Strategic Weapons And Tactics (S.W.A.T.) Sessions
S = Strategic - Means being smarter about how you play the game, developing the rally to dominate your opponents with less effort and make fewer unforced errors.
W = Weapons - We all have a few 'signature' shots we can pull off naturally. The problem is when we rely on them too often, at the wrong time, creating unforced errors and losing the momentum within a rally, game or match.
A = And - Often called Physical Chess, squash requires that you combine many elements in your game instead of just having one strength or key attribute that makes or breaks you.
T= Tactics - The more tactics you have in your arsenal to attack or defend yourself, the more confident and resourceful you will be when the time comes to battle it out on court.
W = Weapons - We all have a few 'signature' shots we can pull off naturally. The problem is when we rely on them too often, at the wrong time, creating unforced errors and losing the momentum within a rally, game or match.
A = And - Often called Physical Chess, squash requires that you combine many elements in your game instead of just having one strength or key attribute that makes or breaks you.
T= Tactics - The more tactics you have in your arsenal to attack or defend yourself, the more confident and resourceful you will be when the time comes to battle it out on court.
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*** ONLY FOR ***
Intermediate, Advanced and Elite Players Intermediate — Matrix 150-200 / Sporty HQ 1,000-1,200 Advanced — Matrix 200-300 / Sporty HQ 1,200-1,800 Elite — Matrix 300+ / Sporty HQ 1,800+ 
Marc Dussault playing a forehand drive at the East Coast Squash Academy.
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Have a question? Contact us -->
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S.W.A.T. Sessions are the key to creating your next performance breakthrough
Some players constantly improve their squash game and have the ranking to show for it while others struggle for years or even decades with little or no improvement.
Their ‘secret’ is that they tap into the Academy's Deliberate Practice Principles, the foundational concept that has created so many National Champions.
Their ‘secret’ is that they tap into the Academy's Deliberate Practice Principles, the foundational concept that has created so many National Champions.
You can spend countless hours on the court hitting balls, but unless you have a proven system that works, you could be reinforcing a bad habit that makes things worse and is a lot harder to get rid of.
Deliberate Practice is a methodology used by the best athletes in the world including Olympians, World Champions and Commonwealth Games Medallists.
Now you can tap into this powerful approach to either kick start your squash and create a breakthrough, or achieve the ‘quantum leap’ forward you need to get to your next performance level.
The power of Deliberate Practice Principles is that they work for all age groups and standards of player skill, regardless of fitness or physical ability. It's a framework, a process scientifically designed to make the most of every single minute you spend on court.
Strategic Weapons And Tactics (S.W.A.T.) Sessions are structured and designed according to Deliberate Practice Principles.
Concentration of focus is an important element to identify the quickest and easiest source of improvement so you can finally push through a physical, technical and/or psychological limit or barrier that is currently holding you back.
Easier said than done, which is why you need to be guided, mentored by an experienced facilitator and coach. S.W.A.T. Sessions are led by Dr Marc Dussault, the Academy’s resident Peak Performance Strategist.
Each session has a specific outcome with each drill, routine or exercise designed to focus on your specific skill/ability development combining movement with technical guidance under game and match-like scenarios.
These are short, high-intensity sessions to determine when or why your game 'breaks down' when you're under pressure or get tired. Unlike technical development coaching lessons, in S.W.A.T. Sessions you'll be playing with Marc and up to one other similarly ranked opponent to uncover where your next breakthrough will come from.
High intensity play is synonymous with squad “pressure sessions” – S.W.A.T Sessions will improve your fitness and match stamina and introduce you to advanced strategic elements of the game to get you to play smarter rather than harder. For once you'll understand how to make your opponents do more work than you, as you hit fewer tins and make a lot less unforced errors.
S.W.A.T Sessions are designed to mimic long rallies where concentration and stamina come into play. Mental toughness principles will emerge as a key factor depending on your level of fitness and ambition.
Deliberate Practice is a methodology used by the best athletes in the world including Olympians, World Champions and Commonwealth Games Medallists.
Now you can tap into this powerful approach to either kick start your squash and create a breakthrough, or achieve the ‘quantum leap’ forward you need to get to your next performance level.
The power of Deliberate Practice Principles is that they work for all age groups and standards of player skill, regardless of fitness or physical ability. It's a framework, a process scientifically designed to make the most of every single minute you spend on court.
Strategic Weapons And Tactics (S.W.A.T.) Sessions are structured and designed according to Deliberate Practice Principles.
Concentration of focus is an important element to identify the quickest and easiest source of improvement so you can finally push through a physical, technical and/or psychological limit or barrier that is currently holding you back.
Easier said than done, which is why you need to be guided, mentored by an experienced facilitator and coach. S.W.A.T. Sessions are led by Dr Marc Dussault, the Academy’s resident Peak Performance Strategist.
Each session has a specific outcome with each drill, routine or exercise designed to focus on your specific skill/ability development combining movement with technical guidance under game and match-like scenarios.
These are short, high-intensity sessions to determine when or why your game 'breaks down' when you're under pressure or get tired. Unlike technical development coaching lessons, in S.W.A.T. Sessions you'll be playing with Marc and up to one other similarly ranked opponent to uncover where your next breakthrough will come from.
High intensity play is synonymous with squad “pressure sessions” – S.W.A.T Sessions will improve your fitness and match stamina and introduce you to advanced strategic elements of the game to get you to play smarter rather than harder. For once you'll understand how to make your opponents do more work than you, as you hit fewer tins and make a lot less unforced errors.
S.W.A.T Sessions are designed to mimic long rallies where concentration and stamina come into play. Mental toughness principles will emerge as a key factor depending on your level of fitness and ambition.
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Strategic Weapons And Tactics (S.W.A.T.) Sessions
PLAYING LENGTH WITH VARIATIONS
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"The S.W.A.T Sessions with Marc have been a
great way to stay fit as well as work on specific skills I can’t develop through regular match play or even drills and routines. Marc does a great job at pushing me in these sessions just beyond my comfort zone - replicating game-like scenarios with the intensity required to better understand where and when my game breaks down so we can work on fixing the source of the problem(s)." — Matthew
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ALLEY GAME WITH VARIATIONS
SHORT VS. LONG / BOAST-CROSS COURT / VOLLEY GAMES
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CROSS COURT GAME WITH VARIATIONS
TWO AGAINST ONE
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S.W.A.T. Session Benefits:
S.W.A.T. Sessions are NOT for everyone. In fact, they are currently not available to Juniors. Check the list below to determine if they're appropriate for you now or later when you get stuck and want to create a breakthrough.
S.W.A.T. Sessions are perfect for you if you:
Special Considerations:
You must show up 10 minutes before the session starts. Full changing room and shower facilities are available on site. If you're late, you forego that time with no credit or refund. This is part of the Deliberate Practice Principle framework – discipline to plan ahead and BE ON TIME. All sessions finish on time.
S.W.A.T. Sessions are currently only held in the city at World Square, Hordern Towers (corner or Pitt and Liverpool streets).
- The high pace reduces your available time to think, forcing mental and muscle memory to take over. The brain operates in one of two modes – EXPLICIT when learning and IMPLICIT when playing. These sessions APPLY learning in IMPLICIT, real-time, game-playing mode to create breakthroughs.
- A higher intensity environment reveals when and why technical breakdowns occur (e.g. poor racquet preparation, wrong approach path to the ball, poor shot selection, etc.)
- Squash 'match' fitness can only be developed on court. Without high intensity sessions, you can’t re-create 4th and 5th game conditions when fatigue and fitness come into play. These sessions will quickly reveal what happens when you get tired.
- Knowing how to developing long(er) rallies is a difficult skill to learn and not recommended to be done in your competitive games. Routines with high intensity create the conditions for your to learn how to do this without the risk of losing hard-earned ranking points. You’ll appreciate this the next time you go into a 4th or 5th game – knowing you can stay the course and force your opponent into capitulating, mentally, physically or both!
- Mental toughness can only be practiced under “pressure”. These S.W.A.T. Sessions create both physical and mental stress so you can quickly develop the skills to handle them in pennant and tournament play.
- Getting through high intensity sessions builds confidence. This will help boost the quality of your shot selection, opting for the better shot in higher pressure situations rather than “just getting the ball back”.
- We’ll identify your primary weaknesses in each variation of the games and drills so we can then tailor your next sessions accordingly.
S.W.A.T. Sessions are NOT for everyone. In fact, they are currently not available to Juniors. Check the list below to determine if they're appropriate for you now or later when you get stuck and want to create a breakthrough.
S.W.A.T. Sessions are perfect for you if you:
- Want to make QUICK progress on specific aspects of your game.
- Get squash fit, improve your quickness, speed and agility.
- Build stamina and endurance for longer matches.
- Focus on mental toughness.
- Develop a more disciplined approach to your squash training.
- Want to start beating opponents who have a similar ranking to you.
- Create a breakthrough skill or tactic that has been eluding you.
- Want to push yourself to see what you’re capable of.
- Try something new, different to mix up your current routine.
- Have fun, but at higher level of commitment.
- Put your recent coaching to the test, under match conditions.
- Replace game play with an equivalent (or usually even more) effort alternative.
Special Considerations:
You must show up 10 minutes before the session starts. Full changing room and shower facilities are available on site. If you're late, you forego that time with no credit or refund. This is part of the Deliberate Practice Principle framework – discipline to plan ahead and BE ON TIME. All sessions finish on time.
S.W.A.T. Sessions are currently only held in the city at World Square, Hordern Towers (corner or Pitt and Liverpool streets).
HERE ARE A FEW S.W.A.T Session
PLAYER TESTIMONIALS
PLAYER TESTIMONIALS
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Are you up to giving S.W.A.T. Sessions a go?
A text from a recent S.W.A.T. participant:
"Hey Marc, I didn't play pennant this week, but just played someone who's lower ranked than me but creamed me the last few we've had a hit. That's because he's ranked way below his actual level and the last few times we played, he totally caught me out. Fast track to this week... We played a game today and he didn't know what hit him! I probably only did 35% of what you have been teaching me right. So, I just wanted to pass on the feedback your coaching has made, I'm sure you get it all the time and know that the small things you focus on make the greatest impact, but it was good for me to just see it happen with ease. Now it's time to take it to the next level and start doing it with the players who are 100+ points above me!" D.C.
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A recommendation from a recent S.W.A.T. participant:
"Marc gave me a practical strategic framework for my backhand return of serve that was appropriate given my racquet skills. Not only has that already worked amazingly well in my recent games, he’s also given me the solo drills I need to work on to improve my skill set so I can ‘graduate’ to a more advanced framework when I’m ready for it.
Marc’s power as a coach has been his uncanny ability spot the most glaring weaknesses in my game and forcing me to pay attention to those areas rather than focusing on other elements that are less relevant (and in fact are just distractions) and don’t contribute to my improvement.
With a good blend of encouragement and his “you’re not listening. The coach is always right” mentality, he’s helped me rise a couple of levels and I’m looking forward to further improvement with him.
If you’re frustrated and know you can play better than you actual are, I highly recommend you give the S.W.A.T. Sessions a go. You only need one session with Marc to start getting tangible results." S.H.
"Hey Marc, I didn't play pennant this week, but just played someone who's lower ranked than me but creamed me the last few we've had a hit. That's because he's ranked way below his actual level and the last few times we played, he totally caught me out. Fast track to this week... We played a game today and he didn't know what hit him! I probably only did 35% of what you have been teaching me right. So, I just wanted to pass on the feedback your coaching has made, I'm sure you get it all the time and know that the small things you focus on make the greatest impact, but it was good for me to just see it happen with ease. Now it's time to take it to the next level and start doing it with the players who are 100+ points above me!" D.C.
_______________________________________________
A recommendation from a recent S.W.A.T. participant:
"Marc gave me a practical strategic framework for my backhand return of serve that was appropriate given my racquet skills. Not only has that already worked amazingly well in my recent games, he’s also given me the solo drills I need to work on to improve my skill set so I can ‘graduate’ to a more advanced framework when I’m ready for it.
Marc’s power as a coach has been his uncanny ability spot the most glaring weaknesses in my game and forcing me to pay attention to those areas rather than focusing on other elements that are less relevant (and in fact are just distractions) and don’t contribute to my improvement.
With a good blend of encouragement and his “you’re not listening. The coach is always right” mentality, he’s helped me rise a couple of levels and I’m looking forward to further improvement with him.
If you’re frustrated and know you can play better than you actual are, I highly recommend you give the S.W.A.T. Sessions a go. You only need one session with Marc to start getting tangible results." S.H.
If you not sure of your squash level, please refer to our Squash Skill Self Assessment table to determine the best fit for you.
