Had a Bad Squash Match? You Haven't Suddenly Become a Bad Player.

One bad performance doesn't erase months or years of good training.

We've all seen it.

A junior player has been training well, making progress, playing some terrific squash. Then comes a tournament weekend where absolutely nothing seems to work.

The length is short. The movement feels slow. Shots that normally go in are finding the tin.

And suddenly the player is wondering whether they've forgotten how to play squash.

Parents sometimes wonder the same thing!

Here's something worth remembering.

Your current form and your actual ability are not the same thing.

Form Comes and Goes

Even the best players in the world have bad days.

Sometimes they're tired. Sometimes they're nervous. Sometimes their opponent makes life particularly difficult.

And sometimes, for no obvious reason, they simply don't play very well.

That's sport.

The mistake is assuming that one poor performance tells us everything about a player's development.

It doesn't.

A player who has spent years developing good technique, movement, tactical understanding and competitive habits hasn't lost all of that because they played badly on Saturday morning.

The skills are still there.

They just weren't particularly accessible that day.

Think About Your Training History

Imagine two players.

One has trained consistently for several years, developing solid fundamentals and good competitive habits.

The other has trained very hard for the past few weeks but has a much smaller foundation.

Both have a bad tournament.

Who should be more confident about bouncing back?

Probably the player with the longer history of good training.

Why?

Because genuine skill develops over time. Repetition, feedback, competition and experience gradually make those skills more reliable.

One bad weekend doesn't undo that work.

This is one reason we're always encouraging our Tigers to think about their development over months and years, rather than judging themselves on their last match.

Don't Try to Fix Everything on Monday

Here's where things sometimes get interesting.

A player loses a match and decides they need to change their swing.

Or their grip.

Or their entire tactical approach.

Perhaps they need a new racket!

Occasionally, a technical adjustment really is necessary.

But quite often, the best response to a poor performance is much simpler.

Get back to training.

Work on your fundamentals.

Listen to your coach.

Give yourself the opportunity to play well again.

You don't need to rebuild the house every time a window gets broken.

What Should Parents Say?

This is an important one.

After a difficult match, young players are often their own harshest critics.

They don't necessarily need someone else explaining everything that went wrong.

They probably already know!

Instead, try asking:

• What did you learn?
• What was difficult today?
• What would you like to work on next week?

And perhaps most importantly, remind them that you're proud of the effort they've put into their squash, not simply the result on the scoreboard.

The car ride home doesn't need to become a coaching seminar.

Sometimes a sandwich and a little peace and quiet are much more useful.

Trust the Work

At Squash Tigers, we talk a lot about consistency.

Not because every training session needs to be perfect.

Not because every tournament should produce a personal best.

But because the accumulation of good work over time is what builds good players.

There will be ups and downs. Sometimes quite dramatic ones.

That's perfectly normal.

A bad match is a performance, not an identity.

So if your squash has been a little disappointing recently, don't panic.

Come back to court. Get some good work done. Trust what you've already learned.

Your squash hasn't disappeared.

It might just need a little encouragement to come back out!

See you on court!

The Squash Tigers Coaching Team

Want to build a stronger, more consistent game?

At Squash Tigers, we help junior players develop the technical, tactical, physical and mental skills needed for long-term improvement.

New to squash? Book a FREE Evaluation.

Already playing? Come and experience a FREE Trial.

Email contact@squashtigers.com or speak to one of our coaches.