A Wise Athlete Sport and education. Both.
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The base at home, the sport at a club

Squash at home

A racket, a soft ball and a blank wall at home; a squash court, goggles and a coach at a club.

3 cards at home 3 for a park or court 2 for the club

What should we practise today?

Tell us where you are and who is playing. You get one card and the reason.

Where are you?
Who is playing?

Start a session

New to squash? The game in a minute

Read this once before the first card.
The sport in short

Two players in a closed court take turns hitting a small rubber ball against the front wall. The ball may hit the side and back walls on the way, but it must reach the front wall above the low strip at the bottom (the tin) and below the top line, and the other player must hit it before it bounces twice on the floor.

How a point is played

The server stands with one foot in a service box and hits the ball onto the front wall above the service line, so it lands in the back quarter on the other side. Then players hit in turn until one misses. After every shot, players move back to the middle of the court, the T.

How scoring works

Every rally scores a point, whoever served. A game is the first to 11 points, and at 10 all you need two clear points. A match is the best of 3 or 5 games.

Rules children break first
  • Goggles on court, always.
  • Never stand in front of someone who is swinging.
  • Give the other player room to reach the ball; if you are in the way, it is a let (the point is played again) or a stroke (the point goes to them).
  • Stop at once when someone could be hit, and call "let".
At home and in the park you start with

Tapping the ball on the racket, hitting at a wall and catching, the grip and the drive, rallying together, a wall skills check, and hitting length. The full court, serve rules and the short game are learnt at a club.

Words you will hear (19, in plain language)
Front wall
The four walls of the court; every shot must reach the front wall.
Tin
The strip at the bottom of the front wall; a ball that hits it is out.
Out line
The top line on the walls (above it is out), and the line on the front wall the serve must go over.
T
The point in the middle of the court where the floor lines cross, where players return after each shot.
Service box
The small square on each side of the court the server stands in.
Rally
Hitting the ball back and forth until someone misses.
Handshake grip
Holding the racket as if shaking hands with it.
Drive
A straight shot hit hard and deep along the side wall.
Length
A shot that lands deep in the back of the court.
Volley
Hitting the ball before it bounces.
Drop
A soft shot that lands just above the tin and dies at the front.
Boast
A shot hit onto a side wall first, which then goes to the front wall.
Lob
A high shot over the other player to the back.
Serve
The shot that starts a rally, and the first shot back.
Split step
A small hop just as the other player hits, to be ready to move either way.
Let
A let means the point is played again because a player was in the way; a stroke gives the point to the player who was blocked.
Goggles
Eye protection worn on court.
Winner stays on
A game where the winner of each rally or game keeps playing and a new player comes in.
Disguise
Making one shot look like another.

Try it, nothing to buy

Mark the space once. Every card starts from it.
A suggested first ten sessions (optional)
  1. b1 · Tap and carry
  2. b2 · Hit the wall and catch
  3. b3 · Grip, movement and drives
  4. b4 · Cooperative rally and court manners
  5. b5 · A wall skills check

The cards, level by level

Nobody is late. A beginner of any age starts at Basic.
Basic 5 cards · show· hide Racket and ball control, tracking the rebound off a wall, grip, forehand and backhand drives, movement shapes, rules and manners.

Move on when the child meets the self-checks on b1 to b5.

Intermediate 2 cards · show· hide The main stage for learning shots: length (a deep drive close to the side wall), getting back to the T, volleys, drops and boasts, lobs, the serve and its return, and the split step.

Move on when the player holds a rally of 10 to 15 with length.

Advanced 1 cards · show· hide From about 12: every shot, with disguise, fast movement and recovery, reading the opponent, and match plans.

Teaching this at home

Movement, safety and the words at home. The sport itself needs water, a boat, a horse or a coach.

You do not need to know the sport. Each card tells you where to stand, what to say and what to look at. Pick one thing to say in a session and say only that. The first week looks messy; that is normal. End every session on one that works.

Cards marked At a club are taught by a coach. They tell you what the coach teaches, what is safe at home, and what to ask the club before your child joins.

How to warm up before playing is at workonfitness.com. The rules of the game are at sportsmaze.com.

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