Let's Talk Racquetball

Score more points by changing eye level! I am a baseball fan and love watching the games that go on with pitchers and hitters. The pitcher is constantly changing the location of pitches and creating confusion on the part of the hitter. So much confusion, the hitter fails at least 70% of the time! We can do the same with serves! We can change the height in racquetball also! Some coaches like to tell their athletes to lob or lob z on first serve. That to me is a waste of an offensive opportunity. I would rather have my athletes …

How to fight the mental wars in racquetball: Think like the old boy and girl scouts motto–“Be Prepared”! If you are thrown a curve when least expecting, it could create havoc with your concentration. I have seen almost every dirty trick in the book. From hitting a guy in the face with an overhead to win a seniors title, to walking across a player’s setups, to temper tantrums and turning the air blue; all these things can break your concentration and if you play long enough something will happen that could cause a melt-down if you are not prepared. Think …

1970’s Champion Charlie Brumfield called it “the bum fight” and a few years ago at a Doubles event there were several incidents of it. I am talking about the fight for center court and fighting for position. First, when an athlete holds up at the top levels and the ref does not call it, the athlete has no choice but to swing away. In one match an athlete almost took another one’s head off but the ref created the situation. By ignoring close play and awarding a free point to the opponent because the athlete held up their swing, the …

Above L to R: Carlee, Angelica, Jade, Yanna, Grant, and Tyler “Coach, stop giving away all those coaching points on your tip of the day!” This was one of the comments of a student of mine recently. This has come to me from more than one athlete from all levels of play. My athletes like the fact I teach differently than most pros and am always looking for an edge in instruction. Okay, so here is a message to my athletes. This is for my athletes only who pay me to set up programs, go over video, and coach them …

Mind repair. When your car breaks down you go the garage and they find a part to replace the broken one. Here are seven “broken” mindsets and the parts below to replace them! 1. Uh Oh-here we go again. (forecasting your loss ahead of time!) 2. I can’t get my first serve in! (meaning-I am a terrible player, I cannot get my first serve in) 3. My opponent is a cheater. (your loss excuse served up on a silver platter for you) 4. The ref is making horrible calls. (see above) 5. I have a horrible seed in this tournament. …

Forehand basics revisited-10 rules of a good forehand- 1. Parallel feet–not staggered. This keeps you away from the ball and gives you leverage and options. 2. Weight balanced and power generated from the leg nearest to the back wall–not weight on the front leg. 3. Stay away from the ball and bend your knees, that will be $110.00 please. 4. Keep your head down on the ball. 5. Hit and get, don’t hit and sit! 6. Imagine 10 balls in a row; hit all 10! 7. Get the rhythm of a counter-turn before you turn into the ball. 8. Practice …

Lessons above and beyond! Some time ago I had an exhausting lesson session during the middle of a tournament. Now for those who do not know, I coach from 8am to 8pm at least and sometimes longer when coaching in tournaments. Then I try to sneak in a little time on the court with my monthly folks. My athletes were ready for the next step and they did not disappoint. From stroke mechanics to serve to footwork to shot selection and positioning we had a great two hour session at night and another one with another student and the next …

Return of serve 303 level– Where you line your feet up to return serve can be huge. Mistakes I see: 1. I see folks staggering their feet diagonally in their stance. This puts them at a disadvantage if they are served to the “closed side”(side away from the staggered front foot). 2. Up too close-I see folks lined up closer to center court so they can get to that perfect serve. What this does is open the court up for jams, and z serves. The deeper your position to receive serve, the better you are at covering angles. 3. Back …

The side comments during a pro match I have to get rid of or I cannot concentrate on the match. I also have to stop the commentary–I know the commentators mean well but it does not help me focus on what is happening on the court. Here are some comments not necessarily by commentators, but on social media. “Wow-big surprise this player losing.” Possible reason not explored or thought of. The Worlds are coming in just a few days after the tournament. Traveling from one end of the country to another and then packing up to go to another country …