Things are getting worse, Ontario schools won’t open until May. I believe squash courts won’t open anytime soon, either. I came across a few things so we could spend time a bit wisely in this unpleasant circumstances.
1) Recovery
EVERYTIME (no kidding, literally everytime) I met my physician because of my squash injuries, he told me to take a rest. No squash, no running, no gym. Actually he said the right thing, I know. I was told that it wouldn’t get better without rest. However, as a squash pro, I spent a lot of time on the court - lessons, league matches and tournaments. That did’t allow me to take a decent time off playing/training. As a result, I ended up having three chronic injuries - left ankle, right knee and right wrist (believe it or not, squash is brutal!!).
Now I’m spending much more time at home than I used to. OK, it’s time to take care of myself! I don’t have to make any sudden move to change direction in my living room. I don’t have to hold and swing quickly to taxi someone in the kitchen. This quarantine life is calm and peaceful. Anyway, it’s been about 5 weeks or so since lockdown, the ankle pain’s gone, especially my right knee is perfect now. The worst part was my wrist and it seems to be getting better, albeit slowly.
2) Watching PSA matches
I’ve been adding some interesting PSA matches in my playlist, but it was not easy to catch up considering my hectic daily schedule. However, I don’t have any lessons going on now, I have no place to train because all the clubs are closed. That means there’s no excuse for not watching the matches in my playlist. Recently I watched Hania Hammamy’s first platinum title (vs Nour El Sherbini) at the Black Ball Squash Open 2020. The 19 yrs old girl played great squash, her cross court drop was very lethal. Hammamy was hiding the ball quite well, Sherbini had a hard time to read the ball during the entire match. Very entertaining to watch.
3) Gear up
I noticed one of my racquets has significant fraying around the sweet spot. I have my own string machine in my room. It’s much more convenient than going somewhere to restring. I don’t need to make any extra travel for it. So…..OK, just restring it then. What’s next?
Grips. My racquets are collecting dust at the corner in my room, they will become slippery in weeks. I might as well replace grips as well before I resume squash.