There are four pillars to consider – the TTMM pillars:
- Technical
- Tactical
- Mental
- Movement
Each pillar has a significance to your squash game.
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Technical – for example when you work on your backhand drive or your forehand drive. Where is your backhand starting? Where is your follow through ending? Are you cutting the ball too much? Are you hitting it too flat?
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Tactical – where are you hitting the ball? Are you placing the ball in the right area? Are you manouring your opponent around the court with the right shot? Are you using the lob at the right time to allow yourself to get back to the T? Fundamentally, are you giving yourself the best opportunity to beat your opponent?
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Mental – are you practicing on mentality exercises within training? If you are down 8-6 in a match, have you been practicing on how you can change your mentality to help you win a game? Are you able to control your mental emotions when you are match-point down in a game? Can you get yourself through those difficult periods?
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Movement – are you practicing your movement on the court? Ghosting? Making your movement fluid and rhythmical? Are you balanced and hitting the ball where you want it to go?
All of the above pillars need to be aligned to enhance your squash game. There are a few nuances to consider here.
For a few weeks you may focus on your technical and mental sides. This is likely to impact your tactical side and movement side, as you have not worked on these enough. It is important to ensure that you put time aside to then work on your tactical and movement sides.
You will have to juggle and prioritise, however it is important not to neglect a pillar for too long.
Alignment is what you seek. Once all these pillars align, this is when you will find your game on court at its optimum level. This all down to practice, ownership and focus.
