There is no question that one discovers peoples’ characters most quickly when they are playing sports; one finds out if they are aggressive, passive, conscientious, perfectionists, thoughtful, idle, kind, respectful, determined and, of course, lazy or keen. 

This is very helpful for a tutor and as soon as I meet a pupil for the first time I try to play some sport whereby I can learn his character as quickly as possible. This helps enormously with teaching him. 

I find that the best game for this is squash; it has so many benefits: it can be played in any weather; it is best played with two people, not four; it is an aggressive game and the players’ characters come out much more quickly than in, for example, tennis where the players are much further apart than on a squash court; it requires a good deal of fitness and so one can quickly find out if the pupil is fit or not. One can find out if he is an aggressive or passive character; whether he is keen or lazy; kind or spiteful. It is an enormously effective learning tool. 

Unlike tennis which requires good ball sense, anyone can play squash. Some of the best squash players were useless at other ball games. 

So, the first thing that I try to do with my pupils is to have a game of squash with them. I can observe if he can overcome frustration, deal with setbacks, handle success; whether his ego takes over, moments when he becomes too confident. With this knowledge, I can adapt the way I tutor the pupils.

Also, as it is easy for almost anybody to become an adequate squash player; it can give pupils a great sense of achievement when they improve, which players tend to do fairly quickly, which is not the same with tennis, unless the player has natural talent. 

Many times I have improved pupils’ self esteem by improving their squash and it improves the relationship between a tutor and pupil if they are able to enjoy playing a sport together. 

I cannot recommend squash more highly. Needless to say, this is just one of the great benefits of having a residential tutor. JT