If juniors are finding the solo skills too difficult, then try the following exercises to assist teaching them basic hand/eye skills in a fun way.
BALLOONS:
- Ask the juniors to hit the balloon and keep it in the air without letting it touch the floor.
- Have the players pass the balloon to one another (with or without the racquet) or walk up and down the court once their skills progress.
- Tie string to a balloon and tape it a wall for the juniors to take it in turns to hit. This will help with swing production and hand eye.
SQUOCKEY:
The game of Squockey is a wonderful way for young juniors increase hand eye coordination (it’s a combination of squash and hockey!)
Have one junior at both ends of the court facing each other. They need to stay on their side of the short line. Have the players control and hit the ball along the floor and aim to hit the wall behind their opponent to score a goal. First player to reach 11 goals first wins. You can start to teach the scoring system for squash while playing this game.
BALL ON THE STRINGS:
Have your players carry the ball on their strings and walk up and down the court without dropping the ball. Progress to circling the ball around the racquet face edge without dropping the ball (sometimes called ‘Around the World’) and then walking up and down the court doing this exercise.
ROLLING THE BALL:
Have your juniors stand with their feet apart in a circle (or in pairs) and get them to roll the ball to land in between the other child’s feet. Bring the feet closer together and stand further away if this is too easy.
THROW AND CATCH:
Use a cup or cone for the juniors to throw and catch the squash ball.
Count how many they can do consecutively without dropping the ball.
FLOOR SQUASH:
Have two juniors hit the ball alternatively along the floor onto the side wall and try to keep a rally going without missing it.
Stay inside one quarter of the court.
Advance this game by trying to win the rally by hitting away from your opponent within the quarter.
