Overview

Two hours packed with workout sessions, drills and matches every evening defines the squash team’s agenda. These practice sessions have been going on for more than two weeks now. During sessions, the team does shuttle runs and shadow drills (a drill where players shadow another player’s moves to improve technique) on the court and exercises outside the court. The hours and intensity increase over a month and peak in the week just before BOSM. In the first week of September, once the coach arrives, additional morning routines such as running and jogging shall be performed. The six members (three each in Team A and Team B), in the absence of an all-year-round coach, also focus on helping each other along with improving their own game.

The senior members have valuable tips for the recruits like “Controlling the T”. The T-position is the middle of the court where the mid-line meets the line dividing the back half of the court; and to move back to the T-position after every shot helps a player control the game. The two teams practice together but will be playing as different teams in BOSM.

Past Performance

Five teams participated last year in the group stage which was followed by a knockout stage. Team A of BITS Pilani bagged the gold medal and the bronze medal was won by Team B. The squash team has also been successful in the outstation tournaments. They won the gold medal at LNMIIT, Jaipur and stood a respectable fourth in the IIT Delhi tournament.

Recruitments

The squash team’s recruitment process is much different from that of other sports. There are no fixed trial dates. Since only a few people play squash, the team encourages potential recruits to practice for a week. During this week, the recruits are given inputs and asked to make changes to their technique. The team then takes a call on recruitment, based on how dedicated the player is to practice sessions, on whether he follows advice given by members, and his technique.

The team recruited two players this year-a fourth year student and a fresher. Senior team members have analyzed the recruits’ game, identified some areas to work on and suggested drills for the same. Recruits saw a steady but major improvement in their game upon following the tips. The coach, once she arrives, will help out the recruits with his expertise. Currently, the recruits are poised to push themselves harder and contribute to the team.

Captain’s Interview

Shreyas Verma, the captain of the BITS Pilani Squash team, didn’t look like he went through a two hour intense practice session a couple of hours before this interview. Not in the least bit tired, he talked about how his experience with squash has been so far.

Having played for his school cricket team and a professional badminton team, Shreyas is no stranger to sports and has played squash since the 8th grade. “I had shifted to a new society in Mumbai and the club there had a squash court and a swimming pool. Since I had played badminton before, I was into racquet sports and picked up the game by watching and playing with more experienced players on weekends.” he said nostalgically. Once he had sufficiently developed his game, Shreyas watched YouTube videos to improve further. ”Though I was always drawn to sports in general, Squash was a physically taxing game and I liked the good workout. But I have always kept sports as a hobby and wouldn’t have pursued engineering if I intended to take it up professionally.”

Like most BITSians, Shreyas too focused primarily on academics in 11th and 12th. He put on a lot of weight and was out of shape when he came to BITS. “I was just exploring SAC and walked into the squash court as the trials were going on. I asked the captain if I could try out and he told me to come the next day, as I was wearing jeans. Though I couldn’t cover the court fast enough, the captain chose me because of my technique and dedication to the practice sessions.” Once on the team, regular exercise and mess food (he added jokingly) helped him get back in shape by losing weight.

When asked about his experience as captain, he said that it was exciting and has always been fun because of his team’s dedication and cooperation. “It also improved my game as being the captain meant being the best. It has pushed me to work harder.” By keeping his timetable light in the BOSM semesters and overloading his other semesters, he has managed to balance academics and squash quite well.

“The institute fails to meet all our demands but since we are a private institution, the funds aren’t unlimited. And though we haven’t talked much to the CoSSAc, the JSS and SportsSec help us captains a lot and listen to our requests. They have also given us valuable inputs regarding sponsors for jerseys, the jersey material and so on”, he stated when asked if the squash team received adequate support from the college.

Having won the gold medal as captain in the LNMIIT tournament in Jaipur and bronze medal as captain in BOSM last year, Shreyas has claimed his share of wins under his belt. With BOSM a couple of weeks away, and a lot of exhausting training hours yet to come, Shreyas appears to be more than ready for the challenge ahead.