Short vs. Long strides

Footwork is probably the most important part of playing squash. I often neglect ghosting and practicing footwork. I've gone back and forth on the subject of breaking down the techniques of good footwork. Sometimes I let the feet do what's natural. What feels natural depends a great deal on how much energy I have and how alert I am. On good days, I feel a bit of bounce in my heels and skip around. On bad days, I'm landing on the wrong foot and can't spring back from my lunges. When I'm drilling, I felt the powers in my legs when I take long strides and stop at the T or stop at the moment the other player hits the ball. I seem to reach the ball in better time when I take longer strides. I sprint off the T better too when I take longer strides, mainly I think because I'm getting to the T earlier. It might also be because longer strides means fewer steps. That may translate to lower momentum and thus easier to stop the momentum and push off again. Whatever it is, I think long strides make for a better player. If effort is to judge, then I would say long strides' more effort returns better results.