Let's Talk Racquetball

This post just crossed my desk. It is a quote by Sean Payton, the head coach of the Denver Broncos. This quote was featured in Coaches Journal, a blog I highly recommend. The quote was titled, “Don’t Eat the Cheese!” “The minute you feel like you’ve arrived or your skill set is done, you have a problem. Don’t get caught in the trap of people telling you how great you are. You’ve got to keep working.” Sean Payton I remember reading a quote by a famous actor who was being interviewed and he was asked if the critics who gave …

The “how” of racquetball is more important than the “what”. I can say, hit the ball down the line but when my athlete does not, I can say, “they do not listen to me.” or “Try it again!” Or… I can teach “how” to hit the ball down the line with proper footwork (not stepping to the side wall) and technique, hitting at full extension on the forehand and the backhand. Trust me, the “What”is easy to teach but the “how” is not. It takes patience with the athlete and coach’s role in this process. The only way is repetition …

Above: Coach W and Fran talking Coaching Salute to Fran Davis. The year was..well a long time ago in the wayback machine. Yours truly got a message from an old friend in Pennsylvania and he asked me if I could help this one wall paddleball player from New York City. He knew she had talent and suggested she visit me. Fran did the drive from NYC to Rochester, NY where I played. At the time I was coaching Mike Levine, an up and coming future junior player who ended playing Pro on the tour at a young age. In those …

This one drifted across my desk-again will paraphrase to protect the innocent; but this occurs all over the world on racquetball courts frequently. “My opponent never kills the ball but hits it so I have to move through him or around him to get to a shot. After he hits a shot he slides slightly toward the ball to block my vision. I doubt if a ref would call a hinder but I get tired after racing out to a good lead. Signed Help me play full contact racquetball” There used to be a famous actor named Dan Blocker. That …

  The matches are over. The club is quiet but still open. Down on court 8, way in the back is the ole ball coach and one of his athletes. We are putting in an after hours session working on footwork and return of serve. Motivated athlete wants extra work during the tournament and motivated coach is all over it. I have been in at 6:30am early and midnight late at some of these events. Bottom line: I hate to lose! I hate to lose at anything but if I put in maximum effort and my athlete does also, we …

Backhand check list- For reference: https://buff.ly/ecnbWQc Talking backhand grip-V formation of the thumb and forefinger for right-handers should rotate to 11 to 9 o’clock. That roughly translates to Eastern to modified western grips. Why do I not teach one grip? As someone told me last summer, “Coach you teach the wrong backhand grip.” My response? “I’ll tell my national and world champions (which includes the greatest player who ever played racquetball) they have the wrong grip.” Oh, and one more thing, each grip has strengths and weaknesses. No one grip is perfect. For the record, every summer I tried to …

Ten signs of poor reffing! In fairness to all players out there it is tough reffing and even more tough when you are reffing against good players. Here are ten signs of ref change needed! 1. The ref tries to be part of the action. You know the drill. The ref has a flair for the dramatic and tries to call attention to themselves. The best refs are invisible! 2. The ref is disrespectful of one or more players. Comments like “Yeah sure you could have gotten that” or “no way you could have gotten to that ball, you are …

Overheard from well-meaning fans and some young coaches. “My athlete is national ranked junior champion and they are a great player.” I am thinking “Poor junior player-all you hear is how great you are from everyone. I hope you do not listen.” Here’s me also thinking , “You are not that good-you must learn your craft! You may be the winningest player of all time in juniors. You may be undefeated or whatever, but you are playing juniors. Do it in pros and now you are impressive.” Am I really saying to junior she or he is not that good? …

11 tips for excellence: 1. Do not come to the coach to get help. Come to the coach to collaborate. 2. Do not take orders from a coach. Work with a coach. 3. Understand that the coach cannot get you better. You must get better by practicing skills taught to you. 4. Playing is fun, but play with a purpose in practice. 5. Do not “blow smoke” to the coach. If you tell them you are practicing and you cannot hit the front wall, they will know you have not practiced! 6. Come ready to learn. 7. Coaches can make …