Free Advice
I sometimes get well-meaning “advice” emails from other folks “helping me” coach athletes. It amazes me that others think I am not trying or something. Let me throw something out there to all of you. I coach athletes who are human beings. I know their skills make them look like gods or goddesses, but they […]
Write it Down!
What is he writing in the book? In the national tournaments and pro tournaments you will see me with a notebook plugging away and writing. People ask me all the time what I am writing. First and foremost is the score. Believe it or not referees lose track of the score (and who is serving) […]
No-Brainer-Get a Good Trainer!
If you play serious racquetball you need serious strength training. Back in the day I was told never to weight train for racquetball. Believe it or not that was the thinking in the early 70s by many people. I knew that was wrong so I enrolled in our local Nautilus club and began weight training. […]
Get Racquet Power
So I get this long video of how tennis champion Carlos Alcaraz can hit the ball harder than anyone. It has to do with his technique. One of my eager young charges sent it to me. The reason he sent it to me is the narrator sounded a lot like me when explaining the way […]
Brain Games
Mental toughness is a phrase bandied about rather liberally. I have had many athletes come to me with a reputation of poor mental concentration. In every case I found it was not a mental problem, but a practice problem. If you are not logging your hours on the court, you will not be performing at […]
Stay Classy, San Diego
Fun to talk about winning, but what about the L word as in losing? We all experience it and how we experience it is what separates champions from also-rans. 1. Yes you are angry and yes, you almost had the match and Yes, you do not feel like talking to anyone. I totally get that […]
Condescention-a bad Coach’s Invention!
Condescending coaches irritate me. Let me explain. Years ago I was out for a few adult beverages with a Coach who shall remain nameless and he began complaining about all the “head cases” he had to coach. He said something to me like, “I’m sure you know what I mean about these prima Donnas.” My […]
Who Dat Dr. Hat?
Subtle changes and Dr Hat revisited. In the 80s I was league director in a club in Syracuse, New York, and we had a player everyone called Dr. Hat. I don’t think anyone knew his real name, but Dr Hat owned the A leagues and nobody could beat him. One day he challenged me to […]
Self Reffer Blues
Where do I get these ideas? I get many from pouring over customer’s videotapes. Here is one I saw in about four different tapes, four different levels of play, men and women. The self-reffing opponent is a breed of player who is very frustrating. This player always has their off racquet hand up on any […]
Why’o All The Plyo?
Why oh why oh all the plyo? I happen to be cruising through the gym and I see trainer after trainer have their young charges doing these deep jump squats up to platform boxes four feet and higher. If they are volleyball or basketball players who need height I get it. If they are racquetball […]