Never Let Good Enough be good enough!

I was going over a video last night (late I might add) and this athlete was practicing shots and looking pretty good to the untrained observer. However, the ole ball coach did not like one aspect of the practice. 1. The athlete dropped the ball to hit the shot; I would rather see the athlete hit the setup to themselves and then execute the shot. 2. The athlete did not seem to understand where on the front wall the ball had to go. I would almost rather a temporary target be setup for the athlete to aim for. 3. The …

I love watching tough players compete. But sometimes it gets ridiculous. Some of the divisions look more like Professional Wrestling than racquetball. Players begging calls, trying to get every call, running into each other instead of tracking the ball, and hitting each other with the racquet during rallies to distract (a quick flick of the frame on your opponent’s leg to distract) are but a few of the things I saw recently at a national tournament. A few years ago a player who was of this ilk asked me to watch their match and give them my take on their …

Every player has a weak zone. I define the word zone as an area of inefficiency when hitting a shot. For some player it is low-shins to thigh, and others it is medium, thigh to mid waist and others still, high waist to chest. Once you sense a zone to exploit you need to keep the ball there as much as possible. Low-drive serves, medium-junk lobs and short z serves, and high, ceiling balls and high half lobs; these are examples of serves to expose the weak areas. During the rallies working the ball around the court with a variety …

A phrase I learned to hate was, “Neither one of us played well today.” I heard that phrase a lot when I beat people back in the day. I was thinking “Of course you did not play well, I tried to give you serves and shots you could not play well with!” It is an insult to an opponent to say you played poorly if they beat you. If your purpose is to insult them, then by all means go for it. But really, the better option is to suck it up and give them credit! Here’s another one. “Well …

Coach, Why do the hours of my racquetball practice not translate into more victories? I get asked this and here is what I see out there in racquetball land. 1. Poor mechanics-If your technique is not great, when you practice you will reinforce poor mechanics and you will not improve as much as you could. 2. Practicing setups. How many setups do you get in a game vs how many rallies are you chasing that little sphere? Specific practice! 3. Poor footwork-poor footwork leads to poor shot selection. 4. Playing too much and not solo practicing enough. 5. Solo practicing …

This tip is to open your eyes to possibilities! Know your situation. Back in the day I am coaching vs Canada and they had a very emotional lady who was a tough cookie. She had our player in a tie-breaker at match point. I do not know how I knew it but I did; If that Canadian Coach had done anything to emotionally charge that athlete for one point-anything-the Canadian athlete would have won. Instead, he sat back all unemotional and my player came back and won. For lack of better phraseology you have to “smell the goal line” is …

A few years ago I attended a tournament and saw big yellow letters on a blue coat–COACH–like FBI or CIA—-I am only going to say this once-having been a good player does not mean you are a good coach. Having been a great player with a solid forehand and backhand featuring great mechanics definitely makes me take notice! But here is what I look at-having many players from bottom to top at many levels who improve dramatically and have mechanics that make them injury-free-is the best and does mean you are a great coach. Here is another tip for becoming …

  This one was drifted across my desk a few months ago. “Coach, there is a big tournament coming up. Should I play doubles or two singles?” My response to that is, “What do you want to play?” If the answer is doubles and singles do it. If the answer is no-two singles-then do it. Why would you do what you do not want to do? Answer-“Someone else wants me to play two singles or someone else wants me to play doubles.” My response-buzzer sound–Play what you want to play, not what anyone else wants you to play! Usually that …

Above: Kane and Yours Truly-Photo by Restrung Magazine Here’s to the man who changed racquetball -forever! I always found it funny how crowds want desperately for anyone to step up and beat Kane Waselenchuk. They root against him scream and boo and when the match is over they line up to ask for Kane’s autograph. He has changed the game forever-let me list some ways. 1. Raised the bar on what is good racquetball-there have been other champions before, but not like this champion. Not total domination of opponents with ridiculous scores. 2. Changed how the game is played with …