too hard. The solution is to get your ball to bounce once before it reaches the back wall, and to have the ball descending towards its second bounce as it actually touches the back wall. Vary the pace and height of your shots until you achieve the desired length.
Overhitting can best be corrected during practice sessions, but you can also take note of it and make adjustments during match play. Keep your shot pretty close to the side wall, and just take a little pace off! You'll be glad you did.
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In short, that is called overhitting. It occurs whenever we hit the squash ball harder than would be most effective. You can overhit on a serve, a groundstroke, or a volley. It's really quite easy to do!
The biggest problem with overhitting is that it turns a potentially winning situation into either a situation of no advantage, or one that is actually disadvantageous. Overhitting means that your opponent doesn't have to run as far as they would otherwise, and has far more time than he or she deserves.
Overhitting is frequently caused by hitting with normal pace while simultaneously running full speed to reach the ball. In this case, the striker doesn't think to remove pace from his/her swing to compensate for the pace of his/her body. In some ways, it's easier to swing fully while running to reach a ball than it is to swing with control while running to reach a ball. And it's always easy to hit the ball hard when you're excited and playing a match, and are all keyed up with adrenaline.
So, how can you avoid overhitting? The first step is to become aware of how often your opponent plays the ball off the back wall. Is it rare? Is it all the time? If it's frequent, you are probably hitting too hard. The solution is to get your ball to bounce once before it reaches the back wall, and to have the ball descending towards its second bounce as it actually touches the back wall. Vary the pace and height of your shots until you achieve the desired length.
Overhitting can best be corrected during practice sessions, but you can also take note of it and make adjustments during match play. Keep your shot pretty close to the side wall, and just take a little pace off! You'll be glad you did.
