A key to learning squash and improving your game is to make good use of a squash professional.

Are you an adult beginner? A junior? A parent looking for a coach for your child? Or a long time player looking to improve? This article is for all of you!

The game of squash benefits from the strong cadre of squash coaches, or the "teaching professional." Relative to the size of the sport, there are a large group of well-trained, motivated, hard working teaching professionals. As a group, squash coaches know the game well, know the fundamentals, and are dedicated and motivated to teach you.

As a group, squash coaches are MISUSED by the typical squash player, who is getting far from the most that he or she can or should from a squash coach. This article provides a set of guidelines that will help you seek out a pro, work with a pro to design a program for improvement, and then work further on your own.

How do you select a coach? It comes down to common sense: Ask other players, ask other pros, and watch the coach you are planning to use give other lessons. Then ask the coach for a lesson, and ask him what his approach is to helping you improve your game. You are looking for these characteristics that will make up the ideal coach for you:

Your coach will:

Beyond these common-sense basic, you want to seek out a coach particularly suited to help you with the weak points in your game. Some coaches will be terrific at the basics, footwork, how to move the racquet, and shot selection. Some will be ideal to teach deception and touch. Yet another will be able to help you with the mental aspects of competing at squash.

Coaching a club player is obviously very different from coaching a pro. One major difference is the club players’ knowledge of their own game (or lack of knowledge in comparison to the pro player). Prior to coaching a player I always ask them to list their strengths, weaknesses and goals they hope to achieve from coaching. A lot of people aren’t able to cite these easily, which is crazy. When you play an unknown opponent you should always begin the match concentrating on your own strengths, then adjust your match according to whether this is effective or not. If you don’t know your weaknesses you don’t know what to improve, and if your opponent knows your weaknesses and you don’t – you’re in big trouble. Having set goals for coaching helps your motivation and without those goals it is difficult to gauge your improvement.

I recently began a 10 week coaching session with a group of English guys at my club in Amsterdam. I asked all of them via email to list for me their goals, strengths and weaknesses. Below is one of the answers I received, which I found particularly funny. I just wish his squash skills rivalled his humour.