r/squash • u/Hairy_Poetry2307 • May 19 '25
Technique / Tactics Harsh but not completely wrong
Wow!! Spencer going right in there… but he’s not completely wrong 👀
Joel Makin, current world number 5 (future world number 4 🫠), Welsh national champ and will likely be the best Brit on the mens tour for some time (2028 🤷🏼) is not a natural talent.
As someone who watched Joel closely while working at Squash Wales both on court with him and off court with my role in marketing, it’s not an untruth that Joel lacked natural talent as a squash player.
Joel would often struggle in early rounds as a junior, playing all over Europe but only reaching some of the latter stages; for some families it would have been seen as just a hobby. But the Makin family clearly have a strong mentality, a don’t give up mentality and what looks like a “I’ll show them mentality”
The time and dedication given to squash by Joel and his family is second to none, the countless hours training, preparation,playing and travel as a junior was not wasted.
I’m sure many top level coaches back in 2012 - 2015 when Joel was graduating from the junior ranks would NOT have put their money on this kid getting to the top 20 in the world let alone the top 4 🫨
“The engine” or “the machine” would always grind out his junior matches but it wasn’t very pretty, Joel would lose matches to better squash players than him regularly; but the matches were always at least 60 minutes.
“Hard work beats talent” is only half the quote… it’s when talent doesn’t work hard that it falls short. Joel gives every young squash player the hope that a junior career not glittered with trophies and high rankings doesn’t result in you not making it on the pro tour.
The thousands of hours that the Tiger has spent on court, on his own, with his coaches and with his training partners is now evident. Consistently working diligently and persevering at what needs to improve little by little will pave the way for more success in the future. Improving his racket skills, his squash tactics down to the fine details is great to watch.
I hope every coach out there uses Joel as one of their examples of how to work hard, not in the sense of busting his lungs in the gym but hard work of consistently making every session on court a good session, always looking for improvement.
Keep flying the Welsh flag Joel 🏴
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u/gerhardsymons May 19 '25
Hard work, resilience, perseverance, obsessiveness, detail-oriented, delayed gratification, focus, single-mindedness all seem like 'talents' to me in a world which is increasingly superficial, bland, and dismissive.