Coaching Juniors
With then general concepts in mind,
coaching junior now is quite simple as to follow the phases of development for
a squash player.
The phases are:
- Introduction Ages
6 to 12
- Fundamentals Ages
8 to 14
- Training
to Train (TT) Ages
10 to 18
- Training
to Compete (TC) Ages
16 to 24
In Malaysia
and Asia , we tend to do very well in the first
2 phases of coaching juniors as most coaches are very good at what they do. They
tend to skip the Training to Train phase and move on to the Training to Compete
phase. The parents and coaches focus on the results and winning tournaments
more rather than achieving the objectives and performances of the phases. The
Training to Train phase is so important in the development of a squash player
and the work done here is repetitious and tedious. As such, the tendency to
skip the phase is very high when a precocious talent has been found to bring
some success and glory to the coaches program. Thus, the sacrificial of the
Training to Train stage is done to accommodate that. And as the player
progresses, the ability to perform becomes harder and harder due to the fact
that the important training elements have been skipped. This in turn frustrates
the player and will slowly turn their interest and focus back to studies or other
things in life.
The Training to Train phase focuses
on the basic blocks of squash, meaning if we were to make a movie, the plot
starts here. The earlier 2 phases are like introducing the characters involved
in the movie. As such, the coach needs to have an idea or picture of what the
end product would be like before he starts this phase. That too will depend on
the natural physical abilities of the kid. The work for the coach in this phase
is likening to shaping and cutting a rough diamond to attain its new shape as
to enable it to shine when polished.
As it is very clear that most players
in Malaysia and Asia go through as squash juniors but only a handful of them
move on to the senior stage due to the fact that most of them will focus on
their education at the ages of 17-19, and this period usually is the Training
to Compete phase. This usually means totally leaving squash instead of trying
to balance both. The other side to the focus on studies is that the funding is
only available to those who are willing to focus full time on their squash
because they need the result to justify the amount of money spent. Also the
skipping of the Training to Train phase contributes to players going back to
studies.
Because the Training to Compete phase
is focusing on the tactical aspects of the game and learning, the need for
tournaments within the country is so important. This would enable especially those
in the 17 to 21 years of age who wish to balance their squash and studies the
opportunity to still improve their squash. Also the financial impact on each
player is so much less and it can also teach them how to make and stick to a
training schedule, budget and all sorts of life decision making skills. The
need to progress at their own pace is often seen as not important compared to a
person who decides to do full time training at the same age. If both sets of
players are allowed to continue developing their game at their respective
paces, the difference in standard can be closed within a span of 2 to 3 years
after the completion of thee player’s studies.
This is due to the fact that if the
phase is planned properly, the focus of training should be on preparing the
body’s physical components more to cope with the rigours of high level squash
and combined with regular tournaments. Training frequency off court here is
higher than on court. A 3 times a week on court session for about an hour is
sufficient to enable the player to continually progress but not as fast as
those training full time. Hence, the responsibility for progress will very much
depend on the player. The coach helps facilitate the progress.
Closing
The understanding and acceptance of
the above concepts by coaches will help Malaysia
and Asia progress and take a step closer to
realizing the dream of becoming a squash powerhouse. It will also show that the
coaches are open minded, willing to move with the times and are flexible to new
ideas. The need to incorporate concepts into our understanding of planning and
writing of training programs will help us better in understanding the steps in
producing world class squash players.
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