Coach’s Corner – Creating Time

The ball’s fizzing. The lungs are burning. The court feels like it’s shrinking by the second. And yet somehow, somehow, the clever ones still seem to have a spare heartbeat in the bank. A split second more. A fraction of a breath. Enough to turn panic into pressure and pressure into points.

That, my friends, is creating time.

Not stealing it. Not hoping for it. Creating it.
Forging it in the furnace of good movement, smart shot selection, clever height, wicked depth, and the kind of tactical awareness that makes the game bend to your will.

Because squash is not always won by the player who hits hardest.
It is very often won by the player who makes the game feel slower for themselves and faster for the poor soul on the other side of the glass.

If you constantly feel rushed, crowded, late to the ball, or one decision behind the rally, the issue is not always your fitness. It is not always your racket prep. It is not always your speed.

Sometimes, the real issue is simple:

You are not creating enough time.

And once you understand how to do that, the game changes.

What Does “Creating Time” Mean in Squash?

Creating time in squash means using your movement, shot selection, height, depth, tempo, and positioning to give yourself more opportunity to recover, reset, and make better decisions before the next shot arrives.

It does not mean playing slowly.
It does not mean floating the ball around with no purpose.
And it definitely does not mean backing off and hoping your opponent self-destructs.

It means learning when to:

• add height
• pin the ball deeper
• change the pace of the rally
• use the lob intelligently
• recover better to the T
• take the ball early when the moment is right
• stabilise instead of forcing low-percentage attacks

In other words, it means learning how to make the rally work for you.

Why Players So Often Feel Rushed

A lot of players think they feel rushed because they are not quick enough.

Sometimes that is true. But often, what is really happening is that they are feeding the rally with the wrong decisions.

They hit too flat.
They attack too early.
They recover too slowly.
They drift off the T.
They match the opponent’s tempo instead of changing it.
And before they know it, they are trapped in a rally that feels like it is being played at double speed.

If you want to improve that side of your game, this sits nicely alongside Squash Movement: Efficiency, Flow, and Recovery, because better movement is one of the fastest ways to stop the game feeling frantic.

It also links naturally with When to Attack in Squash: Mastering Timing, Strategy, and Court Control, because one of the biggest time-killers in squash is trying to attack before you have actually earned the right to.

And if you are the kind of player who gets dragged into repetitive, draining patterns, How to Overcome the Methodical Player is another useful read, because rhythm control and time creation often go hand in hand.

The Best Ways to Create Time in Squash

1. Use Height on Your Length

This is one of the biggest game-changers in squash.

A good high length gives you time to recover, reset your feet, regain the T, and take some of the sting out of a rally that is beginning to run away from you.

Too many players think every quality straight drive must be hit low and hard. But a ball with the right height and depth is often far more effective, because it pushes your opponent deeper, makes volleying harder, and buys you those precious extra moments to reorganise yourself.

Height is not passive.
Height is tactical.

Used properly, it is one of the smartest tools in the game.

2. Hit the Ball Properly Deep

There is a huge difference between “back-ish” and genuinely deep.

If your length lands short, your opponent gets options. They can volley, they can step in, they can keep you trapped, and suddenly your world becomes very busy indeed.

But if your ball is deep and tight into the back corners, you make life awkward. You force your opponent to travel further, strike under more pressure, and give you more time to recover into a strong position.

Depth creates space.
Space creates time.
Time creates better squash.

3. Recover Like You Mean It

A good shot is only half the story. The other half is what happens immediately after.

If you hit well and then stroll out of the corner like you are admiring a sunset, you will lose the value of the shot in an instant.

Creating time depends heavily on quality recovery:

• first step out quickly
• get your balance back
• recover with purpose
• keep your racket up
• re-establish a strong central position

This is exactly why movement quality matters so much, and it is another reason to send readers toward Squash Movement: Efficiency, Flow, and Recovery if they want to develop this area further.

4. Change the Tempo of the Rally

Some players lose time because they insist on playing every rally at one speed.

That is fine if the speed suits you.
It is disastrous if it suits your opponent more.

One of the best ways to create time is to stop feeding the rhythm your opponent wants. That might mean:

• lifting one ball a little higher
• slowing the pace slightly with a tighter straight drive
• holding for a fraction longer before hitting
• using a softer shot to disrupt momentum
• mixing in a lob at the right moment

This is where tactical maturity starts to shine. Predictable squash is easy to read. Varied squash is much harder to control.

5. Take the Ball Early — But Only When You’ve Earned It

Taking the ball early can create time brilliantly.

It can keep you on the T.
It can stop your opponent from recovering.
It can make the court feel wonderfully large for you and unpleasantly small for them.

But only if you are balanced.

Too many players hear “take it early” and interpret it as “rush everything”. That is not time creation. That is tactical vandalism.

Take the ball early when you are stable, organised, and clear in your intention. Then it becomes a weapon. Then it starts taking time away from the opponent while preserving control for you.

6. Use the Lob as a Tactical Reset

The lob is one of the most underrated shots in club squash.

A good lob can buy you time when you are under pressure, move your opponent away from the T, change the visual rhythm of the rally, and stop the game becoming a flat-out sprint from one emergency to the next.

It is not just a defensive bailout. Used well, it is a reset button with teeth.

For anyone wanting to develop that shot properly, this article ties in perfectly with Coaching Corner: Mastering the Lob, How to Use It Effectively in Squash.

7. Stop Forcing Attacks Too Early

This is a massive one.

Players often lose time because they panic under pressure and try to end the rally before they have stabilised it. They force the drop. Force the boast. Force the flick. Force the winner.

And what happens?

A loose shot.
A counterattack.
A desperate recovery.
A point gone.

Sometimes the best way to create time is simply to choose one more solid shot before trying to do damage.

That is why When to Attack in Squash: Mastering Timing, Strategy, and Court Control fits so naturally with this topic. Good attacking squash usually begins with good rally management.

How Coaches Can Teach Players to Create Time

This is a brilliant concept for coaches to make explicit.

Players are often told things like:

• “Use more height”
• “Don’t rush”
• “Recover quicker”
• “Slow it down”
• “Work your way back into the rally”

But unless they understand why, those instructions can feel disconnected.

A better way to frame it is this:

Buy yourself one more second

Encourage players to recognise one decision in each rally that gives them breathing room.

Stabilise before you strike

Teach them that not every ball is an attacking ball, and that patience is not passivity.

Recover before the next emergency arrives

Get them thinking about the value of movement between shots, not just the shot itself.

Use height with purpose

Make it clear that height is not surrender. It is often strategic control.

This also links well with Coach’s Corner: Developing a Junior’s Style in Squash, because juniors especially need to understand not just how to hit shots, but how to shape rallies and build their own identity on court.

Practical Drills for Creating Time

Here are a few simple ways to train this:

High-Length Recovery Drill

Hit straight length with emphasis on height and depth. Recover fully to the T after every shot before the feeder plays again.

Stabilise Before Attack Condition Game

Players cannot attack short until they have played two strong stabilising length shots first.

Lob Reset Drill

Start under pressure and force the player to use a lob to regain neutral court position.

Tempo Change Game

Challenge players to vary the pace of every rally at least once using height, hold, or a change in speed.

The Mental Side of Creating Time

Creating time is not just about movement and shot selection.

It is also about composure.

When you feel rushed, you think worse.
When you think worse, your decisions get looser.
When your decisions get looser, the rally speeds up even more.

That is the spiral.

Creating time helps you break it.

It gives you a little more clarity.
A little more control.
A little more calm in the middle of chaos.

And in squash, that can be the difference between surviving the rally and commanding it.

Final Thoughts

The best players are not always the ones with the biggest engines or the flashiest winners.

Very often, they are the ones who understand time.

They know when to take it away.
They know when to buy it back.
They know when to lift, when to hold, when to recover, when to reset, and when to strike.

So the next time you come off court feeling rushed, do not just ask yourself:

“Why was I under pressure?”

Ask:

“Where could I have created more time?”

Because once you learn to do that, the game starts to slow down for you.

And when squash slows down for you, it usually speeds up for your opponent.

Keep Exploring OLIVER

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