Never Let Good Enough be good enough!

Another one floated across my desk at mission control recently, Dear Coach Winterton, I am a beginning racquetball player and aspire to play pro racquetball. Do I need coaching? Signed, Bertha Beginner My response: Dear Bertha, Thanks for a great question. I will never forget the long drive back home from a crushing quarterfinal defeat in a tiebreaker in the men’s open. I was the only player to push the number one seed and I realized I could not have played better with the tools that I had. I knew I had to learn more to get better. Luckily I …

As I watch some of my athletes play at the top levels, it occurs to me they probably are not doing what I am prescribing. Prescription after a poor performance. RX for my athletes: 1. Every practice day work on your worst skill 2x more than your strongest skill. 2. Every practice day work your mechanics and footwork. You do not have to do so at full speed or even on a court. 3. Be sure to build in rest days. Too much work and not enough rest leads to poor performance. 4. If you have the mentality that you …

Coaching 101. When you coach team racquetball, you have to work with the athletes you have. Not all athletes are easy to work with. These are some huge mistakes rookie coaches make. 1. Being in total control never works when coaching a huge talent. Since the international teams are stocked with talent, and most of that talent competes on their own all year, trying to control their performances never works. 2. Berating a team group for something one or two players are guilty of does not work. This is a waste of time for most of the team because they …

As Devo used to sing–“Whip it, whip it good” Your racquet arm is either a whip or a board. Tensing your forearm and squeezing tight on the racquet handle makes your arm a board. Relaxing your arm and thinking spaghetti makes your arm a whip. A whip can break the sound barrier! A board can break your back! The forehand is actually a chain of events that starts at the bottom and works up. First your lower body has to do the work. Second your upper body has to rotate into the shot. Third your arm moves and last your …

Happy 4th of July! Happy Birthday USA! To understand the United States of America you have to think of a big family with many cultures, religions, and beliefs to blend into a society that reflects the world. Most of our ancestors came here to better themselves and give hope to the next generation. To be an American means you can be from anywhere, any race, any persuasion, any Religion, and any political affiliation and become a citizen. While it is often pointed out the inconsistencies of “All Men are created equal’, our forefathers did build into the constitution an avenue …

Coach, that’s not fair, my opponent is screaming after every rally! Okay, I got this from two points of view. First, the screamer; It is distracting to have an athlete yell after almost every rally when they hit a good shot. But this athlete is not thinking about anything but winning. This is so important to them they are leaving it all out there. They are not doing it to distract an opponent but to pump themselves up. If they see it does distract the opponent….oh well! Now, the screamee; I get it. I have been there. I used to …

Return of serve 303 level–where you line your feet up to return serve can be huge. I see folks staggering their stance in doubles and even sometimes in singles, with their feet facing the side wall. This puts them at a disadvantage if they are served to the “closed side”(side away from the staggered front foot). They will also have huge issues trying to defend the “wrap around” serve. I see folks lined up closer to center court rally positioning so they can get to that perfect serve. What this does is open the court up for jams, and z …

Above: Coach with the original string bean, RIP HOF’er, Charlie Garfinkle, 6’6” tall. Here is strategy 101 for playing the tall player. Author Steve Keeley called this athlete the “string bean”. These folks have a long reach. They may not be fast per se but their reach seems downright super-hero elastic-man stuff. When you cross court the string bean you hit to their strength but when you hit down the line you take away their leverage. Another option is to hit into the middle of the court. Front wall side wall into the middle takes away the leverage and actually …

The Racquetball Coach can be over-rated and under-rated. Here is how a pro coach like me can be over-rated. (statements overheard to illustrate this) 1. “Thanks to me this woman or man is now winning”!Nope-thanks to the woman or man believing in my coaching and with their practicing, they are now winning. 2. “This student needs more lessons with me.” Nope-student needs more practice of what I have already taught! 3. “This student needs me on the court so I can help them practice.” Nope-Student needs solo time and to figure it out so they can be independent of me-not …