Get Your Game Face On

by Tracy Gates

The guy barely looks at me. When I say something to him, he hardly responds. Occasionally, I hear him swear under his breath. He grimaces and drips sweat. If I was anywhere else I would run the other way. Instead, I run toward the ball. The guy is a friend and this is a challenge match.

I think challenge matches are fascinating. I love them and I hate them. And often I dread them more than league or tournament matches. Normally, you aren’t playing a friend, or at least you don’t play on the same team. But challenge matches are all about the team and where you will play on it—or if you’re going to play on it. Which is what I’ve been going through recently. All summer I’ve been playing with these guys—having friendly games, giving friendly advice, and then - boom - it’s take no prisoners, get your game face on.

But as much as it stresses me out—and kind of ruins the few hours before I have to play—I find myself getting back into the competitive groove. And I’m starting to think not just about tactics, but how to slow myself down when I have to move fast. I don’t know about you, but while I like to play fast, I’m much better when I think fast and play slow. Does that make any sense? I don’t want to play too fast, is more like it. I played with a guy the other day who was doing what I’ve been doing too much of—cheating off the T. Instead of watching the ball—and me—he tried to anticipate where I was going to hit the ball. I know the sequence of events too well. You hit your shot and then you think - huh, I bet he’ll hit over there, so I’m gonna start going there. Thud. Thud. Only he doesn’t. Because he sees you starting to go or lean that way, and even though a rail may be a cleaner, better shot for him, you’re already leaning that way, so he lobs a cross-court. And you’re screwed. See, I’ve been there.

But I’m honestly trying to stop. If I came away with any good squash tips from Keep Eye on Ball, the excellent not-to-be-missed film about Hashim Khan http://www.squashfilms.com/ , it was just that. I can hear his long-voweled Pakastani-accented english in my ear. Keep. Eye. On. Ball. If only it was so simple.

The other tip that’s helping me slow down between shots is the jump, thanks to the advice of a pro or two. As soon as you see your opponent just about to s-w-i-n-g . . . jump! Well, not like you’re going for a basket, but just enough so that both feet (barely) leave the ground and come down together. So that you’re BALANCED, and ready to go anywhere. You might think that this takes up too much precious time, but, trust me, it works. If you do it that is, which is what I’m working on....

Now the guys’ team I was on last year played challenge matches all the time. I kind of got the sense that unless we said it wasn’t a challenge match, it was. But my women’s team didn’t start playing them until the end of the season, when I figured we’d better know our exact line-up for play-offs . . . if we got that far. I can’t speak for the rest of the team, but I found it much more stressful. We were a pretty social group by this point, and to use our game faces against each other just seemed wrong. But, then again, most of us agreed that it was great for our game. I’m sure I’ll be proven wrong as soon as I say this, but after years of playing on ‘girls’ teams, I have observed that girls do tend to be friendlier and chattier on the court. I’m a big advocate of good court manners, but there’s a lot to be said for getting a game face on. And getting used to it.

It might even be good for some situations off the court. Asking for a raise. Debating your in-laws. Getting a table at your favorite no-rez restaurant. Think about how focused you are in a match. Evaluating your opponent. Regaining your balance. Not being tempted by showy but low-percentage shots. Keeping your eye on what’s important. Ah, me. I could use all of this in real life. For now, though, I think I’ll stick to the challenge of squash.