Contents
The solo canon
The front wall gives the ball back: squash is playable alone, and the training canon has turned that into a named repertoire, handed down through every curriculum.
| Routine | What you do | What it builds |
|---|---|---|
| Solo lengths | Chain tight drives on one side, behind the short line | The founding shot: action, height, consistency. The best-value solo in the sport |
| Drop-drive cycle | Drive to the back, follow it, drop at the front, follow it, drive again, a continuous loop | Both shots + front-to-back movement, in rhythm |
| Figure-eights (butterflies) | Alternating forehand/backhand volleys crossing on the front wall | Both volley wings, racket-face control, fine touch |
| Solo boast-drive loop | Boast from the back, sprint forward, drive to length, back to boast | The side-wall game + a real movement load, the advanced version |
| Ball familiarisation (u9) | Bounces on the strings, soft wall taps, rolled balls, catches allowed | Friendship with the ball, before any technique |
Solo work is also the group session's solution: with six players and two courts, half the group rotates through solo routines while the other half is coached: nobody waits on a bench.
The pairs routines: the backbone
A routine is a fixed cooperative pattern: each player knows their shot, the pattern cycles, and technique repeats under real movement. The two absolute classics: the boast-drive (one player boasts from the back, the other returns a straight length from the front; squash's most famous, extending to a three-player rotation for groups) and the drop-lob (one drops, the other lobs; the complete front-court exchange, fixed roles then swapped). In any routine, clearing discipline is part of the exercise: the players cross constantly, so Rule 8 (fair view, room to swing) is lived on every cycle.
From the pattern to the condition game
Squash's pedagogical staircase has three steps: the routine (cooperative: the form gets built), the condition game (competitive under a constraint, at PAR-11; the behaviour settles under pressure: length-only, must-volley, the boast-drop diagonal), then the open match (the test). The condition game is squash's native form of opposition: it, not free match play, is what teaches.
Frequently asked questions
How much solo time in a club week?
Should a routine be won or lost?
Does solo work suit children?
Sources
The named forms (solo lengths, drop-drive, figure-eights or butterflies, boast-drive, drop-lob, condition games): World Squash (coaching framework), England Squash Junior 101 and Squash Canada Beyond the Nick (foreign curricula, cited as such), FFsquash (graded forms). Numeric parameters (reps, block durations) are coaching practice. Rule 8: World Squash Singles Rules 2025, V1.2, in force since 1 September 2025. Content verified in September 2026; rules re-verified in October 2026.