Recently I got the chance to play with arguably one of the hardest hitters in my club. As we were warming up, practicing clears, I realized that when he clears, which goes all the way to the back as he has unusual power and good technique, and I hit it back, the return barely reaches 3/4 of his court. Yet, when I'm playing with other people who have weaker clears, I get to clear back all the way to at least the doubles service end line. Any clue as to why I can't seem to return his clear? My theory is that I'm not getting to the shuttle fast enough. I say this because I acknowledge that I have terrible footwork. Oh, and speaking of footwork, what drills can I do to improve on it without the need of a coach (yes coaches are expensive for me). Anyway, any tips would be really helpful. Thanks
You are correct my friend. It is probably most likely your footwork. Remember that when clearing not to run back to the middle of court as this is too far, when you clear, you only need to go forwards a couple steps so you are couple steps back from middle. Usually this going forwards is a walk motion usually but watch the video. It will be helpful. amir ghaffar - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bntGacew1Q4&feature=related Play him as often as possible and work on your footwork and clears. Maybe even use squash racket to help with power of your clears etc
If you're late getting back then you're probably playing a defensive clear which means it's going up more than it's going forward. Hard to get a lot of power into it when you make contact directly above or even behind your head as well. Getting to it sooner would help as well as the correct technique.
I have noticed in my clears, especially when I'm late to the shuttle, my racket foot kicks slightly sideways instead of the forward motion that should be happening (it is forward supposedly, right?) Is that the culprit for my weaker return? How do I get rid of the habit?
If you are late, its not always easy to shift the racket foot forward. What I do sometimes is hit the shuttle when I land on my right foot. If I have no time, its not always possible to do the proper footwork and switch the right foot forward. Be aware of the grip. You have to change your grip slightly esp if its way behind ur head. If its way behind you, your thumb shud be on the widest bevel of the racket. (PS, this is the angle is should be at when way behind you, am not sure if the thumb shud be on the bevel or in usual position like when its a normal forehand) Also to get the power into these shots I find really use ur arm and shoulder. Get ur shoulder right back! But work on ur speed of footwork. I found skipping helped me here a lot. I also had a rope on the ground, and jumped back and forth and up and down the rope. I found that when I did this for couple months, changing direction for me had greatly increased. Esp from going forwards to backwards!!