Video analysis is the BEST teaching/learning tool you can obtain. Like the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words," I truly believe when you can see how you're playing you can understand it, when you can understand it you can then make the necessary changes for improvement as you build your championship racquetball game. (more…)
[caption id="attachment_1742" align="alignright" width="385"] Photo by restrungmag.com[/caption] If you watch any sport, you'll see bad calls. Referees are human. Humans make mistakes. For the most part, you'll notice the athletes let it go moving onto the next play rather than harping on the bad call. Take a tip from those pro racquetball athletes: do not let a bad call affect you adversely. If you keep thinking about it, you'll lose more points because you couldn't let it go...a BIG, BIG mistake. Fran Davis shares how to move on from bad calls. (more…)
All amateur matches are two out of three games; the first two games are to 15 and the tiebreaker to 11. You receive three 30-second time-outs in a 15-point game and two 30-second time-outs in a tiebreaker. The pros play three out of five to 11 and receive only 1 minute time-out in a game. There is more than one reason to take a time-out. You can use a time-out to: (more…)
In sport psychology, we say there is only one time, and it is now. When are you going to start to focus? Now! When are you going to win your serve? Now! When are you going to start to play well? Now! In sports the past is gone and the future never comes, so in racquetball you have to learn that there is only one ball, one shot, one serve, and one point at a time, and that time is always now. That is truly the real beauty that every shot you hit only happens in the now. (more…)
Your ultimate mental toughness goal is to achieve “peak play”. Peak play is when you are playing your best and everything feels right. You are on automatic pilot and you just see it and do it. It is truly amazing what the body and mind can accomplish together. (more…)
Once you're familiar with the basic skills, techniques, and tactics, YOU will be ready to train to enter the zone (more…)
[caption id="attachment_1322" align="alignright" width="200"] “Championship Racquetball[/caption] The art of court positioning is just as important in doubles as it is in singles. The downfall of most doubles teams is that the partners act as if they are playing singles and are very haphazard about where to go after the serve, after the return of serve, and during the rally. When you play doubles you want to be like a piece on a chessboard, knowing how to position yourself on the board as every move can cost you. (more…)
[caption id="attachment_1322" align="alignright" width="200"] frandavisracquetball.com[/caption] Winning doubles requires more than banging the ball, standing anywhere, and playing like singles together on the court. It's primarily a game of strategy and positioning at the intermediate and advanced levels. Two people join skills and unify into a singular unit, moving and working independently and together at the same time. Doubles is truly an art; it is like playing the game of chess at 100+ mph. (more…)
Back to the Basics is a key principle to use when you're not playing well and things are just not going your way. If you are not playing well your shots, serves, and returns can begin to breakdown, ending with a lost game or match. This is the perfect time to regroup, assess the situation, and get back to the basics in every area of your game. Going back to the basics helps you to regain consistency, sharpens your mental skills, allows you to think more clearly, and rebuilds any lost confidence to get you back on track. (more…)
Taking the right shot at the right time means making your opponent run the farthest distance to get to the ball. When many get into the heat of the battle, they don’t think about shot selection—but just bang away and play what we call survival racquetball. Or, they go for a favorite rather than one that can win the rally, putting their opponent on the defense. Here's how to determine your best shot, and how to make it when you need to most. (more…)
