We all know the importance of moving back to the T when playing squash. But there are some more subtleties rather than just running back central and putting yourself in the middle of the court. The better players out there are able to float their T to appropriate positions in order to help them cut down their opponent’s options.
In this latest playlist by Jesse, he takes a deep dive into understanding why and how to float your T position. The T is not just a central point, but rather, an active and moving area based on a few factors. If you float your T correctly, you can give yourself a superpower by upgrading your last shot.
For example, say you hit a straight drive that is about 7 out of 10 in quality. If you are not proactive with your movement and fail to float your T to cut down your opponent’s options, the shot stays as a 7 out of 10 and can even sometimes be downgraded to a 6 or 5 out of 10. If you were to float your T slightly higher up and across to the sidewall a little, this will then upgrade your shot to an 8 out of 10. The reason for this is your opponent now must play a very high-quality shot to get the ball past you and stop you from volleying. If you can begin to cultivate this mindset of upgrading your shots by floating your T, you will begin to apply masses of pressure on your opponent without doing anything different to the shot you have just played.
When you do get to an appropriate floating T position, it is highly valuable to take up a relaxed awareness. Jesse discusses and shows how to do this in his playlist. A relaxed awareness allows your body to be relaxed and ready to move in any direction, but also ready and focused enough to explode off the mark to get onto the next ball early. A lot of players rush up to the T, squat low, and look really tense in this position. This break of momentum and “ready” position is damaging for good anticipation and movement around the court. Whereas, being slightly taller and having your base thinner allows you to be able to activate a quality split step and helps you to stay relaxed and be aware.
Finally, linked into a quality floating T, be sure to play in partnerships. Partnerships are not just one shot and then your opponent’s response. But rather, a proactive movement from your previous shots back to the T and into an appropriate position. A lot can be done between the time you hit the ball and your opponent’s return. Try and focus in on the space between the two shots and form strong partnership with your follow-through linked to your movements back to the T and taking up a strong floating T to apply huge amounts of pressure on your opponents.
See if you can find a partner also to practice the drills and game outlined and provided for you here. This will really get you playing some great squash and taking the ball a lot earlier also and having a great amount of fun doing so!
Improve your skills
We have designed a pairs session for you based on Jesse’s playlist.
To check it out simply go on the SquashSkills Training app, tap on the On-Demand library and search for ‘Practicing the Floating T‘ on the Squash Sessions page.
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Haven't seen the full series yes?
This simple yet powerful technique involves reading the game, and anticipating your opponent’s shots so you can position yourself in the most advantageous spot on the court.
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