Maybe you have already taken on our first 10 drills you can do on your own and are looking for more challenges to complete. Well we have you covered. To celebrate the release of our Dunlop Sonic Core Control series of rackets, we created 10 more challenges that you can do on your own on the court. As times continue to be uncertain and some still unable to play with other people on the court, perhaps these challenges will keep your skills sharp until the day full normality returns.
Of course, these aren’t just challenges for a pandemic. These drills will really test your skills and they all focus around accuracy. 10 drills designed to get the best out of your ability to pin point your shots. If you want to give them a go, we’d love to see your attempts, so please upload and share them on social media using the hashtag #DunlopNextLevel.
It was exciting to use some of our legendary tour players to complete these drills. Greg Gaultier, Diego Elia and Declan James all had a go – We made sure to only show you the best bits.
Drill 1: Hit both service boxes
As always start off easy. Take yourself to the T. If you can, take two Squash balls in your hand (don’t forget the racket) and hit one off the front wall into the right hand service box and then another off the front wall and into the left hand service box. You must get them in consecutively to have completed this challenge.
Drill 2: Get the ball in the bucket
Set yourself up some sort of bucket in the back corner of the Squash court. You can use a cone or even just use a target like a bag or a towel etc. All your looking to do is get the ball off the front wall and into that target. You can test yourself here with the size of your target but be prepared, harder challenges are to come.
Drill 3: 3 buckets shots
We told you it would get harder. Okay, so you have successfully completed the 2nd drill. Now it’s time to do it 3 times in a row. If you want to go back and forth between corners, you can. However, the key is that you need to hit the target 3 times in a row with out missing. If you hit it twice and then miss, this doesn’t count.
Drill 4: Get the ball in the cup
So, we gave you a little leeway before, letting you choose the size of your bucket target. Now it’s time to switch to a very small target, we’d recommend a cup. You can place the cup a few yards back from the front wall and set yourself on the T. Hit the squash ball off the front wall and into the cup. Simple.
Drill 5: Pinpoint Squash shot
We’ll be honest. In many ways, the set up for this one is as challenging as the drill itself. However, we’re looing for a ball on ball strike. Set a racket upside down in the middle of the court. You can keep it standing by placing shoes or something heavy either side, then balance a Squash ball on the top of the racket handle. Now, take a few steps and knock the ball of the handle. Here’s the annoying part – The racket mustn’t fall over . It must be a clean hit on the balancing Squash ball.
Drill 6: Two wall accuracy shot
This is a fun one, but again, a tough one. Get your target into the back right hand corner of the court. Move yourself to the front left hand corner of the court. You can then lash the ball off the front wall, then off the left hand side wall and have it angle back towards your target in the back right hand of the court. Of course, if you are feeling cocky, you can try this on both sides and you can switch it to back hand.
Drill 7: The roller
Greg Gaultier seemed pretty pleased with this one. Set your cup up outside the door and then leave the door open. Now stride to the middle of the court and get ready to aim for that cup. However, it’s not that easy, you’re going off the front wall first and then letting the ball roll all the way out of the court and beautifully into the ready and waiting cup (or target of choice).
Drill 8: Figure of 8 bucket shot
Wouldn’t be a Dunlop drill if we didn’t throw in the figure of 8 somehow. So, we are keeping with the bucket/target shot but before you go into it, hit some figure of 8’s first. If you have completed our other 10 solo drills (find them here), then this should be an easy one for you.
Drill 9: The racket bounce
A double test of accuracy this one, and one that is really a bit more fun, rather than relevant to improving your Squash game. It’s all about the hand eye coordination. Stand a little back from the T and then hit the ball forward towards the front wall, anywhere you like, then place your racket on the floor. The aim? The aim is to have the ball bounce off your stationary, floor lying, racket and up back into your hands. In our experience, this one is difficult until you do it, then it becomes weirdly easy. A practice makes perfect kind of situation.
Drill 10: Double cup shot
Finally, the double cup shot. We won’t take up too much more of your time because if you have made it this far, you clearly have the skills. So the last drill is to put one cup on one side of the court, then another cup on the other. Stand on the T, hit the ball off the front wall and into one cup and, of course, hit another ball into the other cup. And yes, you guessed it, it has to be consecutive. 2 in a row and the challenges are complete.
We coined these ‘the trick shot challenges’ because that’s ultimately what they are, but they will test your accuracy too. The Sonic Core series of control rackets are perfect for executing this kind of accuracy and with new Sonic Core Infinergy technology, they are easy on your arm as you look to generate the extra power yourself. You can find out more about the series here.