Choose The Right Squash Ball - Squash for Beginners [007]
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- Опубліковано 21 тра 2024
- When you are new to squash, choosing the right squash ball is probably the most important decision you can make. It can decide if you have fun, enjoy yourself and whether you keep playing squash.
I recommend beginners start with a red dot and this video explains why and also briefly talks about the other types of squash balls.
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Hi, I'm Phillip. I'm an ex-professional squash coach and was lucky enough to work with some incredible coaches, including Jonah Barrington and practice with some amazing players including Jahangir Khan and Ross Norman.
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Which squash ball did you start to play squash with? What were your experiences when you first started to play squash?
I started with a double dot for my first try at squash about a year ago. It was what the fitness centre had available. It was very hard to play. I now use red/blue depending on my partner and we have alot more fun and longer rallies.
I'm glad to hear that you are using the ball most suited to you and your opponents' standard. Have you tried a single yellow dot against better opponents on a hotter day?
@@BetterSquash yes and even the double dot with a better player I found not too bad as it warmed up and bounced better with their more powerful hits.
You saved me Coach. I went through videos from other coaches recommending beginners to just stick with double yellow dot Pro from start. So beginners will be used to the Pro level and don't need to change balls. Also preparations for future competitions. Yet your explanation have set me on the correct path which was confusing me earlier. Thanks so much. Your insights are deep, clear and always the best Coach.
I suppose if you live in a very hot country a DYD might be bouncy enough for some beginners, but as a general rule I find it hard to see why coaches would recommend beginners use a DYD. I also believe that using a red dot helps you gain control over bouncy ball and that can actually help when you start to sue a DYD.
I wish you success on your quash path - may it be enjoyable and rewarding.
@@BetterSquash Thanks Coach. I live in Malaysia and yes, it's humid and hot most of the time. Thanks for your advise and bless the continues success passion for squash.
Thanks. I'm a beginner and I started with yellow double dots. I'll def try out the red dot next time!!
I am curious to hear your thoughts and feelings on the difference between the balls.
Excellent video 👌👌
Thank you.
I started with blue, but moved on to double yellow quickly since I didn't want to get used to the bounce behavior of a ball I wouldn't be using once I got better. Still bring it out sometimes if I haven't played in a long time or with less skilled friends.
Hi Shade7x, I don't believe this is the best approach for most people. If you feel it worked for you, then that's great.
Squash is about adapting to new challenges, for example different styled players, new rackets, hotter or colder courts, etc. Being able to adapt to those new situations is where improvement comes.
If beginners start with a double yellow just because the pros do, then many won't have an enjoyable game and may stop playing.
Lastly, just becasue the pros do something shouldn't mean amateur players have to copy it. Sport is about having fun and that's what's important.
Curious if you have some advice on how long you should use a ball before using a new one? Does it depend on what sort of training you are doing? Thanks in advance.
Hi Ben, basically, you will need to replace a ball once it has lost its bounce and/or it has become shiny. I put my squash balls in the washing machine at 30 degrees, with my squash kit and it looks as good as new, but over time it will lose its bounciness.
For me however, that point never comes, because all my squash balls break at some point and the better you get, the more likely that is to happen.
So for beginners, I would say keep two balls in your bag, one new and one that you use. Every now and again, use the new ball and as soon as you notice a significant difference between the two, through the old one away.
I have seen people quote amount of hours a ball can be used but it really depends on how hard it is being hit.
SUMMARY:
1. Shiny balls should be washed or sanded
2. Keep a new ball to compare with your usual one and compare sometimes.
Thanks for the video Phillip. I always find it really frustrating that most players I play are so insistent on using the double yellow dot. It's okay in the summer when the courts are warm, but from now (October) through the winter, the courts are cold and the ball is so hard to keep warm. Do you have any idea of a guide as to what temperature the court should be minimum for double yellow dot use.
You are most welcome Tom. I don't have a specific guide as to the actual court temperature to use with each ball because it really depends on the players' standards. If you haven't seen my ball guide, I highly recommend viewing that: bettersquash.com/balls.html It lists a few "test" ideas to encourage players to use the correct ball and also has some posters for people to put up in their facility that may encourage other players to question if they are using the right ball.
I feel the governing bodies and manufacturers and partly responsible for this situation. If they labeled the balls like below we might stop a lot of people from playing with the wrong ball:
Blue Dot - Beginners
Red Dot - Improvers
Yellow Dot: Club Players
Double Yellow Dot: Advanced Players.
Yes, it's not perfect, but it might help.
We have a squash court at our building. I wanted to have fun playing squash with my 7 year old nephew. I think that the best suited ball would be the blue dot one.
Lucky you for having easy access to a squash court.
Use the ball that feels right for your circumstances.
Thanks coach. I get that the beginners should start with the red dot, and the pros play with the double yellow. But what is a good criterion to move up the ladder (down the speeds)? When should one move from red to green, and then green to yellow, and then to double yellow? Any tips would be appreciated.
That's an excellent question. In fact, it's so good, I'll write an article about it in the next few days. The green dot is for high altitude, meaning at sea level it should behave more like a triple yellow dot. Have you been using a green dot?
@@BetterSquash My bad. I thought green was faster. Nevertheless, I have always played with double yellow, and received a box of single yellow due to an online seller mistake. So I decided to give it a try, now that I had it. The ball just wouldn't die! Kept popping up the back wall, we had all the time in the world to get to the drop shots, etc. It was a much more exhausting game, rallies much longer, and the dynamics were slightly different. Probably won't use them for games/matches, but they might be a very good choice for solo practice (and won't have to do that many side-to-sides anymore to keep it warm 🙂)
In tournament the pro playing the white ball ( color of the court ) , are they always using the double yellow dots or the single one ?
The white ball has the specifications of a double yellow dot (bounce) , but actually only has one dot on its surface. I can't find the reason for this, but I suspect it is a simple production reason.
thanks
You are most welcome
hello coach, I use a withe dot bal from decathlon as a begener. is that corect?
Well, the real question is "Do you have fun playing?" If you do, then that's all that matters. Generally though, a bouncier ball makes squash more fun for newer players, so it could be worth trying a red dot just in case it's better. Even if you prefer the white dot, which by the way is technically the single yellow, the red dot can still be used for practicing serves and drop shots, so it's not wasted money.
For my Juniors we have the junior dunlop green balls. They are amazing! The are green machines!
Yes, balls designed for juniors are perfect.
Hi coach, have you ever tried generic chinese brand balls? Are they any good?
Hi, no, but not because I don't want to, but because they seem a lot more expensive than branded balls. For example, if I search on Aliexpress now for "squash balls" the top results with orders is for 4 balls for 23.22 Euros plus 1.02 Euros postage!
When playing alone as a beginner, is it best to use a red dot or a yellow dot ball? Aiming to do clean drive, etc.
Red dot. Without doubt.
@@BetterSquash thanks!
Which ball best for beginners...??
I am from India 16 years old..
Start with a red dot. If you can hit the ball many times with no mistake and it feels easy, try a single yellow dot.
The minority of beginners who are able to hit the ball really hard should either refrain from hitting the ball very hard it or avoid using blue dots or even red dots. The speed can become quite dangerous...
What do you mean by "three ball"?
To hit *the* ball. Not three ball. Lol. Sorry I wrote too much text on a touch screen and the auto correct got me there!!
I wonder why the double yellow squash ball has to be so dead in bounces and also that the amateurs think they can play with it as if they are world champions.
Well, part of the reason is that beginners read the box and see that double yellow is "super slow" and I know that if I were a beginner at something I want the slow version to start with. Another reason is that too many people tell beginners that they will eventually have to play with a double yellow, so they might as well start with one.
That's like saying to six year old math pupils, "you'll probably have to learn calculus, so you might as well start with that", which is of course ridiculous!
@@BetterSquashthe super slow doesn't allow for rallies that are needed for a proper technique and understanding of the game. I have played with double and single yellow dots. Single yellow is a bit more fun since 10% extra bounce helps in rallies. Double yellow helps me in taking some quick points just above the box line or corners or serves.Aha, most squash players do not have serves as their weapon.
I agree. I was just answering your question. Many times I don't feel it is the fault of the beginners, but the fault of World Squash for promoting the different types of ball the way they do AND some experienced players who feel that beginners should suffer like they did.
Two things bother me in your video. First, brands matter quite a lot for double yellow dots in my experience. HEAD balls are much faster/easier to warm up than Dunlop ones, and they’re also quite bouncier. I easily make HEAD double yellow dots bouncier than Dunlop single yellow dots. Second , you also fail to mention that balls don’t last as long as a lot of people think. I enjoy new balls a lot more than balls that have been used a few hours. I really don’t like playing with balls that are very smooth, those are very hard to warm up and once they are their bounce is still ridiculous (too low and the ball gains horizontal speed instead of losing some). I still do it from time to time because one needs to be able to adapt to different circumstances and bad balls can actually help. What I tell people about double yellow dots is that they have three stages of life: 1. New and bouncy once warm. 2. After 1 to 3 or 4 hours, they’re dead: they become smooth, the walls don’t influence their spin the same way. 3. They’re dead twice, which means they’re extra smooth, you don’t even see the brand anymore. (Of course there’s the case where the ball is cracked, but that has happened only a very few times to me). Don’t get me wrong though: I love your videos!! I just disagree on what you say about the brands when it comes to double yellow dots. I do play with the three other kinds too, and for them the differences between brands don’t matter as much.
Hi Phillipe,
Thanks for the detailed comment.
Let me start by saying this video and all in the series are made for beginners. I am trying to make decisions and advice as clear and as simple as possible. While I don't disagree with your point about the difference between the brands at double yellow dot, I don't want new players obsessing over getting the right brand of ball when they first start. Are the Head balls WSF approved? Personally, that doesn't matter to me, but it would be strange if a Head DYD is bouncier than a Dunlop SYD.
With regard to the life of the ball, yes, you are probably right, I should have briefly covered that, but I have so little free time to make these videos that in 100% of cases, I always wish I had added or subtracted something. My problem is that I worry that viewers get bored and I waffle on. The next video in this series, I will have to release two versions, a long (15 mins) and a short (5 mins) because the first time recorded it I was shocked at how long it was.
There is also the point that some people say that you should always leave a few things unsaid so as to get questions and in fact, somebody has already asked and I have responded.
I like you 3 stages of life, but I recommend putting them in a washing machine once they get bouncy or sanding them. To be honest, my balls never get to stage 2 or 3 as they burst first.
Anyway, thanks again for the comment and I'll try to do better next time, although I suspect you will not be happy with some of the things I say in the next video, which is for rackets.
Squash Coach Phillip thank you for your reply, I’m always happy to learn others’ points of view.
I’ve never seen any WSF approved DYD other than Dunlops. But then I knew nothing about squash when I started in France and I’ve learnt most of what I know about squash in Canada (where I live now), which is one of the poorest markets amongst developed countries! Haha! My three boxes of Dunlop DYD come from the UK! (Same boxes as in your video) I feel they’re a bit different from the Dunlop DYD sold in tubes of 3 in Canada. And that’s really weird: same brand, same look, but different feel.
I can barely imagine how hard you hit the ball if they give way before they become smooth... I used to hit the balls pretty hard but I no longer do because 1. It’s harder to do with head light than with head heavy, 2. The strings tend to break wayyyyyy faster... Technifiber strings don’t last 2 full hours when I hit hard. I ended up stopping using Technifiber squash strings, and on the last break I switched to a Technifiber tennis string. Now I’ve changed rackets and I’m still on factory strings; I still have the “old” rackets but I lend them instead. 3. I find less exhausting to place the ball than to hit it super hard like a Hulk. Haha.
I want to say thank you again, for your videos. Although they’re not “perfect”, although there’s much room to make them look or feel or sound better, they’re most importantly very helpful! And that point matters the most. A big big big Thank you!!
Correction: DYD Head balls are WSF approved! It's not mentioned on the balls themselves and I didn't read the tiny fine prints on the packaging. I have Winson DYD that are also WSF approved. My Diadora DYD balls do not seem to be WSF approved.
I’d like to mention something about “ball-life” - it may have been discussed before but I didn’t see it on this thread. In my experience, the ball condition deteriorates for one of three main reasons (or a combination there of) during play:
1. The ball picks up (and accumulates) dirt from the floor or plaster from the walls
2. The ball absorbs moisture from handling with sweaty hands
3. The integrity of the rubber deteriorates through wear and tear, ultimately resulting in a burst
(I could add a fourth point which relates to the rubber perishing over time, i.e through aging not play, but that’s an assumption and I have no experience of this happening)
I’m not sure if this is a no-no in squash, but I find that accumulated dirt, dust or sweat (or a combination there of) can be very effectively removed by washing the ball thoroughly with hand soap and hot water. It’s remarkable how “new” the ball looks….and it also heats the ball up nicely before going on court.
Is this common practice?