Three basic types of squash players - which are you?

OK here's a short, quick one. In a huge overgeneralization, we can see three basic types of players in the squash community. Of course there are infinite degrees between these categories, and almost all players move among categories at some point.

Important point: none of these are "better" than another. They are all great ways to use our time.

The three types of adult players

The first category we'll call "the recreationalist". This player loves squash because it's fun and social and and gets you moving around using all your body's natural, functional athleticism. So squash is their go-to activity when there is free time, and they may have one specific partner or a small group for Saturday afternoon play a few times a month. Or they may drop in for a round robin during the week.

So on average they play 2-4 times a month, but it's a established, habitual part of their life. As habits go, this is a good one.

1. Squash connects them with friends doing a fun thing. They are not super-interested in imoroving their game...that's not the point.
2. The health and fitness benefits of doing a weekly, medium-intensity workout is simply massive when compared to not doing one.
3. This player often moves into category 2 or 3. I've seen this so many times...the frequency starts increasing a bit and pretty soon the player is taking a little instruction and asking about local amatuer tournaments.

The second category we'll call "the squash player". This player makes it a point to get in some matches every week, and they get the same fun and social benefits of the recreational player, but are getting in more regular, intense workouts.

They usually play at least every week and often twice a week, and squash has a little more "weight" in their life balance.

1. This player is almost always reaching the activity benchmarks established by the Mayo Clinic or American Heart Association or other institutional guidance for health and longevity. The health and fitness level of these players is almost always fairly high.
2. They are often looking to improve their game. This player may be a little more competitive in their squash, at least in the sense that quality play and improvement is important to them.  So they may rotate in some instructional clinics and technical lessons, and may watch some pro squash or youtube instructional videos.
3. This player often plays in local recreational leagues and tournaments.

The third category we'll call "the competitor". Not because they are desperate to win necessarily, but because they are highly motivated to play well, to improve and be a student of the game, and the investment in their health and well-being from squash is big. And it pays off - in the context of adult recreational athletes, these players are almost always in peak condition physically, and interact with their world with an added level of focus and calm that is a result of this concentration.

They almost always play at least once a week, and usually 2-4 times in total. They do solo practice and

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