Football, Family, and Friends
Thanksgiving day in the USA is a time for the three F’s; football, family and friends. What are we thankful for? I will never forget a memorable Thanksgiving at my sister’s house in North Carolina. She had like 25 people seated around a huge table and we all had to be thankful for something so […]
Preach it and Teach it!
An old friend of mine is working on their PHD and is rapidly becoming an expert on athletic movement. Since I used to coach this ex-athlete, they knew I’d be excited about the knowledge they were picking up. So this person calls me and immediately we launch into an in-depth conversation about court movement and […]
Top 10 For The Win!
Under pressure the mind does strange things and the athlete sometimes climbs aboard a mental roller coaster that renders that player out of control! How does this happen? 1. The pressure of wanting to win leads to a following thought; my opponent is trying to cheat me out of that win. 2. See above only […]
How Do You Mend A Broken Heart?
This one came across my desk some time ago. I get many of these and it is hard to answer these if I never saw the player or the match. Dear Coach W, any advice or opinion for this man with a broken heart who was eliminated in the quarterfinals despite giving everything ?! I […]
From Me To You Post
Over 55 years ago I got out of the United States Air Force and decided to go to college. Those were weird days for me as I had been in Europe from 1966 to 1969. I used my leave time to visit Europe and experience life in other countries rather than coming home. It was […]
The Hay is in the Barn
There is an old football saying, “The hay is in the barn”. I guess it would be a rural football saying but basically it means we have prepared the best we can (the hay is in the barn so farmers can weather the winter storms). We can apply the same thought to racquetball match preparation. […]
Six Mistakes On Return of Serve
Here are 6 common return of serve issues I run into with my athletes at all levels! 1. Wrong stance-Bent at the waist too long–you will have to make a move to make a move 2. Too wide of a stance-remnant of 1980’s coaching-wide stance may work for tall athletes but not short ones-also with […]
Training Coaches
When you coach long enough, athletes will come into your program and athletes will leave. From day one, I explain I am teaching an athlete how to coach themselves during a game and make adjustments. Once you understand the mechanics of body movement and footwork you can make those game time changes. Back to the […]
Avoid the Cliques!
Cliques! I hate racquetball cliques! Back in the day when I was top dog in the club I would play anybody and everybody who was close to A level and above. I encouraged everyone to play anyone. Then I moved to Syracuse, NY and a local club went bankrupt. They all came over to our […]
Tips for Parents!!
Junior racquetball tournament play can be a mine field for parents to walk through! Here are some tips to help you navigate: 1. Not all Parents are “nice” during their child’s competition but that does not mean you can’t be! 2. Not all opposing coaches are “nice” either but see rule 1. 3. Keep priorities […]