Question: I play squash a lot and was wondering how you fit your hobby's in with your job/school?

Matthew Selwood answered on 6 Mar 2019: last edited 6 Mar 2019 9:19 pm

Firstly, good luck with the squash career! I am never going to be pro, I just enjoy the sport. I play as 1st seed in Division 2 teams, and that suits me just fine.

In terms of balancing the two, especially if you want to become a professional athlete, the main thing to learn is efficiency. It sounds daft, but if you apply yourself to the task at hand and do it efficiently then you will have a lot more time to do hobbies in. Plus, using the sports analogy, 45 minutes of dedicated training and working on ghosting and movement routines is far more beneficial than 2 hours playing 3/4 court with some friends.

People very often are not efficient when working, myself included from time to time, and that is when it feels like work is all you do in life. Every task suddenly takes longer, and it feels like you do nothing but work. That is normally when you struggle to find time for hobbies, when work takes over.

I hope that has helped! I wish you luck, and hopefully I will be watching you on Squash TV in a few years – Nick Matthew has left some shoes for a bright young talent to step into British squash, and Nicole David has left some equally big ones for the female game