Are you a side-stepper? I guess I am having some effect on athletes because several have emailed me about the crossover step. I preach constantly about not stepping to the sidewall yet it is pointed out to me that several pros, including ones I teach do exactly that, especially on the backhand side.
Okay-let’s go racquetball 909, graduate level. If you recall in racquetball 101 I preached keep your feet parallel as much as possible. “As much as possible” is the key phrase. As a squash coach once described it, “when in emergency mode, throw everything out the window and retrieve!”
The random movements coupled with the speeds and angles make perfection of footwork impossible. Also, in the deep court to generate an offensive shot, parallel footwork may not make any sense. Let’s call parallel footwork a general rule and something we strive for. Now, one more thing to chew on. The position of your feet is not as important as you think.
Racquetball footwork is evolving. Today’s juniors are getting some good coaching and many of my players or former players are doing the coaching. That is a good thing for our sport.
Open stance is not a bad thing if you know what you are doing and have the secret sauce!