Improving? Even if Losing?
This is what i do for a living. Each day I log on my computer and gather the videos in my uplink box. I then take the video and go over it for my athletes. I am looking for positioning, shot selection, and movement patterns. I then slow the video down to go frame by […]
Mental Happy Place
Be yourself! It was hard for me to find my place emotionally when I competed in racquetball. I had an acquaintance who showed up at tournaments and between games would smoke cigarettes and drink beer, He was a great player and he was also a con artist. He only did those things at tournaments to […]
Coach, I Want Another Coach!
Building blocks-“Coach I want to go train with another coach-any advice?” Yes-Don’t do it! hahaha–seriously–forget me for a moment and think of any coach. We all have different ways of looking at the game. Leaving one coach for another can ruin your game I have a 48 year proven record of excellence. I have tried […]
RIP Charlie Garfinkle
Coach W and Charlie, US Open Circa 2017 Editor’s Note: This happened back in 2021 but this guy made an impact on our sport nation-wide. It was a sad day for me yesterday and my heart is heavy today. I am doing my thing, coaching up folks when the phone rings and my friend, Leo […]
BYOA-Build Your Own Acronym!
Want to get mentally tougher? Why not build your own acronym? An acronym is a collection of letters that stands for something but forms a word. PUP-I put this on my shoe and folks thought I was an animal lover. I am, but PUP stood for Poise under pressure. Often in tight matches I would […]
Racquetball Practice Drills and Games
Solo practice can be boring. Here are a few games I used back in the day. Some of these were borrowed from others and some were invented out of necessity!!! 1. HBM–Human ball machine-simply find a practice partner with control and have them give you ten setups of your choice. You execute the setups and […]
Train for the Unexpected
Train like the Navy Seals train. One part of Seal training is sleep deprivation. Then the candidates are told they are getting sleep after days without sleep only to be awakened in an hour. Why? War is not fair and the trainee had better get used to it. Now I do not suggest you do […]
Committee Coaching?
Coaching by committee is a bad idea ! When athletes begin bouncing from coach to coach, they inevitably end in a confused state. Each person has a different way of looking at racquetball performance. A good professional coaching staff is so good teaching technique, the athletes may at first lose, but eventually win. That is […]
Wood Chopper’s Parable
In the recent past I received emails from athletes with injuries. When going over their training schedules I was amazed at how hard they were working but this parable came to mind. Sharpen your Axe-A parable for Athletes (and coaches). Sharpen your Skills. The Wood-Choppers Contest Once upon a time there were two men in […]
Optimistic Outcomes in Racquetball
Well-meaning Coach, “Well, I don’t agree with everything you teach.” Me, “Okay-what do you not agree with?” WMC, Well, not everybody can execute what you teach. Me, “Of course they cannot, they have to work toward it.” WMC, “Well, why not give people something they can do immediately?” Me, “Like what?” WMC, “Like dropping the […]